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March 17, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
March 17, 2025
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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions at a session of the Upper House Budget Committee in Tokyo. Approval ratings for Ishiba's government have dropped sharply, polls showed Monday, as the leader faces a backlash for distributing gift vouchers to rookie lawmakers in his ruling party.
JAPAN / Politics
Approval rates for Ishiba's Cabinet plunges amid gift voucher snafu
By Himari Semans
Polls conducted by several newspapers over the weekend show public support tumbling to record lows.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions at a session of the Upper House Budget Committee in Tokyo. Approval ratings for Ishiba's government have dropped sharply, polls showed Monday, as the leader faces a backlash for distributing gift vouchers to rookie lawmakers in his ruling party.
Alimentation Couche-Tard founder Alain Bouchard (center), CEO Alex Miller (left) and CFO Filipe Da Silva attend a photo session after a news conference on their bid for Seven & I Holdings in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies / EXPLAINER
Why Couche-Tard's deal with Seven & I isn't going anywhere
By Elizabeth Beattie
The buyout bid has seen a mixed response in Japan, with some expressing concerns over the convenience store chain being taken over by a foreign company.
Bank of Japan headquarters building in February. In January, the BOJ voted to raise its short-term policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25%, taking it to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
BUSINESS / Markets
Bank of Japan unlikely to raise rates this week as trade war intensifies
By Kazuaki Nagata
The central bank voted to raise its short-term policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25% in January, taking it to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
Tokyo will soon require all companies in the city to make efforts to stop harassment by customers, such as by creating a manual on how to handle suspected cases.
JAPAN / Society
Tokyo gears up for April launch of law against harassment by customers
By Yukana Inoue
All companies in Tokyo must make an effort to eliminate such harassment, such as by creating a manual on how to handle suspected cases.
The Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto during training at Tokyo Dome on Monday
BASEBALL / MLB
How Yoshinobu Yamamoto rebounded after his disastrous MLB debut
By Jason Coskrey
Yamamoto is a different pitcher than he was a year ago when he was still adjusting to the transition from NPB to MLB.
The Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto during training at Tokyo Dome on Monday

JAPAN

Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo
By Alex K.T. Martin
Thirty years after Aum Shinrikyo attacked Tokyo’s subways, the nation continues to prepare for the unthinkable.
The Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. Tokyo police have arrested a number of suspects this month in connection with home improvement scams.
Police issue warning over home improvement scams
Such scams use similar tactics to those employed by fraudsters who impersonate relatives or public agency officials over the phone to defraud victims of their money.
Tokyo pub hit with first-ever closure order for illegal street tables
Sculptor connects Fukushima to U.S. through New York gallery
Police issue warning over home improvement scams
Japan to extend financial aid to more people moving out of Tokyo

BUSINESS

One year on from the Bank of Japan's historic rate hike, the biggest winners are the banks.
Banks boom and shoppers scrimp a year after Japan’s rate pivot
By Taiga Uranaka, Masaki Kondo and Haruka Iwai
Higher borrowing costs are also fueling a political battle over how the government can rein in its outlays.
A conceptual image of a jacket that can automatically adjust the temperature inside it to a level that is the most comfortable for the wearer, to be showcased by Tohan Denshi Kiki and others at the Osaka Expo
Local manufacturers to show futuristic products at Osaka Expo
Products to be showcased at the Expo include a jacket that can automatically adjust the temperature inside it.
Gazprom's grandeur fades as Europe abandons Russian gas
Geely billionaire goes on a cost-cutting spree to catch rivals
By Linda Lew and Rafaela Lindeberg
'Impossible': U.S. breweries buffeted by Trump tariffs
By Beiyi Seow
Trump's bitcoin reserve to be a 'digital Fort Knox'
By Lucie Lequier

WORLD

Salvadoran police officers escort alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua recently deported by the U.S. government to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center prison, as part of an agreement with the Salvadoran government, at the El Salvador International Airport in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, in this image released on Sunday.
U.S. flies alleged gang members to El Salvador despite court block
Legal experts called the move the most radical test of America's system of checks and balances since the Civil War.
A ship fires missiles toward an undisclosed location, after U.S. President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on Saturday.
U.S. vows to keep hitting Houthis until shipping attacks stop
By Phil Stewart, Gabriella Borter and Mohammed Ghobari
The Houthi-run health ministry said U.S. airstrikes on Saturday killed at least 53 people.
Trump says he will speak with Putin on Tuesday about ending war in Ukraine
U.K. faces hard choices over soaring disability costs
By David Milliken
Thousands show support for coup-accused Bolsonaro at Rio rally
By Louis GENOT
'Pray for us. They've arrived': How Syria descended into revenge bloodshed
By Reade Levinson, Maya Gebeily, Maggie Michael and Feras Dalatey

Sports

Cubs slugger Seiya Suzuki at the dish during an exhibition game against the Tigers on Saturday in Tokyo.
Seiya Suzuki hit with dose of nostalgia as he dons Cubs uniform at Tokyo Dome
By Jason Coskrey
Facing the Hanshin Tigers and hearing the team’s cheering section was a blast from the recent past for the former Hiroshima Carp star.
Bengals signing receivers Chase and Higgins to four-year deals
'Moneyball' disciples aim to upend Japanese baseball for second year
By Yuki Furukawa and Haruka Iwai
Heavyweight seven eye finish line in race to succeed Olympics chief
By Pirate IRWIN
Briton Draper pummels Rune to win Indian Wells title
By Amy Tennery

