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Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in Pyongyang in June 2024. Moscow has ditched its historic hostility to North Korea's nuclear program, a clear sign of Russia's scramble for allies amid its international isolation.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2025

It’s time to flip Russia’s script on North Korean nukes

Countries who want deterrence and stability must stop Russia from influencing perceptions of North Korea's nuclear program — one that, in an about-face, Moscow now supports.
A signed picture by photographer Joe Rosenthal of U.S. Marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima is shown as part of a display at the new National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia, in November 2006.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 19, 2025

‘DEI’ purge prompts Pentagon to remove webpage on Iwo Jima flag-raiser

The Pentagon said that the page and others, which were removed under the Trump administration’s wide-ranging crackdown on diversity measures, were being restored.
A large Canadian flag hangs on the front of the Manitoba Legislative Building in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on March 5.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 25, 2025

China and India could seek to meddle in April 28 election, Canada says

Hostile state actors are seen increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence to meddle in elections, the country's spy service said.
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 27, 2025

Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs

Tokyo so far has failed on multiple occasions to persuade the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to exempt Japan from new tariffs.
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 29, 2025

Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air

Linking mountainous Matsumoto and coastal Kanazawa, this clunkily named route includes nonetheless fantastic sites.
The Tokyo National Museum’s garden is open to the public in springtime, when 10 different varieties of cherry trees are blooming.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 28, 2025

Cherry blossom-themed art to see this weekend in Tokyo

With the cherry blossoms’ ephemeral beauty immortalized in art and literature for centuries, there's plenty of artworks to gaze upon on rainy days.
How Fuji TV responds to the results of a third-party probe will be crucial to restoring public trust — and could determine whether sponsors, whose TV ads are the company's main source of revenue, choose to return.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2025

Fuji TV returns to spotlight as deadline for scandal probe looms

How Fuji TV responds to the report will be crucial to restoring public trust — and could determine whether sponsors choose to return.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani pose for a photo on Ioto, the far-flung Japanese island known widely as Iwo Jima, on Saturday for an event honoring those who died in bloody fighting there 80 years ago during World War II.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 29, 2025

Pentagon chief joins war memorial ceremony on first visit to Japan

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the alliance with Japan key to peace in the region, a view he said “will continue.”
Moore has seen firsthand the powerful impact that a Montessori learning environment has on students-including his own children.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Mar 31, 2025

Montessori head educates Tokyo’s children for life

British James Moore’s next goal is method’s first high school in Japan
A worker cuts Inada granite, which is used in various buildings in Tokyo.
ESG CONSORTIUM
Apr 1, 2025

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

In 2024, the Tsukuba massif granite of the Mt. Tsukuba Area Geopark was certified by the International Union of Geological Sciences as one of the first 55 IUGS Heritage Stones, which have been “used in significant architecture and monuments” and “recognized as integral aspects of human culture.”...
Lawyer Akira Takeuchi (center), the head of a third-party panel commissioned by Fuji TV to investigate a series of scandals at the broadcaster, fields questions along with other panel members at a news conference on Monday in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
JAPAN / Media / FOCUS
Apr 1, 2025

What the Fuji TV third-party probe uncovered

The panel concluded that TV personality Masahiro Nakai committed "sexual violence" against a female newscaster and that there is a culture of harassment at the broadcaster.
A trio of former schoolmates (from left: Hana Sugisaki, Kaya Kiyohara and Suzu Hirose) share a mysterious bond in “Unreachable.”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 3, 2025

‘Unreachable’: An attractive but half-baked fantasy

The combined talents of Suzu Hirose, Hana Sugisaki and Kaya Kiyohara can’t save this flimsy fantasy drama.
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 3, 2025

Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs

The duty rate for Japanese products is the "worst among the scenarios that had been imagined" by the market.
Yuki Tsunoda wears his special kabuki-themed helmet on Thursday ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 3, 2025

Five drivers to watch at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix

From Lewis Hamilton to Yuki Tsunoda, here are five of the drivers to keep an extra close eye at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 6, 2025

