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September 16, 2025
 

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RELATIONS

A container is loaded onto a cargo ship at Hai Phong port in Vietnam. A trade deal secured by Vietnam with the U.S. sets a high bar for Japan's tariff talks.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 3, 2025
Vietnam steals a march and leaves Japan in a tough spot on U.S. tariffs
The deal sets a high bar for Japan and other countries still negotiating with the United States.
The U.S. Commerce Department has told the world’s top semiconductor design software companies that government license requirements for business in China are no longer in place.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 3, 2025
U.S. lifts chip design software curbs on China in trade deal
The move is a sign that an accord reached by both countries in London is indeed being implemented.
An event to promote Japan-India cooperation on supply chains for minerals was held at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2025
New Delhi event highlights Japan's bid to deepen India ties on critical minerals
The event brought together a total of some 70 companies from both countries, including members of the Battery Association for Supply Chain, a Japanese industry group.
Emperor Naruhito speaks during a news conference at the Imperial Palace on Wednesday ahead of his visit to Mongolia together with Empress Masako from Sunday.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2025
Emperor to mourn Japanese detainees who died in Mongolia
The Emperor last visited Mongolia in 2007, when he was Crown Prince.
Toyota only lifted prices on some models by a few hundred dollars in the U.S. market in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 3, 2025
Japan’s carmakers absorbing tariffs may bolster Trump's position
Just three of Japan’s six major automakers have raised prices in the U.S., and only Subaru’s hike has come close to the 25% tariff imposed on imported vehicles.
A port near Shanghai. Beijing has often responded to actions it opposes with targeted trade measures.
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2025
Beijing braces for U.S. trade deals that aim to shut out China
China is becoming increasingly wary of U.S. efforts to forge deals that could isolate Chinese firms from global supply chains.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (right) meet with Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto (center), President and Chief Operating Officer Tadashi Imai (second from left), and Vice Chairman and Executive Vice Present Takahiro Mori (left) at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2025
Nippon Steel aiming to prove value of Japan-U.S. cooperation, chairman says
PM Ishiba explained that Tokyo is continuing to urge the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to review its high tariffs.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speak as they stand with Mayor of Hiroshima Kazumi Matsui in front of the Cenotaph for the Victims of the Atomic Bomb at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima in May 2023.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2025
Hiroshima mayor urges Trump to visit after atomic bomb comments
U.S. President Donald Trump should visit Hiroshima to see the effects of nuclear weapons, the city's mayor said.
F-35 aircraft on the deck of Britain's Prince of Wales aircraft carrier as it arrives at Marina Bay Cruise Center in Singapore on June 23
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2025
British F-35B fighters could soon land on a Japanese carrier
The latest British carrier deployment could see jets from the Prince of Wales vessel touch down on one of Japan's own de facto aircraft carriers.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (left) and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meet at the U.S. State Department in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 2, 2025
Rubio urges Japan to beef up defenses, but leaves out spending target
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said that no specific spending figure was broached in talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar (left), Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong (second from left), Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (second from right) and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stand together at the start of a meeting of "the Quad" at the U.S. State Department in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 2, 2025
‘Quad’ nations announce critical minerals initiative amid China concerns
A joint statement was carefully crafted not to directly mention China, but the four Indo-Pacific countries made clear a goal of reducing dependence on Beijing.
A Self-Defense Forces tank unit takes part in parade at Camp Asaka, near Tokyo, in October 2018. The percentage of GDP spent on defense is a politically convenient but flawed metric that oversimplifies the complex realities of alliance management.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 2, 2025
In the Trump era, how much should countries really be spending on defense?
In truth, the “percentage of GDP” approach is a political one, not a practical one
A 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander at the Chicago Auto Show in 2023. Last month, Toyota sold 11,577 Grand Highlander SUVs, which its head of brand sales in the U.S. said was the "fastest-turning product in the lineup.”
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2025
Toyota delays EV plans to boost gas-fueled SUV output
The postponement comes amid softening demand for EVs in the U.S.
The Federal Trade Commission has opened an in-depth investigation of SoftBank Group's acquisition of semiconductor designer Ampere Computing.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2025
SoftBank’s Ampere deal now faces a more in-depth review by FTC
SoftBank’s acquisition of semiconductor designer Ampere Computing is facing a potentially lengthy probe by the U.S. government.
Tomonobu Kojima, admitted his involvement in the "Luffy" cases at the first hearing of his trial at Tokyo District Court on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 2, 2025
Senior member of 'Luffy' crime ring pleads guilty at hearing
Tomonobu Kojima, 47, said, "There is no mistake" regarding his charges of aiding robberies and committing fraud.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 2, 2025
Trump doubles down on Japan again by threatening 35% tariff
Japan is currently subject to 25% auto tariffs and a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum, as well as a 10% reciprocal tariff that could return to 24% if no deal is struck by July 9.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, leaves for Washington on Thursday for his seventh round of trade talks with the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 1, 2025
Japan-U.S. trade negotiations stall as Trump fumes 
The two sides remain far apart, and no new talks are scheduled.
German Ambassador to Japan Petra Sigmund says that Tokyo and Berlin "face similar security challenges," and that they must "invest in defense, deterrence and diplomacy alike."
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 1, 2025
‘No time to lose’: Germany aims to boost defense-industrial ties with Japan
Berlin’s ambassador to Tokyo says her country is looking to quickly ramp up cooperation amid a growing Russian threat.
Natixis has hired Makoto Kawamura, formerly head of JPMorgan Chase Bank’s Japan treasury and chief investment office in Tokyo, and Hideaki Sugahara, who was a director at Societe Generale, for its new banking business in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 1, 2025
Seeing growth potential, Natixis plans to double banking staff in Japan
The move comes as Paris-based Natixis starts a new banking branch in Tokyo, in the latest sign of a global financial firm vying for business opportunities in Japan.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a news conference at the White House on Feb. 7. Trade disputes, defense disagreements and diverging views on the Middle East have strained U.S.-Japan relations.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 1, 2025
Is the shine coming off the U.S.-Japan ‘Golden Age’?
Trade talks between the two countries, initially expected to yield a quick agreement, have become a slog with the July 9 deadline fast approaching.
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.
Strikes on Qatar and Poland shake U.S. sway among friend and foe
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Museum of the Bible in Washington on Sept. 8. Israeli strikes in Qatar and Russian drone incursions into Poland have challenged the U.S. leaders claims of global respect.
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.

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’
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