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August 21, 2025
 

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FOCUS

Yoshihiko Noda, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (center) attends a Lower House session on Aug. 1. The former prime minister has signaled he’s ready to take his conciliatory approach to the government to new heights, hinting that the time for clashes with the Liberal Democratic Party is over.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2025
CDP softens stance toward LDP in bid to bolster political center
“Right-wing populism has grown too strong,” CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda said. “Unless the center gains more strength, Japanese politics won’t improve.”
Students visit the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park in late April. Attitudes in Japan are shifting away from the traditional pacifist views that have held sway since the end of World War II.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2025
Trump shock spurs Japan to think about the unthinkable: nuclear arms
There is a growing willingness to loosen the country’s decades-old pledge not to produce, possess or host nuclear weapons in its territory.
The My Number health insurance card enables online verification of a patient's eligibility via card readers installed at medical institutions.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2025
My Number health insurance card uptake remains persistently low
Confusion and doubts over the new system have stalled the government's push to digitalize medical records and services.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) and Finnish President Alexander Stubb (right) look on as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with European leaders in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 19, 2025
Zelenskyy and his allies turn on charm to keep Trump’s favor
Anxious to avoid another disastrous meeting, the Ukrainian leader repeatedly thanked Trump and wore a black jacket and buttoned-up black dress shirt. He also brought backup.
The Bank of Japan maintains a wait-and-see approach as calls grow for it to raise rates.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Aug 19, 2025
Bank of Japan encouraged to increase rates soon, before it’s too late
Business and political leaders argue that inflation is too high and must be brought under control soon.
Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump participate in a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 19, 2025
Well-mannered White House welcome for Ukraine leaves many questions
There were no immediate signs that any party had substantially changed their positions on land swaps, security guarantees or sanctions as ways of resolving the war in Ukraine.
The area around Shibuya Station in Tokyo. After the end of World War II, population concentration in the capital accelerated while other parts of Japan continue to see population declines.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 18, 2025
80 years on: Tokyo prospers while local revitalization still insufficient
Experts stress the importance of setting up a system in which industrial resources are circulated locally in order to create a sustainable society.
Nissan workers walk outside its Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. Nissan plans to shut the plant by the end of fiscal 2027.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Aug 18, 2025
A factory town in crisis shows Japan’s fading manufacturing era
Nissan directly employs almost 10% of Oppama’s 29,700 residents, but its factory is set to shut down by 2028.
Australia’s decision to select Japan's upgraded Mogami-class warship, seen in this computer-generated image, has been “well received across Japanese industry," a Defense Ministry official said.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 17, 2025
Winning warship bid gives Japan confidence boost as Tokyo eyes more exports
Japan’s successful offer of state-of-the-art warships to Australia is seen as a "model" case for the future export of entire military systems, including to Southeast Asia.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin shake hands as they meet at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 16, 2025
‘Dear neighbor’: A red carpet for Putin, no ceasefire for Trump
There was a lot the two presidents left unsaid at the end of an inconclusive summit, with details of a tantalizing agreement the pair had mentioned kept under wraps.
Canada's Conservative Party leader, Pierre Poilievre, speaks at a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in May.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 16, 2025
Canada conservative leader mounts comeback after Trump-linked defeat
Pierre Poilievre, who is running to reclaim a seat in Canada's parliament next week, was on track to be prime minister until Donald Trump upended Canadian politics.
Setsuko Kawai, who lost her mother and two younger brothers in the March 1945 bombing, has fought for recognition of the victims.
JAPAN / History / FOCUS
Aug 14, 2025
Civilian air raid survivors fight for recognition 80 years after war's end
After drafting a bill to provide concrete relief to survivors this spring, a bipartisan group of lawmakers failed to submit it to parliament days before the session’s closure.
