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Defense Minister Minoru Kihara speaks on July 30 during a parliamentary inquiry into a series of scandals involving the ministry and the Self-Defense Forces.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 6, 2024

The wider international and domestic implications of the SDF scandals

The problems have put the spotlight on Japan’s ability to convince its partners that it’s ready to shoulder a larger security role.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a news conference in the city of Hiroshima on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 6, 2024

Kishida quiet on running in LDP leadership race

The prime minister said that "The coming (LDP) presidential election is very important," and that "An open leadership race is desirable."
Japan's Yuki Ishikawa cheers during the match on Monday.
OLYMPICS / Volleyball
Aug 6, 2024

Heartbreak for Japan's volleyball team after narrow loss to Italy

Japan started off strong, winning the first two sets thanks to rock solid defense, but couldn't close out the Italians.
Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance and three other insurance firms will be issued with cease-and-desist orders by the the Fair Trade Commission for forming a cartel, sources have said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 6, 2024

Japan's FTC to issue orders to four major nonlife insurers in premium cartel

The insurers are said to have started prearranging premiums on contracts for Keisei Electric Railway, in which they shared the risk of covering payments, before 2020.
Kenichiro Fumita celebrates after his win over China's Cao Liguo in their men's Greco-roman 60 kg wrestling final match at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris on Tuesday.
OLYMPICS
Aug 7, 2024

Japan's Kenichiro Fumita wins Greco-Roman gold in 60 kg

Fumita claimed the first wrestling gold of the Paris Olympics by beating Cao Liguo of China, who settled for silver.
Women's park skateboarding gold medalist Arisa Trew of Australia celebrates with silver winner Kokona Hiraki of Japan and bronze medalist Sky Brown of Britain on the podium in Paris on Tuesday.
OLYMPICS / Skateboarding
Aug 7, 2024

Australia's Trew, 14, wins skateboard park gold ahead of Japan's Hiraki

Japan was represented on every level of the Olympic podium, as Trew and British bronze winner Sky Brown both have Japanese mothers.
British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom in Hiroshima on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 7, 2024

British envoy worried about Nagasaki's decision over not inviting Israel to ceremony

British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom has expressed concern that her Israeli counterpart was not invited to a key Nagasaki ceremony.
A lot of female fans of Japan's men's team caught volleyball fever at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where Japan qualified for the quarterfinals for the first time in 29 years.
OLYMPICS / Volleyball
Aug 7, 2024

Tears and broken hearts: Japan's female volleyball fans react to tough Olympic loss

Japan’s fierce love for volleyball has been on display for all the world to see in Paris, but it was not meant to be for the men's team in 2024.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend the Japan-U.S. Extended Deterrence Dialogue in Tokyo on July 28.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 7, 2024

Japan-U.S. alliance transforms with concrete 'two-plus-two' talks

Despite the long and challenging history of Japan-U.S. two-plus-two meetings, this year's Tokyo meeting was truly groundbreaking.
The Japanese figure skaters who competed in the team event at the Beijing Olympics pose for a photo during a ceremony at the Paris Games on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS / Figure skating
Aug 8, 2024

Japan figure skaters finally get medals two years after team event at Beijing Olympics

Japan earned silver in the team competition in Beijing.
Nao Kusaka celebrates with the Japanese flag after his win over Kazakhstan's Demeu Zhadrayev in their men's Greco-Roman 77 kg wrestling final match at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS
Aug 8, 2024

Nao Kusaka wins gold for Japan in Greco-Roman wrestling

Kusaka triumphed in the 77 kg division of men's Greco-Roman wrestling, while teammate Yui Susaki took bronze in the 50 kg women's freestyle.
Japan's food self-sufficiency rate has declined on the back of the country's changing food culture as demand for rice declines.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2024

Japan's food self-sufficiency rate remained stable at 38% in fiscal 2023

The rate has remained stagnant even though the government aims to raise it to 45% by fiscal 2030.
A bulletin board shows the day's highest temperature in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, on July 29.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Aug 8, 2024

From Naha to Nemuro, how Japan’s cities are responding to more heat

Municipalities are reaching for everything from automated misting systems to anime to help cool residents and educate them about the risks of heat.
Japan, once a secondary player in Southeast Asian regional integration, now needs to balance strengthening ties with ASEAN while navigating its position between the U.S. and China.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 8, 2024

Japan takes a soft diplomatic approach to ASEAN ties

Shifting dynamics in Southeast Asia are compelling Japan to carefully navigate its role amid intense U.S.-China competition.
Naoshi Hirata, chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday evening.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2024

