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TOKYO
September 07, 2024
The Independent Voice in Asia
September 07, 2024
Shohei Ohtani
LDP RACE
Special series: Boiling Point
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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol during a meeting at the Presidential Office in Seoul on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Kishida and Yoon reaffirm importance of sustained cooperation
By Hyonhee Shin and Hyunsu Yim
Kishida highlighted the need to continue efforts to advance bilateral ties, once again expressing sympathy for Koreans who suffered during Japanese colonial rule.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol during a meeting at the Presidential Office in Seoul on Friday
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi declares his candidacy in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Shinjiro Koizumi promises immediate snap election if elected LDP president
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
The former environment minister said he will turn to the electorate to allow voters to judge his plan to transform Japan.
Seven & I Holdings, operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, said on Friday it has rejected Alimentation Couche-Tard's takeover bid as not being in the interest of shareholders.
BUSINESS / Companies
Seven & I pans value of offer as it rejects Canadian takeover bid
By Elizabeth Beattie and Yukana Inoue
Seven & I said that Alimentation Couche-Tard had “grossly” undervalued the target company and that the takeover attempt was timed “opportunistically.”
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito attends a session of a panel investigating allegations of workplace harassment against him, in Kobe on Friday.
JAPAN
Hyogo governor disputes legal protections for harassment whistleblower
By Francis Tang and Himari Semans
Motohiko Saito said that he didn’t believe it was a problem to allow an investigation into the creator of a document making allegations against him.
Shuzo Fukushi, who heads Rice Meister Kojimachi in Tokyo, shows a bag of Calrose mixed with domestic rice at his store on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Demand for Calrose rice rises amid Japanese rice shortage
By Himari Semans
The California rice is a medium-grain variety cheaper than the Japanese short-grain cultivar, but with a similar taste.
Shuzo Fukushi, who heads Rice Meister Kojimachi in Tokyo, shows a bag of Calrose mixed with domestic rice at his store on Thursday.

JAPAN

Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan head Kenta Izumi announces he will run for reelection as party leader in Tokyo on Friday.
Views on interparty cooperation set CDP leader candidates apart
By Eric Johnston
Kenta Izumi, Yukio Edano and Yoshihiko Noda have all outlined different ideas on working with the Japanese Communist Party and Nippon Ishin no Kai.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki speaks during a news conference in the prefectural government office in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, on Friday.
Okinawa governor condemns alleged sexual assault by U.S. Marine
The governor said that the prefecture will lodge a protest with the Japanese and U.S. governments over the case.
21-year-old gets 23 years over robbery-murder in western Tokyo
Japanese research vessel Mirai enters Arctic ocean
Japan's Prince Hisahito turns 18
LDP leadership race needs nuclear debate, ex-IEA chief says
By Sam Kim and Madeleine Lim

BUSINESS

The U.S. dollar has fallen 5% from its 2024 highs, close to its lowest level in about a year against a basket of peers following a sharp drop last month.
Market sentiment mixed on pace of dollar's weakening ahead of Fed rate cuts
By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed
The currency has declined rapidly against peers as anticipated interest rate cuts threaten to end the greenback's yearslong period of strength.
Japan's household spending rose less than expected in July as consumers remained wary of loosening their purse strings in the face of higher prices.
Japan’s household spending stays flat in signs of tepid growth
By Yoshiaki Nohara and Erica Yokoyama
Spending on housing and education jumped from June figures, while outlays on transportation and food declined.
Kuroda indicates that BOJ is still a long way from neutral rate
Japan to provide new subsidies for domestic EV battery output
Sumitomo Chemical sells hybrid bond at widest spread this year
By Ayai Tomisawa
U.S. fears Nippon Steel's bid for U.S. Steel could hit vital steel supply
By Alexandra Alper

WORLD

A voter casts a mail-in ballot at a drop box outside the Maricopa County Recorder and Elections Department's southeast Mesa office during the Arizona state primary election in Mesa, Arizona, on July 30.
U.S. election prompts cities to get a grip on fake news
By Carey L. Biron
Local officials are increasingly forced to address false information about public health, migration, and urban planning strategies, which intensify during polls.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Wednesday
Zelenskyy overhauls Cabinet with slew of new ministers and top diplomat
By Olena Harmash, Yuliia Dysa and Tom Balmforth
Andrii Sybiha, 49, an experienced diplomat who does not have a prominent public profile, takes the reins of the foreign ministry, replacing Dmytro Kuleba.
Super Typhoon Yagi threatens southern China and Vietnam
India's far-right Hindus seek to drive Muslims out of 'holy land'
China stops foreign adoptions, ending a complicated chapter
By Alexandra Stevenson and Zixu Wang
U.S. targets China with quantum and chip-related export curbs
By Mackenzie Hawkins

Sports

Onosato will have his sights set on sumo's second-highest rank as the Autumn Basho gets underway Sunday.
Onosato poised to shine at Autumn Basho with ozeki rank in sight
By John Gunning
The fact that nine wins in Onosato's sekiwake debut in July was seen by some as disappointing tells you all you need to know about sumo’s hottest wrestler.
Chiefs hold off Ravens (by a toe) in thrilling season opener
Comeback queen Pegula sets up U.S. Open title clash with Sabalenka
By Dave James
Japanese pair clinch Paralympic gold in wheelchair tennis
Japan takes Paralympic gold in men's goalball for the first time

Opinion

Predicting the winner of the 2024 presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris remains exceptionally challenging as the the current landscape is highly fluid.
Election predictions are too noisy to tell if Trump or Harris will win
Aaron Brown
There’s a lot of campaigning to go, a lot of events that could turn the election into a landslide for either candidate.
A flood of hydro is washing coal from China's grid
By David Fickling
Never take Japan-South Korea relations for granted
The Western world's stealthy assault on democracy
By Brahma Chellaney
Is Japan’s involvement in Africa’s development outdated?
By Robert Bociaga

