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July 29, 2025
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July 29, 2025
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Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party President Shigeru Ishiba, flanked by LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama (left) and LDP Vice President Yoshihide Suga, speaks at a meeting of party lawmakers and executives at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
At LDP’s post-election meeting, calls intensify for Ishiba’s resignation
By Gabriele Ninivaggi and Eric Johnston
The prime minister apologized to his fellow party members over the loss of its majority in the Upper House, but remains determined to stay on.

More coverage

Japan’s neighbors anxiously assess Upper House election results
Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party President Shigeru Ishiba, flanked by LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama (left) and LDP Vice President Yoshihide Suga, speaks at a meeting of party lawmakers and executives at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
Prolonged high prices for food and other goods have pushed down consumer sentiment and real wages, according to the Annual Report on the Japanese Economy and Public Finance for fiscal 2025.
BUSINESS / Economy
Japan should take all possible measures to raise wages, white paper says
Prolonged high prices for food and other goods have pushed down consumer sentiment and real wages, while predictions for continued price climbs have curbed consumption.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, on June 30, 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
North Korea says Trump must drop denuclearization policy if he wants to meet Kim
By Jesse Johnson
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korea’s leader, called personal ties between Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump "not bad.”
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani speaks to reporters during a visit to the Air Self-Defense Force's Space Situation Awareness radar in Sanyo-Onoda, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
‘Killer satellites’ beware: Japan unveils first space defense guidelines
By Jesse Johnson
The guidelines outline plans to protect Japanese satellites, while promoting cooperation between the public and private sectors on cutting-edge tech.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has called off a trip to Central and South America that would have included stopovers in the U.S.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Taiwan's Lai calls off trip with U.S. transit as Trump seeks Xi summit
By Jenny Leonard and Yian Lee
The Taiwanese president had intended to stop in New York and then Dallas as part of a trip to diplomatic allies in Central and South America.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has called off a trip to Central and South America that would have included stopovers in the U.S.

JAPAN

Photos of Nazca Line geoglyphs newly discovered by a team of researchers at Yamagata University, on Monday in the city of Osaka
Japanese researchers discover 248 Nazca Line geoglyphs in Peru
The team conducted field surveys on sites selected from aerial photographs using artificial intelligence.
The number of children waiting to be accepted into <i>gakudō hoiku</i> after-school care facilities for elementary school students has dropped from a year earlier.
Number of children on after-school care waiting lists drops to 17,000
By prefecture, Tokyo had the largest number of children on waiting lists at 3,375.
80% of high schoolers in Japan show interest in wages and labor systems
Japan's Foreign Ministry to set up economic security division
Almost 80 years on, 'Hiroshima Panels' pass on memories of atomic bombing
Hibakusha's stories will change the world, Nobel committee chair says

BUSINESS

Hideyuki Okamoto, ice pop maker Akagi Nyugyo's marketing team leader, says the public is more accepting of price hikes as he holds the company's flagship Garigari-kun ice pop.
Enough apologies: How Japan is shaking off its price hike phobia
By Makiko Yamazaki and Takahiko Wada
A shift in consumer mindset about such increases is driven by the biggest pay hikes in three decades and has given companies more confidence to pass on rising costs.
A bottle of Suntory's Yamazaki whisky
Suntory will gauge U.S. consumer sentiment for whisky price hike
CEO Takeshi Niinami also said the company is "overreliant on the U.S. and Japan” and has realized the importance of emerging markets.
Delayed pricing policy for cleaner ethanol keeps India burning food for fuel
By Bhasker Tripathi
Apple to shutter a retail store in China for the first time ever
By Mark Gurman
The world’s biggest passenger plane keeps breaking down
By Angus Whitley and Danny Lee
U.S. tariffs to test pricing by luxury brands already paying for dramatic hikes
By Mimosa Spencer and Sami Marshak

WORLD

An elderly man clears mud in front of a flooded market after heavy rains at Taishitun village in Miyun district, on the outskirts of Beijing, on Monday.
Floods kill at least 30 after Beijing records almost a year of rainfall in days
By Liz Lee and Xiuhao Chen
China's usually arid north has seen record precipitation in recent years, with some scientists linking the rainfall to global warming.
People who fled their homes near the border between Cambodia and Thailand gather at a food distribution site on the grounds of a pagoda in Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, on Monday.
Thai army accuses Cambodia of breaking truce
By Chayanit ITTHIPONGMAETEE and Suy SE
"Thailand is compelled to respond appropriately, exercising its legitimate right to self-defense," a Thai army spokesperson said after stating Cambodia had violated the ceasefire.
China rolls out childcare subsidy to boost birth rate
By Karoline Kan
Trump team hears pitches on access to Myanmar's rare earths
By Trevor Hunnicutt, David Brunnstrom, Devjyot Ghoshal and Poppy McPherson
Russia at the gates: How Ukraine defended a strategic city for months
By Anastasiia Malenko, Maria Tsvetkova and Manuel Ausloos
Ceasefire takes effect between Thailand and Cambodia after five-day border battle
By Chayut Setboonsarng, Danial Azhar and Shoon Naing

Sports

“Yakyu / Baseball” is set to remain on display in Cooperstown for at least five to ten years — and possibly indefinitely.
Behind the scenes at the Baseball Hall of Fame's new Yakyu/Baseball exhibit
By Joshua Mellin
The exhibit tells a sweeping, richly visual story about the deep and evolving connection between Japan and America’s shared national pastime.
I'm no genius, says 12-year-old Yu after just missing podium at worlds
Man jailed for stalking and harassing Fever star Caitlin Clark
Legendary Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg dies at 65
Bouchard extends career with first-round win at Canadian Open
By Rory Carroll