Japan issues first-ever alert over risk of Nankai Trough megaquake

It is believed that the chance of a major earthquake occurring in the Nankai Trough is relatively higher than usual, the weather agency said.
Miwa Harimoto competes against Germany during the semifinals of the women's team table tennis event at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
OLYMPICS / Table tennis
Aug 9, 2024

Japan and China set up showdown in women's table tennis team final

Japan's women's team, following the men's devastating loss to Sweden on Wednesday, won its semifinal against a tough Germany team by a 3-1 score.
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Boiling Point
Aug 10, 2024

Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun

There are easily affordable ways to work some more cooling elements into your runs.
Children attend a class at a Brazilian school in Seto, Aichi Prefecture, in April 2020.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 9, 2024

Over 8,500 foreign children in Japan may not be in school, ministry says

The number of such children grew by 418 from a year before, according to a ministry survey of education boards of 1,741 municipalities.
Across Japan, sports fans are sacrificing a good night’s sleep to catch their favorite Olympics events and beloved athletes.
OLYMPICS
Aug 9, 2024

Sleepless in Japan: How to recover from ‘Olympic fever’

The Paris Olympics are just about done, so sleep-deprived sports junkies can take comfort in the fact that they’ll soon be able to get a full night’s rest.
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Explainer
Aug 9, 2024

Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?

How serious is the situation, and what should people do in the days to come? Here’s what you need to know.
Japan's Rei Higuchi (red) wrestles U.S.' Spencer Richard Lee (blue) in their men's freestyle 57-kg wrestling final match at the Champ-de-Mars Arena during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Friday.
OLYMPICS / Wrestling
Aug 10, 2024

Wrestling golds from Higuchi and Sakurai fuel Japan's dominance on mat

Powerhouse Japan claimed two of Friday's three freestyle wrestling gold medals at the Paris Olympics through Rei Higuchi and Tsugumi Sakurai.
Gold medalist Sakura Motoki during the medal ceremony for the Olympic women's 62-kg freestyle event at Champs de Mars Arena in Paris on Saturday.
OLYMPICS / Wrestling
Aug 11, 2024

Sakura Motoki adds to Japan's wrestling gold rush in Paris

Her victory against Ukrainian Iryna Koliadenko in the 62-kg final extended Japan's big lead in the wrestling medal table.
Gold medalists Wang Manyu (left), Sun Yingsha (center) and Chen Meng celebrate on the podium after winning gold in the women's table tennis team event at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
OLYMPICS / Table tennis
Aug 11, 2024

China completes golden sweep of table tennis with women's team win over Japan

China has now won 37 of the 42 golds since table tennis debuted at the Summer Olympics in 1988.
Robert Read (second from left), an executive of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, at a rally held in front of the the Embassy of Denmark in London last week
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2024

Japan will face condemnation if it convicts Sea Shepherd founder, ally says

Founder Paul Watson was placed on an international wanted list in 2010 on suspicion of obstructing Japan's research whaling. Last month, he was detained in Greenland.
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Aug 11, 2024

Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom

For over half a century, Japan has been a sizable buyer of LNG, and its government, banks and energy companies have played a key role in continued investment.
Kotaro Kiyooka celebrates after winning gold in his 65-kg match against Rahman Amouzadkhalili of Iran at Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris on Sunday.
OLYMPICS / Wrestling
Aug 12, 2024

'Lion' king Kiyooka and Kagami underline Japan's mat mastery in Paris

Japan finished its campaign with eight wrestling golds — three more than at Tokyo 2020 — with Iran, Bulgaria and the U.S. all trailing far behind with two apiece.
Yuka Kagami celebrates with her medal after winning the women's 76-kg freestyle wrestling event on the final day of the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
OLYMPICS
Aug 12, 2024

Japan finishes third on medal table after strong showing at Paris Olympics

Japan won 20 gold medals at the Paris Olympics for its best showing at an overseas Games.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a summit in Bangkok in November 2022. Despite Japan-China relations stagnating in recent years, Xi's administration presents some interesting opportunities for an overture between the two countries.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Aug 12, 2024

Will Japan and China’s relations continue to stagnate?

Japan and China have historically been at odds and relations have stagnated. This pattern can be broken by seizing the moment, one that offers some key opportunities.
Takuya Yokota, who leads the Association of Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea, speaks during an event to spread awareness of the abduction issue among junior high school students on Aug. 9 in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 12, 2024

Government ramps up efforts to raise awareness on North Korean abductions

There are concerns that the issue, which has dragged on for decades, is slipping from the public’s awareness, particularly among younger generations.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Aug. 2
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2024

Kishida holds phone talks with Tajik and Turkmen leaders

On the call, Kishida conveyed Japan's continued commitment to strengthening relations with Central Asia and his desire to rearrange his trip to the region.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami