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July 31, 2025
 

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History
Kunshiro Kiyozumi, 97, who was the youngest crew member of the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58 in World War II, on his way to a restaurant to have lunch in Matsuyama, Japan, on April 29.
JAPAN / History
Last soldiers of Imperial Japanese Army have a warning for younger generations
"In their last breaths, no one shouted for the long life of the emperor,” said one veteran about his comrades. "They called out for their mothers, whom they would never see again.”
JAPAN / History
80 years on, Iwate woman recalls naval bombardment
More than 5,000 shells were fired into Kamaishi, which had a large iron mill, on July 17 and Aug. 9, 1945, killing a total of 782 people, mostly civilians.
JAPAN / History
Woman recounts deadly U.S. bombings of Chiba 80 years ago
About 10 years ago, Fumiko Takayama, a former teacher, started to share her experience of having survived two separate war raids, noting that "there's nothing good about war."
Mahatma Gandhi led the Indian independence movement with an unshakable faith in nonviolence that arguably dovetailed with Zen philosophy in some respects.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jul 19, 2025
Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence — and Zen?
By Michael Hoffman
The Indian nationalist’s beliefs hewed close to certain aspects of Zen thought, particularly his fearlessness in the face of death.
The remains of about 70,000 atomic bomb victims are enshrined in a vault under the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima.
JAPAN / History
Jul 16, 2025
Vault for Hiroshima A-bomb victims shown to media
The ashes of about 70,000 victims of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city in August 1945 in the closing days of World War II are inside the vault.
Ex-serviceman Izumi Murakami speaks of his experience during World War II, when he was still a child, in an interview in Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, in May.
JAPAN / History / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jul 14, 2025
Man inspired as a boy by WWII-era commando questions Japan's past actions
Izumi Murakami, now 92, joined the Air Self-Defense Force, but he concedes now that "there is nothing good that comes out of war."
Former soldier Shuzo Yamada recounts his experience of being detained in Mongolia after World War II, in Nanto, Toyama Prefecture, in May.
JAPAN / History
Jul 6, 2025
Memory of detention in Mongolia still fresh for 107-year-old Japanese man
As they make a state visit to Mongolia, the imperial couple will offer flowers at a memorial for Japanese who were captured and detained in Mongolia after World War II.
A front-page article from July 1950 reported that Kyoto's historic Kinkakuji had been "totally razed" in a fire.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jul 5, 2025
Japan Times 1950: Kyoto’s ‘Golden Temple’ burns to the ground
The historic Kinkakuji was destroyed in an act of arson in July 1950, a shocking event that would serve as the inspiration for a novel by Yukio Mishima.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a ceremony in the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN / History
Jun 23, 2025
Okinawa marks 80th anniversary of end of ferocious ground battle
By Eric Johnston
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke of the horrific ground war involving Okinawan residents, noting that 200,000 lives were lost, or about one in four Okinawans.
A statue of Mohandas Gandhi in Tetsugakudo Park, Tokyo. The Indian nationalist saw lessons for humanity in the trajectory of modern Japan and the violence wrought by — and perpetrated upon — the nation.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jun 21, 2025
Gandhi and Japan: Turning away from ‘brute force’ and toward love
By Michael Hoffman
“I did not move a muscle when I first heard that an atom bomb had wiped out Hiroshima.”

Japan on edge but prepared for tsunami after huge Kamchatka earthquake
Police officers ask a man to evacuate from an empty beach following a tsunami warning, in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Wednesday.
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.
Last soldiers of Imperial Japanese Army have a warning for younger generations
Kunshiro Kiyozumi, 97, who was the youngest crew member of the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58 in World War II, on his way to a restaurant to have lunch in Matsuyama, Japan, on April 29.
Japan marks highest-ever temperature of 41.2 C in Hyogo
Japan's temperature soared to a record 41.2 degrees Celsius in Tanba, Hyogo Prefecture, on Wednesday, surpassing the previous high of 41.1 C.
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, according to the Annual Report on the Japanese Economy and Public Finance for fiscal 2025.
How the Japanese TV industry is changing
Fuji TV headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward. Fuji TV came under fire over the manner in which it handled a case of “sexual trouble” involving former boy band member Masahiro Nakai and a female announcer.
Last soldiers of Imperial Japanese Army have a warning for younger generations
Kunshiro Kiyozumi, 97, who was the youngest crew member of the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58 in World War II, on his way to a restaurant to have lunch in Matsuyama, Japan, on April 29.
Why Ishiba refuses to quit even amid intense pressure for him to go
Supporters of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba take part in a rally across the street from the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
Behind the scenes at the Baseball Hall of Fame's new Yakyu/Baseball exhibit
“Yakyu / Baseball: The Transpacific Exchange of the Game” is set to remain on display in Cooperstown for at least five to 10 years — and possibly indefinitely.
Boys’ love dramas from Thailand make waves in Japan
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.

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

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