Opinion

Sanseito supporters celebrate at a rally in Tokyo on July 21, a day after the party’s strong showing in the Upper House election.
Japan’s neighbors anxiously assess Upper House election results
Elizabeth Wishnick and Carita Reid
Most notably, the far-right, anti-immigrant Sanseito won 14 seats, increasing its total seats from one to 15.
Trump is trying to build a far-right international alliance
By Jan-Werner Mueller
Iran is more prepared for democracy than many realize
By Kian Tajbakhsh
Freezing rent is easy. Making NYC housing affordable isn’t.
By Justin Fox
The Fed needs to tread carefully with this strange dollar
By Jonathan Levin

ENVIRONMENT

People ride in a boat past a newly built concrete barrier in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Egypt, on April 20.
Rising seas and shifting sands attack ancient Alexandria from below
By Heba Fouad and Ahmed Fahmy
The warming waters of the Mediterranean are rising due to climate change, leading to coastal erosion and undermining buildings from below.
New Zealand farmers battle pine forests to 'save our sheep'
By Ben Strang
Germans are finally embracing air conditioning, even renters
By Nick Heubeck and Carolynn Look
World court climate ruling: nonbinding but game changing
By Kelly Macnamara
‘Unprecedented’ ocean heat waves in 2023 suggest climate tipping point
By Danielle Bochove

CULTURE

Fuji Rock still excites Hitsujibungaku — (from left) bassist Yurika Kasai, lead singer and guitarist Moeka Shiotsuka and drummer Hiroa Fukuda — even as its flock grows abroad.
Hitsujibungaku’s pop-fueled rise to stardom
By Patrick St. Michel
Rock trio Hitsujibungaku is set to make its fourth appearance at Fuji Rock this weekend on its most primetime stage yet — the White Stage right before headliner Haim.
‘Demon Slayer’ movie slashes its own box office records
By Matt Schley
National Ballet of Japan stages first overseas performance in London
Behind the scenes: Inside Fuji Rock’s strategy for staying on top
By Philip Brasor
‘Rainy Blue’: Behind-the-scenes drama tarnishes an intriguing debut
By James Hadfield

LIFE

Located in Patina Osaka, P72 doesn't have a fixed menu, opting instead to rely on whatever is available from local suppliers and its on-site garden to create its innovative plant-based cuisine.
P72 sows the seeds for a dynamic plant-based cuisine
By Jessica Kozuka
With an ever-changing menu dictated by what's available from its garden and suppliers, the Osaka-based restaurant injects creativity and spontaneity into its green cuisine.
Communal knead: A Turkish baker in Kamakura draws queues
By Alex Michael Dwyer
As summer soars, the tomato offers a lesson in staying bright and cool
By Makiko Itoh
Traditional Japanese swordsmanship — with modern matches
By Johan Brooks
How a single current keeps Shiga’s ‘village of water’ in concert
By Joanna Kawecki

COMMUNITY

Wakana, a Japanese fan of Thai BL, visits a temple in Thon Buri, Bangkok featured in the Thai adaptation of the Japanese series “Cherry Magic.” Her media consumption kindled an interest in Thai culture and language, and ultimately led her to relocate to Thailand. “I fell in love with the whole country,” she says.
Boys’ love dramas from Thailand make waves in Japan
By Agnese Dionisio
Thailand has become a top producer of BL (boys’ love) dramas — and audiences in Japan are among the most ardent consumers.
A big, beautiful Bengal cat named Pupu
Ayaka Ohira: ‘Being outside of the traditional path gave me more freedom’
By Zoria Petkoska
The mothers holding up Japan's Vietnamese community
By Nguyen Bao Anh
Lilimi settles into a new life

Editors' Picks

ENVIRONMENT
Amid fossil fuel shift in U.S., hope emerges for India and Japan tie-up on solar
By Nithin Coca
A technician works on the assembly line at a solar panel manufacturing hub on the outskirts of New Delhi last October.
JAPAN
Japan and NATO to launch defense-industrial talks, top envoy says
By Gabriel Dominguez
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte looks at military equipment on the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami stealth frigate during a visit to the MSDF's naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in April.
BASEBALL
Three decades and a pile of notebooks: The beat writer who chronicled Ichiro’s career
By Mai Yoshikawa
Reporters and photographers, including long-time baseball beat writer Keizo Konishi, swarm around Ichiro Suzuki during the World Baseball Classic in San Diego in 2009.
JAPAN
Tokyo is the No. 2 choice for international students
By Elizabeth Beattie
The University of Tokyo. International students are increasingly flocking to Asia, with affordability being a particularly important metric.
BUSINESS
Japan leans into homegrown AI amid rising competition
By Elizabeth Beattie
McKinsey’s 2025 Technology Trends Outlook, published Wednesday, says that the use of “sovereign AI” is a trend gaining significant global traction, including in Japan.

Podcast

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

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear
By Jason Coskrey

JT Directory Service

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy
Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Japan to start new residency system for foreign workers
Students hoping to work in Japan attend a Japanese class at a job placement company in Hanoi in October 2022.
JAPAN
Japan to regularly accept assistant language teachers from India
Indian assistant language teachers pose for a photo with Japanese Ambassador Keiichi Ono (center) at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Friday.
BASEBALL
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear
By Jason Coskrey
Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
CULTURE
‘Demon Slayer’ movie slashes its own box office records
By Matt Schley
“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” is the first installment in a trilogy that's set to wrap the anime adaptation of Koyoharu Gotoke's manga about sword-wielding heroes fighting man-eating demons.
JAPAN
Kyoto University researchers find mechanism behind malignant pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer, the third-leading cause of cancer death in Japan, has the lowest five-year survival rate of any cancer at just 8.5%.