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Bank of Japan headquarters building in February. In January, the BOJ voted to raise its short-term policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25%, taking it to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 17, 2025

Bank of Japan unlikely to raise rates this week as trade war intensifies

The central bank voted to raise its short-term policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25% in January, taking it to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
Tourists gather at the Fuji Subaru Line 5th station, which leads to the popular Yoshida Trail for hikers climbing Mount Fuji, ahead of its reopening for the season in Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture in June 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 17, 2025

Mount Fuji hikers to be charged ¥4,000 on all trails

Yamanashi Prefecture is doubling its ¥2,000 ($14) entry fee for the Yoshida Trail, while Shizuoka Prefecture will charge the same amount for its three trails.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin hold a bilateral meeting at the Group of 20 leaders summit in Osaka in June 2019.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 18, 2025

Trump discussion with Putin to focus on what Ukraine will lose

In an echo of the Yalta Conference in 1945, the American and Russian leaders will talk on Tuesday about who gets what in the process of ending the war in Ukraine.
Shares of major trading houses Mitsubishi, Marubeni, Mitsui, Itochu and Sumitomo climbed 4% Tuesday in Tokyo after Berkshire Hathaway increased its stakes in them.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 18, 2025

Berkshire Hathaway increases stakes in Japan’s biggest trading houses

Warren Buffett has indicated that the trading houses have agreed to 'moderately' relax a previous ceiling of 10% on his stakes, leaving room for further buying.
The Voice of America building in Washington on Sunday, a day after more than 1,300 of the employees of the media broadcaster, which operates in almost 50 languages, were placed on leave
WORLD / Politics
Mar 18, 2025

China and Russia eager to fill void as Trump axes U.S.-funded media

Trumps moves come after years of efforts by Beijing and Moscow to promote their own worldview on the global media landscape.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in Pyongyang in June 2024. Moscow has ditched its historic hostility to North Korea's nuclear program, a clear sign of Russia's scramble for allies amid its international isolation.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2025

It’s time to flip Russia’s script on North Korean nukes

Countries who want deterrence and stability must stop Russia from influencing perceptions of North Korea's nuclear program — one that, in an about-face, Moscow now supports.
A crowd of tourists at Nishiki Market in the city of Kyoto. Gains in land prices have been helped by a surge in inbound tourism, which has boosted demand for hotels and shops.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2025

Japan's land prices rise at strongest pace in 34 years, government survey shows

Data shows recovery spreading to regional areas, thanks to sustained economic growth, in the latest sign of a pickup in the property market.
Shipping containers at a port in Long Beach, California. Higher tariffs will raise the cost of doing business in the U.S., raising the bar for Japanese companies to invest in America.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2025

Trump tariffs to raise bar to invest in the U.S., JETRO says

Higher tariffs will raise the cost of doing business in the U.S. with more expensive materials and products, said JETRO’s chair, Norihiko Ishiguro.
Google will acquire cloud security platform Wiz for $32 billion, citing the need for greater cybersecurity capacity as artificial intelligence embeds itself in technology infrastructure.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 19, 2025

Google to buy cybersecurity company Wiz for $32 billion

The transaction will test Donald Trump's openness to large takeovers after resistance to such deals by the administration of his predecessor.
Shohei Ohtani tips his batting helmet during the opening game of the MLB season between the Dodgers and Cubs on Tuesday at Tokyo Dome
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 19, 2025

At Tokyo Dome, a stage so big that even Shohei Ohtani felt nervous

Even the game's preeminent superstar admitted to feeling nervous as the MLB season kicked off with what amounted to a celebration of Japan and its place in the sport.
The evolving national security landscape demands a shift in focus from traditional military power to economic resilience, technological leadership and the growing risks posed by both adversaries and allies.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2025

Trump's actions and the ‘new national security economy’

Soft power is poorly understood and it is no substitute for situations when brute force is required, but it has genuine influence in subtle ways.
Tourists visit a park in front of the Imperial Palace amid snowfall in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 19, 2025

Japan's record snow in February attributed to global warming

The Meteorological Agency said global warming contributed to the record snowfall in northern and eastern Japan last month.
A flooded road in the Philippines following heavy rain in July 2024
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 19, 2025

Extreme weather in 2024 forced most people to flee in 16 years

The climate damages also exacerbated a food crisis in more than a dozen countries, according to a report.
Roki Sasaki throws the first pitch of his MLB career to open the Dodgers' game against the Cubs at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday.
BASEBALL
Mar 19, 2025

