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September 16, 2025
 

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Since 2017, Kotomi Li has won some of Japan’s top literary awards and built a formidable career in the face of persistent online harassment. “Authors are tenacious creatures to begin with,” she says.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 5, 2025
Kotomi Li: 'I refuse to choose death'
The Taiwanese writer reflects on the importance of queer community, her ascent in Japan’s literary world and her ongoing battles against online harassment.
A Shein pop-up store in New York. Many goods imported from China now face a 145% tariff.
BUSINESS
May 3, 2025
Young Americans sour on Trump’s China tariffs despite election-year bump
For Republicans, the trade war is poised to reverse gains with a demographic that could be key to maintaining control of Congress.
A China Coast Guard helicopter is seen near the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Saturday.
JAPAN
May 3, 2025
China Coast Guard helicopter enters Japanese airspace near Senkakus
The incursion near the Japanese-controlled, Chinese-claimed islands on Saturday was just the fourth such flight by Chinese aircraft since the end of World War II.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariff envoy, speaks to members of the media at the Japanese Embassy in Washington on May 1.
BUSINESS
May 3, 2025
Japan's tariff envoy says Tokyo insisting on U.S. rethink
After arriving back in Japan, Ryosei Akazawa told reporters that the two sides "made progress" toward an agreement, but stressed Tokyo was insisting that all tariffs be reviewed.
Tetsuo Sato, a 105-year-old former soldier, talks about the Imphal Operation, in Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture, on March 30.
JAPAN
May 3, 2025
'War must never happen again': Former Japanese soldier recalls battle of Imphal
The Imphal operation during World War II is known as one of the most reckless battles waged by the Imperial Japanese Army.
Myaku-Myaku, the mascot of the 2025 Osaka Expo. Some people in the Japanese government are hoping that U.S. President Donald Trump will visit Japan to see the expo.
JAPAN
May 3, 2025
Trump visit to Osaka Expo likely to depend on tariff talks
A visit could provide a tailwind to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling coalition ahead of this summer's Upper House election, observers said.
A Honda vehicle is assembled at a plant in Lincoln, Alabama. Despite concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's economic policies, around half of Japanese firms remain committed to the American market, according to a recent survey.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 2, 2025
Japan Inc. cautiously optimistic despite rising uncertainty
Trump's economic policies and geopolitical risks are front of mind for many Japanese companies. But many remain committed to staying in the U.S. and China, says a recent survey.
"It does exist as a card,” said Kato, speaking on a TV Tokyo program Friday, when asked if Japan’s stance of not selling U.S. Treasury holdings could be a negotiation tool.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 2, 2025
Japan’s Kato says U.S. Treasury holdings could be negotiation card
The comments come amid negotiations between Japan and the U.S. after President Donald Trump ramped up his global tariff campaign.
Four Japanese automakers reported selling more new vehicles in the U.S. in April, driven by last-minute demand amid concerns car prices might rise due to additional tariffs.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 2, 2025
Four Japan automakers see higher U.S. sales on last-minute demand
Toyota, Honda Motor, Mazda Motor and Subaru all saw their sales rise in April.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (far left), U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) and Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator. The second round of tariff negotiations between Japan and the United States were held on Thursday in Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 2, 2025
Second round of U.S.-Japan tariff talks ends inconclusively in Washington
Neither foreign exchange rates nor defense spending were discussed, said Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator.
The café space at the Osaka Expo's British pavilion
JAPAN
May 2, 2025
Britain responds after Expo 2025 afternoon tea brews outrage
Earlier this week, a post deploring the overall quality of the pavilion's tea set — including "a tea bag stuck in a paper cup" — went viral on X.
The Bank of Japan signals rate-hike uncertainty and slashes growth forecasts amid rising trade and inflation concerns, as the central bank's earlier optimism is upended by U.S. President Trump's tariff moves.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 2, 2025
Bank of Japan will struggle to justify hikes after this
Few anticipated how dovish the BOJ would sound on the future direction of rates or how gloomy it would be on the near-term prospects for achieving the inflation goal.
Masaru Okawa (right), head of the Ainu association, receives ancestral remains from Peter Mathieson, principal of the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland on Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 1, 2025
Remains of Ainu people in Edinburgh to be repatriated to Japan
The remains, which had been kept at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, have been returned to the Ainu Association of Hokkaido and will arrive back in Japan on Saturday.
Hiroshi Kanamoto, a representative of Nihon Hidankyo, speaks at a preparatory meeting for the 2026 Review Conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in New York on Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 1, 2025
Hidankyo member calls for nuclear weapons to be eliminated
The previous two Nonproliferation Treaty review conferences ended in failure.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, arrives in Washington on Wednesday for talks with U.S. officials.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2025
EV charging format to be discussed in Japan-U.S. tariff talks
The U.S. side has taken issue with Japan's subsidies for developing CHAdeMO stations, but not for foreign designs such as those of U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla.
A street in Kyoto in March 2023. An Israeli tourist was asked to sign a document stating that he had not committed war crimes when he checked in at a Kyoto guesthouse in April, prompting a response from Israel's ambassador.
JAPAN / Society
May 1, 2025
Israel protests after Kyoto inn seeks war crime declaration from tourist
The guesthouse said the purpose of the document was to ensure a safe stay for other guests and not due to discrimination.
A view of Koror, Palau’s main town, on April 10
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 1, 2025
Inside the U.S. battle with China over a Pacific island paradise
Palau is again on the frontline as China and the United States and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control.
Tetsuya Yamaguchi at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on April 8
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 30, 2025
How a Japanese fraud group ran scams from Southeast Asia
Police suspect that Tetsuya Yamaguchi, who was arrested on April 8 after being deported from Thailand, was involved in fraud totaling at least ¥3 billion ($21.1 million).
Japan's proposed "one-theater" defense strategy, linking the East China Sea, South China Sea and Korean Peninsula has raised concerns, particularly in South Korea, about its implications for regional security.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 30, 2025
Japan’s ‘one-theater’ defense concept rattles South Korea
Continuing expansion of SDF roles and missions is consistent with adoption of the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" construct that guides Japanese security policy.
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.
SDF spots China’s biggest aircraft carrier for first time
The Fujian aircraft carrier is seen in Shanghai in May 2024 as it leaves for its first sea trial.
Why more hotels in Japan are offering room-only service
Nipponia Hotel Ise Kawasaki Merchant Town in Ise, Mie Prefecture
Is America ready for Japanese-style 7-Elevens?
Convenience stores are a fixture of Japanese life and 7-Eleven, a chain that began in the U.S. in 1927, opened its first store in Japan in 1974 — and then became wholly Japanese-owned in 2005 through parent company Seven & I Holdings.
Final weeks of World Expo in Osaka likely to see large crowds
With one month left to go, crowds are expected to swell at the World Expo in Osaka during its final weeks.
Japan's elderly population down at around 36.2 million
The estimated number of people age 65 or older in Japan stands at 36.19 million as of Monday, accounting for record 29.4% of the country's total population, according to the internal affairs ministry.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
Between traditional examples of fine art and sleek, modern exhibitions that blend with nature, Hakone offers a unique escape from Tokyo's urban sprawl.
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.
As Manila modernizes its military, new opportunities emerge for Tokyo
A Brahmos missile system is displayed during a rehearsal for a military parade in New Delhi in January. The Philippines will soon receive its second batch of the supersonic cruise missiles from India.
Shizuoka farmers fight to preserve sustainable tea method that’s steeped in tradition
As of August 2024, the number of confirmed chagusaba farmers had fallen to 302, just over half the 582 reported in 2015, according to the Shizuoka Chagusaba Farming Method Promotion Council.

Podcast

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

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’
By Alex K.T. Martin

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