Home page

 
Menu
Search
 
Menu
Search
Tokyo Weather 25℃
TOKYO
September 21, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
September 21, 2025
LDP Race
Japanese stocks
World Athletics Championships
Latest News
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks during a news conference announcing his formal entry into the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Koizumi makes economic growth top priority in bid for LDP presidency
By Himari Semans
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi used a news conference Saturday in Tokyo to unveil a raft of policies as he sought to appeal to his party’s conservative wing.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks during a news conference announcing his formal entry into the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race in Tokyo on Saturday.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about trade at the Granite City Works steel coil warehouse in Granite City, Illinois, in July 2018.
BUSINESS / Companies
Trump officials used 'golden share' to block U.S. Steel from stopping work at plant
The move highlighed the federal government’s continued influence over an iconic American firm after approving its takeover by Nippon Steel.
Hard-line conservative lawmaker Sanae Takaichi has consistently been a public favorite in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership election scheduled for Oct. 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Japan may see its first female PM despite limited progress on gender gap
By Erica Yokoyama
For a country that has seen limited progress on gender equality, a win by Takaichi could represent a watershed moment.
A business class suite of an Airbus SE A350-1000 aircraft operated by Japan Airlines is seen during a media preview at the company's hangar at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in January last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Boom in business class travel from Japan fuels airlines profits
As tariffs change trade patterns and roil global supply chains, corporate Japan is dealing with it by getting executives in the air.
Shuji Nakagawa created a teahouse using the same technique for making traditional wooden buckets.
CULTURE / Art
A bucket becomes a house in the hands of craftsman Shuji Nakagawa
By Thu-Huong Ha
At Go for Kogei 2025, a third-generation woodworker envisions new forms for a humble vessel.
Shuji Nakagawa created a teahouse using the same technique for making traditional wooden buckets.

JAPAN

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya speaks during a news conference at the ministry in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan will not recognize Palestinian statehood for now
The decision is believed to have been made in light of Israel hardening its stance against Palestinian statehood, as well as U.S. opposition to such recognition.
While not specifying what percentage of foreign residents should make up the total population, “we conveyed the message that the ratio should be kept as low as possible and that the current rapid pace of increase must be properly curbed,” said Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Fumitake Fujita.
Nippon Ishin urges cap on foreign residents in Japan
By Yukana Inoue
In its proposal to the government, it warns that Japanese society is at risk of being fundamentally altered if the proportion of foreign nationals exceeds 10%.
Japan requires prison officers to display ID numbers on uniforms
Humanity's tales of creation, cataclysm and kami
By Michael Hoffman
Osaka Expo visitors top 20 million as crowds surge
Man gets nine years after fatal drunken driving crash in Saitama

BUSINESS

Travelers wait at Brussels airport after a cyberattack at a service provider for check-in and boarding systems disrupted operations at several major European airports on Saturday.
Cyberattack disrupts European airports including London's Heathrow and Brussels
A "cyber-related disruption" at a provider of check-in and boarding systems has disrupted operations at several airports including London's Heathrow.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino at a symposium in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan's top union group advised to seek 5% pay hike during spring talks
An expert panel report stressed that the 2026 shunto will be a crucial opportunity to firmly establish a healthy cycle of rising wages and prices.
Trump’s economic team is short some key players amid staff churn
By Nancy Cook
Apple iPhone 17 launches in Japan
Sumitomo Mitsui mulls raising stake in Jefferies to 20%
By Cathy Chan, Katherine Doherty, Manuel Baigorri and Hideki Suzuki
SoftBank's Vision Fund mulls 20% job cuts after Son’s pivot to AI
By Min Jeong Lee, Ed Ludlow and Anto Antony

WORLD

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with European leaders at the White House in Washington on Aug. 18.
After diplomatic blitz on Ukraine and Gaza, Trump moves to passenger seat
By Gram Slattery
In recent weeks, Trump has allowed and in some cases pressed allies to take the lead, with only distant promises of U.S. help.
A screen grab from video posted to U.S. President Donald Trump's Truth Social account shows what he said is a U.S. military strike on a boat carrying alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea on Monday.
Trump says U.S. struck alleged drug vessel in latest operation
The latest strike — at least the third against alleged drug vessels — comes amid a large U.S. military buildup in the southern Caribbean.
Trump to return to the U.N. as Gaza, Ukraine conflicts rage
Trump to impose $100,000 fee per year for H-1B visas, in likely blow to tech
Top U.S. prosecutor overseeing Letitia James case resigns after Trump threat
Saudi pact puts Pakistan's nuclear umbrella into Middle East security picture
By Saeed Shah and Maha El Dahan

Sports

Nanako Fujii celebrates as she crosses the line to take bronze in the women's 35-kilometer race walk on Saturday at National Stadium in Tokyo.
Nanako Fujii takes bronze in 20 km race walk for Japan's second medal at worlds
The 26-year-old became the first Japanese woman to capture a medal in a race walk event at the World Athletics Championships or the Olympics.
Japan qualifies for men's 4x100 relay final at world championships
By Jason Coskrey
Mets weigh options as Kodai Senga struggles in Triple-A start
Noah Lyles wants athletics to stop being an ‘amateur sport’
By Vanessa Perdomo
Japan’s hopes too much for Haruka Kitaguchi’s elbow to bear at world championships
By Jason Coskrey

