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March 14, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
March 14, 2025
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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's reversal over medical co-payments late last week and the revelation he gave gift vouchers to lawmakers have weakened his political standing.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Ishiba on shaky ground over budget and gift vouchers
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Recent fumbles have given Ishiba's opponents within the LDP a golden opportunity to attack him.

More coverage

Opposition blasts Ishiba over gift certificates given to LDP lawmakers
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's reversal over medical co-payments late last week and the revelation he gave gift vouchers to lawmakers have weakened his political standing.
Urbanization is amplifying pollen-related allergies as grasslands and soft soil give way to concrete and asphalt.
JAPAN / Science & Health
As pollen season peaks, Japan's allergy struggle emerges from hibernation
By Jessica Speed
In Tokyo and Sendai, high cedar pollen levels will persist into late March, followed by cypress pollen peaking from late March to early April.
George Glass, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Japan, speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Trump's ambassador pick to press Japan to spend more to host U.S. troops
By Jesse Johnson
The remarks by George Glass were the latest volley from the Trump administration to target Japan, following comments by other nominees for top posts — and the president himself.
Officials from Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), the Ministry of National Defense’s research arm, say the lessons from the Ukraine conflict are clear for the democratic island: drones and other autonomous systems are crucial for its defense.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Drones, budgets and infighting: Taiwan's daunting defense challenges
By Gabriel Dominguez
In bridging its military gap with China, Taiwan needs to both overcome key technical challenges of asymmetric warfare as well as find solutions to political divisions at home.
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani arrives for practice on Friday at Tokyo Dome.
BASEBALL / MLB
Hype reaches fever pitch as Ohtani and the Dodgers get set for games in Tokyo
By Jason Coskrey
Shohei Ohtani talked about getting over jet lag and his excitement for the Tokyo Series as the Dodgers prepare to put on a show for Japanese fans.
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani arrives for practice on Friday at Tokyo Dome.

JAPAN

People in Japan appeared to have the smallest difference between the amount of sleep they get on weekdays and weekends, suggesting the lowest incidence of social jet lag.
People in Japan get the least sleep, Pokemon study finds
By Yukana Inoue
Does that make Japan the land of the never-setting sun?
According to the Nippon Bonsai Growers Cooperative, there were about 30 cases of bonsai theft last year.
Bonsai thefts sweep Japan as miniature trees grow more popular
By Mia Glass
About 30 cases of such theft occurred last year, according to the Nippon Bonsai Growers Cooperative.
Nagoya court upholds NRA approvals extending use of reactors in Fukui Prefecture
China deports Japanese tourists over Great Wall buttocks pic, reports state
People bid farewell to Japan's easternmost train station
Tokyo murder suspect stabbed woman for more than a minute

BUSINESS

A worker keeps a tally of wages Wednesday in Tokyo at the head office of UA Zensen, Japan's largest industrial trade union that represents workers mostly at small and medium-sized firms.
Japan’s unions win largest pay hike in more than three decades
By Erica Yokoyama
Some 760 affiliated unions under the trade union federation Rengo have so far secured an average pay gain of 5.46% in ongoing annual wage negotiations.
Microchips are a major source of "forever chemicals” that are linked to cancer and other health problems.
As chips race spews ‘forever chemicals,’ startups emerge to destroy them
By Aaron Clark
A wave of companies are offering potential solutions that won’t cut the chemicals out of the supply chain but destroy them.
Stocks tumble into correction as Trump policies roil sentiment
By Natalia Kniazhevich
Trump threatens tariffs on European wine and spirits in escalating trade war
By Andy Sullivan, Philip Blenkinsop and David Lawder
Alimentation Couche-Tard ramps up campaign to take over Seven & I
By Elizabeth Beattie
South Korean steelmakers eye U.S. investments as Trump tariffs kick in
By Heekyong Yang and Byron Kaye

WORLD

Palestinian women stand in a window of a damaged building in Gaza in January.
U.N. experts accuse Israel of genocidal acts and sexual violence in Gaza
By Olivia Le Poidevin
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the report's findings, saying they were biased and antisemitic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a news conference following a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday.
Putin suggests U.S. ceasefire idea for Ukraine needs serious reworking
Putin's statements looked designed to signal goodwill to Washington, but his conditions appeared to rule out a swift ceasefire.
Harvard, Yale, Columbia fall in line after funding threats
By Janet Lorin and Maxwell Adler
Americans worry Trump is too closely aligned with Russia, poll finds
By Jason Lange
Cautious Russia weighs Ukraine ceasefire plan as U.S. tries to seal a deal
By Guy Faulconbridge and Dmitry Antonov
Taiwan’s DPP and KMT lock horns amid specter of recall votes
By Gabriel Dominguez

Sports

Takuya “Moby” Okamoto after Game 5 of the 2016 World Series, which the Cubs went on to win in seven games to snap a 108-year drought
In a sea of Dodger Blue, Japanese superfan ready to cheer on the Cubs
By Mai Yoshikawa
The Dodgers may garner the lion's share of attention in Japan among MLB clubs, but don't tell that to Takuya “Moby” Okamoto, Japan's biggest Cubs fan.
Olympians make climate plea to IOC presidential candidates
By Nick Mulvenney
Japanese superfans turn dental clinic into Ohtani mini-museum
By Irene Wang
Leclerc fastest in second Australian GP practice as Hamilton slots fifth
Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox set for season-ending surgery

