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April 22, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
April 22, 2025
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Shigeru Ishiba
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Pope Francis blesses the faithful during the weekly general audience at the Vatican in August 2023.
WORLD
Pope Francis, radical leader who broke the papal mold, dies at 88
Francis' often turbulent reign was marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution.
Pope Francis blesses the faithful during the weekly general audience at the Vatican in August 2023.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a parliamentary committee session in Tokyo on Monday, during which U.S. tariffs were discussed.
BUSINESS / Economy
Tokyo insists defense issues and tariff talks must remain separate
By Francis Tang
Mixing the two risks distorting the essence of each issue, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba says.
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Among the world’s largest democracies, Japan has some of the highest minimum age requirements for politicians.
Plaintiff Satoshi Egura, 67, stands near the former site of the now-defunct Sumida Maternity Hospital in Tokyo's Sumida Ward on April 16. A mix-up at the hospital in 1958 led to Egura being raised by a couple who are not his biological parents.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Tokyo government ordered to find man's birth parents 67 years after mix-up
By Karin Kaneko
The mix-up in 1958 at the now-defunct Sumida Maternity Hospital led to plaintiff Satoshi Egura being raised by another couple.
Canada is standing up to American tariffs and territorial threats. The “Buy Canadian” movement has erupted and the country is brimming with expressions of patriotic zeal that are reshuffling the deck in an upcoming election for the next prime minister.
COMMENTARY / World
Is this Canada’s moment?
Thomas O. Falk
Washington's tariffs and territorial threats have ignited Canadian unity and resolve, reshaping the upcoming vote to choose who will lead Ottawa through the geopolitical storm.
Canada is standing up to American tariffs and territorial threats. The “Buy Canadian” movement has erupted and the country is brimming with expressions of patriotic zeal that are reshuffling the deck in an upcoming election for the next prime minister.

JAPAN

The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami frigate is docked at the MSDF's base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, earlier this month.
Japan and Indonesia continue frigate talks looking to boost defense-industrial ties
By Gabriel Dominguez
Ambassador Heri Akhmadi said Jakarta’s growing ties with Tokyo reflect its nonalignment policy, as it looks to avoid taking sides between China and the United States.
People walk near Tokyo's Sensoji temple in July 2024 amid a heat wave.
Japan to start special heatstroke alert system Wednesday
The Environment Ministry will issue the special alert when dangerous heat levels are expected.
New method developed to make cultured meat thicker
Aichi man rearrested, newly charged with murder of high school girl
10 years on, Hiroshima-Shimane highway boosts logistics and tourism
Japanese mother partially acquitted over abuse of daughter

BUSINESS

Bags of rice at a warehouse in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Japan imported South Korean rice for the first time since 1999 this month amid soaring domestic prices for the staple grain.
Japan buys first South Korean rice in over two decades as prices surge
By Hyonhee Shin
The Japan office of South Korea’s National Agricultural Cooperative Federation said it brought in and sold 2 tons of Korean rice this month.
U.S. President Donald Trump announces tariffs on several countries during a press conference on April 2.
World’s economic chiefs to face Trump’s trade war in Washington
By Katia Dmitrieva, Enda Curran and Jana Randow
Finance chiefs want an off-ramp from the worst global trade crisis in a century. This week they’re heading toward its epicenter.
Nvidia CEO lobbies Japan to generate more power to fuel AI
By Mari Kiyohara
Japan’s superlong bonds draw record foreign inflow on haven bid
By Masaki Kondo
Shrinking South Korea exports send global warning on Trump tariffs
By Soo-hyang Choi
China warns countries against striking trade deals with U.S.
By Liz Lee and Laurie Chen

WORLD

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks on before a luncheon with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Washington Thursday. Hegseth shared information on forthcoming U.S. airstrikes on Yemen in a private Signal chat group that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, The New York Times reported Sunday.
Pentagon chief shared sensitive Yemen war plans in second Signal chat
A U.S. official at the Pentagon questioned how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could keep his job after the latest news.
Chinese H-6 bombers (top right) are seen flying near the eastern edge of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on March 24.
Chinese Navy says Philippine warship 'illegally entered' Scarborough Shoal waters
By Jesse Johnson
Sunday's incident was a rare instance involving the militaries of both countries, and came amid fears that a clash or accident could erupt into a full-blown conflict.
EU explores tweaking methane rules for U.S. gas to help trade talks
By Kate Abnett and Valerie Volcovici
'Cancer' of billion-dollar cyberscam industry spreading globally: U.N.
By Poppy McPherson
Trump draft proposes radical reshaping of U.S. State Department
By Neil Munshi and Simon Marks
Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of violating Easter ceasefire

Sports

Shohei Ohtani celebrates with his teammates after their win over the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday.
Shohei Ohtani returns as Tyler Glasnow and six relievers shut out Rangers
Freddie Freeman drove home Will Smith with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly.
Justin Thomas wins RBC Heritage to end long drought
Leicester relegated from Premier League as Liverpool closes in on title
Munetaka Murakami's return cut short as Swallows’ struggles deepen
By Jason Coskrey
Thunder open playoff campaign with record victory

