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Muneo Suzuki speaks in Sapporo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 16, 2025

Prodigal Hokkaido son returns to campaign trail for last run in Upper House election

Muneo Suzuki's personality and past actions make him a divisive political figure, but he's teaming up with the Liberal Democratic Party for one final run.
Lilimi found a new home with the Fukuharas in January and settled in immediately, claiming a spot on the couple’s futon.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Jul 17, 2025

Lilimi settles into a new life

In January, a couple from Tokyo with experience caring for elderly and ailing cats took in Lilimi, whose eyes had already begun deteriorating.
Shigeru Ishiba, prime minister and president of the Liberal Democratic Party, gives a campaign speech in Yokohama on July 6.
COMMENTARY / Japan / From Party Leaders
Jul 17, 2025

In uncertain times, Japan needs responsible leadership

As a responsible political party, the LDP is determined to consistently pursue policies that are accountable to future generations.
Since the Sino-U.S. trade conflict began in 2018, China has used it to strengthen self-reliance, sharpen its strategies and turn Donald Trump’s tariffs into fuel for its long-term global resilience. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2025

China is winning Donald Trump’s trade war

While China does not want a trade war or to decouple, it is willing to risk a trade war that the United States may lose — and it would rather decouple than kowtow to Trump.
Solar power more than doubled to 24% of Pakistan's energy mix in the first five months of 2025, becoming the largest source of energy production for the first time.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jul 17, 2025

Pakistan's quiet solar rush puts pressure on national grid

Solar power more than doubled to 24% of Pakistan's energy mix in the first five months of 2025, becoming the largest source of energy production for the first time.
Misa Kimura is the main producer for Kawaii Lab, a project by entertainment agency Asobisystem whose groups have found success by pairing a social media-first strategy with a fresh perspective on traditional idol-pop tropes.
CULTURE
Jul 17, 2025

Kawaii Lab redefines idol pop for the TikTok generation

The idol-pop project's main producer, Misa Kimura — a former idol herself — is giving her performers more control over their image and sound.
A student leaves the secondary school building built by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Francis Kere, in Kere's home village of Gando, Burkina Faso, on June 3, 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 17, 2025

How schools are being built for extreme heat — without air conditioning

With techniques such as cross-ventilation and materials such as clay, architects around the world are adapting schools to climate change without the use of air conditioning.
The Cape Town International Convention Center during the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in South Africa in February. Washington is still seen planning to assume the G20 presidency at the end of the year, which coincides with the 250th anniversary of the United States.
WORLD
Jul 18, 2025

U.S. eyes 'back to basics' revamp of G20 when it assumes presidency next year

Washington has scaled back its participation this year, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent skipping a G20 event twice this year so far.
Fukoku Life Insurance has raised its local bond purchase target for the current fiscal year to several hundred billion yen from the initially planned ¥30 billion, and is focusing on Japanese government debt to capitalize on higher super-long-term interest rates.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2025

Fukoku Life plans to step up Japanese government bond purchases

The insurer's plan to purchase more Japanese super-long bonds comes amid concerns a defeat for the ruling coalition in the Upper House election may lead to looser fiscal policy.
A member of staff works on a production line that manufactures small metal coils at Mitsuwa Electric in Tokyo on July 11.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2025

Japan's smaller firms say they are ready to adapt to Trump tariffs

Millions of small- and medium-sized firms that make up 99.7% of Japan's companies are world-class in their specialist niche, giving rise to confidence about weathering tariffs.
You don't need an oven to make Kenji Morimoto's easy and delicious Miso Sticky Toffee Crepe Cake.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 20, 2025

In microbes we trust: Embracing the nature of fermented food

With simple, fuss-free recipes, Kenji Morimoto's debut cookbook effortlessly guides home cooks into the unpredictable but rewarding world of fermentation.
The No. 2 (left) and No. 1 reactor buildings stand at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Ohi nuclear power station in Ohi Town, Fukui Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 19, 2025

Kansai Electric eyes next-generation reactor at plant in Fukui Prefecture

This is the first concrete move toward building a new reactor in the country since the March 2011 disaster.
Yukihiro Kaneko, a Panasonic research officer, shows a perovskite panel, through which the background can been seen, during an interview in Tokyo.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 20, 2025

Japan sees bright future for ultrathin and flexible solar panels

The government is offering generous incentives in order to reach Japan's target of having renewable energy cover up to 50% of electricity demand by 2040.
Temporary shelters for abused or at-risk children in Japan's major cities are overwhelmed, as staff shortages and prolonged stays strain the child welfare system.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2025

Temporary child protection facilities in major cities hit capacity as staff shortages deepen