Opinion

The Nikkei stock average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Many firms on the TSE have price-to-book ratios of less than 1, lowering the perceived quality of the exchange, which should consider taking steps to increase valuations and trading volume.
Tokyo Stock Exchange must weed out underperforming firms
Nicholas Benes
Tokyo wants to become Asia's top financial hub, but faces big obstacles. Among them, the presence of too many companies with low profitability and growth prospects.
Fear and loathing in the Oval Office
By Nina L. Khrushcheva
Duterte may yet pay for his lawless war on drugs
America doesn’t need an official language
By Carlos Lozada
Southeast Asia must learn to defend itself
By David Hutt

ENVIRONMENT

India, the world’s third-biggest emitter, wants to more than double clean-power capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030. That won't be easy.
Eyeing short-term savings, India’s utilities put green energy boom at risk
By Rajesh Kumar Singh
A federal auction model that helped the country add more than 130 gigawatts of renewables projects over the past decade is under threat of circumvention.
Nepal community efforts revive red panda population
By Anup OJHA
Many U.S. bird species seen as reaching population 'tipping point'
By Will Dunham
On the Mongolian steppe, climate change pushes herders to the brink
By Rebecca Bailey
Most contaminated U.S. nuclear site is set to be the largest solar farm
By Keith Schneider

CULTURE

“Ravens” stars Tadanobu Asano as Masahisa Fukase, a real-life figure who was known for his photos of the psychedelic party scene of 1960s Shinjuku, portraits of his wife and images of the ravens of his home prefecture of Hokkaido.
‘Ravens’ is a portrait of art, love and inner demons
By Matt Schley
Director Mark Gill brings the turbulent life of celebrated photographer Masahisa Fukase into focus in his new film.
The sci-fi satire 'Mickey 17' might be a classic — someday
By Mark Leydorf
‘Escape’: Masao Adachi’s fugitive biopic salutes a kindred spirit
By James Hadfield
‘Nemurubaka: Hypnic Jerks’: Opposites come together with quips and dry humor
By Mark Schilling
Grief ebbs and flows between two tragedies in 'The Place of Shells'
By Thu-Huong Ha

LIFE

The 通勤経路 (tsūkin keiro, commuting route) is a big part of most working Tokyoites’ daily routines.
From 'commuting' to 'passing through,' meet the kanji that's always on the move
By Yuko Tamura
The character 通 is also used to denote avenues and forms of communication.
Air Canada has a new 'kaiseki'-inspired menu
By Zoria Petkoska
On Japan's top foodie site, imperfection is gold
By Weiwen Lin
Slowly but surely, Osaka emerges from Kyoto’s fine-dining shadow
By Phoebe Amoroso
Scams, taxes and tariffs: It's that time of year.
By Yuko Tamura

COMMUNITY

Hiromi Okuda’s study abroad experience at the University of Mumbai inspired her to build a career at the intersection of social welfare and IT.
Hiromi Okuda: 'Humans and emerging tech should exist symbiotically'
By Jessica Kozuka
For the past 30 years, Hiromi Okuda has forged a career at the intersection of social welfare and technology.
A shy Shiba mix is ready to bloom
Redevelopment and resistance in historic Nishiogikubo
By Aviraj Gokool
How a Canadian missionary found spiritual transformation in Shikoku
By Suzanne Kamata
Mike Sunda: ‘Creative production comes with a bigger responsibility than ever before’
By Mike Fu

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Japan to get tough on businesses not taking heatstroke countermeasures
By Tomoko Otake
A construction site in Tokyo in July 2018. Businesses failing to take measures to prevent severe heatstroke among employees will be subjected to criminal punishment from June.
JAPAN
How Upper House pressure led to Ishiba's stunning reversal on medical cost caps
By Himari Semans
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends an Upper House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
Taiwan’s No. 2 diplomat seeks higher-level ‘unofficial’ Japan meetings as ties grow
By Gabriel Dominguez
Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu told The Japan Times in an interview last week in Taipei that he hopes with the island democracy can strengthen ties with Japan and other like-minded nations “at every level.”
BUSINESS
14 years after 3/11 disasters, Fukushima vies to become a startup hub
By Elizabeth Beattie
Aizawa Concrete employees work in the Namie factory in Fukushima Prefecture in January.
LIFE
Tokyo’s vinyl experts say overseas buyers are ‘sustaining the scene’
By Gabrielle Doman
Rintaro Sekizuka runs a record store in both London and Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward.

Podcast

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

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly
By Tomoko Otake

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WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
The U.S. says Japan has a 700% tariff on American rice. Is that the case?
By Yukana Inoue
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds up a piece of paper with information about tariff rates at the White House on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Man arrested in Tokyo stabbing tracked victim through livestream
Kenichi Takano leaves a police station in Tokyo on Thursday to be sent over to prosecutors.
BUSINESS
Struggling Intel names industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as CEO
The Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The struggling tech giant announced Lip-Bu Tan as its new chief executive, boosting shares of the U.S. computer chipmaker.
BUSINESS
Concerns grow over possible U.S. tariffs on Japan's auto sector
By Kazuaki Nagata
Toyota vehicles are loaded onto a ship at the Port of Nagoya in June last year.
WORLD
U.S. steered Syrian Kurds toward Damascus deal, sources say
By Timour Azhari, Phil Stewart, Jonathan Spicer and Suleiman Al-Khalidi
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (right) and Syrian Democratic Forces commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi signing an agreement to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in Damascus on Monday.