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March 23, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
March 23, 2025
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U.S. President Donald Trump walks toward Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Trump plans his tariff ‘Liberation Day’ with more targeted push
By Josh Wingrove
Trump is preparing a "Liberation Day” tariff announcement on April 2.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks toward Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, on Saturday.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left), Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (center) and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul pose for the cameras during a trilateral meeting in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Japan, China, and South Korea agree to promote peace and cooperation
The talks come as U.S. trade tariffs loom over the region, and as concerns mount over North Korea's weapons tests.
Tokyo District Court is expected to present its decision regarding the dissolution the Unification Church on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Tokyo court may decide on Unification Church dissolution on Tuesday
The fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shed light on the Unification Church's controversial practices.
A couple take wedding photos in Qingdao, China, in April last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Beijing simplifies marriages to encourage Chinese to wed
Couples having children outside of marriage is rare in China, where there is social stigma and fewer protections for such families.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters in the White House on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
How Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts leave a vacuum that China can fill
By David E. Sanger
When President Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States would move ahead with a long-debated project to build a stealthy next-generation fighter jet, the message to China was clear: The United States plans to spend tens of billions of dollars over the next decade, probably far longer, to...
U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters in the White House on Friday.

JAPAN

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington on Friday
U.S. defense chief Pete Hegseth to visit Japan next week
Hegseth will visit the Pacific island of Iwo Jima to participate in a joint memorial ceremony as Japan and the U.S. mark 80 years since the end of World War II.
People offer flowers and join hands at a memorial service for the Nasu avalanche in Otawara City, Tochigi Prefecture, on Saturday.
Victims mourned eight years after 2017 deadly Tochigi avalanche
The ceremony, held at Tochigi Prefectural Otawara High School, was attended by about 50 people.
Keio University team says stem cell treatment helped improve spine injuries
Ishiba appears ready to speak before Diet ethics panel over gift vouchers
Osaka court rejects damages suit over coercive interrogations
'Mentech' starts gaining traction in Japan

BUSINESS

U.S. President Donald Trump walks toward Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, on Saturday.
Trump plans his tariff ‘Liberation Day’ with more targeted push
By Josh Wingrove
Trump is preparing a "Liberation Day” tariff announcement on April 2.
An employee works at a production line of 155 mm artillery shells at the plant of German company Rheinmetall, which produces weapons and ammunition for tanks and artillery.
Europe is short of gunpowder and TNT when it needs them most
By Laura Alviz
European governments dug into their munitions stockpiles to arm Ukraine, exposing how shallow their reserves were.
Marui launches museum-supporting credit card
China's restaurants race to the bottom in deflation-hit economy
By Laurie Chen, Tingshu Wang and Xiaoyu Yin
OpenAI study finds links between ChatGPT use and loneliness
By Rachel Metz
AI startup Perplexity confirms interest to buy TikTok
By Glenn CHAPMAN

WORLD

An elderly man walks past rubble in Gaza City on Saturday.
Israeli airstrike reportedly kills Hamas political leader in southern Gaza
Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel's main aim is to destroy Hamas as a military and governing entity.
Palestinians look on during the handover by Hamas of deceased Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 20
Hamas remains potent threat to Israel despite muted response to strikes
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Emily Rose
Israel has inflicted serious damage on Hamas, but sources say the group has shown it can absorb major losses and still fight and govern.
Vast crowds rally in Istanbul in support of arrested mayor
Trump’s makeover of U.S. diplomacy leaves many allies at a loss
By Donato Paolo Mancini, Iain Marlow and Andrea Palasciano
A genocidal militia in Sudan controls a key ingredient in Coke and Pepsi
By Simon Marks
Tesla vandalism sparked by fury against Musk draws GOP ire
By Kara Carlson, Myles Miller and Alicia Clanton

Sports

Yuma Kagiyama performs during the men's free skate at Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki in November.
Top skaters prepare to do battle at worlds as 2026 Olympics loom
By Hiro Yoshida
From Kaori Sakamoto to the "Quad God," here are five skaters to keep an eye on over the next week in Boston.
Canceled downhills give Brignone and Odermatt World Cup titles
Zverev, Sabalenka and Osaka all advance at Miami Open
Tsunoda shines again as Lawson's struggles continue
McLaren's Piastri takes his first F1 pole in China

Opinion

Despite the high cost of defending Ukraine, voters on both sides of the Atlantic — including Republicans in the United States — remain surprisingly united in their support for the country.
The American and European publics still stand with Ukraine
Mathieu Lefevre and Tim Dixon
Public attitudes in the U.S. are even more striking. When it comes to Ukraine, Americans broadly agree with Europeans.
Thirty years later, Aum Shinrikyo’s horrors are ever-present
Europe’s risk aversion comes with consequences
By Allison Schrager
Billionaire’s private jet angst won’t save the world
By David Fickling
Prime Minister Ishiba’s struggles put his leadership in jeopardy
By Edo Naito

