Home page

 
Menu
Search
 
Menu
Search
Tokyo Weather 17℃
TOKYO
April 07, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
April 07, 2025
Shigeru Ishiba
Earthquakes
Trade wars
Latest News
Deep Dive
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a joint press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Feb. 7.
Breaking News
JAPAN / Politics
Ishiba speaks with Trump on tariffs in much-anticipated call
By Francis Tang and Gabriele Ninivaggi
The call was the first interaction between the two leaders since the U.S. president rolled out new tariffs targeting almost every country on the planet.

More coverage

Nikkei plunges in third-biggest daily loss ever amid Trump tariff concerns
Trump team rejects market fears, projecting defiance on tariffs
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a joint press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Feb. 7.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a news conference in Tokyo on April 1. The approval rating for Ishiba's Cabinet fell to 30.6% over the weekend, according to a JNN poll.
JAPAN / Politics
Ishiba under pressure to take stronger stance against U.S. on tariffs
By Eric Johnston
Some opposition leaders are urging the prime minister to rally his party around a strategy before speaking with the U.S. president, but others are eyeing his removal.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Japan does not intend to seek direct confrontation with the U.S. over the newly levied tariffs, during a parliamentary committee session in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Japan to avoid direct confrontation with the U.S. over Trump tariffs
By Francis Tang
The Japanese prime minister is calling for a more diplomatic and fact-based approach, in part by examining U.S. allegations about trade barriers.
A Fuchu expressway entrance in western Tokyo is closed Sunday due to a glitch in the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system.
JAPAN
Tollbooths now operational after ETC malfunction causes mass confusion
By Yukana Inoue
It was the first time such a large-scale problem involving the ETC system has occurred since Japanese expressways were privatized in 2005.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks during a news conference at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels last week.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
With focus on ‘projecting power,’ NATO eyes greater Indo-Pacific role
By Gabriel Dominguez
NATO chief Mark Rutte expects the alliance to ramp up its engagement in the strategically important region as threats become increasingly interconnected.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks during a news conference at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels last week.

JAPAN

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako lay flowers at the Iwoto Islander Peace Cemetery Park on Iwo Jima on Monday.
Emperor, empress visit Iwo Jima battlefield to pay respects to war dead
Monday's trip to the island is the first by an emperor and an empress since the current Emperor Emeritus Akihito's and Empress Emerita Michiko's visit in 1994.
Children play with trading cards featuring "local heroes" created by a local community council in the Saidosho district of Kawara, Fukuoka Prefecture, in January.
'Local hero' trading cards nudge children toward community activities
The cards, which feature real people, are helping to break the ice between children and adults in Kawara, Fukuoka Prefecture.
Unification Church appeals stripping of religious corporation status
Three dead after medical helicopter crashes in waters off Nagasaki
By Karin Kaneko
Russia bans Japanese NGO amid disputed islands row
Potentially explosive levels of methane gas detected at Osaka Expo site

BUSINESS

Kids view the area from a lookout point over cranes and containers at the Port of Keelung, Taiwan, on Thursday.
Taiwan eyes zero tariffs with U.S., pledges more investment
By Ben Blanchard
The U.S. is Taiwan's most important international backer and main source of arms, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.
The Leica museum in Wetzlar, western Germany, on March 18. The Leica camera turns 100 this year.
Snappy birthday: Germany's Leica camera turns 100
By Jean-Philippe LACOUR
The Leica 1 camera made its debut at the Leipzig Spring Fair in 1925.
Senior Honda executive resigns after allegations of misconduct
By Craig Trudell
East Asia tries a mix of measures to counter U.S. tariffs as markets suffer
By Kazuaki Nagata
Trump says China tariff objections stalled TikTok deal
By Annmarie Hordern and Jennifer A Dlouhy
Hedge fund billionaires denounce Trump’s tariffs as rout deepens
By Harry Brumpton

WORLD

President Donald Trump outside the White House in Washington on Thursday. The 22nd Amendment is clear: President Trump has to give up his office after his second term. But his refusal to accept that underscores how far he is willing to consider going to consolidate power.
Trump's third term talk defies constitution and tests democracy
By Peter Baker
The fact that Trump has inserted the idea into the national conversation illustrates the uncertainty about the future of America’s constitutional system.
A Chinese military unit fires a land-based rocket during military exercises near Taiwan last week.
G7 condemns 'provocative' Chinese military drills around Taiwan
By Jesse Johnson
Group of Seven foreign minsters expressed “deep concern” over the “provocative” and “destabilizing” drills.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq ready to disarm to avert Trump wrath
By Ahmed Rasheed
Philippines, U.S. launch joint drills aimed at 'deterrence'
The scientist rewriting DNA, and the future of medicine
By Issam AHMED
Bolsonaro whips up Sao Paulo protest over coup charges

Sports

A Haas F1 car on display in the fan zone at Suzuka Circuit on Saturday as Toyota marks a soft return to Formula One.
Toyota's synergy with Haas fuels automaker's modest return to Formula One
By Joel Tansey
Toyota’s decision to partner with the American team immediately left observers wondering if it might have its eyes on more, such as an engine deal or a full-blown Toyota team.
Paris Saint-Germain becomes stronger amid Luis Enrique's starless revolution
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. agrees to $500 million extension with Blue Jays
Ivan Juric urges Southampton to learn from record-setting relegation
Rookie duo off to hot starts at plate in new NPB campaign
By Jason Coskrey

