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March 14, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
March 14, 2025
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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the prime minister's official residence on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Opposition blasts Ishiba over gift certificates given to LDP lawmakers
Ishiba gave gift certificates worth ¥100,000 each to over 10 new lawmakers, sources have said. The prime minister apologized but said the move was not illegal.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the prime minister's official residence on Thursday.
Officials from Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), the Ministry of National Defense’s research arm, say the lessons from the Ukraine conflict are clear for the democratic island: drones and other autonomous systems are crucial for its defense.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Drones, budgets and infighting: Taiwan's daunting defense challenges
By Gabriel Dominguez
In bridging its military gap with China, Taiwan needs to both overcome key technical challenges of asymmetric warfare as well as find solutions to political divisions at home.
George Glass, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Japan, speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Trump's ambassador pick to press Japan to spend more to host U.S. troops
By Jesse Johnson
The remarks by George Glass were the latest volley from the Trump administration to target Japan, following comments by other nominees for top posts — and the president himself.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a news conference following a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Putin suggests U.S. ceasefire idea for Ukraine needs serious reworking
By Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn and Vladimir Soldatkin
Putin's statements looked designed to signal goodwill to Washington, but his conditions appeared to rule out a swift ceasefire.
The level of intraparty animosity between the KMT and DPP is so high that brawls have repeatedly broken out in parliament as the government and opposition try to block each other from physically participating in voting on bills.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Taiwan’s DPP and KMT lock horns amid specter of recall votes
By Gabriel Dominguez
Recall votes could potentially alter the balance of power in the Legislative Yuan in favor of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
The level of intraparty animosity between the KMT and DPP is so high that brawls have repeatedly broken out in parliament as the government and opposition try to block each other from physically participating in voting on bills.

JAPAN

Kenichi Takano leaves a police station in Tokyo on Thursday to be sent over to prosecutors.
Man arrested in Tokyo stabbing tracked victim through livestream
Police turned over Kenichi Takano to prosecutors on suspicion of murder, believing he used the livestream to track the victim's location.
Some 40% of online casino users are unaware that gambling via the casinos is illegal, a survey by the National Police Agency shows.
3.37 million in Japan use overseas online casinos, police survey suggests
Around 40% of respondents in the survey said they were unaware using paid services offered by such sites was illegal, according to the National Police Agency.
Bonsai thefts sweep Japan as miniature trees grow more popular
By Mia Glass
Advisory panel to review Japan's retrial system
China deports Japanese tourists over Great Wall buttocks pic, reports state
Osaka Expo to showcase Japan's food industry

BUSINESS

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda has indicated he has little problem with the recent rising yield trend.
Shift in BOJ stance favors free market functioning over intervention
By Toru Fujioka and Sumio Ito
People familiar with the central bank's policy approach say the market should decide rates, and that investors need to get used to a world without yield curve control.
A worker inspects a steel coil on the factory floor before Canada's Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney visits the ArcelorMittal Dofasco steel mill in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on Wednesday.
Trump threatens further tariffs as EU, Canada retaliate for those already in place
By Andrea Shalal, David Lawder and Jarrett Renshaw
The U.S. tariffs have rattled investor, consumer and business confidence and raised recession fears.
As chips race spews ‘forever chemicals,’ startups emerge to destroy them
By Aaron Clark
Trump threatens tariffs on European wine and spirits in escalating trade war
By Andy Sullivan, Philip Blenkinsop and David Lawder
Alimentation Couche-Tard ramps up campaign to take over Seven & I
By Elizabeth Beattie
South Korean steelmakers eye U.S. investments as Trump tariffs kick in
By Heekyong Yang and Byron Kaye

WORLD

The level of intraparty animosity between the KMT and DPP is so high that brawls have repeatedly broken out in parliament as the government and opposition try to block each other from physically participating in voting on bills.
Taiwan’s DPP and KMT lock horns amid specter of recall votes
By Gabriel Dominguez
Recall votes could potentially alter the balance of power in the Legislative Yuan in favor of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of the media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York on June 1, 2024.
Judge extends ban on deportation of U.S. student over opposition to war in Gaza
By Luc Cohen, Jonathan Allen and Tom Hals
The case that has become a flash point following a pledge by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to deport some pro-Palestinian college activists.
Harvard, Yale, Columbia fall in line after funding threats
By Janet Lorin and Maxwell Adler
Americans worry Trump is too closely aligned with Russia, poll finds
By Jason Lange
U.N. experts accuse Israel of genocidal acts and sexual violence in Gaza
By Olivia Le Poidevin
Cautious Russia weighs Ukraine ceasefire plan as U.S. tries to seal a deal
By Guy Faulconbridge and Dmitry Antonov

Sports

Dodgers stars (from left) Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki disembark at Haneda Airport after arriving on Thursday for the upcoming MLB Tokyo Series games at Tokyo Dome.
Hundreds of fans vie for glimpse of homecoming MLB hero Ohtani
The roughly 500 fans who waited at Tokyo's Haneda airport did not get a chance to welcome their hero, with strict security measures in place.
Japanese superfans turn dental clinic into Ohtani mini-museum
By Irene Wang
Norris fastest and Hamilton 12th in first Australian GP practice
Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox set for season-ending surgery
Swiatek to face Andreeva, Sabalenka meets Keys in Indian Wells semis