Clinical Verstappen caps final home race for Red Bull-Honda with a win

The victory was the Dutch star’s fourth straight at Suzuka Circuit, while Red Bull debutant Yuki Tsunoda finished back in 12th.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks during a news conference at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels last week.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 7, 2025

With focus on ‘projecting power,’ NATO eyes greater Indo-Pacific role

NATO chief Mark Rutte expects the alliance to ramp up its engagement in the strategically important region as threats become increasingly interconnected.
Nippon Steel’s proposal to buy U.S. Steel is being given a second national security review by U.S. President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 8, 2025

Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel to get new national security review

The order for a second review came after a call between Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba over the tariffs.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks during a forum at Keio University in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 9, 2025

NATO chief calls on allies and partners to ‘outproduce and outpace’ rivals

In Tokyo on Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte called on members of the alliance and its four Indo-Pacific partners to work more closely together.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House in February
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 11, 2025

Trump calls U.S.-Japan alliance ‘one-sided’ as nations prepare for tariff talks

The U.S. president's remarks rekindled fears that he might use the talks to ask Tokyo to pay more for hosting troops, buy more weapons or further boost defense spending.
While Unzen Onsen's "hells" can be visually striking, locals describe them and their effects as "a source of emotional healing."
LIFE / Travel
Apr 12, 2025

Heaven from hells: The sulfuric pleasure of Unzen Onsen

Located deep within Kyushu’s Shimabara Peninsula, this hot spring town offers dramatic scenery worth the effort it takes to get there.
At many prominent Chinese universities, there are more graduate than undergraduate students. While a high level of educational attainment is seen as a measure to contrast youth unemployment, it may be compounding the problem instead.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 11, 2025

Is China overproducing highly qualified talent?

Chinese universities are investing heavily in graduate education, but burgeoning ranks of highly qualified job seekers are struggling to find work and increasingly looking abroad.
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, well regarded in Tokyo as a leading voice in the promotion of U.S.-Japan ties, has died at the age of 79.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 15, 2025

Richard Armitage, ex-U.S. diplomat known for boosting Japan ties, dies at 79

He was a leading voice in the promotion of U.S.-Japan relations even after leaving government service.
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.
Canada is standing up to American tariffs and territorial threats. The “Buy Canadian” movement has erupted and the country is brimming with expressions of patriotic zeal that are reshuffling the deck in an upcoming election for the next prime minister.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2025

Is this Canada’s moment?

Washington's tariffs and territorial threats have ignited Canadian unity and resolve, reshaping the upcoming vote to choose who will lead Ottawa through the geopolitical storm.
Pope Francis waves to the crowd during his trip to Nagasaki Prefecture in November 2019.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 22, 2025

Japan joins world in mourning death of Pope Francis

Leaders commended the pontiff’s lifelong efforts in delivering the message of peace, which included a trip to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Of the 721,000 childbirths reported in 2024 in Japan, 13.8% involved the use of an epidural, according to the Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 22, 2025

Cases of epidural use in labor rise in Japan alongside concerns

More demand for epidurals may place a strain on the nation's anesthesiologists, who are already facing staffing shortages.
A restaurant owner pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2025

Japan weighs using U.S. rice imports as tariff negotiation tool with Trump

The government hopes an import quota will give them more cards to play in tariff negotiations with the U.S.
As in other cultures, when someone shares bad news in Japanese it’s best to respond with supportive words.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 26, 2025

How to bring up bad news in Japanese

A few grammatical structures can help you talk about being sick, but set phrases will come in handy when the illness is more severe.
John Phelan at a Senate confirmation hearing for U.S. secretary of the navy in Washington in February
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 28, 2025

U.S. secretary of the navy weighs ‘dual-use’ shipbuilding with Japan

Washington’s idea appears to be aimed at attracting investment from allies to strengthen the U.S. shipbuilding industry and start closing the gap with Beijing.
Shohei Ohtani and Mamiko Tanaka announced the birth of their first child on April 19.
BASEBALL
Apr 28, 2025

Shohei Ohtani's example could change Japan's views on paternity leave

The Dodgers star went on MLB’s paternity list for the birth of his daughter. MLB is the only major North American sports league that guarantees paternity leave to its players.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan