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Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 7, 2022

The Church, the State and Kishida's headache

Kanako Takahara joins this week's Deep Dive to discuss what's behind a new bill regulating faith-driven donations.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 23, 2022

Liz Truss’s 44 days in office net her a £115,000 yearly stipend for life

The money isn't for private use, but rather to help pay for the additional costs, like staffing, faced by former prime ministers after being in 'public life.”
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 5, 2022

Disapproval rate for Kishida rises amid mounting problems

A Yomiuri Shimbun poll found that the Cabinet disapproval rating had topped 40% for the first time and now stood at 41%, up 7 percentage points from the previous poll in early August.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2022

Government lists 'disruptive acts' under security-linked land law

Among the acts listed are laser irradiation, radio jamming and erecting structures that may obstruct the landing and takeoff of Self-Defense Forces aircraft.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 9, 2022

Inside the week of Boris Johnson’s downfall

The populist and chaotic leader was a hero for millions of Brexit voters but he ultimately succumbed to a deluge of scandals of his own creation as his most senior ministers turned on him.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Jul 2, 2022

Japan Times 1947: National Diet holds first ‘free debate’

An economic white paper was discussed in the Lower House in July 1947 when a “free debate” was held for the first time in Japan's parliamentary history.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 15, 2022

Fruitful parliament session for Kishida ends with some grumbles at the margins

Kishida's first session as prime minister saw a popular stance on Ukraine and a 100% record on bills passed, but inflation and a re-emerging reputation for indecision present some worries.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 9, 2022

Brothers at odds, but ruling family still holds key to Sri Lanka's future

Two brothers who had dominated Sri Lanka's politics for nearly 20 years have gone their separate ways.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2021

Johnson’s Brexit chief quits in another blow to U.K. leader

The departure of such a pivotal figure in Johnson's sphere comes on the heels of greater restrictions — including vaccine passports — to combat the spread of the omicron variant.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2021

Should Tokyo boycott the Beijing Olympic Games?

The Japanese government reportedly will refrain from sending a Cabinet minister to the Winter Olympics in Beijing. But that decision has yet to be reached.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 10, 2021

With momentum on his side, Kishida ready to roll out key policies on COVID-19 and economy

While Wednesday's legislative session to re-elect Kishida might have appeared to be ceremonial, one thing is clear: He is now on a much more solid footing within the LDP.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 11, 2021

Opposition presses Kishida on COVID-19 and economic policy in Diet questioning

With an eye on the upcoming Lower House election, CDP leader Yukio Edano mixed his attacks on the new prime minister with counterproposals of his own.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2021

Japan faces a rapidly changing Indo-Pacific strategic environment

Tokyo has witnessed several significant political, economic and military developments over the past month following the full withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
JAPAN / Politics / The LDP's game of thrones
Sep 9, 2021

The LDP's outspoken 'maverick' steps up to fight for the party's top spot

Cosmopolitan and media savvy, Taro Kono is a reformist but has his share of liabilities.
JAPAN / Politics / The LDP's game of thrones
Sep 8, 2021

Fumio Kishida steps into the ring for the second time in a year

Routinely derided by his critics, the former foreign minister may prove to have more moxie than some would expect in the party leadership race.
JAPAN / Politics / First Person
Sep 5, 2021

A behind-the-scenes look at Suga’s shocking decision to quit the LDP race

Even to his inner circle, the prime minister had not disclosed his intent to quit the presidential race until just before the news broke.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 2, 2021

LDP leadership fight intensifies as Suga rival outlines COVID-19 plans

The former foreign minister backs enhanced PCR testing and electronic 'vaccine passports,' among other measures, while Suga is looking to tap the popularity of Japan's environment minister.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 21, 2021

New Malaysian prime minister brings old guard back as pandemic concerns rise

The swearing in of Ismail Sabri Yaakob caps weeks of political upheaval, which pushed former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to resign over the handling of the pandemic.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 7, 2021

Let them eat pancakes: A new film looks at Yoshihide Suga's brand of politicking

Producer Mitsunobu Kawamura hopes that a new political documentary, 'Tasting the Pancake for Poison,' will entice younger voters to take part in the upcoming election.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 16, 2021

The LDP loses a heavyweight

Factions matter in the LDP because they are critical for selecting who becomes the party president and hence who becomes prime minister.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Thursday in Washington.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 16, 2025

Trump calls the U.S.-Japan alliance ‘one-sided.’ Tokyo says otherwise.

Some observers believe the U.S. president’s worldview is stuck in the 1980s, a time when trade deficits with Japan captured the attention of U.S. policymakers.
Indian security forces personnel escort an ambulance carrying the bodies of tourists who were killed in a suspected militant attack near Pahalgam, outside the police control room in Srinagar, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 24, 2025

India downgrades ties with Pakistan after attack on Kashmir tourists kills 26

The dead included 25 Indians and one Nepalese national, and at least 17 people were also injured in the worst attack on civilians in decades.
AI-generated content — including those made using pictures of real people, which are known as “deepfakes” — is not explicitly covered under Japan's current legal framework, nor are human-drawn illustrations that depict child abuse.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Apr 27, 2025

Japan struggles with gray zone of AI deepfakes exploiting children

AI-generated content is not explicitly covered under the country's legal framework, nor are human-drawn illustrations that depict child abuse.
U.S. President Donald Trump faces the enormous challenge of implementing the cavalcade of executive orders he has enacted.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

‘Welcome to the Thunderdome’: Inside the dizzying start of Trump 2.0

The administration's breakneck speed is both one of the administration’s most effective tools and most glaring vulnerabilities.
Tesla, SpaceX and X CEO Elon Musk looks on ahead of the inauguration ceremony where Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. President in Washington on Jan. 20.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 29, 2025

Musk lays groundwork for midterms donor role as time with DOGE ends

Musk views his money and his social media platform X as potentially more powerful political tools than his time inside the government.
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.

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