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TOKYO
September 03, 2024
The Independent Voice in Asia
September 03, 2024
Shohei Ohtani
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A washed up boat on the shore of the city of Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Friday
JAPAN / Society
Typhoon chaser's firsthand account of his pursuit of Shanshan
By Jessica Speed
James Reynolds, who has built a career of venturing into the eye of nature's most ferocious storms, braved the elements as the cyclone bore down on Japan.
A washed up boat on the shore of the city of Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Friday
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, speaks during a campaign event she attended with U.S. President Joe Biden at IBEW Local Union 5 in Pittsburgh on Monday.
BUSINESS
Harris says U.S. Steel should remain American owned and run
By Josh Wingrove
It’s not clear whether a decision on the takeover will land on U.S. President Joe Biden’s desk or that of his successor — or even if it will proceed at all.
People at the Sensoji temple in Tokyo in July. The three months between June and August were 1.76 degrees Celsius hotter than average in Japan.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Japan sees joint hottest summer on record
By Francis Tang
The three months between June and August were 1.76 degrees Celsius hotter than average, matching the record set only last year.
The U.S. has been pressuring Japan to impose additional restrictions on the ability of firms to sell advanced chipmaking tools to China, as part of a long-running campaign to curtail China’s semiconductor progress.
BUSINESS / Economy
China warns Japan of retaliation over potential new chip curbs
By Jenny Leonard, Mackenzie Hawkins and Takashi Mochizuki
One major concern is that Beijing could cut off Japan’s access to critical minerals that are essential for automotive production.
A building emblazoned with a Great Wall graphic in Kitwe, Zambia
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Xi wants bigger returns and fewer headaches from African debt deals
By Peter Martin
From Angola to Djibouti, for over a decade, China poured more than $120 billion of government-backed loans through its Belt and Road Initiative.
A building emblazoned with a Great Wall graphic in Kitwe, Zambia

JAPAN

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning has said that Chinese ships passing through the Tokara Strait are exercising the right of transit passage, "which is completely legitimate and legal."
China says its military ships going through Tokara Strait have right of transit
By Jesse Johnson
The sailing was part of a series of recent moves by the Chinese military near Japan that Tokyo has said are “cause for concern.”
Boxes of Joban-mono marine produce such as flounder are lined up at the Hisanohama fishing port in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture.
Fukushima fishermen not in the clear yet
Challenges remain for the prefecture's fisheries industry a year after the release of treated water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant began.
Novel dog training program aids rehab at juvenile correctional facility
Japan working to train guides for visually impaired runners
Japanese government to promote 'new perception of dementia'
Man left unconscious after being hit by concrete debris in Tokyo

BUSINESS

An abandoned house in Urayama, Saitama Prefecture. Buying an <i>akiya</i>, which means empty house in Japanese, can be a rewarding experience that yields a unique space and a livable home, competitively priced. Or it could turn out to be a money pit.
First lesson of Japan’s akiya gold rush: No such thing as a free house.
By Elizabeth Beattie
Renovations are usually the most expensive part of the journey and the laundry list of what needs to be done is long and tends to get longer after the process starts.
Daikin's air conditioners are sold at a home appliances store in Mumbai.
Daikin, world’s No. 1 air-conditioner maker, to expand capacity in India
By Supriya Singh and Masatsugu Horie
The Japanese company has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire an additional 13.4 hectares to build a new plant near its current factory in southern India.
Australia firms should invest in Southeast Asia, foreign minister says
By Ben Westcott
Volkswagen weighs first-ever German plant closures amid EV transition woes
By Monica Raymunt and Christoph Rauwald
Japanese companies mark record combined profits in April-June
Musk to celebrate Meloni as Italy eyes space sector investment
By Daniele Lepido

WORLD

A satellite image shows what is believed to be a deployment site for a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile, including five nuclear warhead storage bunkers (right) and bermed launch positions (lower left), in Vologda, Russia.
U.S. researchers find probable launch site of Russia's new nuclear-powered missile
By Jonathan Landay
Russia's Vladimir Putin has said the weapon — dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO — has an almost unlimited range and can evade U.S. missile defenses.
Vladimir Putin arrives at Buyant-Ukhaa International Airport in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Monday.
Putin set to meet Mongolian president despite international arrest warrant
By Terrence Edwards
The visit is the first by Putin to a member state of the International Criminal Court since the warrant was issued over the abduction of children from Ukraine.
Pope heads to Indonesia as the first stop of his four-nation tour
By Clement MELKI and Marchio Gorbiano
Seoul probes Telegram on alleged negligence of deepfake crimes
By Seyoon Kim and Jaehyun Eom
Before Indian doctor's murder, an unmet promise to keep physicians safe
By Subrata Nag Choudhary and Sakshi Dayal
U.S. military says Houthis attacked two crude oil tankers in Red Sea
By Jonathan Saul and Kanishka Singh

