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August 16, 2025
 

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WWII

Jose Takei, an 82-year-old man of Japanese descent in the Philippines, speaks during an interview on Aug. 8 at the Foreign Ministry.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2025
Stateless man of Japanese descent in Philippines eager for Japan citizenship
The son of a Japanese man and Filipino woman, Jose Takei never met his father, who left before he was born to join the Japanese military during World War II.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba lays a flower during the memorial service at the Nippon Budokan on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 15, 2025
As Japan marks 80 years since WWII surrender, Ishiba expresses remorse
The prime minister’s reflections about the war stood in contrast to those of his recent predecessors.
Lawmakers from both chambers of Japan's parliament who are members of a league of parliamentarians promoting Yasukuni Shrine visits walk inside the shrine in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2025
Cabinet ministers Koizumi and Kato visit Yasukuni Shrine
The visits marked the sixth consecutive year a Cabinet minister has visited the war-related shrine on the anniversary.
People take part in a silent prayer to pay their respects during a visit to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Friday, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2025
When did WWII end? 1 in 4 Japanese can’t say, survey shows
The online study, conducted in June, had 1,200 participants ranging from ages 10 and over.
Mitsuko Arakaki talks about life on Tinian Island and the situation after the U.S. military landing, on July 12 in the village of Nakagusuku, Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 15, 2025
'Why do humans wage war?': Woman recalls escaping death on Tinian island in WWII
When U.S. air raids began in 1944, life changed overnight for the around 13,000 Japanese civilians living on Tinian.
Hiromi Kishi of the Japan Society on the History of Blind Education holds a vinyl record containing recordings of U.S. military aircraft sounds, which was used during World War II to train students of the school for the blind to recognize the approach of enemy planes, during an interview in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, in June.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2025
For the disabled, WWII was a terror of another level
Individuals with disabilities, many of whom struggled to escape from attacks, were also expected to contribute to the war effort.
Kosuzu Harada (right), a Nagasaki resident and the granddaughter of a double hibakusha, and Ari Beser, the grandson of a radar operator who flew aboard the U.S. B-29 bombers, in the city of Nagasaki in September 2024
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2025
Beyond A-bombs, grandchildren unite for nuclear-free world
A Japanese woman and an American man whose grandfathers experienced the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from opposite sides have forged an unlikely collaboration.
Former teacher Satoshi Ito speaks during an interview in Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, in June. Ito underwent training for guerrilla warfare at a secret school to prepare for a possible battle in mainland Japan during World War II.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2025
War must never be repeated, says WWII guerrilla commander
Former teacher Satoshi Ito, now 102, said he was a pawn of the military, like many others.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is considering issuing a formal statement on the 80th anniversary of WWII’s end. There is no shortage of opposition to the idea in his own party.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 14, 2025
Why Ishiba shouldn’t issue a WWII 80th anniversary statement
I’m not saying Japan shouldn’t have apologized, but rather that Japan has sincerely worked to resolve international issues, especially in the past 30 years.
Setsuko Kawai, who lost her mother and two younger brothers in the March 1945 bombing, has fought for recognition of the victims.
JAPAN / History / FOCUS
Aug 14, 2025
Civilian air raid survivors fight for recognition 80 years after war's end
After drafting a bill to provide concrete relief to survivors this spring, a bipartisan group of lawmakers failed to submit it to parliament days before the session’s closure.
Tsukiko Ito shares her experience of the World War II air raid on Akita's Tsuchizaki district, during an interview on July 15 in the prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2025
Akita woman recounts one of the last air raids of WWII
Tsukiko Ito, 84, was 4 years old when Akita's Tsuchizaki district was battered by around 130 bombers from the United States and its allies on the night of Aug. 14, 1945.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House in Washington on Feb. 7.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 14, 2025
After serving as bulwark for 80 years, Japan's U.S. ties continue to evolve
Under the U.S. security alliance, Japan has contained potential expansion of the Soviet communist bloc and China's hegemonic ambitions since the end of World War II.
Participants pray during a World War II memorial ceremony held off the coast of the Philippines in June. The program facilitating the services will end due to the aging of participants.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2025
Overseas WWII memorial services for Japanese families set to end
