Home page

 
Menu
Search
 
Menu
Search
Tokyo Weather 12℃
TOKYO
March 23, 2025
The Independent Voice in Asia
March 23, 2025
Shigeru Ishiba
BOJ
Tokyo Series
Latest News
Deep Dive
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left), Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (center) and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul pose for the cameras during a trilateral meeting in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Japan, China, and South Korea agree to promote peace and cooperation
The talks come as U.S. trade tariffs loom over the region, and as concerns mount over North Korea's weapons tests.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left), Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (center) and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul pose for the cameras during a trilateral meeting in Tokyo on Saturday.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Liberal Democratic Party's annual convention in Tokyo on March 9.
JAPAN / Politics
Ishiba appears ready to speak before Diet ethics panel over gift vouchers
Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the CDP, and Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the DPP, have called on Ishiba to give explanations before a parliamentary ethics panel.
Keio University in Tokyo
JAPAN / Science & Health
Keio University team says stem cell treatment helped improve spine injuries
Keio University said that the motor function score for two patients improved after an operation to implant more than 2 million iPS-derived cells into a spinal cord.
A kitchenware recycling team collects equipment at a closed hotpot restaurant in Beijing last month.
BUSINESS / Economy
China's restaurants race to the bottom in deflation-hit economy
By Laurie Chen, Tingshu Wang and Xiaoyu Yin
A restaurant in China has an average lifespan of just about 500 days, analysts say, falling to as low as a year in Beijing.
U.S. President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, on Saturday
WORLD
Trump’s makeover of U.S. diplomacy leaves many allies at a loss
By Donato Paolo Mancini, Iain Marlow and Andrea Palasciano
Like with most things in Trump’s tenure so far, the president’s second-term playbook on diplomacy marks a significant shift from the past.
U.S. President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, on Saturday

JAPAN

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington on Friday
U.S. defense chief Pete Hegseth to visit Japan next week
Hegseth will visit the Pacific island of Iwo Jima to participate in a joint memorial ceremony as Japan and the U.S. mark 80 years since the end of World War II.
People offer flowers and join hands at a memorial service for the Nasu avalanche in Otawara City, Tochigi Prefecture, on Saturday.
Victims mourned eight years after 2017 deadly Tochigi avalanche
The ceremony, held at Tochigi Prefectural Otawara High School, was attended by about 50 people.
Osaka court rejects damages suit over coercive interrogations
'Mentech' starts gaining traction in Japan
Stay at home if Mount Fuji erupts, government panel says
By Yukana Inoue
Cabinet approves strategy to battle illegal online casinos
By Eric Johnston

BUSINESS

An employee works at a production line of 155 mm artillery shells at the plant of German company Rheinmetall, which produces weapons and ammunition for tanks and artillery.
Europe is short of gunpowder and TNT when it needs them most
By Laura Alviz
European governments dug into their munitions stockpiles to arm Ukraine, exposing how shallow their reserves were.
San Francisco-based OpenAI sees the new studies as a way to get a better sense of how people interact with, and are affected by, its popular chatbot.
OpenAI study finds links between ChatGPT use and loneliness
By Rachel Metz
Those who spent more time typing or speaking with ChatGPT each day tended to report higher levels of emotional dependence on the chatbot.
AI startup Perplexity confirms interest to buy TikTok
By Glenn CHAPMAN
Tokyu Agency fined ¥200 million in Tokyo Games bid-rigging case
Japan's space debris firm Astroscale to tie up with Indian companies
By Kantaro Komiya and Nivedita Bhattacharjee
Toyota’s new R&D unit signals its sharper India focus
By Alisha Sachdev

WORLD

Palestinians look on during the handover by Hamas of deceased Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 20
Hamas remains potent threat to Israel despite muted response to strikes
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Emily Rose
Israel has inflicted serious damage on Hamas, but sources say the group has shown it can absorb major losses and still fight and govern.
Protesters outside a Tesla showroom in West Bloomfield, Michigan, on March 20.
Tesla vandalism sparked by fury against Musk draws GOP ire
By Kara Carlson, Myles Miller and Alicia Clanton
Caught in the middle are millions of customers whose electric vehicles increasingly are viewed as political symbols.
A genocidal militia in Sudan controls a key ingredient in Coke and Pepsi
By Simon Marks
Tesla vandalism sparked by fury against Musk draws GOP ire
By Kara Carlson, Myles Miller and Alicia Clanton
Flights canceled and thousands evacuated after Indonesia volcano eruption
Travel disruptions linger as flights resume at London’s Heathrow
By John Yoon

Sports

Former World heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman poses during a media conference in Johannesburg in April 2001.
George Foreman, ageless heavyweight champion, dies at 76
By Victor Mather
Foreman claimed a world title in his 20s and again in his 40s, and then made millions selling grills.
Tsunoda shines again as Lawson's struggles continue
McLaren's Piastri takes his first F1 pole in China
Hamilton answers critics with first Ferrari win in China sprint
By Joe Cash
Reigning NBA champion Celtics agree to record-breaking $6.1 billion sale

