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As the global trade war intensifies, the debt, the main investment for Japan’s life insurers, has seen wild swings along with its U.S. counterparts.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 18, 2025

Major Japan life insurer to pile into domestic superlong bonds

Investment decisions by Japan’s life insurers can move global markets, and Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance will be the first among its major peers to report such plans.
Ryosei Akazawa (third from right), Japan's tariffs negotiator, in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent (second from right) and other senior government officials on Wednesday in Washington
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2025

Trump reiterates opposition to Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel

Whether there is interplay between the tariff negotiations and the Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal has never been made clear.
When Jera co-fired ammonia at its Hekinan coal plant in Aichi Prefecture last year, it reduced emissions by 20%.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2025

Japan embraces lab-made fuels despite costs and climate concerns

Japanese utilities say e-methane is chemically almost identical to natural gas but is effectively carbon-neutral.
Hiroshima is full of memorials to the 1945 atomic bombing. Among them, the peace museum promotes an ambiguous message: One against nuclear weapons without acknowledging the role of nuclear deterrence in preserving the postwar peace.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 21, 2025

The ambiguity of Japan’s message on nuclear weapons

It is common in Japan to be both anti-atomic weapons and anti-war. But are these positions not contradictory if nuclear deterrence actually works to preserve the peace?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a parliamentary committee session in Tokyo on Monday, during which U.S. tariffs were discussed.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 21, 2025

Tokyo insists defense issues and tariff talks must remain separate

Mixing the two risks distorting the essence of each issue, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba says.
Takeshi Niinami, chairman and CEO of Suntory, says U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are "really killing the appetite from the world” for investment in the U.S.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2025

Trump tariffs are killing investment appetite, Suntory CEO says

President Trump’s efforts to reshape international trade have led to wild swings in global markets and raised concerns the U.S. economy could enter a recession.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba receives a gift from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the start of their meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 22, 2025

Nvidia CEO urges LDP to build up Japan’s AI infrastructure

Japan has pledged to increase government and corporate funding in AI to over ¥50 trillion ($350 billion) in the next 10 years.
The yen strengthened dramatically this month — hitting ¥139.9 to the dollar on Tuesday — and could become a topic of conversation in trade talks between the United States and Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2025

Yen on the march as Plaza Accord 2.0 debate grows

The U.S. has claimed that Japan's currency is undervalued, with some in the administration of President Donald Trump calling for a Plaza Accord 2.0.
An attendee plays with the Nintendo Switch 2 gaming device at a media event in Tokyo on April 3.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2025

Nintendo says demand for Switch 2 console in Japan is overwhelming

"We have received 2.2 million applications for the lottery sale at our official online store for customers in Japan alone," said Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato is is expected to meet with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 24, 2025

U.S. indicates no hard target for yen ahead of key trade talks

The United States has argued that the yen is too weak, making its value against the dollar a top agenda item in trade discussions.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 25, 2025

No discussion of yen target, Kato says after Bessent meeting

The two countries possibly committing to a specific number in terms of the yen-dollar exchange rate has helped drive up the value of the Japanese currency.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (center) welcomes Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the Government Office in Hanoi on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 28, 2025

Ishiba pledges deeper economic ties with Vietnam as Trump tariffs bite

Both countries face unprecedented economic turmoil as a result of the U.S. tariffs and are seeking ways to mitigate potential damage.
Christophe Lemaire rides Admire Daytona, who was bred in Japan, during the UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on April 5.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
Apr 29, 2025

Could this be Japan’s year at the Kentucky Derby?

Japan has made great strides in thoroughbred racing, and many feel it is no longer a question of "if" a Japanese horse will win the event but "when."
Industrial production dropped 1.1% in March compared with the previous month, according to the industry ministry.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025

Japan's factory output falls in sign of frailty before tariffs

Industrial production dropped 1.1% in March compared with the previous month, the industry ministry reported Wednesday. Economists had forecast a 0.4% drop.
Japan’s carmakers are being pushed to combine their resources in an environment roiled by tariffs, as well as to counter Chinese auto firms’ rapid expansion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025

Japan's carmakers face consolidation amid tariffs and China's rise, says hedge fund

Man Group’s Stephen Harget thinks the phenomenon could be Japan-specific as automakers in other regions have already been through such a cycle.
U.S President Donald Trump meets with economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa at the White House during Akazawa's first trip to the U.S. to discuss tariffs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 30, 2025

Akazawa heads to Washington as Japanese automakers 'losing $1 million an hour' 

Speaking to reporters at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan’s chief trade negotiator remained polite but firm as he suggested that the pressure is on.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama (left), who also chairs the Japan-China Parliamentary Friendship Association, meets with Zhao Leji, the third-ranked official in the Chinese Communist Party and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, in Beijing on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 30, 2025