Opinion

Candidates take part in the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership race in September 2024 at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, including many of the contenders for next month’s contest. 
LDP candidates through a 'Japanese conservative' lens
Edo Naito
The three key elements of Japanese conservatism are preserving national identity and traditions, sustaining the imperial succession and affirming the Self-Defense Forces’ role.
Netanyahu’s impunity threatens Israel
Anime’s ‘Demon Slayer’ hit is a watershed for Japan
By Gearoid Reidy
Nepal’s Gen Z protests and humanity’s shared future
By Brabim Karki
Why is Trump killing programs designed to prevent terrorism?
By Michael Duffin

ENVIRONMENT

Workers operate heavy machinery to stabilize Wamberal Beach as a low-pressure cyclone lashes Australia's Central Coast, forcing residents to evacuate beachfront homes amid growing erosion fears, in July.
International treaty protecting world's oceans to take effect
The move by Morocco and Sierra Leone to join the U.N. treaty on the high seas clinched the threshold needed to enact it as international law.
NASA scientist starts food crisis hotline with tech giant funding
By Agnieszka de Sousa
Climate change led to at least 16,500 heat deaths in Europe this summer
By Emma Court
Malaysia's largest island state aims to be region's 'green battery'
By Jan HENNOP
Rising oceans to threaten 1.5 million Australians by 2050, report says
By Laura Chung

CULTURE

Shuji Nakagawa created a teahouse using the same technique for making traditional wooden buckets.
A bucket becomes a house in the hands of craftsman Shuji Nakagawa
By Thu-Huong Ha
At Go for Kogei 2025, a third-generation woodworker envisions new forms for a humble vessel.
YouTuber Gigguk shifts from talking anime to making anime
By Patrick St. Michel
Park Chan-wook’s sharp satire ‘No Other Choice’ opens Busan festival
By Erik Augustin Palm
‘Ranshima Bound’: Family fractures and buried truths collide in Hokkaido chill
By Mark Schilling
‘Prism of the Real’ makes two turbulent decades tangible with art
By Jennifer Pastore

LIFE

Filled with red bean paste and covered in "kinako" soy flour, green "zunda" soybean mash and black sesame, "o-hagi" sticky rice balls offer a delicious interplay of sweet and savory flavors.
Celebrating autumn with timeless sticky rice balls
By Elizabeth Andoh
Filled with red bean paste and sheathed in various coatings, the spherical sweets evoke the gentle mood of the season.
‘Pluriversal’ Singapore Design Week brings solution-oriented works
By John L. Tran
How Japanese captures the subtle shift into autumn
By Yaeko Kabe
From tofu to teriyaki: Japanese essentials for the home cook
By Simon Daly
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
By Erik Augustin Palm

COMMUNITY

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Swastika Jajoo (fourth from right) began attending the daily radio calisthenics routine at Sendai’s Kitasanbancho Park and struck up unexpected friendships with a group of elderly residents.
Calisthenic companions bridge cultures and generations
By Swastika Jajoo
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a doctoral student in Sendai found friendship in unexpected places.
Melos Han-Tani: ‘Figuring out what you value is valuable for any artist’
By Gendel Gento
Gentle care is the key to Cymbal’s heart
Canadian-born politician tackles Ibaraki’s issues big and small
By Gendel Gento
Smiley, spirited Hampen will run into your arms

Editors' Picks

LIFE
Behold the glory of Japan’s fruit boxes
By Thu-Huong Ha
Otherwise common sights in Japan's supermarkets, the country's fruit and veggie boxes can hide surprising symbols of local pride.
MORE SPORTS
How Yuki Joseph Nakajima turned failures into breakout success at Tokyo worlds
By Sam Byford
Yuki Joseph Nakajima after finishing sixth in the men's 400-meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Robot tour guides in Tokyo offer way for those with disabilities to work
By Elizabeth Beattie
Tours are being offered in Tokyo using a shoulder-mounted robot equipped with a camera, speaker and microphone. The robot twitches its wing-like arms, which it can fold together as if in prayer when visiting a temple.
MORE SPORTS
World Athletics stars relish Tokyo atmosphere after COVID-hit Olympics
By Jason Coskrey
Organizers of the World Athletics Championships said over 500,000 tickets had been sold and that they are expecting to end the event in front of large crowds this weekend.
JAPAN
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
By Tomoko Otake
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.

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

JT Directory Service

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

Ex.Portal By Synergy Media Specialists

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
default

WHAT’S TRENDING

BUSINESS
Bank of Japan to start unloading ETFs in surprise move that rattles market
By Francis Tang
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda said it would take a century for the bank to sell all its ETFs at the pace proposed.
JAPAN
Nippon Ishin urges cap on foreign residents in Japan
By Yukana Inoue
While not specifying what percentage of foreign residents should make up the total population, “we conveyed the message that the ratio should be kept as low as possible and that the current rapid pace of increase must be properly curbed,” said Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Fumitake Fujita.
JAPAN
Japan may see its first female PM despite limited progress on gender gap
By Erica Yokoyama
Hard-line conservative lawmaker Sanae Takaichi has consistently been a public favorite in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership election scheduled for Oct. 4.
JAPAN
Osaka Expo visitors top 20 million as crowds surge
Visitors at the Osaka Expo on Thursday.
JAPAN
Koizumi makes economic growth top priority in bid for LDP presidency
By Himari Semans
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks during a news conference announcing his formal entry into the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race in Tokyo on Saturday.