Opinion

Despite the high cost of defending Ukraine, voters on both sides of the Atlantic — including Republicans in the United States — remain surprisingly united in their support for the country.
The American and European publics still stand with Ukraine
Mathieu Lefevre and Tim Dixon
Public attitudes in the U.S. are even more striking. When it comes to Ukraine, Americans broadly agree with Europeans.
Thirty years later, Aum Shinrikyo’s horrors are ever-present
Europe’s risk aversion comes with consequences
By Allison Schrager
Billionaire’s private jet angst won’t save the world
By David Fickling
Prime Minister Ishiba’s struggles put his leadership in jeopardy
By Edo Naito

ENVIRONMENT

Ice is seen on the Pastoruri glacier in the Peruvian Andes, Peru, in May 2024.
World's glaciers are losing record ice as global temperatures climb, U.N. says
By Alexander Villegas
Glaciers are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record.
Why we should worry when whales stop singing
By Todd Woody
What the $660 million Greenpeace verdict means for U.S. activism
By Olivia Raimonde and Zahra Hirji
In the remote Amazon, midwives care for women stranded by drought
By Pilar Olivares and Manuela Andreoni
Extreme weather in 2024 forced most people to flee in 16 years
By Aaron Clark

CULTURE

AMKK’s latest exhibition, “X-Ray Flowers,” is the culmination of seven years of work aided by CT technologists, who help with the highly specialized imaging techniques.
Avant-garde botanists AMKK illuminate the inner worlds of flowers
By Kim Kahan
The punk florists' latest exhibition immerses visitors in darkness, bathed only in the glow of X-rays and CT scans of plants and flowers.
'One Hundred Flowers': A moving exploration of loss, love and living with dementia
By Kris Kosaka
Osaka’s kabuki fan culture fueled an elusive figure of the ukiyo-e scene
By Martin Laflamme
Virtual idols, real fans: Hololive’s bet on the future of pop
By Patrick St. Michel
‘My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999’ shows that even stoic gamers can fall in love
By Mark Schilling

LIFE

A sign at Tokyo's Haneda Airport shows users the way to the monorail in four different languages.
Can we make it official? Language in the age of Trump.
By Peter Backhaus
The United States made English its main language, but in Japan things seem to be heading in a different way.
Now is the time to discover this Japanese mountain vegetable
By Elizabeth Andoh
At Osaka's Haraiso Sparkle, curry with a side of city pop
By Eric Millman
Tokyo Creative Salon sees the city as both runway and canvas
By Erik Augustin Palm
After a long winter, wild veggies can brighten up any dish
By Makiko Itoh

COMMUNITY

As the founder of Z Rakugo, Edanoshin Katsura is introducing the traditional storytelling form to younger audiences by blending it with club visuals and electronic music.
Edanoshin Katsura: ‘Rakugo and techno are both about rhythm and groove’
By Wakaba Oto
A 23-year-old entertainer is redefining the Japanese comedic storytelling tradition for Gen Z by introducing elements of techno and underground youth culture.
A shy cat looking for a new start
From abandoned houses to ‘creative communities’: An Ishinomaki entrepreneur's vision for rural Japan
By Florentyna Leow
A shy Shiba mix is ready to bloom
Hiromi Okuda: 'Humans and emerging tech should exist symbiotically'
By Jessica Kozuka

Editors' Picks

BASEBALL
In pictures: Tokyo's weeklong celebration of baseball's best
Shohei Ohtani belts a home run in the fifth inning of the second game of the Tokyo Series between the Dodgers and Cubs.
JAPAN
What's the fuss over Ishiba's gift vouchers?
By Himari Semans and Gabriele Ninivaggi
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits for a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee to begin in Tokyo on Friday.
BASEBALL
At Tokyo Dome, a stage so big that even Shohei Ohtani felt nervous
By Jason Coskrey
Shohei Ohtani tips his batting helmet during the opening game of the MLB season between the Dodgers and Cubs on Tuesday at Tokyo Dome
LIFE
Assassin’s Creed Shadows puts samurai style over substance
By Owen Ziegler
Releasing on March 20, Assassin's Creed Shadows excels in atmosphere and open-world gameplay but falls short of narrative expectations.
LIFE
At Ventinove, Tuscan specialties taken to new heights
By Robbie Swinnerton
Tucked away behind the historic Tsuchida sake brewery, Ventinove's location and sleek, angular architecture make for impressive destination dining.

Podcast

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

Longform

Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo
By Alex K.T. Martin

JT Directory Service

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

Ex.Portal By Synergy Media Specialists

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Cainz enriches lives and communities through DIY
Cainz enriches lives and communities through DIY

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Stay at home if Mount Fuji erupts, government panel says
By Yukana Inoue
Mount Fuji in November. For the first time, the government has released specific guidelines on how residents should act in the event that Mount Fuji erupts.
CULTURE
Virtual idols, real fans: Hololive’s bet on the future of pop
By Patrick St. Michel
Motoaki Tanigo, whom fans affectionately refer to as “Yagoo,” is the CEO and founder of tech company Cover Corporation, which runs Hololive, an industry-leading virtual YouTuber talent agency.
JAPAN
Pentagon eyeing plan to halt U.S. Forces Japan upgrade, reports say
By Jesse Johnson
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
JAPAN
Japan, China, and South Korea agree to promote peace and cooperation
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left), Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (center) and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul pose for the cameras during a trilateral meeting in Tokyo on Saturday.
LIFE
Can we make it official? Language in the age of Trump.
By Peter Backhaus
A sign at Tokyo's Haneda Airport shows users the way to the monorail in four different languages.