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TOKYO
April 18, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
April 18, 2025
Trump tariffs
Shigeru Ishiba
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Ryosei Akazawa (third from right), Japan's tariffs negotiator, in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent (second from right) and other senior government officials on Wednesday in Washington
BUSINESS
Trump reiterates opposition to Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel
By Francis Tang
Whether there is interplay between the tariff negotiations and the Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal has never been made clear.
Ryosei Akazawa (third from right), Japan's tariffs negotiator, in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent (second from right) and other senior government officials on Wednesday in Washington
The head of Godzilla, a Japanese monster movie character, is seen on a building of Toho Cinema in Tokyo. Toho is one tariff-defensive stock being recommended by brokers.
BUSINESS / Markets
Tokyo broker advises Trump-proofing portfolios with Godzilla-creator Toho
By Kazuaki Nagata
Investor sentiment may favor Japanese companies that continue to issue earnings forecasts, especially during this period of uncertainty and market volatility.
A vegetable stand displays prices at a supermarket in Tokyo in 2023. Some lawmakers are proposing lowering the consumption tax on food to 0%, which is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.
JAPAN / Politics
LDP and CDP lawmaker groups propose 0% consumption tax on food
By Himari Semans
Reducing the tax to 0% is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.
A revised child welfare bill passed the Upper House plenary session on Friday as cases of child abuse rise.
JAPAN / Society
New bill blocks visitations for parents suspected of child abuse
By Yukana Inoue
The revision to the child welfare law is intended to protect children in cases where contact with their parents could cause emotional or physical harm.
People walk past an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani outside Tokyo Dome on March 18.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nothing sells like Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s marketing megastar
By Mai Yoshikawa
The Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player is at the peak of his stardom, and brands are rushing to cash in with huge sponsorship deals.
People walk past an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani outside Tokyo Dome on March 18.

JAPAN

The bus stop in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, where a Japanese mother, her child, and a Chinese woman were attacked in June 2024
China executes man over Japanese school bus stop murder
The Chinese Foreign Ministry informed the Japanese Embassy in China of the execution on Wednesday.
Sections of the outer loop of Tokyo's Yamanote Line and the Keihin-Tohoku Line will be shut down all day Saturday, and from the start of service through around noon on Sunday.
Parts of Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines to be suspended over weekend
By Jessica Speed
The suspensions come as JR East pushes ahead with its Haneda Airport Access Line project.
Ishiba not to visit Yasukuni Shrine during spring festival
Japan upper house begins debates on active cyberdefense bill
Japan enacts bill allowing urban bears to be shot
High court overturns asbestos ruling, ordering government to pay ¥6 million

BUSINESS

Mazda will halt production of CX-50 sport utility vehicles destined for Canada at its Alabama plant effective May 12.
Mazda to pause U.S. production of CX-50 cars destined for Canada
By Nicholas Takahashi
The Japanese automaker will halt production of CX-50 sport utility vehicles destined for Canada at its Alabama plant effective May 12.
Shares of Eli Lilly & Co. surged on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday after early reports of its experimental weight-loss drug put in a par with market leader Ozempic. The stocks of the drug’s originator, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., also saw an uptick.
Weight-loss pill orforglipron shines in study, boosting Lilly and Chugai
By Madison Muller
Eli Lilly’s orforglipron pill, licensed from Chugai Pharmaceutical, could reshape the booming weight-loss drug market, early data shows.
Major Japan life insurer to pile into domestic super-long bonds
By Mia Glass and Masahiro Hidaka
Japanese municipal bond deals fail to sell as rate swings surge
By Takahiko Hyuga and Issei Hazama
Japan’s inflation quickens as rice prices gain the most in over 50 years
By Toru Fujioka
BlueBay piles into Japanese bonds, ditching bets on deeper fall
By Naomi Tajitsu

WORLD

A video circulating on Chinese social media depicting a "U.S. sweatshop"
Chinese vent anger at Trump's trade war with memes, mockery
Chinese online warriors have taken advantage of the massive strides in AI to create memes highlighting that many of the goods bought by Americans are made in their country.
A police car enters Insein prison before the release of prisoners to commemorate the Buddhist New Year in Yangon on Thursday.
Myanmar junta to free nearly 5,000 prisoners in amnesty
The junta said 13 foreign nationals would also be pardoned and deported, without giving details of their identities or crimes.
With his promises of peace unmet in Gaza and Ukraine, Trump may find Iran just as tough
By Matt Spetalnick and Steve Holland
U.S. peace framework for Russia's war in Ukraine gets 'encouraging reception'
Luigi Mangione faces federal charges in health executive’s killing
Hamas says it is ready to release remaining hostages for an end to Gaza war

Sports

U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin competes during the men's short program at the ISU World Team Trophy at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Thursday.
Malinin, Liu help U.S. take early lead at skating's World Team Trophy
Malinin, who won his second world title last month in Boston, topped the men's short program in Tokyo with a score of 106.08.
Refugee girls in Kenya find strength in taekwondo
Capitals great Alex Ovechkin seeks ultimate prize to cap historic season
USOPC says White House gave reassurances about visas for Los Angeles Olympics
Red Bull star Max Verstappen feeling ‘very relaxed’ amid rampant speculation

