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February 28, 2025
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February 28, 2025
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Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks to the press in October in Tokyo. Ueda told parliament on Feb. 12 that the central bank is aware that food price increases are negatively affecting households.
BUSINESS / Economy
Odds of early rate rise increase as inflation becomes the fight in Japan
By Kazuaki Nagata
Hawkish signals sent by Bank of Japan officials over the past month or so point to such a possibility.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks to the press in October in Tokyo. Ueda told parliament on Feb. 12 that the central bank is aware that food price increases are negatively affecting households.
A screenshot from a video posted by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency on X on Friday shows firefighters trying to put out the fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture.
JAPAN
Wildfire in Iwate rages on as unusually dry weather continues
By Yukana Inoue
The size of the affected area has doubled in less than two days.
Democratic Party for the People head Yuichiro Tamaki speaks at the party's convention in Tokyo on Feb. 11.
JAPAN / Politics
DPP goes on offensive after failing to secure budget deal with LDP-Komeito
By Eric Johnston
The opposition party plans to oppose the ruling coalition's budget proposal after talks between them broke down.
People take photos of the Shinjuku Alta building on Friday evening.
JAPAN / Society
Shinjuku Alta closes its doors after 45 years
By Alyssa I. Smith
The shopping complex near the JR Shinjuku Station served as a de facto meeting point for many in one of Tokyo’s busiest entertainment districts.
Nadeshiko Japan celebrates after winning the SheBelieves Cup in San Diego on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Nils Nielsen's vision for Nadeshiko Japan comes to life at SheBelieves Cup
By Alex Bishop
The remarkable achievement has brought about a renewed optimism among the fanbase, as Japan seems ready to turn the page after years of perceived underperformance.
Nadeshiko Japan celebrates after winning the SheBelieves Cup in San Diego on Wednesday.

JAPAN

Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, at a news conference on Friday, said the Cabinet has approved a bill to revise relevant laws to digitalize criminal procedures in the country.
Japan's Cabinet approves bill to digitalize criminal procedures
By Francis Tang
Once passed, existing laws will be amended to allow greater use of technologies by law enforcers and the judiciary.
Security footage provided by a neighbor shows two men walking near the scene of the burglary in Tokyo's Nerima Ward a few hours beforehand. The surroundings have been blurred for privacy reasons.
Two Taiwanese men arrested over burglary in Tokyo
Lin Yu-hung, 31, and Lin Chun-ku, 43, were arrested on suspicion of burglary resulting in injuries.
Japan to spend additional ¥106.8 billion on aid for quake-hit Noto
New bill lets government publicize names of firms who maliciously use AI
How Shibuya reduced cigarette litter by 90%
By Aiko Imaizumi
A month on, still no timeline for Saitama sinkhole restoration work

BUSINESS

Toshinori Yashiki, director-general of the Financial Services Agency’s strategy development and management bureau, speaks during an interview on Thursday.
Japan to crack down on booming market for JGB-backed loans
By Taiga Uranaka
The Financial Services Agency will scrutinize banks that have increased purchases of Japanese government bonds that are repackaged into loans over the past year.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food in the capital rose 2.2% in February from a year earlier, the internal affairs ministry said Friday.
Tokyo inflation slows slightly more than expected on subsidy impact
By Yoshiaki Nohara
Consumer prices excluding fresh food in the capital rose 2.2% in February from a year earlier, according to the internal affairs ministry.
Prices of over 2,300 food items to be raised in Japan in March
Asian chip shares tumble on Nvidia earnings and tariff fears
By Hideyuki Sano and Momoka Yokoyama
Longtime Fuji Media director Hieda resigns from advisory panel
Trump says Canada and Mexico tariffs to take effect, adds new China duty
By Josh Wingrove, Jenny Leonard, Skylar Woodhouse and Laura Dhillon Kane

WORLD

A scientific officer works in the research lab at the University of Cape Town's Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, in Cape Town, South Africa on Feb. 17.
Services to millions of people collapse as USAID cuts contracts worldwide
By Jennifer Rigby, Nellie Peyton and Emma Farge
Among those to get termination notices were major U.N. health programs, which might have different sources of funding, and smaller groups that relied mostly on U.S. grants.
An immigration detention center in Bangkok. A group of Uyghurs were sent to China in accordance with international standards, Thailand's defense minister said, in Thailand's first confirmation of the deportation.
Thailand sends 40 Uyghurs back to China after decade in detention
By Panarat Thepgumpanat and Panu Wongcha-um
Rights experts warned that the Uyghurs were at risk of torture, ill-treatment and "irreparable harm" if returned.
Air safety reporting under scrutiny as crashes lie unresolved
By Lisa Barrington and Tim Hepher
Trump dodges plea from Britain's Starmer for Ukraine security guarantee
By Jeff Mason, Elizabeth Piper and Trevor Hunnicutt
North Korea has deployed more troops to Russia: Seoul
By Kang Jin-kyu
Southeast Asia's latest scam center crackdown
By Sally JENSEN

Sports

A model wears items that are part of Takashi Murakami's collaboration with MLB.
Famed artist Takashi Murakami partners with MLB for Tokyo Series
By Jason Coskrey
The new collection includes t-shirts and sweatshirts adorned with Murakami’s signature style, along with hats, baseballs and gloves.
Russian chess grandmaster Boris Spassky dies at age 88
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich addresses team, will not return this season
For Tour de France, foreign starts make financial sense
Ravens' Justin Tucker issues another denial of sexual misconduct allegations

