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June 18, 2026
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June 18, 2026
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A resident of a village isolated by the Noto earthquake expresses his gratitude as he heads to a Self-Defense Forces rescue helicopter, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 6, 2024.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
¡®Poor kids join the SDF¡¯ remark reflects deeper debate over Japan¡¯s military
By Michael MacArthur Bosack
The statement by a CDP lawmaker exposed a widening gap between public support for the SDF and the political debates that continue to shape Japan¡¯s civil-military relations.
A resident of a village isolated by the Noto earthquake expresses his gratitude as he heads to a Self-Defense Forces rescue helicopter, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 6, 2024.
U.S. President Donald Trump, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (left) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (right), holds a news conference during the Group of Seven Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
U.S.-Iran deal takes effect as focus turns to Strait of Hormuz
It was unclear if Iran had immediately begun taking steps to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S, Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh speaks during a press conference in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Warsh kicks off Fed chief era with sweeping review as rates remain unchanged
The new chairman made an immediate imprint on the Fed by instituting a simplified policy statement stripped of any forward guidance.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi walks with his Indonesian counterpart, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, as the two inspect an honor guard during a welcome ceremony in Jakarta on May 4.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Japan steps on the gas in unprecedented regional defense export push
By Gabriel Dominguez
Japan is moving with unusual speed to deepen defense ties across the Indo-Pacific after easing military export rules, with Indonesia emerging as one of the clearest beneficiaries.
Kaze Fujii received a second consecutive album of the year award for ¡°Prema,¡± his English-language debut, at the Music Awards Japan ceremony.
CULTURE / Music
Music Awards Japan levels up and looks ahead
By Alyssa I. Smith
Japan¡¯s largest music award ceremony moved to Tokyo for its second year, with a night of electric performances and artists honored in 78 categories.
Kaze Fujii received a second consecutive album of the year award for ¡°Prema,¡± his English-language debut, at the Music Awards Japan ceremony.

JAPAN

A Studio Ghibli store in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. Studio Ghibli will open a pop-up store in Los Angeles later this month, bringing a wide selection of merchandise to the U.S. for the first time.
Studio Ghibli to open its first U.S. pop-up store in Los Angeles
By Yukana Inoue
Called ¡°Donguri Republic in Los Angeles,¡± the store will be opened for six months from June. 23 to Dec. 31.
Seiichi Katsurada, president of tour boat company Shiretoko Yuransen, at the Kushiro District Court in Hokkaido on Wednesday. Katsurada has been sentenced to five years in prison over a deadly boat sinking in 2022.
Hokkaido tour boat operator sentenced to five years¡¯ jail over fatal 2022 sinking
Eighteen passengers and two crew members died after a tour boat sank on April 23, 2022, off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido, with six passengers still unaccounted for.
Japan¡¯s defense chief challenges China¡¯s military spending data
By Alastair Gale
Visitors to Japan fell 3.6% in May
Fresh land reclamation work begins at Henoko for U.S. base transfer
Government employees in Japan express reluctance to relocate for work

BUSINESS

The trade balance flipped to a ?378.6 billion ($2.36 billion) deficit in May on an unadjusted basis, according to the Finance Ministry.
Japan¡¯s trade balance swings to deficit as yen inflates imports
By Yoshiaki Nohara
The deficit suggests trade may weigh on growth in the second quarter, when economists largely expect a slowdown due to the impact of the war in Iran.
An employee of Fuchu Car, a repair shop in suburban Tokyo, works on a "pearl white" body car at their workshop. The lustrous finish is one of the most popular colors for cars in Japan and increasingly difficult for the repair shop to obtain.
U.S.-Iran deal may not bring quick relief for auto shops
By Daniel Leussink and Kalea Hall
Auto shops in Tokyo and Detroit car dealerships have been running low on motor oil, paint and other products for months since the Middle East conflict snarled global supply chains.
Onitsuka Tiger pivots from Asics stripes to tap luxury market
By Eru Ishikawa, Yui Hasebe and Shery Ahn
10 Nippon Yusen freighters still in Persian Gulf
Prices of chicken and eggs in Japan hit record highs
Starbucks in South Korea to close all stores early for history training
By Hyonhee Shin

WORLD

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a working session with G7 leaders and outreach partners on promoting economic growth, during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Wednesday.
¡®I¡¯m the boss¡¯, Trump says at G7, as he warms to Ukraine¡¯s war aims
Trump told a press conference that Russia was losing more soldiers ?than Ukraine in the war, describing Moscow as the ¡°offensive¡± party in the conflict.
U.S. President Donald Trump with Adm. Harry Harris (center right), head of the U.S. Pacific Command, at the command's headquarters in Hawaii in November 2017
Pentagon restores U.S. military¡¯s Pacific Command moniker, dropping ¡®Indo¡¯
By Jesse Johnson
The command¡¯s vast area of responsibility ¡°remains exactly the same,¡± the Pentagon said, with the move coming amid soured U.S.-India ties.
Accused insurance CEO killer could face hurdles with breakdown defense
By Jack Queen
What challenges could stand in the way of a final U.S.-Iran deal?
By Matt Spetalnick
Inside the chaotic Iran talks that let Trump claim victory but not yet peace
By Fiona MacDonald and Salma El Wardany
South Korea to ease civilian curbs along border with North Korea

Sports

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring his first goal against Algeria at Kansas City Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday.
Messi hat trick equals goalscoring record as Argentina beats Algeria
By Lori Ewing
Norway striker Erling ?Haaland also announced his arrival at the World Cup in typically emphatic fashion, with two goals in a majestic display against Iraq.
Shohei Ohtani pitches through bloody blister as Dodgers complete sweep of Rays
Tunisia replaces manager days ahead of Japan World Cup match
Some wave protest flags, others cheer as Iran plays World Cup opener
By Ed White and Rory Carroll
Veteran Vozinha the Cape Verde hero as keeper shuts out Spain
By Trevor Stynes