Opinion

Just like in times of old, with unresolved territorial disputes, regional disunity and economic self-interest prevailing over solidarity, Southeast Asia faces growing instability as tensions escalate.
Southeast Asia must learn to defend itself
David Hutt
Would any of the region’s governments lift a finger to maintain peace on behalf of a neighbor?
Pancreatic cancer vaccine shows hope. Make the investment.
By Lisa Jarvis
Lessons from Ukraine: Allies are fickle, nukes are forever
By Thomas O. Falk
Social media and playing at democracy
By Kaushik Basu
The law finally caught up with Rodrigo Duterte
By KARISHMA VASWANI

ENVIRONMENT

India, the world’s third-biggest emitter, wants to more than double clean-power capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030. That won't be easy.
Eyeing short-term savings, India’s utilities put green energy boom at risk
By Rajesh Kumar Singh
A federal auction model that helped the country add more than 130 gigawatts of renewables projects over the past decade is under threat of circumvention.
Nepal community efforts revive red panda population
By Anup OJHA
Many U.S. bird species seen as reaching population 'tipping point'
By Will Dunham
On the Mongolian steppe, climate change pushes herders to the brink
By Rebecca Bailey
Most contaminated U.S. nuclear site is set to be the largest solar farm
By Keith Schneider

CULTURE

“Ravens” stars Tadanobu Asano as Masahisa Fukase, a real-life figure who was known for his photos of the psychedelic party scene of 1960s Shinjuku, portraits of his wife and images of the ravens of his home prefecture of Hokkaido.
‘Ravens’ is a portrait of art, love and inner demons
By Matt Schley
Director Mark Gill brings the turbulent life of celebrated photographer Masahisa Fukase into focus in his new film.
The sci-fi satire 'Mickey 17' might be a classic — someday
By Mark Leydorf
‘Escape’: Masao Adachi’s fugitive biopic salutes a kindred spirit
By James Hadfield
‘Nemurubaka: Hypnic Jerks’: Opposites come together with quips and dry humor
By Mark Schilling
Grief ebbs and flows between two tragedies in 'The Place of Shells'
By Thu-Huong Ha

LIFE

The 通勤経路 (tsūkin keiro, commuting route) is a big part of most working Tokyoites’ daily routines.
From 'commuting' to 'passing through,' meet the kanji that's always on the move
By Yuko Tamura
The character 通 is also used to denote avenues and forms of communication.
Air Canada has a new 'kaiseki'-inspired menu
By Zoria Petkoska
On Japan's top foodie site, imperfection is gold
By Weiwen Lin
Slowly but surely, Osaka emerges from Kyoto’s fine-dining shadow
By Phoebe Amoroso
Scams, taxes and tariffs: It's that time of year.
By Yuko Tamura

COMMUNITY

Hiromi Okuda’s study abroad experience at the University of Mumbai inspired her to build a career at the intersection of social welfare and IT.
Hiromi Okuda: 'Humans and emerging tech should exist symbiotically'
By Jessica Kozuka
For the past 30 years, Hiromi Okuda has forged a career at the intersection of social welfare and technology.
A shy Shiba mix is ready to bloom
Redevelopment and resistance in historic Nishiogikubo
By Aviraj Gokool
How a Canadian missionary found spiritual transformation in Shikoku
By Suzanne Kamata
Mike Sunda: ‘Creative production comes with a bigger responsibility than ever before’
By Mike Fu

Editors' Picks

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.
JAPAN
How Upper House pressure led to Ishiba's stunning reversal on medical cost caps
By Himari Semans
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends an Upper House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
Taiwan’s No. 2 diplomat seeks higher-level ‘unofficial’ Japan meetings as ties grow
By Gabriel Dominguez
Taiwanese Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu told The Japan Times in an interview last week in Taipei that he hopes with the island democracy can strengthen ties with Japan and other like-minded nations “at every level.”
BUSINESS
14 years after 3/11 disasters, Fukushima vies to become a startup hub
By Elizabeth Beattie
Aizawa Concrete employees work in the Namie factory in Fukushima Prefecture in January.
LIFE
Tokyo’s vinyl experts say overseas buyers are ‘sustaining the scene’
By Gabrielle Doman
Rintaro Sekizuka runs a record store in both London and Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward.

Podcast

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

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly
By Tomoko Otake

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high
Challenging spirit and teamwork keep ANA flying high

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
The U.S. says Japan has a 700% tariff on American rice. Is that the case?
By Yukana Inoue
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds up a piece of paper with information about tariff rates at the White House on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Man arrested in Tokyo stabbing tracked victim through livestream
Kenichi Takano leaves a police station in Tokyo on Thursday to be sent over to prosecutors.
BUSINESS
Concerns grow over possible U.S. tariffs on Japan's auto sector
By Kazuaki Nagata
Toyota vehicles are loaded onto a ship at the Port of Nagoya in June last year.
WORLD
U.S. steered Syrian Kurds toward Damascus deal, sources say
By Timour Azhari, Phil Stewart, Jonathan Spicer and Suleiman Al-Khalidi
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (right) and Syrian Democratic Forces commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi signing an agreement to integrate the SDF into the state institutions, in Damascus on Monday.
BUSINESS
China deploys food as a high-impact, low-cost weapon in tariff fight
Boxes of imported pork from the U.S. at a cold storage warehouse in Shanghai