The program has seen dwindling participation as many bereaved families grow older.
Katsutoshi Takegami, 77, in his storehouse attic where he discovered his father's Unit 1644 documents
JAPAN / History
Aug 13, 2025
Hidden rosters and the legacy of Japan’s germ warfare
In a dusty box, a Nagano man finds proof his father served in Nanjing, China, with Unit 1644, part of Japan’s covert biological weapons network during World War II.
Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
JAPAN / History
Aug 13, 2025
The indelible memory of being a part of Unit 731
For 95-year-old Hideo Shimizu, the 4½ months he spent with the biological and chemical warfare unit of the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army were just like yesterday.
The diary of a 13-year-old girl who died in the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima was donated to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in the city in June.
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2025
Hiroshima museum continues to receive artifacts 80 years after atomic bombing
With fewer atomic bomb survivors still alive to share their stories, donated materials are becoming more and more vital for expressing the impact of the bombing.
Akio Kuroi holds a photograph of his father, Keijiro, as he speaks during an interview in Tokyo in April about how his father had changed after World War II.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 13, 2025
'War trauma' transformed caring father into a complete stranger
A growing number of family members of former Japanese servicemen are sharing their experiences, prompting the government to launch a survey to document such realities.
Shinto priests holding traditional umbrellas walk to the main shrine for a ritual to cleanse themselves during the annual Spring Festival at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo in April 2016.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 13, 2025
Dispelling the myth of Yasukuni Shrine
The shrine has been a lightning rod — especially as it has been used by some of Japan's neighbors as a convenient means to shift attention away from their domestic issues.
Ralph Edwards (far left), Capt. Robert Lewis (rear left), Bertha Starkey (rear center), Marvin Green (rear right), Kiyoshi (seated, left) and Chisa Tanimoto (seated, right), Koko Kondo (front left) and her three younger siblings, on the show “This Is Your Life,” on May 11, 1955
JAPAN / History / FOCUS
Aug 12, 2025
How an A-bomb survivor found forgiveness for Hiroshima bombers
Koko Kondo’s anger was extinguished when she saw the co-pilot of the Enola Gay bomber recall with regret what he and his crew had done on Aug. 6, 1945.
Michi Saito touches a piece of a dummy atomic bomb that took away her brother's life in 1945, during an interview at Zuiryu Temple in Fukushima on July 14.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Aug 11, 2025
98-year-old woman recalls brother's death from dummy atomic bomb
A U.S. military unit dropped dummy bombs in various parts of Japan as part of exercises aimed at training forces to gain the high skills required to drop nuclear weapons.
The indelible memory of being a part of Unit 731
Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
Japanese star convicted of indecent assault in Hong Kong
J-pop idol Kenshin Kamimura leaves the West Kowloon Law Courts on bail in Hong Kong on Wednesday, after he was found guilty of indecent assault of a woman who worked as his interpreter at a restaurant in Mong Kok district in March this year.
Tens of thousands left stranded at Osaka Expo by train service interruption
Visitors rest inside the Osaka Expo venue early Thursday morning
Welcoming foreign residents benefits Japan, three quarters of economists say
The streets of Tokyo's Ginza district in April. The number of foreign residents in Japan hit a record high at 3.76 million as of the end of last year, comprising just over 3% of the population.
Hiker missing in Hokkaido after bear attack found dead
The Rausu mountain range at Hokkaido's Shiretoko National Park. A man in his 20s who went missing after being attacked by a bear while hiking on Mount Rausu has been found dead.
The indelible memory of being a part of Unit 731
Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
Will Ishiba's critics be able to garner enough support for a leadership race?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's political survival likely hinges on whether a leadership race will take place within the Liberal Democratic Party following its decision to have its election committee canvass the opinions of party members and prefectural chapters on the subject.
Hidden rosters and the legacy of Japan’s germ warfare
Katsutoshi Takegami, 77, in his storehouse attic where he discovered his father's Unit 1644 documents
Osaka Expo highlights the challenge of holding events in Japan's scorching summer
People huddle near a large fan blowing icy-cold mist at the Osaka Expo on July 12. Amid Japan's relentless summer heat, organizes have put myriad measures in place in order to keep guests safe.
At Himawari Shokudo 2, Italian food with a Japanese soul
At Himawari Shokudo 2, chef Hozumi Tanaka serves Italian-inspired fare with a focus on Toyama produce, such as this appetizer of lightly blanched "hotaru ika" (firefly squid) served atop mixed wild plants and a crepe prepared from "yamato-imo" yam.

Podcast

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

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
By Tomoko Otake

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