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Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 17, 2021

Sorry folks, Kei Komuro is no Meghan Markle

The situation surrounding the pending marriage of Princess Mako to Kei Komuro is entirely different to those facing the British royals.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 9, 2021

Likely legal, ‘vaccine passports’ emerge as the next coronavirus divide in U.S.

Around the U.S., businesses, schools and politicians are considering 'vaccine passports” as a path to reviving the economy and getting Americans back to work and play.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 3, 2021

U.S., Japan and South Korea agree to keep up pressure on North Korea

The top security officials from the three countries reaffirmed their commitment to address the North Korean nuclear issue 'through concerted trilateral cooperation towards denuclearization.'
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 2, 2021

U.S. seeks to get allies 'on same page' on North Korea as policy review ends

While U.S. officials have remained mum on details of the review, Biden has put a heavy emphasis on the importance of working with allies to help craft the strategy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 12, 2021

Beijing already using information warfare with Biden team

Whatever the reason, China was clever enough to take advantage of the omission of one-China discussions in the U.S. readout to make the narrative conform to their interests.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 27, 2021

U.S. watchdog to probe whether DOJ helped Trump effort to overturn election

The inquiry adds to the increasing scrutiny on Trump's attempts to wield the power of the Justice Department to advance his false claims about the election.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 24, 2021

The art of 'leaking' in the Japanese government

Leaks do not have to be true — they just have to be perceived as factual by the individuals reporting them.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 19, 2021

Vaccination minister: Reward or punishment for Taro Kono?

Only the prime minister and the highest level of LDP executives know for sure the motivations behind tapping Kono as the minister in charge of the COVID-19 vaccinations.
Associated Press photographer Alex Brandon is denied access to the White House "press pool" as journalists move to U.S. President Donald Trump's motorcade at the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 9, 2025

Judge lifts Trump White House restrictions on AP while lawsuit proceeds

The White House imposed restrictions on the Associated Press over the news agency’s decision to continue to refer to the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his “madman theory” won’t get Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei to scrap his nuclear program.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2025

Why should Iran believe anything the U.S. threatens or promises?

The Iranians — like the Russians — are notoriously shifty negotiators. But so are the Americans, now that they’re led by Trump.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass speaks to reporters on Friday in Tokyo just after he arrived at Haneda Airport.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2025

New U.S. envoy arrives in Japan with focus on trade, defense and reining in China

Ambassador George Glass said Washington will aim to deepen cooperation with Tokyo on pushing back against China's economic and military moves.
Takaaki Nezu, executive director of Maruto Group Holdings, says it is the company’s social responsibility to help tackle the falling birth rate.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
May 5, 2025

Fukushima firms seek ways to encourage marriages

One supermarket chain has said such moves reflect a corporate responsibility to tackle the nation’s chronically low birth rate.
Indian paramilitary troopers stand guard in Srinagar, in India-administered Jammu and Kahsmir, on Wednesday following a terrorist attack near the Kashmiri mountain resort of Pahalgam. According to Pakistani officials, New Delhi is preparing a military response.
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2025

India-Pakistan ties on the brink after Kashmir attack

New Delhi has downgraded ties with Pakistan in response to the Kashmir terror attack. But what could really bite is the suspension of a water treaty and possible military action.
The Trump administration has launched a full-scale federal "plastic patriotism" effort to eliminate paper straws, arguing they are ineffective, hazardous, more expensive and become soggy.
COMMENTARY / World
May 6, 2025

A world restored: The U.S. takes the offensive against paper straws

The Trump team has issued an executive order and a national strategy to rid the country of the pulpy, soggy mess of paper straws that torments too many of America's citizens.
Shinzo Abe, then the Chief Cabinet Secretary, shakes hands with former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage during a symposium in Tokyo in July 2006.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 9, 2025

Remembering two titans in Japan-U.S. relations

Their good humor, unflagging optimism and commitment to building a stronger Japan-U.S. alliance continues to shape that partnership.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping joins Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders at a ceremony at the Kremlin’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2025

Beijing talks peace in Ukraine while aiding Putin’s war

China benefits strategically as long as the war stays within Ukraine, the nuclear risk remains low and its “unlimited partner,” Russia, does not lose.
Nissan's Oliver Rowland races to victory at the Tokyo E-Prix on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
May 18, 2025

Oliver Rowland’s ‘dream’ Formula E season continues as Nissan driver wins in Tokyo

The win gives Rowland an iron grip on the championship trophy.
Shipping containers in Oakland, California, on May 12
WORLD
May 20, 2025

Even on nontariff issues G7 finance leaders may still face U.S. pushback

A source briefed on U.S. positions in the talks in Canada has said that any consensus needs to align with Trump administration priorities.
The white-tailed eagle's wintering grounds include Hokkaido, northern Honshu, the Russian coast, the southern Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
May 26, 2025

Eagle nest discovery sparks opposition to megasolar project

Groups want to put a stop to the project near eastern Hokkaido's Kushiro Wetlands National Park.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 13. Trump’s coercive use of trade threats against India during the Pakistan military crisis has undermined trust in the U.S.-India partnership and exposed Washington as an unreliable security ally.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 21, 2025

Trump’s wake-up call for India’s foreign policy

Trump may have done India a favor. His actions have exposed an uncomfortable truth: Under his leadership, the U.S. is not a dependable partner in matters of security.
Agriculture minister Taku Eto answers reporters questions at the at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 21, 2025

Why Ishiba pulled a 180 on the gaffe-stricken farm minister

Taku Eto is the first minister to fall since the Japanese leader formed his Cabinet last October
Participants crouch and take cover inside the Toei Subway Higashi-Nakano Station as part of a civil protection drill simulating the launch of a ballistic missile, held on Jan. 15 in Tokyo's Nakano Ward.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 27, 2025

Hurdles remain for securing missile shelters in Japan

Government carries out first large-scale survey to identify more potential evacuation sites.
Elon Musk looks on during a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Saturday. Musk has dubbed Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill as a "disgusting abomination."
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2025

Trump's 'big, beautiful bill?' Musk calls it a 'disgusting abomination.'

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO says the U.S. president's sweeping tax and spending bill will increase the federal deficit.
Afghan refugees queue outside a distribution and donation center in New Jersey in December 2021. U.S. President Donald Trump's second-term travel ban covers 12 countries, including Afghanistan.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 5, 2025

Trump signs travel ban for 12 countries including Afghanistan

The move is the latest step in what has been a sweeping immigration agenda aimed at cracking down on undocumented migration.
Descendents of the original "Gonin Byakushō" families are the only vendors allowed inside the gates of Kotohira Shrine, where they sell "kamiyoame," a golden-hued, yuzu-flavored candy meant for good fortune.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 7, 2025

At a mountainside shrine, yuzu candy made by imperial decree

Located in the mountains of western Kagawa Prefecture, Kotohira has yet to suffer — or benefit — from Japan’s overtourism rush.
At modern French restaurant Crony, sommelier Kazutaka Ozawa impresses guests with his thoughtful wine pairings.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Jun 15, 2025

Kazutaka Ozawa: ‘The best wine is the one that brings you joy'

The oenophile, who recently earned the title of Asia’s Best Sommelier, shares his thoughts on domestic sips and Tokyo’s vino trends.
Smoke billows from a site in the city of Haifa, Israel, on Monday, following a fresh barrage of Iranian missiles.
WORLD
Jun 16, 2025

Iran lauds 'new method' as missiles hit Israel's Tel Aviv and Haifa

Iranian missiles struck the two large cities on Monday, fueling concerns that ongoing battles between the two archenemies could lead to a broader regional conflict.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan