Tag - relations

 
 

RELATIONS

Alan Bates, a former branch manager who led the fight for justice, has said the compensation process has "turned into quasi-kangaroo courts."
WORLD
Jul 9, 2025
U.K. post office scandal may have caused 13 suicides: inquiry
The Post Office wrongfully prosecuted around 1,000 subpostmasters — self-employed branch managers — between 1999 and 2015.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako pay tribute at a memorial to commemorate Japanese nationals who died while being detained in Mongolia after the end of World War II, in Dambadarjaa, on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2025
Emperor and empress mourn Japanese who died in Mongolia
It is the first time that a Japanese emperor has mourned at a site where Japanese people were detained abroad, according to the Imperial Household Agency.
U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at Morristown Airport, New Jersey, on Sunday. Trump on Monday sent letters to 12 countries notifying them of new "reciprocal" tariff rates effective Aug. 1.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 8, 2025
Japan stands its ground after Trump letter delivers 25% U.S. tariff shock
Tokyo holds the line on its negotiating position, especially when it comes to auto exports.
South Korean Ambassador to Japan Park Cheol-hee delivers a speech at a reception marking the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between Japan and South Korea on June 19 in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 8, 2025
Ishiba thanks outgoing South Korean envoy
Park Cheol-hee said he hopes that cooperation will continue under the administration of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
Emperor Naruhito attends a welcome ceremony with Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh in Ulaanbaatar on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2025
Emperor and empress attend welcome ceremony in Mongolia
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako met with the country's president and his wife as part of a weeklong visit that comes on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Despite months of negotiations and Japan’s key role as a U.S. ally and investor, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba faces frustration as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats persist — damaging trust and complicating relations.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2025
Donald Trump’s ‘copy-and-paste’ tariffs will no doubt rile ‘Mr. Japan’
Trump's copy-and-paste wording sent to world leaders was virtually identical, including telling Tokyo to open its "heretofore closed trading markets” — whatever that means.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends the EU-Japan summit in Brussels in July 2023. Economic cooperation between the EU, Japan and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership is showing promise but faces political and structural hurdles that could limit progress.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2025
EU-CPTPP talks highlight shared goals and stubborn obstacles
EU economic cooperation with Japan and the CPTPP shows promise but could face political and structural hurdles that limit progress.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a trade letter sent by the White House to Japan during a news conference at the White House in Washington on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 8, 2025
Trump announces new tariff rate on Japan — and extension of deadline to Aug. 1
The United States will raise its “reciprocal tariff” on Japan to 25% effective Aug. 1, President Donald Trump said in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s unilateral tariffs mark a shift toward centralized control, eroding checks and balances and raising risks of corruption and unpredictability.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 7, 2025
Unchecked and unbalanced: The future of U.S. economic policymaking
The U.S. government is defined by its separation of powers, where authority is not concentrated in a single actor but divided between the different branches.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Abukuma-class destroyer Chikuma (front) and the Australian Navy's Hobart-class guided-missile destroyer Brisbane sail in formation during a military exercise in the Pacific Ocean in November 2023.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 7, 2025
Japan eyes used warship transfer to Philippines in bid to counter China
Sending the Abukuma-class vessels to Manila would mark Tokyo’s first export of an entire major naval platform in decades.
The Kadena U.S. Air Force Base in Kadena, Okinawa Prefecture, in August 2023. An airman from the base was arrested last weekend for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 7, 2025
Two U.S. servicemen arrested in Okinawa over assaults
A 25-year-old airman is accused of punching his girlfriend while, separately, a 21-year-old marine allegedly put his hands around the neck of an unacquainted man.
Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, speaks to the press upon his arrival at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in April.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 6, 2025
Japan's top trade negotiator holds two phone meetings with U.S. commerce chief
Ryosei Akazawa held "in-depth exchanges" over the phone with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday and Saturday.
A front-page article from July 1950 reported that Kyoto's historic Kinkakuji had been "totally razed" in a fire.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jul 5, 2025
Japan Times 1950: Kyoto’s ‘Golden Temple’ burns to the ground
The historic Kinkakuji was destroyed in an act of arson in July 1950, a shocking event that would serve as the inspiration for a novel by Yukio Mishima.
A voter casts a ballot for the Upper House election at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 4, 2025
Overseas voting for Upper House election begins
This marks the first time that Japanese living in Taiwan could vote at polling stations on the self-governed island.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung holds a news conference to mark his first month in office at the Blue House in Seoul on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2025
South Korean president hopes to visit Japan soon
Lee Jae Myung, who marked his first month in office, expressed hopes of promoting dialogue with Japan through mutual visits.
The sailing of four China Coast Guard vessels around the Senkaku Islands on Thursday was the first intrusion by Chinese official vessels into the Japanese waters around the islands since Jun. 14, according to the Japan Coast Guard.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2025
Four China Coast Guard ships enter Japanese waters off the Senkakus
The move marks the first intrusion by Chinese official vessels into the Japanese waters around the islands since June 14, the Japan Coast Guard said.
Despite trade pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has held firm, constrained by upcoming elections, mistrust of U.S. intentions and growing public opposition to concessions.
EDITORIALS
Jul 4, 2025
As trade deadline approaches, Japan must draw lines
Most worrisome now is a growing sense among the Japanese public that the U.S. is no longer a reliable partner.
The Maruti Suzuki India e-Vitara during the Bharat Mobility Global Expo in New Delhi in January
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 4, 2025
Suzuki is becoming a top Japan importer with made-in-India cars
Suzuki beat out Mercedes-Benz to become Japan’s top car importer in June, thanks to the Jimny Nomad and another popular small SUV assembled in India.
Liu Jianchao, head of the Communist Party's international department, speaks during an event in Beijing on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 4, 2025
Top Chinese official says war with U.S. unimaginable in tone tweak
China is adopting a less confrontational tone with the U.S. days after confirming details of a trade framework with Washington.
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 4, 2025
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
This is the first direct apology from the U.S. military to the Okinawa Prefectural Government for a series of sexual crimes committed by U.S. servicemen in the prefecture.

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’