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March 10, 2025
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March 10, 2025
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Shigeru Ishiba, the prime minister and president of the Liberal Democratic Party, shakes hands with one of the party's candidates for the upcoming Upper House election during the party's annual convention in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Ishiba vows all-out election fight at LDP convention
The triennial Upper House election comes after the LDP-Komeito ruling coalition lost its majority in the House of Representatives in last year's general election.
Shigeru Ishiba, the prime minister and president of the Liberal Democratic Party, shakes hands with one of the party's candidates for the upcoming Upper House election during the party's annual convention in Tokyo on Sunday.
The massive wildfire that broke out in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Feb. 26 has been contained, the city declared Sunday.
JAPAN
Massive Iwate wildfire, the nation's largest in half a century, is contained
The wildfire engulfed about 2,900 hectares — around half the size of Manhattan — making it Japan's largest in more than 50 years.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda attends a news conference on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
CDP leadership faces growing internal frustration
Due to the CDP's lackluster performance, a party source said, "We can't compete in (this summer's) House of Councilors election if we don't do anything."
The bridge in the city of Asahikawa where a female high school student died after being pushed off in April last year
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Woman sentenced to 23 years over Asahikawa girl's murder
Asahikawa District Court in Hokkaido has sentenced a 20-year-old woman to 23 years in prison in a high-profile murder case in which a female high school student died after being pushed off a bridge and into a river in Asahikawa in April last year.
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.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly
By Tomoko Otake
Despite longstanding taboos, evolving attitudes toward women's health highlight shifting cultural norms.
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.

JAPAN

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he walks to board Marine One, while departing the White House en route to Florida, in Washington, on Friday.
Majority in Japan expect stronger economic ties under Trump
Also in the survey, 81.5% said they strongly or somewhat agree that the security environment in East Asia is becoming more severe.
Tokyo Metro President Akiyoshi Yamamura (front) and others observe a moment of silence near the site of the accident in Tokyo's Meguro Ward.
Tokyo Metro marks 25th year since deadly derailment
The subway derailment accident on March 8, 2000, killed five passengers and injured 64 others.
Nagasaki town mayor arrested in bid-rigging case
Italian president lays flowers at Hiroshima Peace Park
Municipalities to end storage of personal items collected after 3/11
Some 44% of Japanese lawmakers back selective dual surname system

BUSINESS

Qianmen street, Beijing, in March 2023. Though the immediate shock has passed, COVID-19's legacy continues to reshape global economies and markets.
Five years on, the economic impact of COVID-19 lingers
By Canan Sevgili, Paolo Laudani, Alessandro Parodi and Alberto Chiumento
Though the immediate shock has passed, COVID-19's legacy continues to reshape global economies and markets.
Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Akio Isomata (left) and secretary to Sri Lanka's Finance Ministry, Mahinda Siriwardana, attend a joint news conference after the signing of debt restructuring agreements between the two countries in Colombo on Friday.
Sri Lanka signs $2.5 billion debt deal with Japan
Japan said it was granting concessions on a ¥369.45 billion ($2.5 billion) loan under a comprehensive debt treatment plan.
Britain and Fujitsu to begin compensation talks over post office scandal
Explosion and fire lead Toyota to halt production at two plants in Aichi from Monday
Japan must fix 'misunderstanding' it is manipulating yen, says ex-BOJ chief Kuroda
By Leika Kihara
Japanese stocks expected to remain on downward trend amid tariff turmoil

WORLD

South Korean impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol reacts outside the Seoul detention center after his release, in Uiwang, South Korea, on Saturday.
South Korea's impeached President Yoon released from detention
The suspended president walked out of the detention center smiling, before bowing deeply to a small crowd of cheering supporters.
A makeshift memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers on Independence Square in Kyiv.
Ten days that shook Ukraine’s world reverberate in defiant Kyiv
By Alan Crawford and Daryna Krasnolutska
The U.S. shift is as calamitous for Ukraine as it is shocking for European allies. But the mood remains defiant in Kyiv.
Germany's Merz wants European nuclear weapons to boost U.S. shield
Syria's new leader calls for peace as communal clashes continue
China-U.S. trade war heats up with Beijing's tariffs to take effect
SpaceX scrubs launch of two NASA satellite missions

Sports

The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani is expected to return to a two-way role this season.
As Shohei Ohtani embarks on Year 2 in Dodger Blue, a unique encore begins
By Tyler Kepner
Ohtani has won two Most Valuable Player Awards as a two-way player, for the Angels in 2021 and 2023.
England and Wales Cricket Board apologizes for 'ill-judged' post about pope
IPC chief tasks sports with setting own rules for transgender athletes
Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca delivers in Indian Wells debut
New yokozuna Hoshoryu and rising star Onosato enter Spring Basho as favorites
By John Gunning