Kimi Ozawa, who lost her husband in the 1985 crash of a Japan Airlines jumbo jet, prays in front of his memorial marker on Tuesday in the village of Ueno, Gunma Prefecture.
JAPAN / History / FOCUS
Aug 12, 2025
Controversial theories continue to swirl around 1985 JAL jet crash
Some bereaved family members and critics who subscribe to the idea of possible SDF involvement say the initial probe left too many loose ends untied.
Ralph Edwards (far left), Capt. Robert Lewis (rear left), Bertha Starkey (rear center), Marvin Green (rear right), Kiyoshi (seated, left) and Chisa Tanimoto (seated, right), Koko Kondo (front left) and her three younger siblings, on the show “This Is Your Life,” on May 11, 1955
JAPAN / History / FOCUS
Aug 12, 2025
How an A-bomb survivor found forgiveness for Hiroshima bombers
Koko Kondo’s anger was extinguished when she saw the co-pilot of the Enola Gay bomber recall with regret what he and his crew had done on Aug. 6, 1945.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to U.S. troops based in Osan Air Base in South Korea in June 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 10, 2025
Defense to take top billing at U.S.-South Korea summit as Trump eyes alliance reset
With China looming large, security ties will take center stage at the first summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean leader Lee Jae Myung.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on July 14.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Aug 9, 2025
The hottest new credit deals in Europe are anything to do with defense
There are few investing booms in the world right now that are bigger than the rush to tap into Europe’s military buildup.
A Chinese warship takes part in a military drill off the Chinese coast near Fuzhou, Fujian Province, across from the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands, China, in April 2023. Recent Chinese military drills have seen its vessels encircle Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 8, 2025
Simulated Chinese blockade of Taiwan reveals Singapore as lifeline
Singapore's discreet and decades-old security presence inside Taiwan gives it an edge among Southeast Asian nations, which have close to a million of their nationals on the island.
"My heart and soul are in Deir el-Zor. No money, no homes or luxury in the world can compensate for what I’ve lost there," said Ehab Mzeal, a 41-year-old Syrian. However, he is grateful for his life in Europe, "I like Germany for one reason: it stood by us."
WORLD / Society / FOCUS
Aug 8, 2025
A journey to belong: Migrants describe 10 years in Europe
Migrants from around the world discuss the rewards and challenges of their new lives in Europe.
Liberal Democratic Party youth division head Yasutaka Nakasone (center) and other members speak to reporters in Tokyo on July 25.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 6, 2025
Will the movement seeking Ishiba’s resignation succeed?
It is unclear whether the core personalities looking to unseat him have what it takes to make that happen.
Twelve months on from Aug. 5, 2024, when Japan’s stock benchmarks plummeted 12%, the broader Topix index is once again hovering near record highs.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Aug 5, 2025
A year after Japan's stock meltdown, markets show resilience and promise
Clearer BOJ messaging, corporate reforms and a better-than-feared U.S. tariff deal has traders in Japan's markets betting against a repeat of last year's crash.
JICA to designate four Japanese cities as 'hometowns' for African nations
The Japanese flag (left) with the flag of the African Union
103-year-old remembers Soviet attack right after WWII
Shoichi Takahashi holds a photo of himself when he was younger, in Otaru, Hokkaido, on May 17.
Schools get students involved in revision of unreasonable ‘black rules’
At Yawata Junior High School in Nagoya, there are no more rules on clothing and hairstyles. Students are free to wear either the school's uniform or clothes of their own choosing.
Tokyo crowned No.1 'workation' spot
Workations were a burgeoning trend in the corporate world for years before the COVID-19 pandemic turbocharged it.
Japanese man suspected of ordering double murder in Manila
Two suspects arrested over the killing of two Japanese last week are held in restraints in Manila on Tuesday.
Tokyo crowned No.1 'workation' spot
Workations were a burgeoning trend in the corporate world for years before the COVID-19 pandemic turbocharged it.
Candidates preparing to make final pitches for Sawamura Award
Hawks pitcher Livan Moinelo has a 1.13 ERA in 19 starts this season.
Winning warship bid gives Japan confidence boost as Tokyo eyes more exports
Australia’s decision to select Japan's upgraded Mogami-class warship, seen in this computer-generated image, has been “well received across Japanese industry," a Defense Ministry official said.
In Paris, chefs Chizuko Kimura and Kei Kobayashi make their mark
Chef Kei Kobayashi is France's only Japanese chef with three Michelin stars.
In preserving Japanese hospitality, ‘details are everything’
Beniya Mukayu, a traditional "ryokan" inn located in Ishikawa Prefecture, considers itself at "the heart of onsen towns, local residents, farmers, fishermen, sake brewers and artisans" — all of which need new, sustainable methods of serving visitors to survive into the future.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
By Tomoko Otake

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