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March 31, 2025
 

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Gearoid Reidy
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda gives a news conference in Tokyo on Friday. The BOJ jolted financial markets by loosening its grip on bond yields.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2023
BOJ yields some control, but also throws a curveball
In trying to keep several plates spinning as it pertains to monetary policy and inflation, BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda steps on his message.
Contrary to some news reports, the movie "Oppenheimer," starring (left to right) Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh, has not been banned in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 27, 2023
'Oppenheimer' spurs debate on the atomic bombings
Christopher Nolan’s biopic has triggered a debate on the rights and wrongs of dropping the bomb. It could lead to a more useful discussion in Japan — assuming it’s ever released here.
Jingu Gaien is a famous landmark, park and sports center in Minato Ward, Tokyo. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 26, 2023
Tokyo's tree-razing drama shouldn't stymie transformation
Residents are raging over a redevelopment plan. But while other cities become stuck in time, Tokyo's best projects can combine the spirit of the past with the hope for the future.
Demonstrators protest against Japan's plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the ocean, in Seoul on July 7.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 20, 2023
Fukushima water opposition is steeped in anti-science
Skepticism over Japan’s plan to discharge treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant must not give way to scaremongering.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 14, 2023
Rakuten is hanging on. It should consider hanging up
Rakuten is selling whatever it can to plug a hole in its finances caused by a misadventure into mobile.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 5, 2023
The Land of the Rising Sun rises much too early
Hours of productive daylight are largely wasted in Tokyo where the summer dawn breaks before 5 a.m. It’s time to figure out a better system.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 28, 2023
Japan’s latest chip deal shows a savvy strategy shift
There’s reason to believe the $6 billion bid for JSR won’t repeat previous failures
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 17, 2023
In pursuing peace, Japan’s leader must also prepare for war
His life’s goal may be nuclear disarmament, but with this G7 meeting in Hiroshima, Fumio Kishida will move the nation even closer to the world’s largest nuclear power.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 10, 2023
How Fumio Kishida was able to get his groove back
A successful Group of Seven summit could solidify Fumio Kishida’s position and even open a path to becoming one of the country’s longest-serving prime ministers.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 26, 2023
Buffett and other billionaires say Tokyo is worth revisiting
Interest in Japan from some of the U.S.’ richest investors is reviving talk of the nation's capital as a financial center. It’s a good start.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2023
Don’t allow the attack on Kishida to become a trend
Two assaults on Japanese political leaders in one year suggests a trend. We need to avoid amplifying the message of their perpetrators.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 12, 2023
Move over 'Minions,' it’s Mario time at the movies
The iconic plumber Mario is set to make more at the box office than any animated movie. But don’t expect a Nintendo Cinematic Universe just yet.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 29, 2023
Japan wants wage winners. Is it ready for losers?
Prime Minister Kishida has urged firms to boost workers’ pay. That would require more social upheaval than the country is prepared to accept.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 23, 2023
WBC baseball victory is a triumph for Japan’s soft power
The nation’s lost decades don’t extend to sports. That will help drive Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s narrative as he prepares to host the Group of Seven in Hiroshima.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 19, 2023
The cherry blossoms are back, but is Tokyo?
Japan’s famous petals are blooming, and for the first time in four years so are the associated parties. But not everything COVID-19 took away will return.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 16, 2023
Somewhere in the multiverse, SVB could be the BOJ
Just like Silicon Valley, Japan is dependent on easy money. That makes SVB’s collapse a cautionary tale for those who think the central bank should be tightening.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 15, 2023
Squaring the circle of same-sex marriage in Japan
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is being drawn into a debate on marriage equality ahead of the G7 summit. Could he turn it into an opportunity?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2023
Quakes are inevitable. Huge death tolls are not.
Better building standards mean earthquakes need not turn into the devastation seen in Turkey and Syria. The world should pay attention.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2023
Can money turn the tide on global fertility rates?
Japan, the poster child for aging societies, promises radical spending to boost its birthrate. That’s unlikely to fix the issue.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 15, 2023
What Kazuo Ueda’s past says about the BOJ’s future
Japan’s new central bank boss, Kazuo Ueda, is being likened to a wise old policy 'owl' rather than a 'dove' or a 'hawk.'
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
School-age suicides in Japan hit all-time high
A volunteer handles an incoming call at the Tokyo Befrienders call center, a suicide hotline center in Japan's capital.
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
In Tokyo, Pentagon chief provides assurances that Japan-U.S. alliance remains robust
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (left) and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo ahead of their talks Sunday.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

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