Opinion

A monument to Japanese immigrants stands in the port city of Santos in southeastern Brazil.
Brazil¡¯s Nikkei fishers offer lessons for ocean governance
Danilla C. Azevedo
Japanese immigrants and their descendants did not simply copy Japanese coastal practices but adapted them to local environments and social conditions.
The Iran war and the global debt shock it fueled
By Moussa Faki Mahamat
Nobody noticed, but China just rewrote the rules of global business
By Brad Glosserman
Keir Starmer is headed for a NATO humiliation
By Martin Ivens
U.S. politics is reaching peak paranoia
By Adrian Wooldridge

ENVIRONMENT

Meta's new under-construction data center in Middleton Township, Ohio, as seen from a drone on May 13.
Fast-tracked power plants fuel AI boom, with little public scrutiny
By Valerie Volcovici
Residents get little notice about the plants that affecting their air quality and the climate.
Greek fishers struggle to keep up with puffer fish invaders
By Will VASSILOPOULOS
Laboring under Delhi¡¯s harsh heat, workers must choose health or wages
By Anupreeta Das
Scientists urge countries to look beyond CO2 to tackle warming
By Eric Roston
Carbon dioxide removal slow to take off, alarming scientists

CULTURE

Kaze Fujii received a second consecutive album of the year award for ¡°Prema,¡± his English-language debut, at the Music Awards Japan ceremony.
Music Awards Japan levels up and looks ahead
By Alyssa I. Smith
Japan¡¯s largest music award ceremony moved to Tokyo for its second year, with a night of electric performances and artists honored in 78 categories.
Grammys to add best Asian pop music performance category in 2027
By Patrick St. Michel
Postwar poet Chuya Nakahara¡¯s complete works get a new life in English
By Aleksandra Priimak
David Hockney, the British artist who went in search of Californian color, dies at 88
By William Schomberg
TV Tairiku Ondo channels the chaotic creativity of youth
By Patrick St. Michel

LIFE

Tomomi Duquette is the owner of Snow Satoyama Sake, one of just three breweries that have opened in Niigata Prefecture since 1953.
Newcomer to hallowed Niigata sake scene is already winning awards
By Cindy Bissig
Sake evangelist Tomomi Duquette is breathing new life into the heartland of sake brewing.
A Tokyo cocktail institution sets its sights on Kyoto
By Kimberly Hughes
Bilingual speech club offers freedom to be yourself
By Aviraj Gokool
The fighting words fueling support for Japan¡¯s World Cup team
By Yuko Tamura
Japanese sports terms you may hear on TV
By Yuko Tamura

COMMUNITY

Manish Kumar, who asked that his face not be shown, at his restaurant in Tsurugashima, Saitama Prefecture, on June 1.
Fear and uncertainty for foreign business owners after Japan revises rules
By Elizabeth Beattie
The life that restaurateur Manish Kumar built in Japan for he and his family has been upended after Japan enacted stricter rules for the business manager visa.
In Japan, Nepalese students navigate a growing study-to-work pathway
By Mai Yoshikawa
Amaguri is an aptly named sweetheart
As immigration rises, Kawasaki¡¯s foreign council shows path toward inclusion
By Moe Shimizu
Anglophone bookworms unite across Japan
By Mike Fu

Editors' Picks

SUMO
Cultural aspects dominate coverage as sumo enthralls Paris
By John Gunning
<i>Yokozuna</i> Hoshoryu waves to reporters during a news conference at the Japanese Culture House of Paris on June 11.
CULTURE
As his centennial nears, Osamu Tezuka gets a global reintroduction
By Roland Kelts
Seen here in an archival shot, Osamu Tezuka&#039;s influence on Japanese anime has been monumental.
JAPAN
Why more bears are entering urban areas
By Yukana Inoue
Hikers walk past a bear warning sign in the Okutama area in western Tokyo on Sunday as local authorities urge visitors to take precautions following increased reports of bear sightings in the region.
CULTURE
In Tokyo¡¯s Mitaka, a search for traces of Osamu Dazai
By Eric Margolis
Cafe Phosphorescence, owned by Osamu Dazai fan Miyuki Daba, is located about 15 minutes away from where the novelist used to live.
LIFE
How Kojima made a destination out of denim
By Erik Augustin Palm
Across Kojima, production facilities handle different stages of denim-making, from sewing and washing to finishing and quality control.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Social camouflaging can help neurodivergent people navigate social situations, but researchers say the effort often comes with significant emotional and mental strain.
The challenge of being neurodivergent in Japan¡¯s culture of conformity
By Tomoko Otake

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WHAT¡¯S TRENDING

JAPAN
¡®Customer harassment¡¯ continues in Japan despite moves to end it
A "customer harassment" prevention awareness poster at the entrance of an Aoki Super supermarket in Aichi Prefecture
JAPAN
Magnitude 5.5 quake jolts Tokyo area
Seismic intensity information about Tuesday evenning&#039;s earthquake
JAPAN
Five fall ill from E. coli outbreak at Nagoya Costco store
By Jessica Speed
At least five people, including a child in serious condition, fell ill after eating ¡°high rollers¡± deli wraps sold a Costco store in Nagoya, according to media reports.
JAPAN
Chinese bombers put Japan¡¯s defense strategy in jeopardy, report finds
By Gabriel Dominguez
Chinese H-6N bombers fly in formation during a rehearsal in Beijing last August, ahead of a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
JAPAN
Number of bookstores in Japan drops below 10,000 for the first time
By Yukana Inoue
Only 102 new bookstores were opened in Japan during fiscal year 2025, which began in April last year, while 499 shops closed.