Opinion

Japan, despite facing multiple territorial disputes, lacks a dedicated university program on the issue, unlike Western countries, and would benefit from an interdisciplinary academic initiative to foster expertise.
Japan needs academic programs focused on territorial issues
Robert D. Eldridge
While many countries have territorial disputes with their neighbors — in fact, there are at least 150 active disputes worldwide — Japan faces issues with nearly all its neighbors.
Reaping Asia’s silver demographic dividend
By Lee Jong-wha
What really changed the marriage market
By Sarah Green Carmichael
Got $10 billion? Don’t blow it cloning a woolly mammoth.
By F.D. Flam
America is surrounded by enemies — that it created
By David Brooks

ENVIRONMENT

While climate demonstrations around the world often draw thousands of participants, in Japan such demonstrations rarely break the 100-person barrier.
Japan’s youth climate activists still searching for a breakthrough
By Eric Margolis
With Japan endorsing climate targets criticized as unambitious, activists are looking to education and more tailored strategies to make an impact.
From oil spills to new species: How tech reveals the ocean
By Sara Hussein
Carbon capture industry tweaks message for the Trump era
By John BIERS
A stain on Britain: Sewage contaminates its waterways and seas
By Kate Holton and Dylan Martinez
Nepal community efforts revive red panda population
By Anup OJHA

CULTURE

Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time” won the award for best film at the 48th Japan Academy Film Prize ceremony.
‘A Samurai in Time’ wins top prize at Japan’s premier film event
By Alyssa I. Smith
This country’s answer to the Oscars also saw awards go to “Oppenheimer” and “Faceless.”
Augmented reality artist Omega C navigates a precarious scene for XR art
By Erik Augustin Palm
K-Ballet Tokyo marks 25 years of passion and perseverance
By Kris Kosaka
The sci-fi satire 'Mickey 17' might be a classic — someday
By Mark Leydorf
‘Ravens’ is a portrait of art, love and inner demons
By Matt Schley

LIFE

Tucked away behind the historic Tsuchida sake brewery, Ventinove's location and sleek, angular architecture make for impressive destination dining.
At Ventinove, Tuscan specialties taken to new heights
By Robbie Swinnerton
A former Italian favorite in Tokyo now enjoys a renaissance in a bucolic village in Gunma Prefecture.
A classic combination for spring
By Makiko Itoh
‘Resorts for the spirit’: Touring Kagawa’s art and architecture
By Jennifer Pastore
Square Enix Cafe had everything going for it, except the ability to adapt
By Isabelle Steen
From 'commuting' to 'passing through,' meet the kanji that's always on the move
By Yuko Tamura

COMMUNITY

Kyoko Watanabe made a home for herself in Ishinomaki after moving there to participate in disaster relief efforts following 3/11, and now operates a business focused on the creative reuse of <i>akiya</i> (abandoned houses).
From abandoned houses to ‘creative communities’: An Ishinomaki entrepreneur's vision for rural Japan
By Florentyna Leow
Kyoko Watanabe moved to Miyagi Prefecture to help with disaster relief efforts following 3/11. She ended up building a company and a vision for revitalizing rural Japan.
A shy Shiba mix is ready to bloom
Hiromi Okuda: 'Humans and emerging tech should exist symbiotically'
By Jessica Kozuka
Redevelopment and resistance in historic Nishiogikubo
By Aviraj Gokool
How a Canadian missionary found spiritual transformation in Shikoku
By Suzanne Kamata

Editors' Picks

ENVIRONMENT
Japan’s youth climate activists still searching for a breakthrough
By Eric Margolis
While climate demonstrations around the world often draw thousands of participants, in Japan such demonstrations rarely break the 100-person barrier.
BUSINESS
Bank of Japan unlikely to raise rates this week as trade war intensifies
By Kazuaki Nagata
Bank of Japan headquarters building in February. In January, the BOJ voted to raise its short-term policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25%, taking it to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
JAPAN
As it turns 70, LDP struggles to find its fountain of youth
By Eric Johnston
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (second from left) cheers along with other members of the Liberal Democratic Party during the party's annual convention in Tokyo on March 9.
JAPAN
As pollen season peaks, Japan's allergy struggle emerges from hibernation
By Jessica Speed
Urbanization is amplifying pollen-related allergies as grasslands and soft soil give way to concrete and asphalt.
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.

Podcast

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

Longform

Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo
By Alex K.T. Martin

JT Directory Service

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Yamagata’s Zao Onsen Ski Resort is a classic beauty
Yamagata’s Zao Onsen Ski Resort is a classic beauty

WHAT’S TRENDING

ASIA PACIFIC
U.S. designated South Korea a 'sensitive' country amid talk of nuclear weapons
By Timothy Gardner, David Brunnstrom and Ju-min Park
Then-U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol attend an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework event at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco in November 2023.
WORLD
Canada has a new prime minister with a very hard first assignment
By Vjosa Isai
Mark Carney, Canada's incoming prime minister (center), during a swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Friday. Carney has been sworn in as Canada's 24th prime minister, bringing the former central banker to power in the middle of an explosive trade war with the U.S.
JAPAN
Unification Church faces dissolution in Japan
By Natsuko Fukue
The logo of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, better known as the Unification Church, is seen at the entrance of its Japan branch headquarters in Tokyo in October 2023.
BASEBALL
Tigers shut out the Cubs as Seiya Suzuki receives warm welcome in Tokyo
By Jason Coskrey
Tigers players walk off the field while carrying Cubs caps during a rare exhibition game between NPB and MLB clubs.
JAPAN
As it turns 70, LDP struggles to find its fountain of youth
By Eric Johnston
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (second from left) cheers along with other members of the Liberal Democratic Party during the party's annual convention in Tokyo on March 9.