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April 11, 2025
 

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Gearoid Reidy
Donald Trump’s complaints about Japan’s auto market are based on misconceptions, as Japan has not imposed car tariffs since 1978 and American cars fail to meet local preferences.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 8, 2025
The Japan tariff myth that just won’t die
The belief that unfair trade practices are at fault isn’t only false, but also one of those enduring myths that refuses to die.
Nintendo’s Switch 2 presentation amazed with unexpected game reveals, impressive hardware upgrades and a surprising price announcement, but its two-tier pricing strategy and higher cost left fans both excited and confused.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2025
Nintendo's Switch 2 reveal had a big surprise: The price
An hourlong presentation finally lifted the lid on the Switch 2, which will go on sale June 5 for $450 — though less if you speak Japanese.
The bus stop sign for the Ghibli Museum at Mitaka Station. The viral trend of AI-generated Ghibli-style images reflects both a longing for comfort in uncertain times and the ongoing debate over AI’s impact on art.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 2, 2025
For a brief moment, everything was Ghibli
ChatGPT will make almost anything Ghibli-ish, but it won’t draw Totoro.
European Union nations and Japan fret about a world without the U.S. security umbrella. They could ease their fears by moving closer together.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 26, 2025
Japan-Europe: The security alliance the world needs now
Even before Trump’s return, Europe and Japan both rapidly needed to shift from their peacetime posture to one preparing for war.
Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is facing a political funding scandal that has damaged his reputation and sparked speculation that internal efforts to remove him are underway.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 19, 2025
Japan’s leader didn’t read the job description
The lastest scandal comes amid broader concerns over the LDP's misuse of political funds, further damaging Prime Minister Ishiba’s reputation.
Shohei Ohtani gets a kiss from his dog Decoy at a game in August 2024. The Japanese slugger-pitcher’s return to his country to kick off the Major League Baseball season has sparked immense excitement, highlighting his unparalleled career and symbolic role as a national hero.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2025
Superstar Shohei Ohtani for prime minister
He’s unavoidable in Japan: His face adorns ads for cosmetics, mattresses, English conversation schools and, most recently, convenience store rice balls.
Donald Trump’s skepticism of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty should push Japan to rethink its defense posture, increase military spending, expand arms exports and even consider the nuclear question instead of relying on outdated postwar norms.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2025
Use the bogeyman to confront Japan’s defense taboos
Donald Trump’s criticism of the U.S. security treaty with Japan is the perfect cover that Tokyo needs to confront outdated attitudes about defense.
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.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 7, 2025
Japan has a revenue hole. Plug it with tourists
More than 35 years after sales tax was first introduced, it remains incredibly unpopular and reducing it is a regular promise of opposition parties.
Seven & I has spent months fending off Couche-Tard’s takeover bid with complex maneuvers, but instead of chasing defensive strategies, it should focus on strengthening its core convenience-store business, which still has untapped potential.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 4, 2025
7-Eleven’s time-wasting isn’t so convenient
Retail is a fast-moving industry — and months spent fending off Couche-Tard means less focus on strategy.
The latest "Captain America" movie depicts a conflict between the U.S. and Japan over a newly discovered element, but the premise seems implausible and likely reflects a late-stage decision to replace China with Japan to avoid alienating Chinese audiences.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 28, 2025
A U.S. war with Japan? Only in ‘Captain America.’
It’s clear that Japan must be a stand-in for China — possibly a late-stage replacement in a movie that became notorious for its multiple rewrites and reshoots.
Many Japanese companies like Toto have quietly shifted from consumer-facing products like toilets to specialized, high-value industries such as semiconductor materials, proving that Japan's innovation remains strong despite its lower global visibility.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 21, 2025
Japan’s toilet jokes are on you. Innovation is flourishing.
One of the most surprising stories in corporate Japan in recent months has been the emergence of semiconductor materials as a significant profit driver at Toto.
While Valentine’s Day in the West is traditionally associated with men giving flowers to women, in Japan the day has typically involved women giving gifts of chocolate to men.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 14, 2025
A sweet Japanese Valentine's Day tradition is nearly dead
The custom of giri-choco, loosely meaning "obligatory chocolate,” was once commonplace in offices around the country.
Japan has effectively exited deflation, but Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s reluctance to acknowledge it reflects outdated economic fears rather than current reality.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 13, 2025