ENVIRONMENT

Ice is seen on the Pastoruri glacier in the Peruvian Andes, Peru, in May 2024.
World's glaciers are losing record ice as global temperatures climb, U.N. says
By Alexander Villegas
Glaciers are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record.
Why we should worry when whales stop singing
By Todd Woody
What the $660 million Greenpeace verdict means for U.S. activism
By Olivia Raimonde and Zahra Hirji
In the remote Amazon, midwives care for women stranded by drought
By Pilar Olivares and Manuela Andreoni
Extreme weather in 2024 forced most people to flee in 16 years
By Aaron Clark

CULTURE

AMKK’s latest exhibition, “X-Ray Flowers,” is the culmination of seven years of work aided by CT technologists, who help with the highly specialized imaging techniques.
Avant-garde botanists AMKK illuminate the inner worlds of flowers
By Kim Kahan
The punk florists' latest exhibition immerses visitors in darkness, bathed only in the glow of X-rays and CT scans of plants and flowers.
'One Hundred Flowers': A moving exploration of loss, love and living with dementia
By Kris Kosaka
Osaka’s kabuki fan culture fueled an elusive figure of the ukiyo-e scene
By Martin Laflamme
Virtual idols, real fans: Hololive’s bet on the future of pop
By Patrick St. Michel
‘My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999’ shows that even stoic gamers can fall in love
By Mark Schilling

LIFE

A sign at Tokyo's Haneda Airport shows users the way to the monorail in four different languages.
Can we make it official? Language in the age of Trump.
By Peter Backhaus
The United States made English its main language, but in Japan things seem to be heading in a different way.
Now is the time to discover this Japanese mountain vegetable
By Elizabeth Andoh
At Osaka's Haraiso Sparkle, curry with a side of city pop
By Eric Millman
Assassin’s Creed Shadows puts samurai style over substance
By Owen Ziegler
Tokyo Creative Salon sees the city as both runway and canvas
By Erik Augustin Palm

COMMUNITY

As the founder of Z Rakugo, Edanoshin Katsura is introducing the traditional storytelling form to younger audiences by blending it with club visuals and electronic music.
Edanoshin Katsura: ‘Rakugo and techno are both about rhythm and groove’
By Wakaba Oto
A 23-year-old entertainer is redefining the Japanese comedic storytelling tradition for Gen Z by introducing elements of techno and underground youth culture.
A shy cat looking for a new start
From abandoned houses to ‘creative communities’: An Ishinomaki entrepreneur's vision for rural Japan
By Florentyna Leow
A shy Shiba mix is ready to bloom
Hiromi Okuda: 'Humans and emerging tech should exist symbiotically'
By Jessica Kozuka

Editors' Picks

BUSINESS
Japanese wages likely to rise more than 5% again this year
By Kazuaki Nagata
Wages are set for another big increase this year as annual negotiations secure generous agreements.
JAPAN
Stay at home if Mount Fuji erupts, government panel says
By Yukana Inoue
Mount Fuji in November. For the first time, the government has released specific guidelines on how residents should act in the event that Mount Fuji erupts.
BASEBALL
In pictures: Tokyo's weeklong celebration of baseball's best
Shohei Ohtani belts a home run in the fifth inning of the second game of the Tokyo Series between the Dodgers and Cubs.
JAPAN
What's the fuss over Ishiba's gift vouchers?
By Himari Semans and Gabriele Ninivaggi
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits for a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee to begin in Tokyo on Friday.
BASEBALL
At Tokyo Dome, a stage so big that even Shohei Ohtani felt nervous
By Jason Coskrey
Shohei Ohtani tips his batting helmet during the opening game of the MLB season between the Dodgers and Cubs on Tuesday at Tokyo Dome

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

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WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Stay at home if Mount Fuji erupts, government panel says
By Yukana Inoue
Mount Fuji in November. For the first time, the government has released specific guidelines on how residents should act in the event that Mount Fuji erupts.
CULTURE
Virtual idols, real fans: Hololive’s bet on the future of pop
By Patrick St. Michel
Motoaki Tanigo, whom fans affectionately refer to as “Yagoo,” is the CEO and founder of tech company Cover Corporation, which runs Hololive, an industry-leading virtual YouTuber talent agency.
JAPAN
Pentagon eyeing plan to halt U.S. Forces Japan upgrade, reports say
By Jesse Johnson
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
JAPAN
Japan, China, and South Korea agree to promote peace and cooperation
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left), Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (center) and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul pose for the cameras during a trilateral meeting in Tokyo on Saturday.
LIFE
Can we make it official? Language in the age of Trump.
By Peter Backhaus
A sign at Tokyo's Haneda Airport shows users the way to the monorail in four different languages.