ENVIRONMENT

A construction worker in Tokyo's Akasaka district on Aug. 21. With 886 cases, 54 of them fatal, during the period from 2019 to 2023, the construction industry leads Japan’s tally for occupational heatstroke.
Clocking off: Japan’s hotter summers put limit on outdoor work
By Annelise Giseburt
Climate change is forcing businesses to sacrifice productivity in the name of safety in industries ranging from construction to transportation.
Japan's record heat in July 'almost impossible' without climate change
By Tomoko Otake
Kimchi no more? Climate change puts South Korea's beloved cabbage dish at risk
By Sebin Choi and Hyun Young Yi
How climate change made Shanshan more likely and more devastating
By Tomoko Otake
Robots are starting (good) fires in California
By Coco Liu

CULTURE

In Hiromi Kawakami’s novel “The Third Love,” modern-day Tokyoite Riko travels between life in 19th-century Edo (old Tokyo) and the courts of the Heian Period, examining her relationship with her husband in the process.
'The Third Love' is a time-bending meditation on romantic love
By Kris Kosaka
Hiromi Kawakami's novel draws from “The Tales of Ise" and “Takaoka’s Travels” to immerse readers in an intertextual exploration of who we are in and out of love.
‘There Is a Stone’ finds beauty in the inconsequential
By James Hadfield
'Desert of Namibia' makes its difficult protagonist hard to hate
By Mark Schilling
'Under the Eye of the Big Bird': Hiromi Kawakami's speculative future sets civilization adrift
By Thu-Huong Ha
Yoko Ogawa's 'Mina’s Matchbox' sparkles with quiet intimacy
By Eric Margolis

LIFE

Get your dark blue suit out of the closet, job hunting season is once again upon us.
Those looking for jobs in Japan get another shot at it in September
By Yaeko Kabe
Hiring for new recruits usually takes place in time for an April start, but Japanese companies are increasingly looking to hire in the autumn.
From Godzilla to martyrs, Hakata doll-making knows no bounds
By Erik Augustin Palm
Traveling to Germany is ‘worth the cost’ for Japan’s indie studios
By Samantha Low
Japan’s autumn eggplant: Too delicious for your daughter-in-law
By Elizabeth Andoh
To accompany your counter sushi, why not try a New World wine?
By Melinda Joe

COMMUNITY

Jonah Ndeuludila (right) is studying at Tochigi Prefecture's Asian Rural Institute in order to bring skills back to his job at Namibia's Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust.
Over half a century, seeds of change grow at a Tochigi farm
By Madeleine Cuckson
Founded by Toshihiro Takami in 1973, ARI promotes organic, subsistence farming methods and the practice of servant leadership.
Philippine envoy highlights climate and smart farms
By Louise George Kittaka
Verdi is looking for a home as affectionate as him
Adrian Bianco: ‘Leaving your comfort zone keeps you alive’
By Ora Margolis
The American journalist ahead of the game on an ascendant Japan
By Bill Holstein

Editors' Picks

SUMO
No talking, no eating, no standing: Inside sumo's ring purification ceremony
By John Gunning
A sumo referee performs the dohyō matsuri, or ring purification ceremony, in January 2017 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
CULTURE
Pasocom Music Club returns to the pure pleasures of the dance floor
By Patrick St. Michel
Pasocom Music Club’s “Love Flutter” marks an important moment for Japan’s electronic community as project members Aoi Shibata (left) and Masato Nishiyama step into a role other artists once held for them — scene veterans who are inspiring the next generation.
JAPAN
Typhoon-chaser's firsthand account of his pursuit of Shanshan
By Jessica Speed
A washed-up boat on the shore of the city of Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Friday
BUSINESS
First lesson of Japan’s akiya gold rush: No such thing as a free house.
By Elizabeth Beattie
An abandoned house in Urayama, Saitama Prefecture. Buying an <i>akiya</i>, which means empty house in Japanese, can be a rewarding experience that yields a unique space and a livable home, competitively priced. Or it could turn out to be a money pit.
BASEBALL
The man who opened MLB's door to Japanese players
By Jason Coskrey
Masanori Murakami poses with a Willie Mays-themed clock during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday.

Podcast

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

Longform

A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?
By Alex K.T. Martin

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WHAT’S TRENDING

BUSINESS
Japan miffed but reaction muted after shocking twist to U.S. Steel deal
By Elizabeth Beattie and Gabriele Ninivaggi
Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel is opposed by politicians across the political spectrum, including both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
COMMENTARY
Japan’s second city can finally make Tokyo jealous
By Gearoid Reidy
Osaka is set to open Grand Green Osaka in the city’s Umekita area. It is a sprawling redevelopment that combines a park with mixed-use skyscrapers and is part of a push to rejuvenate the merchant city.
JAPAN
Working till your 70s — Japan's prospective gift to the world
By Erica Yokoyama
Michie Hino, 77, works at an elderly care home in Chiba Prefecture. She is one of a growing number of senior Japanese citizens working into their 70s.
JAPAN
Tokyo police urge caution against ‘one-touch’ molesters
A street in Tokyo's Nakano Ward where one of a series of incidents of "one-touch" molestation occurred
JAPAN
Belarus detains Japanese man over alleged violation of local laws
By Karin Kaneko
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Thursday that the government will do everything it can to assist a Japanese man, named by media outlets as Masatoshi Nakanishi, who has been held in Belarus since July.