It’s time for Japan to admit victory over deflation
The last time prices declined was in July 2021, the same month the Tokyo Olympic Games took place.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump will likely aim at maintaining the status quo, avoid new trade issues and ensure Japan isn’t targeted by tariffs.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 7, 2025
A new golden age for U.S.-Japan? I don’t think so.
Ishiba won’t be looking for any great breakthrough, a dramatic defense re-posturing, or support for any of his long-held foreign policy goals
Nissan needed this deal a lot more than Honda as billions of dollars of debt due in the next year closes in.
COMMENTARY
Feb 6, 2025
Scrapping Honda deal would leave Nissan stranded
Nissan needed this deal a lot more than Honda. As billions of dollars of debt due in the next year close in, the former may get pushed into an even less favorable deal.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s reluctance to engage with newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump while strengthening ties with China raises concerns about Japan’s strategic priorities.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 31, 2025
Ishiba nudges his ‘little Japan’ closer to China
Prime Minister Ishiba’s reluctance to engage with Trump while strengthening ties with China raises concerns about Japan’s strategic priorities and its alliance with the U.S.
Members of the popular Japanese pop group SMAP, including scandal-plagued Masahiro Nakai (right), perform in Beijing in September 2011.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 29, 2025
A pop-star sex scandal shows the death throes of old Japan
As the leader of a now-defunct boy band SMAP, the 52-year-old Nakai has been a ubiquitous mainstay in Japanese life for decades.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after the central bank's policy meeting in Tokyo on Friday. The BOJ raised its rate by a quarter-point to 0.5% that day.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 26, 2025
Japan’s central bank drops the drama and wins on rates
The quarter-point increase, which took the main rate to 0.5%, was probably the most telegraphed this century.
Tourists visit shops near Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Shrine on Jan. 13. The nation's growing tourism sector, set to hit 40 million visitors in 2025, boosts the economy but is straining the nation's infrastructure.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 23, 2025
Japan has '$100 billion' reasons to welcome more visitors
Japan's growing tourism, set to hit 40 million visitors in 2025, boosts the economy but strains infrastructure, highlighting a need for smarter policies to manage overtourism.
Instead of the Bank of Japan's actions strengthening the yen as once hoped, recent steps have only caused further weakening.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 22, 2025
Ueda’s doctrine for the BOJ is finally emerging
Instead of the Bank of Japan's actions strengthening the yen as once hoped, recent steps have only caused further weakening.
Wall Street will regret helping the world burn
Wall Street banks, under political pressure and tempted by short-term gains, are abandoning climate commitments and pouring billions into fossil fuels, risking both environmental catastrophe and massive future economic losses.
Trump's tariff gambit leaves Asia stunned and scrambling
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he attends the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner in Washington on Tuesday. Trump allowed new tariffs — including a 24% levy on Japan — to go into effect as scheduled on Wednesday.
Japan and U.S. appoint tariff negotiators after Ishiba-Trump phone call
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa enters the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japanese makers rush to mitigate possible Nankai Trough earthquake damage
Toyota is considering transferring some production in the key Tokai region, which is expected to be hit hard in a Nankai Trough earthquake, to the Tohoku and Kyushu regions.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it
An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Who is Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariffs negotiator?
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, who Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has appointed Japan's tariff negotiator, is one of his closest allies and busiest ministers.
After a tumultuous buildup, a first look at the Osaka Expo
A large statue of Osaka Expo mascot Myaku Myaku sits near the east entrance of the event's venue in Yumeshima island, Osaka, on Wednesday.
Japan gets a new U.S. ambassador — and he has his work cut out for him
George Glass, U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to be ambassador to Japan, attends a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington on March 13.
Online art scene eager to go offline, at least for the moment
Digital artist Polygon1993 revels in the physicality of nostalgic technology, making art out of materials such as miniature CDs, holographic prints layered with plexiglass shards and a giant custom-made floppy disk.
Tottori takes a bold leap forward in the arts
The city of Kurayoshi in Tottori Prefecture celebrated the opening of its public art museum with festivities such as a parade that drew 1,000 revelers.

Podcast

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

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it
By Alex K.T. Martin

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BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)
BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

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