Opinion

The latest "Captain America" movie depicts a conflict between the U.S. and Japan over a newly discovered element, but the premise seems implausible and likely reflects a late-stage decision to replace China with Japan to avoid alienating Chinese audiences.
A U.S. war with Japan? Only in ‘Captain America.’
Gearoid Reidy
It’s clear that Japan must be a stand-in for China — possibly a late-stage replacement in a movie that became notorious for its multiple rewrites and reshoots.
What’s missing from Australia's gender equality strategy?
By Grant Wyeth
Firing top generals makes the U.S. less secure
By James Stavridis
China pushes the military envelope with power projections
American democracy will weather the Trumpist storm
By Satoshi Machidori

ENVIRONMENT

Nauru is selling citizenship to fund its retreat from rising seas as other climate finance runs dry.
Nauru sells citizenship to fund climate change mitigation
By Laura Chung
The island nation of around 13,000 residents is planning a mass inland relocation as creeping seas start to eat away at its fertile coastal fringe.
Turning waste into wealth with insect-based biotech
By Angelyn Labadan
Japan adopts bill obliging firms' participation in emissions trading
Trump creates uncertainty for world’s most cited climate report
By Eric Roston and Sheryl Tian Tong Lee
Nations at odds over major U.N. climate science report
By Kelly Macnamara

CULTURE

Toma Ikuta plays a former hit man who wakes from a coma to exact vengeance on a gang of masked criminals in “Demon City.”
‘Demon City’: Live-action manga adaptation is ultra-violent — and ultra-dull
By James Hadfield
Seiji Tanaka’s Netflix film about a former hit man determined to avenge his family is relentlessly unsatisfying.
Actor Gene Hackman and wife found dead alongside dog at home
When anime meets drag: The manga-inspired world of Rock M. Sakura
By Kat Joplin
Vatican thriller 'Conclave' wins top prize in SAG Awards upset
By Andrew Marszal
Japanese movies win accolades at Berlin International Film Festival

LIFE

Noonoo, a chihuahua dressed in a T-shirt that reads "BRAT," takes part in the Halloween Dog Parade in New York last year.
Brats, rebels and rascals: Finding the right word for mischievous kids
By Yuko Tamura
Charli XCX’s idea of “brat” doesn’t translate neatly into Japanese, but there are other words for playful rebellion.
Japan struggles to fend off a world without enough matcha
By Cat Kerr
Cold with a chance of kimchi meatballs
By Simon Daly
Bear skulls and pit dwellings: Hokkaido aims to sell ancient history
By Justin Randall
Shimane and Tottori to bewitch tourists with supernatural charms
By Zoria Petkoska

COMMUNITY

David Moreton, a former professor at Tokushima University, originally came to Japan as a missionary in 1988. He is now one of the world’s foremost experts on the Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage.
How a Canadian missionary found spiritual transformation in Shikoku
By Suzanne Kamata
David Moreton has devoted decades to researching southern Japan’s famed 88-temple pilgrimage, established by influential monk Kobo Daishi.
Mike Sunda: ‘Creative production comes with a bigger responsibility than ever before’
By Mike Fu
Black History Month in 2025: The boundaries between 'us' and 'them'
By Baye McNeil
John Davis: ‘At its core, indie is about creative freedom’
By Gendel Gento
Home away from home: My first time at a Tet festival in Japan
By Nguyen Bao Anh

Editors' Picks

BASEBALL
Famed artist Takashi Murakami partners with MLB for Tokyo Series
By Jason Coskrey
A model wears items that are part of Takashi Murakami's collaboration with MLB.
CULTURE
Oscar-nominated documentaries put Japan under the microscope
By Mark Schilling
Journalist and filmmaker Shiori Ito made the documentary “Black Box Diaries” about her years-long battle to find justice following her sexual assault.
CULTURE
Jose Ando's rapid rise from first pages to the Akutagawa Prize
By Eric Margolis
Jose Ando purposefully wrote his Akutagawa Prize-winning novel “Dtopia” to be accessible to an audience beyond Japan and to spark conversations about race, gender and the effects of modern entertainment.
ASIA PACIFIC
Standoff in the skies: Witnessing an unsafe intercept over the South China Sea
By Gabriel Dominguez
A Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy helicopter is seen from aboard a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft in the skies above Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Feb. 18.
JAPAN
About 70% of foreign nationals questioned by police on the streets: survey
By Karin Kaneko
Lawyers advising in a racial profiling case speak during a news conference on Wednesday in Tokyo.

Podcast

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

Longform

The building of new high-rise residential buildings has some alarmed that they could empty and fall into disrepair as Japan's population shrinks.
The high cost of letting Japan's condos crumble
By Tomoko Otake

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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

JAPAN
Government partly responsible for 2015 river flooding, court finds
A man wades through a shopping area flooded by the Kinugawa river in Joso, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Sept. 10, 2015.
BUSINESS
Apple to keep DEI efforts, though some adjustments possible
By Mark Gurman
An Apple store in Walnut Creek, California, on Monday. Apple Inc. Apple investors rejected a proposal to end the iPhone maker’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, but CEO Tim Cook some some adjustments may occur.
SUMO
Latest sumo ranking sheet has plenty to catch the eye
By John Gunning
Hoshoryu holds up the latest "banzuke" sumo ranking chart in Osaka on Tuesday.
JAPAN
About 70% of foreign nationals questioned by police on the streets: survey
By Karin Kaneko
Lawyers advising in a racial profiling case speak during a news conference on Wednesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Osaka University develops new method for pancreatic cancer testing
Researchers from Osaka University (center) have developed a new method to test for pancreatic cancer.