Sports

Masanori Murakami poses with a Willie Mays-themed clock during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday.
The man who opened MLB's door to Japanese players
By Jason Coskrey
Masanori Murakami's time with the San Francisco Giants in the 1960s made him something of an accidental trailblazer.
Swiatek and Medvedev cruise into U.S. Open quarterfinals
By Amy Tennery
Rory McIlroy aims to cut as many as nine events in 2025
Baku and Singapore could be good for Ferrari, says Leclerc
By Alan Baldwin
Uruguay striker Suarez announces international retirement

Opinion

Cars are assembled at a Maruti Suzuki manufacturing plant in Manesar, India, in September 2023. Suzuki is one of the success stories for Japanese manufacturers trying to establish joint ventures in India, having become a household name in the country.
For Japanese companies in India, local staff are an invaluable resource
Megha Wadhwa
The roots of Japanese investment in India go far back, to 1958, when the latter became the first country to receive official development assistance from Japan.
Political and economic chaos through 'the looking glass'
By Michael J. Boskin
Japan's strategy for navigating an uncertain U.S. election
By Stephen R. Nagy
60,000 years of history is facing economic reality
By Andreea Papuc
Telegram’s hands-off approach to content faces a reckoning
By Parmy Olson

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.
How climate change made Shanshan more likely and more devastating
By Tomoko Otake
Robots are starting (good) fires in California
By Coco Liu
Climate change fueled deadly Typhoon Gaemi, study finds
Can Japan handle a heat wave and natural disaster at the same time?
By Tomoko Otake

CULTURE

Yoko Ogawa’s latest novel to be translated into English, “Mina’s Matchbox,” is like a playground for the author’s interest in particular details: the subtleties of striking matches, playing volleyball and searching for typos, to name a few.
Yoko Ogawa's 'Mina’s Matchbox' sparkles with quiet intimacy
By Eric Margolis
The latest novel in translation from one of Japan's most eclectic writers leans toward magical realism while reveling in the minutiae of an affluent family's life.
Hayao Miyazaki wins prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award
‘From Okinawa with Love’: A revealing documentary about a true original
By Mark Schilling
'The Colors Within' tunes into everyday moments of love
By Matt Schley
‘Rude to Love’ gives Noriko Eguchi her tour de force moment
By James Hadfield

LIFE

From mid-August through late September, eggplants reach their height of flavor in Japan.
Japan’s autumn eggplant: Too delicious for your daughter-in-law
By Elizabeth Andoh
In Japan, autumn eggplant has become a shorthand symbol for keeping the most pleasurable things in life to yourself.
To accompany your counter sushi, why not try a New World wine?
By Melinda Joe
Japan’s nasty summer has left you with a nastier sunburn. Now what?
By Kat Joplin
Did you feel that? It may be time to refresh your disaster kits — and vocabulary.
By Tadasu Takahashi
With Black Myth: Wukong, China is now a force to reckon with in AAA games
By Owen Ziegler

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.
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
America-Japan Society announces recipients of 2024 Kentaro Kaneko Award
By Jessica Speed

Editors' Picks

BUSINESS
First lesson of Japan’s akiya gold rush: No such thing as a free house.
By Elizabeth Beattie
An abandoned house in Urayama, Saitama Prefecture. Buying an <i>akiya</i>, which means empty house in Japanese, can be a rewarding experience that yields a unique space and a livable home, competitively priced. Or it could turn out to be a money pit.
BASEBALL
The man who opened MLB's door to Japanese players
By Jason Coskrey
Masanori Murakami poses with a Willie Mays-themed clock during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS
Yen calling the shots as BOJ mulls rate increase
By Kazuaki Nagata
Concern about the yen strengthening might limit the Bank of Japan's room for maneuver.
BUSINESS
Clocking off: Japan’s hotter summers put limit on outdoor work
By Annelise Giseburt
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.
JAPAN
Japan seeks another record-breaking defense budget for fiscal 2025
By Jesse Johnson
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force hold a live-fire exercise at the GSDF's training grounds in the East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May. Japan's Defense Ministry is seeking another record-breaking budget for fiscal 2025.

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

JT Directory Service

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Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’
Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

WHAT’S TRENDING

COMMENTARY
Will Bangladesh go the way of Pakistan?
By Brahma Chellaney
Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman, Bangladesh's army chief, arrives at Dhaka International Airport to receive Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus on Aug. 8 to lead the country's interim government.
JAPAN
Slow-moving storm Shanshan downgraded to tropical depression
By Jessica Speed
Elevated water levels on the Tama River in Kawasaki on Friday after Shanshan dumped torrential rain on wide areas of Japan.
JAPAN
Apparent suicide jumper falls onto pedestrian in Yokohama, killing both
Two women died near Yokohama Station on Saturday after one of them apparently fell from a building and landed on the other, who was walking below.
BUSINESS
First lesson of Japan’s akiya gold rush: No such thing as a free house.
By Elizabeth Beattie
An abandoned house in Urayama, Saitama Prefecture. Buying an <i>akiya</i>, which means empty house in Japanese, can be a rewarding experience that yields a unique space and a livable home, competitively priced. Or it could turn out to be a money pit.
BUSINESS
Yen calling the shots as BOJ mulls rate increase
By Kazuaki Nagata
Concern about the yen strengthening might limit the Bank of Japan's room for maneuver.