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Lekh Juneja, chairman and CEO of Kameda Seika, at the company's headquarters in the city of Niigata in August
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 15, 2024

Indian-born CEO of Japanese company says nation needs immigration to thrive

Japan has very few foreign-born CEOs, and boardrooms are overwhelmingly male.
Environmental activist Paul Watson waves after getting released from prison in Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2024

Japan 'regrets' release of anti-whaling activist Paul Watson

The 74-year-old Canadian-American activist was released after Copenhagen turned down Tokyo's request to bring him to Japan.
A trailer transports Nissan’s NV200 Venette minivans in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 21, 2025

Nissan to end production of compact van as Honda rescue looms

Manufacturing unit Nissan Shatai hasn’t made any decisions on job cuts, a Nissan spokesperson said.
Technicians at work in the clean room of a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Ibaraki Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 1, 2025

Japan plans to curb exports of chips and quantum-computing tech

The government is expanding its list of export-controlled items to include advanced chips, lithography equipment and cryocoolers needed for the manufacture of quantum computers.
Created by a Hokkaido workshop, this Camembert represents the vanguard of Japanese cheeses no longer content with a reputation as low-quality, processed slices.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 16, 2025

Fresh off awards, Japanese cheese seeks a taste ‘unique to this land’

A growing number of Japanese cheesemakers are gaining international recognition, and some are aiming for a new frontier of flavor.
A sign shows directions to a public toilet. Saitama police have arrested a nursery school director for urinating in a student’s water bottle.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2025

Saitama nursery school staff arrested for urinating in student's water bottle

School director Toshifumi Miura, 24, said he was “trying to scare the boy into obeying” him.
The ignition button of a Hon Hai Precision Industry Foxtron Model N electric vehicle
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 21, 2025

Hon Hai gets first major EV-making client in Mitsubishi Motors

It is unclear when production will actually start, but the first cars to roll off the assembly line would target Australia and New Zealand.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi during a news conference on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 25, 2025

Ishiba plans price measures through existing budgets

While no new spending appears to be planned, Ishiba’s comments on the price measures likely had the upcoming summer general election in mind.
A Chinese Navy missile frigate. Beijing has been ramping up efforts to project power in the Indo-Pacific region.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 27, 2025

Xi tests U.S. allies in Indo-Pacific as Trump looks elsewhere

From sending warships off Australia’s coast to putting pressure on Thailand over human rights, Beijing is ramping up efforts to project power.
Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Apr 11, 2025

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

On a man-made island in Osaka Bay, Japan stages a grand vision of the future — and a quiet test of relevance.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks during the opening ceremony of the 2025 Osaka Expo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 14, 2025

As Osaka Expo kicks off, Nippon Ishin continues to hold its breath

The Kansai-centered opposition party has a lot to lose if the six-month event being held in its stronghold turns out to be a flop.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Kenyan President William Ruto attend a welcome ceremony at The Great Hall of The People on April 24 in Beijing.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 30, 2025

Xi is trying to turn world against U.S. as Trump cuts deals

Chinese officials are racing to turn foreign governments against the U.S.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (right) stands alongside his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh, during a ceremonial reception in New Delhi on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 6, 2025

Japan and India to set up new consultation defense cooperation framework

The two countries' defense chiefs have also agreed on a plan to look at how Japan can help India develop fighter jets and tanks, including by exporting engines.
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi visits a supermarket to check the prices of rice on Friday in Koto.
JAPAN
May 26, 2025

Bags of rice at half price will hit stores by early June, Koizumi says

With necessary costs added on, a 5-kilogram bag of rice is set to cost ¥2,160 at retailers in June.
Honda will provide a fleet of cars for athletes, officials and stakeholders, along with motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and other multipurpose vehicles during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 3, 2025

Honda joins 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games as major partner

The carmaker will provide a fleet of cars for athletes, officials and stakeholders, along with motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and other multipurpose vehicles during the event.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to the media as he inspects a warehouse storing stockpiled rice in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 30.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 6, 2025

