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September 09, 2024
The Independent Voice in Asia
September 09, 2024
Shohei Ohtani
LDP RACE
Special series: Boiling Point
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The Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election is expected to have a record number of candidates.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Perspectives
Unpacking Japan’s messy leadership election
Michael MacArthur Bosack
With so many candidates and old rules gone, brace for the most unpredictable LDP race in ages
The Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election is expected to have a record number of candidates.
Four candidates in the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's leadership election participate in a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN
CDP leader candidates vow to challenge all scandal-hit LDP lawmakers
The four CDP lawmakers, speaking in a televised debate, said their party will field candidates in the next House of Representatives election to challenge all LDP members.
A small fire department vehicle makes its way to a disaster site during rescue operations following the Noto Peninsula earthquake.
JAPAN
Japan to deploy smaller rescue vehicles after lessons learned from Noto quake
Based on the experience, the agency plans to provide disaster response teams with smaller rescue vehicles capable of operating over rough and narrow roads.
Portable power supply devices at a Bic Camera electronics store in Tokyo
JAPAN
Sales of portable power supply devices surge amid heightened disaster preparedness
Jackery, a U.S.-based major portable power supply solution firm, saw a sharp climb in sales in Japan after the possible Nankai Trough quake alert issued on Aug. 8.
Japan's Tokito Oda (L) reacts after beating Britain's Alfie Hewett in the men's singles gold medal match of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on Saturday.
PARALYMPICS
Tokito Oda becomes youngest Paralympic men's wheelchair singles champion
Oda prevailed in just over 2 1/2 hours, in front of a virtually sell-out crowd at Roland Garros, in a great advertisement for the event.
Japan's Tokito Oda (L) reacts after beating Britain's Alfie Hewett in the men's singles gold medal match of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on Saturday.

JAPAN

A Mid-Range Capability, or Typhon, launcher with the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force arrives in the Philippines on April 8, in the capability’s first deployment to the Indo-Pacific region.
U.S. eyeing midrange missiles in Japan for drills, U.S. Army secretary says
By Jesse Johnson
U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said deploying the unit that hosts the missile system had been discussed during her visit to Japan last month.
Digital transformation minister Taro Kono speaks at a news conference on Thursday.
LDP leadership hopefuls campaign across Japan
Six LDP members have declared their bids for the party presidency so far, with more expected in the coming days.
Harrods starts selling Fukushima peaches
Japan to enhance evacuation system for Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant
Main opposition CDP kicks off leadership race
Komeito chief Natsuo Yamaguchi set to be replaced as leader

BUSINESS

Atsushi Ukawa
Japanese bank seeks to help regional economy with bus business
The company is in talks with around 10 municipalities. Senshu Ikeda plans to expand operations possibly to neighboring Hyogo Prefecture.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a news conference in Tokyo on Friday, ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election.
U.S. opposition to Nippon Steel deal 'very unsettling,' PM hopeful Ishiba says
By Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo
Some experts say blocking the deal could undermine U.S.-Japan cooperation on national security, and put the lie to the notion of "ally shoring."
China opens manufacturing, health care sectors to foreign money
China bulls getting tired of waiting for elusive stock recovery
By Abhishek Vishnoi and Winnie Hsu
Nippon Steel's U.S. setback a wake-up for Japan Inc.'s foreign forays
By Kane Wu, Yantoultra Ngui and Miho Uranaka
Biden aides working on proposal for U.S. sovereign wealth fund
By Josh Wingrove

WORLD

A boy stands on a destroyed Russian tank on display at Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv on Saturday.
Kyiv hits Russian ammo depot as Moscow advances in east
The attacks come after intense Russian attacks hundreds of kilometers from the front lines and close to Ukraine's border with EU and NATO members.
A Palestinian girl is vaccinated against polio in Khan Younis on Thursday.
Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 61 in 48 hours as U.N. pursues vaccinations
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
Airstrikes on two former schools that were housing displaced people, one in Gaza City and one in Jabalia, killed at least 12 people, Palestinian medics said.
Malaysia shelves web traffic re-routing plan after censorship concerns
Super Typhoon Yagi toll rises to 9 in Vietnam after landslide
Venezuelan presidential opposition candidate heads for Spanish exile
Georgia Tech to end China partnerships following concerns over military ties
By Michael Martina

Sports

Jessica Pegula hits a return during her U.S. Open women’s final against Aryna Sabalenka, at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens on Saturday.
Sabalenka downs Pegula to win U.S. Open thriller
By Dave James
The 26-year-old from Belarus clubbed 40 winners to become the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to capture both hardcourt majors in the same season.
Jannik Sinner rolls past Taylor Fritz in U.S. Open final
Japan beats U.S. to top Pacific Nations Cup group
More sponsors and better marketing top agenda for new Asian Games chief
Fritz tops Tiafoe to set up U.S. Open final with Sinner
By Dave James

Opinion

Predicting the winner of the 2024 presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris remains exceptionally challenging as the the current landscape is highly fluid.
Election predictions are too noisy to tell if Trump or Harris will win
Aaron Brown
There’s a lot of campaigning to go, a lot of events that could turn the election into a landslide for either candidate.
A flood of hydro is washing coal from China's grid
By David Fickling
Never take Japan-South Korea relations for granted
The Western world's stealthy assault on democracy
By Brahma Chellaney
Is Japan’s involvement in Africa’s development outdated?
By Robert Bociaga

ENVIRONMENT

A construction worker in Tokyo's Akasaka district on Aug. 21. With 886 cases, 54 of them fatal, during the period from 2019 to 2023, the construction industry leads Japan’s tally for occupational heatstroke.
Clocking off: Japan’s hotter summers put limit on outdoor work
By Annelise Giseburt
Climate change is forcing businesses to sacrifice productivity in the name of safety in industries ranging from construction to transportation.
As the Amazon’s biggest champion approaches 100, he’s still fighting
By Olivia Rudgard
Japan's record heat in July 'almost impossible' without climate change
By Tomoko Otake
Kimchi no more? Climate change puts South Korea's beloved cabbage dish at risk
By Sebin Choi and Hyun Young Yi
How climate change made Shanshan more likely and more devastating
By Tomoko Otake

CULTURE

In Hiromi Kawakami’s novel “The Third Love,” modern-day Tokyoite Riko travels between life in 19th-century Edo (old Tokyo) and the courts of the Heian Period, examining her relationship with her husband in the process.
'The Third Love' is a time-bending meditation on romantic love
By Kris Kosaka
Hiromi Kawakami's novel draws from “The Tales of Ise" and “Takaoka’s Travels” to immerse readers in an intertextual exploration of who we are in and out of love.
‘There Is a Stone’ finds beauty in the inconsequential
By James Hadfield
'Desert of Namibia' makes its difficult protagonist hard to hate
By Mark Schilling
'Under the Eye of the Big Bird': Hiromi Kawakami's speculative future sets civilization adrift
By Thu-Huong Ha
Yoko Ogawa's 'Mina’s Matchbox' sparkles with quiet intimacy
By Eric Margolis

LIFE

Inside a gallery influenced by famed architect Kengo Kuma, Nakamura Ningyo's Hakata dolls represent a little-seen side of Japanese crafts.
From Godzilla to martyrs, Hakata doll-making knows no bounds
By Erik Augustin Palm
Since its establishment in Fukuoka in 1917, Nakamura Ningyo has been a cornerstone of the Hakata doll tradition.
‘When I die, I would like to come back as a rice ball’
By Florentyna Leow
Ditch labor-intensive ice cream for this whisked-together parfait
By Simon Daly
Traveling to Germany is ‘worth the cost’ for Japan’s indie studios
By Samantha Low
Those looking for jobs in Japan get another shot at it in September
By Yaeko Kabe

COMMUNITY

Jonah Ndeuludila (right) is studying at Tochigi Prefecture's Asian Rural Institute in order to bring skills back to his job at Namibia's Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust.
Over half a century, seeds of change grow at a Tochigi farm
By Madeleine Cuckson
Founded by Toshihiro Takami in 1973, ARI promotes organic, subsistence farming methods and the practice of servant leadership.
Philippine envoy highlights climate and smart farms
By Louise George Kittaka
Verdi is looking for a home as affectionate as him
Adrian Bianco: ‘Leaving your comfort zone keeps you alive’
By Ora Margolis
The American journalist ahead of the game on an ascendant Japan
By Bill Holstein

Editors' Picks

CULTURE
Almodovar wins top Venice prize for end-of-life film
By Alexandria SAGE
Director Pedro Almodovar poses with his Golden Lion Award during the 81st Venice Film Festival on Saturday.
WORLD
U.S. and U.K. spy chiefs warn of deepening Iran-Russia military links
By Natalia Drozdiak and Alex Wickham
Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns arrives to testify before a closed Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on U.S. President Joe Biden's proposed budget request for the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 12.
SUMO
No talking, no eating, no standing: Inside sumo's ring purification ceremony
By John Gunning
A sumo referee performs the dohyō matsuri, or ring purification ceremony, in January 2017 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Demand for Calrose rice rises amid Japanese rice shortage
By Himari Semans
Shuzo Fukushi, who heads Rice Meister Kojimachi in Tokyo, shows a bag of Calrose mixed with domestic rice at his store on Thursday.
CULTURE
Pasocom Music Club returns to the pure pleasures of the dance floor
By Patrick St. Michel
Pasocom Music Club’s “Love Flutter” marks an important moment for Japan’s electronic community as project members Aoi Shibata (left) and Masato Nishiyama step into a role other artists once held for them — scene veterans who are inspiring the next generation.

Podcast

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

Longform

A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?
By Alex K.T. Martin

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WHAT’S TRENDING

BUSINESS
Nippon Steel's U.S. setback a wake-up for Japan Inc.'s foreign forays
By Kane Wu, Yantoultra Ngui and Miho Uranaka
A water tower at a U.S. Steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday
ASIA PACIFIC
Super Typhoon Yagi hits Vietnam after casualties in China's Hainan
Water is whipped up by high winds onto the shore of Phuong Luu lake as Super Typhoon Yagi hits Haiphong, Vietnam, on Saturday.
JAPAN
U.S. eyeing midrange missiles in Japan for drills, U.S. Army secretary says
By Jesse Johnson
A Mid-Range Capability, or Typhon, launcher with the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force arrives in the Philippines on April 8, in the capability’s first deployment to the Indo-Pacific region.
JAPAN
Demand for Calrose rice rises amid Japanese rice shortage
By Himari Semans
Shuzo Fukushi, who heads Rice Meister Kojimachi in Tokyo, shows a bag of Calrose mixed with domestic rice at his store on Thursday.