Opinion

Hong Kong's real estate sector is slumping, putting the government's development plans at risk and signaling a wider economic malaise that may become a spanner in the works of Beijing's plans to transform the territory's economy.
Will China succeed in remaking Hong Kong in its own image?
Toru Kurata
Beijing can control Hong Kong politically, but to impose its economic vision on the territory it needs businesses to get on board as these face an economic and real estate plunge.
Wall Street will regret helping the world burn
By Mark Gongloff
What does your beard say about you?
By Stephen L. Carter
Emerging economies must get rich before they get old
By Anu Madgavkar and Marc Canal Noguer
How the U.S. and Japan can keep partnering for the future
By Joshua W. Walker and James Kondo

ENVIRONMENT

An artificial glacier built by local residents during the winter to conserve water for the summer at Pari village in the Kharmang district of Pakistan's mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan region are seen on March 18. At the foot of Pakistan's impossibly high mountains whitened by frost all year round, farmers grappling with a lack of water have created their own ice towers. The ice forms in the shape of cones that resemble Buddhist stupas, and act as a storage system — steadily melting throughout spring, when temperatures rise.
Artificial glaciers boost water supply in northern Pakistan
Warmer winters as a result of climate change has reduced the snowfall and subsequent seasonal snowmelt that feeds the valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Rising seas test defenses of South American ports
By Axl Hernandez
'It's gone': conservation science in Thailand's burning forest
By Sara Hussein
Clouds changing as world warms, adding to climate uncertainty
By Nick Perry
Trump can't stop 'sustainability revolution': Al Gore

CULTURE

Sasami has had a connection to Japan since childhood as her mother's side of the family is Zainichi Korean and has lived in Japan for years. The musician grew up listening to city pop and watching Japanese TV.
Sasami is in her pop era, and she’s not overthinking it
By Patrick St. Michel
As the singer explores Tokyo, she reflects on identity and her latest album, “Blood On the Silver Screen.”
Authors hold London protest against Meta for 'stealing' work to train AI
By James PHEBY
‘Unreachable’: An attractive but half-baked fantasy
By James Hadfield
AI may be coming for anime, but Hayao Miyazaki is irreplaceable, son says
By Natsuko Fukue
‘Let’s Meet at Angie’s Bar’: A granny like none other
By Mark Schilling

LIFE

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it
By Alex K.T. Martin
Outdated government policy, changing diets and even an earthquake scare have had an impact on the national food staple.
‘Japanese pastry has matured into its own distinct identity’
By Haru Beaufort
In Los Angeles, Courtney Kaplan says sake is having a moment
By Melinda Joe
Can Japan's take on fandom help drive spending?
By Satoshi Sugiyama
Meeting new colleagues and introducing yourself in Japanese
By Yuko Tamura

COMMUNITY

Tokyo Humanities Cafe was launched in 2017 by Laurence Williams (left) and Alex Watson, professors at Sophia and Meiji Universities, respectively.
Tokyo Humanities Cafe feeds hungry minds
By Jessica Kozuka
A free quarterly event invites everyone to explore what it means to be human.
Meet the cool cat with a roguish mustache
Montessori head educates Tokyo’s children for life
By Louise George Kittaka
How to navigate Japan’s e-commerce platforms and online flea markets
By Jessica Speed
Shogo Yamaguchi: ‘Traditional culture thrives in a peaceful society’
By Laura Pollacco

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
‘Let’s make it practical’: NATO chief eyes greater defense-industrial ties with Japan
By Gabriel Dominguez
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte plans to visit Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday — his first to the Indo-Pacific region since taking office in October, as he seeks to implement lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine.
CULTURE
Tottori takes a bold leap forward in the arts
By Jennifer Pastore
The city of Kurayoshi in Tottori Prefecture celebrated the opening of its public art museum with festivities such as a parade that drew 1,000 revelers.
CULTURE
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
By Mike Fu
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
LIFE
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
By Sam Byford
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
JAPAN
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
By Yukana Inoue
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.

Podcast

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

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it
By Alex K.T. Martin

JT Directory Service

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

Ex.Portal By Synergy Media Specialists

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)
BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

WHAT’S TRENDING

BUSINESS
Nissan says it will not take new U.S. orders for Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs
A Nissan manufacturing complex in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Nissan says it will not take new orders from the United States for two Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs following new auto tariffs levied by the U.S.
BUSINESS
Nikkei plunges in third-biggest daily loss ever amid Trump tariff concerns
Pedestrians stand in front of an electronic board showing the numbers of the Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange along a street in the Japanese capital on Monday.
JAPAN
Ride-hailing services spreading in Japan
Vehicles used for ride-hailing services in the city of Kiryu, in Gunma Prefecture
BUSINESS
Japan digs deep to address 'national crisis' caused by Trump tariffs
By Francis Tang and Gabriele Ninivaggi
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on April 1. He has said that Japan is facing a "national crisis" following the introduction of new tariffs by the United States.
BUSINESS
'Hang tough, it won't be easy': Trump defiant on tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he walks to deliver remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden entitled "Make America Wealthy Again" at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.