From ridicule to redemption: Rice crisis returns Koizumi to the spotlight

The lawmaker, sometimes said to be long on image and short on substance, has won praise for bringing down the price of rice.
Junto Nakatani celebrates after defeating Ryosuke Nishida to unify the WBC and IBF bantamweight titles at Ariake Coliseum on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Jun 9, 2025

Junto Nakatani remains on collision course with Naoya Inoue after latest win

Nakatani will have to move to a higher weight class to challenge Inoue.
Kazuyoshi Miura takes part in a training session for Yokohama FC in Yokohama, Japan on March 21, 2017.
SOCCER
Jun 16, 2025

Japan's 'King Kazu' wants more after first appearance of 40th season

The former international forward, who turned 58 in February, came on as a late substitute in Atletico Suzuka's 2-1 win over YSCC Yokohama on Sunday.
Kaori Sakamoto earned the silver medal at the world championships in Boston on March 28. Sakamoto is a three-time world champion.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Jun 20, 2025

Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto to retire after 2026 Winter Olympics

Sakamoto, who won bronze at the 2022 Winter Olympics, missed out on a fourth straight world title in March when she finished runner-up to American Alysa Liu.
Lexus GX 550 SUV is displayed at the New York International Auto Show in New York in March last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 21, 2025

Toyota to raise U.S. auto prices by more than $200 from July

Some Toyota- and Lexus-branded models will see their prices raised by an average of $270 and $208, respectively.
Arisa Trew understands both sides of the debate around the introduction of a minimum age limit for World Skateboarding Tour events.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 23, 2025

World Skate puts brakes on skateboarding's preteen movement with new age limits

The minimum age of 11 this year will be raised one year each in 2026, 2027 and 2028 so that when the LA Olympics roll around in 2028, the minimum age will be 14.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday. Inflation in Tokyo slowed in June for the first time in four months as a result of government steps to reduce utility and gasoline prices.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2025

Measures to ease inflation must be speedy, says Prime Minister Ishiba

Ishiba has opposed lowering the sales tax ahead of an Upper House election where voters will vote on the performance of his minority government.
Nissan will begin talks this week to seek job cuts at its Sunderland plant in Britain.
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2025

Nissan says it will seek voluntary job cuts at U.K. plant

Nissan said the move was aimed at increasing the efficiency of the Sunderland plant in northeastern England to make it a "leaner, more flexible" operation.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in June.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 2, 2025

Japan’s record tax haul leaves questions over Ishiba’s handout pledge

Ishiba’s plan to distribute cash handouts of ¥20,000 per adult is expected to cost around ¥3.5 trillion, according to his Liberal Democratic Party.
The museum's curators selected a wide array of works from the archives for the milestone exhibitions. Among other photos, Nobuyoshi Araki's work from the series "Winter Journey" (1990) was included in the "Continuity and Change" exhibition that concluded in June.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 11, 2025

Rare vintage shots and first-time shows at TOP’s 30th anniversary

The 2025 schedule includes two exhibitions showcasing the museum’s permanent collection and three solo shows that focus on the work of Takano Ryudai, Luigi Ghirri and Pedro Costa.
Astellas Pharma's headquarters in Tokyo
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 16, 2025

Chinese court jails Japanese executive after sudden detention for spying

The convicted man, an executive of Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma, was detained in March 2023 and charged with espionage in October of that year.
People vote during Japan's Upper House election at a polling station in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 20, 2025

Polls open for key Upper House election that could shake Japanese politics

A variety of scenarios await the country should the ruling coalition lose its majority in the Upper House — from an enlarged coalition to an opposition-led government.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 26, 2025

'#Ishiba don't quit': Unlikely support grows for embattled PM

Despite Ishiba insisting that he has not discussed his resignation with members of his Liberal Democratic Party, multiple reports say that it is just a matter of time.
The proposed hike in the national average minimum wage to about ¥1,118 ($7.43) per hour would exceed last year's increase of 5% and be the largest since the current system began.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2025

Japan plans another record minimum wage hike, says report

The proposed hike, to about ¥1,118 per hour, would exceed last year's increase of 5%.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past