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April 19, 2025
 

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Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to reporters upon his arrival at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Friday, a day after talks in Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 19, 2025
Japan tariff negotiator rules out quick U.S. deal despite push by Trump
Ryosei Akazawa said that while the U.S. president wants to speed up negotiations, any agreement would likely take some time.
U.S. military personnel join Japanese officials and residents for a one-off joint nighttime patrol on the streets of the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, late Friday in the first such joint operation since 1973, following sexual assault cases involving U.S. servicemen.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 19, 2025
Japan, U.S. patrol Okinawa streets after sexual assaults
In the first such joint operation since 1973, participants walked along a downtown street dotted with restaurants, bars and clubs near a U.S. airbase.
A U.S. aircraft, carrying Venezuelan migrants after being deported from the United States, lands at the Simon Bolivar International Airport, in Maiquetia, Venezuela, on April 4.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 19, 2025
Venezuelan migrants ask U.S. Supreme Court to halt 'imminent' deportations
The cases raise questions about the Trump administration's adherence to limits set by the Supreme Court, and risks a full-blown constitutional crisis.
A drone view shows charred vehicles standing in the aftermath of what Al-Masirah TV said was a U.S. strike on the Ras Issa fuel port, Al Jazirah, Yemen, in this screenshot from video released Friday.
WORLD
Apr 19, 2025
U.S. steps up Houthi campaign with deadly strikes on Red Sea oil port
The attack on the Houthi-controlled port killed dozens of people, according to the Iran-backed militants, raising the specter of a widening conflict in the Middle East.
A soldier from the U.S.-led coalition holds the hand of a boy during a joint U.S.- Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces patrol in the countryside of Qamishli in northeastern Syria in February 2024.
WORLD
Apr 19, 2025
U.S. to withdraw some 1,000 troops from Syria
President Donald Trump has long been skeptical of Washington's presence in Syria.
Ukrainan President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a news conference in Kyiv on Thursday.
WORLD
Apr 19, 2025
Ukraine bans China's firms for helping Russia make missiles
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not offer any evidence of the claim, which came a day after he alleged China had been supplying weapons to Russia.
A screenshot image from the Whitehouse.gov website that promotes the "lab leak" theory of COVID-19’s origins. The Trump administration has replaced the government’s main portal for information about COVID-19 with a website arguing that the virus leaked from a Chinese lab, throwing its weight behind a theory of the virus’ origins that is so far not backed by direct evidence.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 19, 2025
New White House website blames China for COVID-19 'lab leak'
The website, previously focused on promoting vaccine and testing information, now includes a large image of President Donald Trump and criticizes the Biden-era pandemic policies.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference, in Washington in January.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 19, 2025
Trump goes to war with the Fed
The U.S. president has threatened to take the unprecedented step of ousting the head of the fiercely independent central bank.
While taking refuge on Mount Kasagi from the shogunate’s forces, Emperor Go-Daigo had a prophetic dream that eventually led him to secure the support of military strategist Kusunoki Masashige.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Apr 19, 2025
‘I scud before the autumn wind’: Emperor Go-Daigo’s fall from grace
The “Masukagami,” a 14th-century historical chronicle, offers a wrenching account of the emperor’s struggle for power — and eventual downfall.
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani and his wife, Mamiko, last May in Los Angeles
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 19, 2025
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani placed on paternity list
The Japanese slugger's wife, Mamiko, is slated to give birth to the couple's first child.
Scott Bessent
WORLD / Politics
Apr 19, 2025
Bessent replaces acting IRS commissioner in power struggle with Musk
The move came hours after a report that Bessent approached President Donald Trump to complain that Musk had gone around him to get his pick appointed.
U.S. President Donald Trump listens to remarks during a swearing-in ceremony for Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz in the Oval Office in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 19, 2025
Trump seeks to put more civil servants under his control
The move would give him power to directly hire and fire as many as 50,000 jobs reserved for career federal employees.
People walk past a banner picturing Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sevastopol, Crimea, on March 22. The banner reads: "The West doesn't need Russia, we need Russia!"
WORLD / Politics
Apr 19, 2025
U.S. open to recognizing Crimea as Russian in Ukraine deal
The signal comes as the Trump administration said it is prepared to move on from its peace-brokering efforts unless progress is made quickly.
A map showing the location of an earthquake that hit Nagano Prefecture on Friday evening, with the numbers indicating the seismic intensity on the shindo scale to 7.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2025
Magnitude 5.0 earthquake jolts Nagano
The quake, with an estimated magnitude of 5.0, occurred at around 8:19 p.m. at a depth of about 10 kilometers.
Japanese Ambassador to India Keiichi Ono (right) and others during the "Miss Sake India" event in New Delhi.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2025
'Miss Sake India' contest held in New Delhi to promote the Japanese drink
The winner, Aakansha, who works in the marketing industry, said she was very excited to be chosen for the one-year role of promoting sake.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani speaks to reporters in Tokyo on April 11.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2025
Japan defense chief says 'no reason' to change current U.S. troop deal
Gen Nakatani said that spending “is appropriately shared between the Japanese and U.S. governments based on mutual agreement, with a set time frame.”
The average price for 60 kilograms of unmilled rice in March stood at ¥25,876, down 2% from the previous month.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2025
Wholesaler rice prices in Japan see first drop in eight months
The average price for 60 kilograms of unmilled rice stood at ¥25,876, down 2% from the previous month but still up 68% from 2023 rice a year before.
Singer Aki Yashiro in Tokyo in 2012
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2025
Nude photos of deceased singer Aki Yashiro spark row in Japan
A record company is facing a backlash after announcing it would release a CD by the enka legend, who died in 2023, that will include nude photographs of her taken privately.
Yokohama F. Marinos players after the team dropped into the relegation zone of the J. League's top flight following a loss to Shimizu S-Pulse on Wednesday.
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 18, 2025
Yokohama F. Marinos fire Steve Holland as loss sends club to relegation zone
Holland leaves the five-time J. League champion after a 3-2 loss to Shimizu S-Pulse on Wednesday saw F. Marinos drop to 19th in the 20-team top flight.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the French Foreign Ministry in Paris on Thursday.
WORLD
Apr 18, 2025
U.S. will abandon Ukraine peace push if no immediate progress, Rubio says
"We need to figure out here now, within a matter of days, whether this is doable in the short term, because if it's not, then I think we're just going to move on," he said.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass speaks to reporters on Friday in Tokyo just after he arrived at Haneda Airport.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2025
New U.S. envoy arrives in Japan with focus on trade, defense and reining in China
Ambassador George Glass said Washington will aim to deepen cooperation with Tokyo on pushing back against China's economic and military moves.
A vegetable stand displays prices at a supermarket in Tokyo in 2023. Some lawmakers are proposing lowering the consumption tax on food to 0%, which is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2025
LDP and CDP lawmaker groups propose 0% consumption tax on food
Reducing the tax to 0% is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2025
Ishiba not to visit Yasukuni Shrine during spring festival
No sitting prime minister has paid a visit to the shrine since December 2013, when Shinzo Abe did so.
In a first, Japan issues cease-and-desist order against Google
The Google logo is seen at the company's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California. Japanese authorities on Tuesday issued a cease-and-desist order to Google over an alleged violation of the country's anti-monopoly law.
Tokyo hotel operators face possible warnings over suspected price cartel
Foreign tourists gather on a platform at Kyoto Station on Wednesday.
Japan and the U.S. begin tariff talks on good terms, but without breakthroughs
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, speaks to reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
Magnitude 5.0 earthquake jolts Nagano
A map showing the location of an earthquake that hit Nagano Prefecture on Friday evening, with the numbers indicating the seismic intensity on the shindo scale to 7.
Parts of Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines to be suspended over weekend
Sections of the outer loop of Tokyo's Yamanote Line and the Keihin-Tohoku Line will be shut down all day Saturday, and from the start of service through around noon on Sunday.
Nothing sells like Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s marketing megastar
People walk past an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani outside Tokyo Dome on March 18.
Tokyo stock picker advises Trump-proofing portfolios with Godzilla-creator Toho
The head of Godzilla, a Japanese monster movie character, is seen on a building of Toho Cinema in Tokyo. Toho is one tariff-defensive stock being recommended by brokers.
LDP and CDP lawmaker groups propose 0% consumption tax on food
A vegetable stand displays prices at a supermarket in Tokyo in 2023. Some lawmakers are proposing lowering the consumption tax on food to 0%, which is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.
Tokyo hotel operators face possible warnings over suspected price cartel
Foreign tourists gather on a platform at Kyoto Station on Wednesday.
Kyotographie 2025 opts for laughter and levity in the face of global strife
Palestinian American photographer Adam Rouhana’s exhibition at this year’s Kyotographie festival shows Palestinian life, not death and rubble.

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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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