Opinion

Pro-Yoon Suk Yeol supporters gather on the side of a road as they wait for the arrival of the former South Korean president outside the Central District Court in Seoul on Monday.
New leadership in South Korea should stay the course on Japan ties
Democracy should be frustrating. It is intended to force compromise, a process that will inevitably be slow and exasperating.
What economists 'don’t get' about Trump tariffs
By Kuni Miyake
Can Trump’s tariffs restore U.S. manufacturing?
By Keun Lee
Japan should challenge Washington in defense of justice
By Nathan Thomas
ASEAN should expand to counter Trump’s tariffs
By R.M. Manivannan

ENVIRONMENT

Microsoft is set to use energy from new reactors at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania.
AI surge to double data center electricity demand by 2030, report says
By Nathalie ALONSO
AI can also unlock opportunities to produce and consume electricity more efficiently, the International Energy Agency said in its first report on the technology's implications.
Clean streets versus business woes: Pollution charge divides Londoners
By Akshata Kapoor
Once-dying Mexican river delta slowly nursed back to life by conservationists
By Daniel Rook
As Chile revs up lithium plans, Indigenous people demand more control
By Daina Beth Solomon
Global temperatures at near-historic highs in March, says EU monitor

CULTURE

Palestinian American photographer Adam Rouhana’s exhibition at this year’s Kyotographie festival shows Palestinian life, not death and rubble.
Kyotographie 2025 opts for laughter and levity in the face of global strife
By Thu-Huong Ha
Artists at the 13th edition of the international photography festival find humor and heart in their portrayals of humanity.
Actor Hiroyuki Sanada among Time's 100 most influential people
‘Ya Boy Kongming! The Movie’: J-pop spectacle goes heavy on performances
By Mark Schilling
'Bullet Train Explosion’: High-speed disaster movie doesn’t get the pulse racing
By James Hadfield
Music, revolution and Y2K: Coachella 2025 takeaways
By Maggy Donaldson

LIFE

New to the Tokyo version of the globe-trotting exhibition is a Ministry of Magic set, which includes an imposing replica of the Magic Is Might monument representing magical fascism.
Calling all Potterheads: ‘The Goblet of Fire’ comes to Tokyo
By Gendel Gento
The grand scale and attention to detail is likely to impress — just make sure to withdraw some galleons at Gringotts before coming.
Voicing intentions and a peek into a traditional Japanese engagement ceremony
By Yaeko Kabe
Dior shows fall fashion collection in gardens of ancient Kyoto temple
By Irene Wang
A new tour of Tokyo’s most underground attraction
By Owen Ziegler
In California, a Nikkei vintner finds his heritage and purpose
By Weiwen Lin

COMMUNITY

Customers line up patiently for some early-afternoon baked goods outside Truffle, which is located close to Hiroo Station on the Hibiya Line.
How to spend the perfect day in Hiroo, Tokyo’s expat enclave
By Eric Margolis
A stroll through Hiroo reveals both the comforts of expat luxury and the quiet intrusions of a changing Tokyo.
Noriko Shakti: ‘Music reflects my journey and learnings’
By Miikka J. Lehtonen
Tokyo Humanities Cafe feeds hungry minds
By Jessica Kozuka
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

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Tokyo hotel operators face possible warnings over suspected price cartel
By Karin Kaneko
Foreign tourists gather on a platform at Kyoto Station on Wednesday.
CULTURE
Kyotographie 2025 opts for laughter and levity in the face of global strife
By Thu-Huong Ha
Palestinian American photographer Adam Rouhana’s exhibition at this year’s Kyotographie festival shows Palestinian life, not death and rubble.
JAPAN
Privacy and transparency clash in debate over bill on artificial insemination
By Himari Semans
Sachiko Ishizuka, who was born via artificial insemination by donor (AID), tells her story to lawmakers from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan on April 9.
JAPAN
Why Ishiba became the first prime minister to hold talks with Rengo in 16 years
By Himari Semans
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Japanese Trade Union Confederation chief Tomoko Yoshino in a meeting Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office
BUSINESS
In a first, Japan issues cease-and-desist order against Google
By Yukana Inoue
The Google logo is seen at the company's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California. Japanese authorities on Tuesday issued a cease-and-desist order to Google over an alleged violation of the country's anti-monopoly law.

Podcast

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

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

JT Directory Service

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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

WHAT’S TRENDING

BUSINESS
In a first, Japan issues cease-and-desist order against Google
By Yukana Inoue
The Google logo is seen at the company's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California. Japanese authorities on Tuesday issued a cease-and-desist order to Google over an alleged violation of the country's anti-monopoly law.
BUSINESS
Japan and the U.S. begin tariff talks on good terms, but without breakthroughs
By Francis Tang
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, speaks to reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Trump calls the U.S.-Japan alliance ‘one-sided.’ Tokyo says otherwise.
By Jesse Johnson
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Thursday in Washington.
JAPAN
Tokyo hotel operators face possible warnings over suspected price cartel
By Karin Kaneko
Foreign tourists gather on a platform at Kyoto Station on Wednesday.