Opinion

Hiroshima is full of memorials to the 1945 atomic bombing. Among them, the peace museum promotes an ambiguous message: One against nuclear weapons without acknowledging the role of nuclear deterrence in preserving the postwar peace.
The ambiguity of Japan’s message on nuclear weapons
Ellis S. Krauss
It is common in Japan to be both anti-atomic weapons and anti-war. But are these positions not contradictory if nuclear deterrence actually works to preserve the peace?
Google’s money-printing machine can be easily dismantled
By Dave Lee
Did I fall victim to Japan’s stealth productivity killer?
By Gearoid Reidy
How much 'weaponization' can the global economy take?
By Carla Norrlof
The White House just kicked a World Cup own-goal
By Adam Minter

ENVIRONMENT

The Northern Lights Carbon Capture and Storage facility in Bergen, Norway.
Big bets on speculative carbon capture tech ignore today’s solutions
By Michelle Ma and Dave Merrill
Companies from Occidental Petroleum to Microsoft are among the investors throwing billions at carbon capture startups.
Clean streets versus business woes: Pollution charge divides Londoners
By Akshata Kapoor
AI surge to double data center electricity demand by 2030, report says
By Nathalie ALONSO
Once-dying Mexican river delta slowly nursed back to life by conservationists
By Daniel Rook
As Chile revs up lithium plans, Indigenous people demand more control
By Daina Beth Solomon

CULTURE

Takuro Tamayama’s sculpture “Models (Pair, 6 sets, 12 rings)” comes with a mathematical formation that scales it for different spaces.
The floor is art: Takuro Tamayama transforms mundanity
By Kim Kahan
With “Takuro Tamayama: Floor,” the artist, at 34, has become the youngest person to ever hold a solo show at the Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
Japan wanted a cultural do-over. Ado gave it one.
By Patrick St. Michel
Kyotographie 2025 opts for laughter and levity in the face of global strife
By Thu-Huong Ha
Actor Hiroyuki Sanada among Time's 100 most influential people
‘Ya Boy Kongming! The Movie’: J-pop spectacle goes heavy on performances
By Mark Schilling

LIFE

Crow meat, shaped into a ball and attached to a foot of the bird, is one of the peculiar offerings of game at Mauvaise Herbe.
Crow meat, goat tartare: Mauvaise Herbe raises its game
By Andrew Lee
Taking an unconventional approach to sourcing, chef Keiji Ojima is out to showcase the little-known wild flavors of Okinawa in his French-inspired Okinawan fare.
Thumbprint cookies with a tangy Japanese filling
By Simon Daly
Japan’s first Waldorf Astoria brings art deco luxury to Osaka
By Tan Pin Yen
Voicing intentions and a peek into a traditional Japanese engagement ceremony
By Yaeko Kabe
Dior shows fall fashion collection in gardens of ancient Kyoto temple
By Irene Wang

COMMUNITY

Customers line up patiently for some early-afternoon baked goods outside Truffle, which is located close to Hiroo Station on the Hibiya Line.
How to spend the perfect day in Hiroo, Tokyo’s expat enclave
By Eric Margolis
A stroll through Hiroo reveals both the comforts of expat luxury and the quiet intrusions of a changing Tokyo.
Noriko Shakti: ‘Music reflects my journey and learnings’
By Miikka J. Lehtonen
Tokyo Humanities Cafe feeds hungry minds
By Jessica Kozuka
Montessori head educates Tokyo’s children for life
By Louise George Kittaka
How to navigate Japan’s e-commerce platforms and online flea markets
By Jessica Speed

Editors' Picks

CULTURE
The floor is art: Takuro Tamayama transforms mundanity
By Kim Kahan
Takuro Tamayama’s sculpture “Models (Pair, 6 sets, 12 rings)” comes with a mathematical formation that scales it for different spaces.
BASEBALL
Nothing sells like Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s marketing megastar
By Mai Yoshikawa
People walk past an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani outside Tokyo Dome on March 18.
LIFE
Calling all Potterheads: ‘The Goblet of Fire’ comes to Tokyo
By Gendel Gento
The Tokyo version of the globe-trotting exhibition features a Ministry of Magic set, which includes an imposing replica of the Magic Is Might monument representing magical fascism.
BUSINESS
Tokyo stock picker advises Trump-proofing portfolios with Godzilla creator Toho
By Kazuaki Nagata
The head of Godzilla, a Japanese monster movie character, is seen on a building of Toho Cinema in Tokyo. Toho is one tariff-defensive stock being recommended by brokers.
JAPAN
LDP and CDP lawmaker groups propose 0% consumption tax on food
By Himari Semans
A vegetable stand displays prices at a supermarket in Tokyo in 2023. Some lawmakers are proposing lowering the consumption tax on food to 0%, which is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.

Podcast

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

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)
BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
By Caroline Gardin
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.
WORLD
Pope Francis, radical leader who broke the papal mold, dies at 88
Pope Francis blesses the faithful during the weekly general audience at the Vatican in August 2023.
BUSINESS
Japan mulls reviewing car safety rules to strike deal with Trump
By Hideyuki Sano
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister and top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to the press upon his arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS
Japan tariff negotiator rules out quick U.S. deal despite push by Trump
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to reporters upon his arrival at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Friday, a day after talks in Washington.
BASEBALL
Shohei Ohtani announces birth of daughter
By Jason Coskrey
Shohei Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka attend a Lakers game in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2024.