Communist China’s quiet influence on Japanese politics

China Communist Party influence operations have been embedded in the Japanese government and political structures for 75 years.
National agency Heritage Malta worked with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure the painstaking restoration of samurai armor that spent over half a century forgotten in storage in Valletta, Malta.
JAPAN / History
May 1, 2025

Lost and found history receives glittering homecoming at Osaka Expo

Hidden away since World War II, samurai armor gifted to Malta from Japan in 1862 has been restored to its full glory and put on display at the Malta Pavilion.
Since 2017, Kotomi Li has won some of Japan’s top literary awards and built a formidable career in the face of persistent online harassment. “Authors are tenacious creatures to begin with,” she says.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 5, 2025

Kotomi Li: 'I refuse to choose death'

The Taiwanese writer reflects on the importance of queer community, her ascent in Japan’s literary world and her ongoing battles against online harassment.
A seamstress at Kineya Tabi sews together split-toe "tabi" socks, once a major industry for the town of Gyoda, Saitama Prefecture.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 3, 2025

Japan’s ‘tabi’ sock mecca runs on thread and memories

At their peak in the early-20th century, Gyoda’s artisans churned out more than 84 million pairs of socks each year.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato (right) speaks during a news conference in Milan on Sunday.
BUSINESS
May 5, 2025

Finance chief Kato walks back idea of U.S. Treasury sales as trade chip

Japan held roughly $1.13 trillion in Treasury Securities at the end of February — making it the biggest overseas holder of U.S. debt.
China's Bayan Obo rare earth mine in Inner Mongolia. As U.S.-China tensions strain critical mineral supply chains, Tokyo’s multipronged approach based on sovereignty, resilience and sustainability is gaining quiet relevance.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 5, 2025

Japan's resource security path may hold answers to trade turmoil

Critical mineral supply chains are made vulnerable by China's dominance and U.S. protectionism. Japan's strategy may provide clues as to how to secure these vital resources.
Japan's Rui Hachimura walks off the court after being disqualified for a second unsportsmanlike foul against France at the Paris Olympics in July last year.
BASKETBALL / B. League
May 6, 2025

Basketball bust-ups threaten ambitious Japan's hoop dreams

A row involving star player Rui Hachimura and disagreements over the domestic league's direction mean the path ahead is full of hurdles.
Former Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda speaks during an interview in Tokyo on April 28.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 7, 2025

Ex-BOJ Gov. Kuroda urges calm response to Trump tariffs

"It's better not to be worked up by every little thing, but to sit down and respond," Kuroda said, referring to frequent changes in U.S. tariff policy.
Apple Music personalities (from left) Ebro Darden, Kentaro Ochiai, Zane Lowe and Mino came together for a special recording in late April to discuss music and celebrate the newly opened Apple Music studio in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Music
May 8, 2025

With a new Shibuya studio, Apple Music bets big on Japan

Streaming numbers are up, world tours are growing, and now, Tokyo has a new studio aimed at amplifying Japan’s voice.
Toyota vehicles bound for shipment at the Port of Nagoya. Japan’s 3-year-old corporate governance campaign has more room to grow and unlock value in Japan’s industrial heartland of Aichi Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025

Japan’s corporate governance wave reaches the industrial heartland in Nagoya

The city of Nagoya and the area around it are home to manufacturing giants including Toyota and Toyota group auto parts maker Denso.
Kotoba Slam Japan runs regional competitions to select a representative for the annual World Poetry Slam Championship, which will take place in Mexico at the end of the month.
CULTURE / Stage
May 9, 2025

Japan’s slam poetry scene is all about raw vulnerability

Slam poetry is a rarity in Japan, but the scene is full of energy and potential that the poets have been bringing to the world slam poetry stage for 10 years now.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba meets with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong in Hanoi on April 28. Ishiba’s visit to Vietnam and the Philippines highlighted Japan’s enduring Indo-Pacific strategy amid rising regional uncertainty.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 8, 2025

Japan’s durable 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' strategy brings stability

So while Ishiba’s visit to Southeast Asia may have just seemed like another round of trips during a holiday week, they were emblematic of something much more than that.
U.S. President Donald Trump makes a trade announcement as U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick (second from left), U.S. Vice President JD Vance (third from left), British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson (third from right),  U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (second from right) and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins (right) look on in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 10, 2025

Trump’s first trade pact offers faint glimpse of art of the deal

For global leaders puzzling over how to negotiate with Donald Trump, the U.S. president’s inaugural pact with the U.K. offers a few clues on how much ground he’s prepared to give.
The entrance to discount retailer Don Quijote's store in Tokyo's Shibuya district, known as Don Don Donki outside the country
BUSINESS / Companies
May 11, 2025

'Treasure hunt': Tourists boost sales at Japan's Don Quijote stores

Revenues at Don Quijote in Japan are "around 1.7 times higher than before the pandemic," said Motoki Hara, a manager at the retailer.

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An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo