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March 14, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
March 14, 2025
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Toyota vehicles are loaded onto a ship at the Port of Nagoya in June last year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Concerns grow over possible U.S. tariffs on Japan's auto sector
By Kazuaki Nagata
U.S. President Donald Trump has pointed out that the U.S. is importing a "very big" amount of Japanese cars while other countries are not really buying American cars.

More coverage

Trump threatens further tariffs as EU, Canada retaliate for those already in place
The U.S. says Japan has a 700% tariff on American rice. Is that the case?
Toyota vehicles are loaded onto a ship at the Port of Nagoya in June last year.
Alimentation Couche-Tard founder and executive chairman Alain Bouchard (left) and President Alex Miller hold a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Alimentation Couche-Tard ramps up campaign to take over Seven & I
By Elizabeth Beattie
The Canadian convenience store giant and owner of Circle-K has sought to combat skepticism surrounding the deal, most recently with a news conference in Tokyo.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends an Upper House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
How Upper House pressure led to Ishiba's stunning reversal on medical cost caps
By Himari Semans
An unprecedented second amendment to Japan's budget shows opposition in the Lower House is not the only external pressure to which the government is exposed.
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 / Science & Health
Japan to get tough on businesses not taking heatstroke countermeasures
By Tomoko Otake
Violators will be punishable with up to six months' imprisonment or a maximum fine of ¥500,000 ($3,380).
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani poses with President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman at Ohtani's introductory news conference at Dodger Stadium on Dec. 14, 2023.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dodgers' Andrew Friedman hails team's growing Japan connection
By Jason Coskrey
“I think the atmosphere is going to be electric. ... I think it’s the closest I’ll ever get to traveling with the Beatles."
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani poses with President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman at Ohtani's introductory news conference at Dodger Stadium on Dec. 14, 2023.

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.
Ishiba Cabinet disapproval rises to 44%
Japan embassy in Brazil holds Osaka Expo promotional event
Children targeted for crime through social media fell 10.8% in 2024
Man arrested on suspicion of using counterfeit new ¥10,000 bills

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.
South Korean steelmakers eye U.S. investments as Trump tariffs kick in
By Heekyong Yang and Byron Kaye
Struggling Intel names industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as CEO
Nomura exits bank climate group, joining Wall Street exodus
By Takashi Nakamichi
Electronic dictionary market shrinking in Japan

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.
Cautious Russia weighs Ukraine ceasefire plan as U.S. tries to seal a deal
By Guy Faulconbridge and Dmitry Antonov
Wife of student arrested in U.S. says she was naive to think he would be secure
By Jonathan Allen
Canadians, stung by Trump's tariffs and rhetoric, balk at U.S. travel
By Doyinsola Oladipo
U.S. steered Syrian Kurds toward Damascus deal, sources say
By Timour Azhari, Phil Stewart, Jonathan Spicer and Suleiman Al-Khalidi

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.
Naoya Inoue to end four-year Las Vegas absence against Ramon Cardenas
Verstappen says Red Bull 'not the quickest at the moment'
Swiatek and Medvedev book spots in Indian Wells quarters
By Amy Tennery, Shrivathsa Sridhar and Frank Pingue
Jazz fined $100K for holding Lauri Markkanen out of games

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.
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
BRICS' climate leadership aims hang on healing deep divides
By Virginia Furness
Cascading extreme weather events unleash billions in damages globally
By Brian K Sullivan, Mary Hui and Joe Wertz

CULTURE

Ichiko Aoba’s latest full-length album, “Luminescent Creatures,” weaves in sounds mimicking whale songs and wind to express her fascination with the natural world and its interconnectedness.
Ichiko Aoba’s intimate sonic fantasy born from dreams
By Patrick St. Michel
The singer-songwriter turns her subconscious into songs about the natural world and its interconnectedness on “Luminescent Creatures.”
‘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
‘May You Have Delicious Meals’: The ugly taste of office and gender politics
By Eric Margolis

LIFE

While Google may be the restaurant review medium of choice in other countries, Japan largely prefers Tabelog, where five-star reviews are rare and three-star reviews aren't what they seem.
On Japan's top foodie site, imperfection is gold
By Weiwen Lin
Cultural expectations may influence ratings on Tabelog, but reading between the lines might help you find the next hidden gem.
Air Canada has a new 'kaiseki'-inspired menu
By Zoria Petkoska
Scams, taxes and tariffs: It's that time of year.
By Yuko Tamura
‘Granny hobbies’ are the new self-care
By Yuko Tamura
Stories from behind the bar at Shinjuku's Golden Gai
By Mika Inoue

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
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.
ASIA PACIFIC
‘We are not Ukraine’: Top Taiwan officials temper comparisons after U.S. U-turn
By Gabriel Dominguez
People hold a Ukrainian flag and a Taiwan flag during a protest to mark the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Taipei on Feb. 23.
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.
LIFE
Slowly but surely, Osaka emerges from Kyoto’s fine-dining shadow
By Phoebe Amoroso
Bar Bota, the 37th-floor watering hole at the Four Seasons Osaka, looks out on a glittering cityscape better known for its cheap eats and drinks.

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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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.
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
SUMO
Sumo in March comes in like a lion
By John Gunning
Onosato (right) has eased to a 3-0 start in the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka.
BUSINESS
Lack of exemption from U.S. steel tariffs 'regrettable,' says Japan
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday
JAPAN
Tokyo livestream murder victim stabbed over alleged debt dispute
Tokyo police at a site where a woman had been stabbed while livestreaming in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on Tuesday