Shohei Ohtani homers to help Dodgers earn second straight win over Cubs

The Dodgers swept the two-game Tokyo Series.
Protesters demonstrate against the Dakota Access Pipeline near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, in 2016.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 20, 2025

Jury finds Greenpeace liable for more than $660 million in damages

The verdict was a major blow to the environmental organization.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has walked away from the banking industry’s largest climate alliance.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 20, 2025

MUFG leaves climate group as Japanese banks join Wall Street exits

MUFG follows Tokyo-based rivals Nomura Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in leaving the Net-Zero Banking Alliance.
Japan forward Mina Tanaka dribbles during a SheBelieves Cup match against Australia in Houston on Feb. 20.
SOCCER
Mar 20, 2025

How Mina Tanaka evolved into a prolific striker for Nadeshiko Japan

Mina Tanaka is having a moment. The Nadeshiko Japan and Utah Royals striker dominated the SheBelieves Cup, winning both MVP and top scorer as Japan defeated the U.S.
Hong Kong's Secretary for Security Chris Tang
BUSINESS
Mar 20, 2025

Hong Kong aims to safeguard key facilities with new cybersecurity law

The law, set to take effect in 2026, aims to safeguard the security of computer systems vital to the functioning of critical infrastructure.
A worker arranges cases of avocados at a packaging facility in Mexico on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will follow through next month on twice-delayed plans to impose 25% levies on goods from Mexico as well as Canada.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2025

Trump trade upheaval leaves foreign central banks guessing

The stagflationary direction noted of the U.S. outlook has central banks across the globe parsing what the fallout may mean for them.
Megumi Koiwai (left) found refuge in writing and storytelling that allowed her to reconcile with her heritage and upbringing.
COMMUNITY / Voices
Mar 24, 2025

A community of stories: Making space for reflection and dialogue in Tokyo and beyond

Through conversations with an international writing workshop, a writer of mixed heritage finds steadier footing and a sense of self.
An economic dialogue between Japan and China will take place in Tokyo on Saturday, the same day as a meeting among top diplomats of the two countries plus South Korea.
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2025

Japan and China set for economic talks as U.S. tariff pressure rises

The scale and proximity of the Chinese market means it is in Japan’s interest to maintain stable relations despite ongoing tensions.
Shunbaisai Hokuei's tetraptych from the series "108 Heroes of the Theater Suikoden"
CULTURE / Books
Mar 22, 2025

Osaka’s kabuki fan culture fueled an elusive figure of the ukiyo-e scene

In his new book, John Fiorillo partly lifts the veil on Shunbaisai Hokuei, who dominated the ukiyo-e art world in the Kamigata region during the early 19th century. 
Midwife Tabita dos Santos Moraes prepares cassava flour in Tefe in Brazil's Amazonas state last October. Tabita's great-grandmother taught midwifery to her aunts, who taught her mother, who taught her, starting at the age of 15.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 21, 2025

In the remote Amazon, midwives care for women stranded by drought

Years of extreme droughts in the Amazon rainforest have made river journeys to and from remote communities perilous.
Pieces of gum arabic, a natural emulsifier, displayed in a warehouse of an exporting company, in Port Sudan, Sudan.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 22, 2025

A genocidal militia in Sudan controls a key ingredient in Coke and Pepsi

Gum arabic acts as an organic emulsifier in consumer goods around the world — in candy, medicine, soda and cosmetics.
Saury catches have remained sluggish in recent years due to overfishing and changes in the maritime environment.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2025

Saury quota reduction eyed at Northern Pacific fisheries talks in Osaka

Recent poor saury catches reflect past overfishing and changes in the maritime environment.
U.S. Sen. Steve Daines meets with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 24, 2025

Xi must stop fentanyl flow before tariff talks, Trump ally says

Steve Daines laid out the condition in meetings with Chinese officials in Beijing over the weekend.
A Maritime Self-Defense Force SH-60K "Super Auk" from JS Shiranui prepares to land on HMAS Brisbane during Exercise Malabar 2023 while off the coast of New South Wales, Australia.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2025

New SDF command will be key for contingency planning, Australian commander says

The framework will enable direct communication with counterparts in partner nations and speed up coordination, the Australian Defence Force's chief of joint operations says.
Emma Raducanu serves against Amanda Anisimova on Day 7 of the Miami Open in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Monday.
TENNIS
Mar 25, 2025

Raducanu happy to have found her spark again during Miami run

The Briton has struggled with form and fitness issues since her only Grand Slam triumph as a teenager.
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 26, 2025

Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change

A study by European researchers has concluded that the role of human-driven climate change in contributing to the wildfires was undeniable.

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