Extended stays by children who have nowhere else to go also compound the problem.
Polymetallic nodules — bulbous lumps of rock that are rich in battery metals such as cobalt and nickel which carpet huge tracts of Pacific Ocean seabed — in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands on June 12.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 22, 2025

Trump’s critical minerals obsession reignites deep-sea mining

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order expediting U.S. licensing of seabed mining, departing from international law.
The Dragon Bravo Fire burns on the northern rim of the Grand Canyon as seen from Grandeur Point on the southern rim, in Arizona, on July 14.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 22, 2025

Trump staff cuts force firefighters to clean toilets, critics say

The U.S. is grappling with decade-high wildfire numbers this year.
Kansai Electric Power Company's Mihama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2025

Kepco to build Japan’s first new nuclear reactor since Fukushima meltdown

Kepco’s plan for a new reactor comes after the government adopted the Seventh Strategic Energy Plan in February, declaring policies to maximize the use of nuclear power.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to London earlier this month to meet with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer shows how a changing Europe and shifting global threats could let Britain move past Brexit and help shape a new European security order.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2025

Britain and Europe are changing together

Britain can help shape the continent’s new security order, so long as it banishes the Brexit mindset.
Marine biologist Teina Rongo on his boat passing the research vessel MV Anuanua Moana in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, on June 12. Mining exploration has left many Cook Islanders such as Rongo fearing deep-sea mining could taint their precious ocean forever.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 23, 2025

The Pacific island nation that wants to mine the ocean floor

Research vessels roam the seas around the Cook Islands in search of deposits of battery metals, rare earths and critical minerals.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission took an administrative step against Visa Worldwide for the first time ever following its investigation into a suspected violation of the antimonopoly law by the firm.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 23, 2025

JFTC gives OK to Visa Worldwide's business improvement plan

After investigating a suspected antimonopoly law violation, the JFTC concluded that swiftly executing proposed measures by Visa Worldwide would restore a competitive environment.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas attends a meeting in Brussels on July 14.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 23, 2025

China singled out at EU-Japan summit

The two sides reiterated their opposition to “any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion” in the East and South China seas.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas speaks to The Japan Times at Europa House in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Wednesday, ahead of an EU-Japan summit.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 23, 2025

EU and Japan aim for deeper defense cooperation in high-tech arena

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says she sees "a lot of room for cooperation" with Tokyo, particularly in technology-driven areas.
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures after signing executive orders in Washington on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2025

Trump says Tokyo agreed to buy U.S. defense gear, but questions remain

Touting the surprise trade agreement with Japan, the U.S. president claimed that Tokyo agreed to buy billions of dollars in defense equipment.
It is recommended that screen time for children should be kept to under two hours a day.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 24, 2025

Study first, screens later: Japanese kids have summer projects to do

From book reports to free research, parents are helping kids build good habits — and grammar — over summer break.
Government Pension Investment Fund President Kazuto Uchida says there is no need to change the fund's portfolio even after a trade deal was reached between Japan and the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 25, 2025

Japan’s top pension fund keeps strategy amid volatility

As it seeks to ride out the turmoil, the Government Pension Investment Fund aims to enhance portfolio rebalancing with futures and analyze correlations between different assets.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday in Washington, the day after he agreed to an 11th-hour trade deal with Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 24, 2025

Big unanswered questions follow Japan's big, beautiful deal with the U.S.

The $550 billion investment plan, in particular, is the subject of doubt and discussion.
An explosion in the Gaza Strip is seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 25, 2025

Blaming Hamas, U.S. and Israel recall teams from Gaza truce talks

It was the latest setback in efforts to bring a ceasefire to the Gaza Strip, as both Israel and Hamas face pressure at home and abroad to reach a deal.
Hulk Hogan tears his shirt during a rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, at Madison Square Garden, in New York City on Oct. 27, 2024.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 25, 2025

Hulk Hogan, shirt-shredding superstar of pro wrestling, dies at 71

Hogan was the face of pro wrestling for decades, with his blond hair and horseshoe mustache, colorful bandannas and massive biceps, which he referred to as "24-inch pythons.”
Bank of Japan officials view the trade deal with the U.S. as reducing a key source of uncertainty for Japan’s economy and businesses, allowing the central bank to focus on monitoring the tariffs’ actual impact in incoming economic data, according to people familiar with the matter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 25, 2025

BOJ is said to see potential rate hike environment this year

Assuming there’s no change to the U.S. tariff deal, the central bank will likely have enough data by the end of the year to be able to consider whether a rate hike is appropriate.
Japan’s ruling coalition is weakening as rising populist parties like Sanseito gain support, raising concerns that Japan could shift toward unstable multiparty coalition politics similar to Israel’s fragmented Knesset.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 25, 2025

Is Japan drifting toward fragmented and ineffective politics?

In a system with many small parties, even minor players can hold the balance of power in forming coalitions.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’