Opinion

Japan is grappling with a budget shortfall, and while raising the tax-free threshold has sparked political debate, the country's booming tourism industry presents an untapped revenue source.
Japan has a revenue hole. Plug it with tourists
Gearoid Reidy
More than 35 years after sales tax was first introduced, it remains incredibly unpopular and reducing it is a regular promise of opposition parties.
Europe braces for a post-American world. Is Japan ready?
Without women behind the camera, equality stays out of the frame
By Andrijana Cvetkovikj
Breaking down Ukraine’s true value
By Anastassia Fedyk and Emilia Marshall
Trump's speech was more campaign rhetoric than leadership
By Kuni Miyake

ENVIRONMENT

A monarch butterfly is seen at an enclosure at Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, in August 2019.
Butterfly populations plummet by 22% in U.S. since turn of century
By Will Dunham
Studies in some other countries have documented declines at roughly the same rate as in the U.S. data.
Japan actress Mana Ashida named UNDP goodwill ambassador
Europe’s defense budget rips through its climate-crisis buffer
By Gautam Naik
Sheep grazing under solar panels help U.S. farmers to survive crop-price slump
By P.J. Huffstutter
Japan’s climate heroes show potential and limits of local initiatives
By Tomoko Otake

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.”
‘May You Have Delicious Meals’: The ugly taste of office and gender politics
By Eric Margolis
‘A Bad Summer’: A scorching drama of simmering rage and its consequences
By Mark Schilling
‘The Gesuidouz’ flips the bird at viewers
By James Hadfield
Can a meal make you besties? ‘K-foodie meets J-foodie’ says yes.
By Patrick St. Michel

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.
Slowly but surely, Osaka emerges from Kyoto’s fine-dining shadow
By Phoebe Amoroso
Tokyo’s vinyl experts say overseas buyers are ‘sustaining the scene’
By Gabrielle Doman
Scams, taxes and tariffs: It's that time of year.
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.
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
Black History Month in 2025: The boundaries between 'us' and 'them'
By Baye McNeil
John Davis: ‘At its core, indie is about creative freedom’
By Gendel Gento

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Cherry blossom season set to kick off on March 21 in Tokyo
By Jessica Speed
A Weathernews forecast shows the cherry blossom season will begin on March 21 in Tokyo.
LIFE
‘Granny hobbies’ are the new self-care
By Yuko Tamura
Yarn shortages are a sign that hobbies like knitting and crochet are gaining in popularity.
COMMENTARY
Can Shiori Ito’s documentary open Japan’s black box?
By Atsushi Funahashi and Chelsea Szendi Schieder
Shiori Ito is the first Japanese director to have been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature film. "Black Box Diaries," which tells the story of her quest for justice following her rape in 2015, hasn't been released in Japan.
BUSINESS
Japanese stocks stalled at 1989 levels as investors weigh tariffs and rates
By Kazuaki Nagata
An electronic sign displays the benchmark Nikkei stock average on a street in Tokyo. The stock average has been range-bound between about 38,000 and 40,000 since hitting a new all-time high in July last year.
COMMUNITY
Redevelopment and resistance in historic Nishiogikubo
By Aviraj Gokool
Tsuyoshi Mizukoshi, owner of a pub in Nishiogi’s commercial area, is a community organizer who is rallying local residents against the road development plan.

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

JT Directory Service

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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
Tokyo responds to Trump remarks on 'interesting' Japan-U.S. security pact
By Eric Johnston
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive for a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 7.
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.
ASIA PACIFIC
As Trump hails taking back of Panama Canal, Hong Kong Inc. walks tightrope
By Clare Jim, James Pomfret and Anne Marie Roantree
Balboa Port, operated by Panama Ports Company, at the Panama Canal. Conglomerate CK Hutchison, controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, has agreed to sell its ports network, including assets along the Panama Canal, to a U.S. consortium led by BlackRock.
JAPAN
Some 44% of Japanese lawmakers back selective dual surname system
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda addresses a rally calling for the introduction of a system allowing married couples to choose whether to use the same or different family names on Feb. 26 at parliament.
JAPAN
Foreign single mothers struggle with language barriers and visas
By Masako Watanabe
Forbidden from seeing friends and forced to devote herself to housework, Reina (whose name has been changed), a 37-year-old Filipino national living in the city of Nagoya, became socially isolated.