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TOKYO
January 29, 2026
The Independent Voice in Asia
January 29, 2026
Japan Election
Consumption tax
Yen turbulence
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Leader of the Japan Innovation Party Hirofumi Yoshimura delivers his first campaign speech for the House of Representatives election in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
JIP struggles with perception and unity ahead of Lower House election
By Eric Johnston
The junior member of the ruling coalition has remained unpopular nationally, while its goal of merging Osaka city¡¯s wards is creating unexpected problems within its Osaka base.

More coverage

Narrow election window creates logistical nightmare
Can Takaichi win back conservative votes?
Leader of the Japan Innovation Party Hirofumi Yoshimura delivers his first campaign speech for the House of Representatives election in Tokyo on Tuesday.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's diesel-electric-powered Uzushio submarine sails during an international fleet review to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the MSDF's founding, in Sagami Bay, off Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in November 2022.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Japan is considering nuclear subs. But are they worth the costs?
By Gabriel Dominguez
The strategic role that the vessels would play remains unclear, with questions brewing about Japan¡¯s ability to deploy these boats between the late 2020s and early 2030s.
Japanese politicians are debating ways to cut the consumption tax on food bought outside of restaurants.
BUSINESS / Economy
Food consumption tax cut plans have parties crunching the numbers
By Kazuaki Nagata
Reducing the rate to 0% from 8% is popular with politicians but expensive.
University of Tokyo Auditorium
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
University of Tokyo Hospital head resigns over recent scandals involving staff
By Yukana Inoue
Sakae Tanaka¡¯s resignation on Tuesday follows the arrest of a second member of the hospital¡¯s staff within three months on bribery allegations.
Yoshihiko Noda (left) and Tetsuo Saito, co-chairs of the new Centrist Reform Alliance, shake hands at the party's founding convention in Tokyo on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Japan¡¯s new ¡®Centrist Reform Alliance¡¯ is a misnomer
Michael MacArthur Bosack
The Centrist Reform Alliance is asking voters to embrace a brand label rather than a fully formed policy platform and a partnership of convenience.
Yoshihiko Noda (left) and Tetsuo Saito, co-chairs of the new Centrist Reform Alliance, shake hands at the party's founding convention in Tokyo on Thursday.

JAPAN

An election notice board displaying posters of election candidates in Tokyo on Tuesday
Few women on 91²Ö¿â election ballot
By Kyoko Hasegawa
The proportion of female candidates within Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's ruling LDP is just 12.8%, according to Jiji Press.
Defense lawyers of a 1952 murder case seeking a retrial hold signs reading "unjust decision" on Wednesday in the city of Kumamoto.
Court rejects retrial request for executed man believed to have had leprosy
By Jessica Speed
It was a rare case in which a retrial was sought for a defendant who had already been executed.
Saitama sinkhole remains open a year after forming
Japan and Belgium celebrate 160 years of diplomatic ties
Court orders government to pay damages to relatives of hibakusha who left Japan
Japan-born pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei arrive home in China

BUSINESS

Japanese politicians are debating ways to cut the consumption tax on food bought outside of restaurants.
Food consumption tax cut plans have parties crunching the numbers
By Kazuaki Nagata
Reducing the rate to 0% from 8% is popular with politicians but expensive.
Nomura Holdings is one of Japan¡¯s oldest securities houses, having been founded on Christmas Day in 1925 by Tokushichi Nomura II.
Nomura¡¯s revival faces challenge from Japan¡¯s ambitious megabanks
By Takashi Nakamichi
The market capitalization of the country¡¯s largest brokerage remains at 2007 levels while the three megabanks are hitting record valuations fueled by rising lending rates.
Capcom jumps most in 18 months on surprise ¡®Resident Evil¡¯ boost
By Takashi Mochizuki
Japanese electronics unions to demand pay scale hike of over ?18,000
Are AI glitches and scattered suppliers just a storm in Starbucks' coffee cup?
By Waylon Cunningham
TikTok joins Snap settling youth addiction suit before trial
By Madlin Mekelburg and Maia Spoto

WORLD

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter inspect a test firing of the renewed large-caliber rocket launcher system, at an undisclosed location in North Korea on Tuesday.
North Korea to soon unveil 'next-stage' nuclear plans, Kim says
By Kang Jin-kyu
The landmark congress of North Korea's ruling Workers Party is expected in the coming weeks and is its first in five years.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier (L) transits the Strait of Hormuz in 2019. A U.S. naval strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has deployed to Middle Eastern waters, the United States said on Monday.
Iran warns against 'instability' after U.S. strike group arrives
By Stuart Williams
The U.S. also maintains several bases in the Middle East, prompting a Revolutionary Guards commander to issue a warning to Iran's neighbors.
A year into Trump presidency, ¡®pivot to China¡¯ gathers pace
By Liz Lee, Samuel Shen and Sumeet Chatterjee
South Korea¡¯s former first lady jailed 20 months for corruption
By Claire Lee
Thai parties tap nationalist mood as Cambodia clashes roil rural voters
By Panu Wongcha-um
Man sprays U.S. lawmaker Ilhan Omar with liquid, disrupting Minnesota event
By Maria Alejandra Cardona, Daniel Trotta and Kanishka Singh

Sports

Stars Kobe (in solid blue), the Kansai region's first professional ice hockey team, has introduced the sport to a whole new audience since beginning play in September of last year.
Kansai's first pro ice hockey team chases fans and wins
By Joel Tansey
Stars Kobe¡¯s first win gave Kansai its first taste of pro hockey joy, but now comes the hard part: growing the fan base in a market ruled by baseball.
Uproar as Belichick snubbed for early NFL Hall of Fame berth
By Rob Woollard
Rybakina stuns Swiatek to reach Australian Open semifinals
Hadjar crashes Red Bull car in Barcelona preseason testing
Spurs' Wembanyama 'horrified' by Minneapolis killings

Opinion

A monitor at the foreign exchange trading company Gaitame.com in Tokyo displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar at the company's dealing room on Monday.
Japan is getting creative with its response to the weak yen
Gearoid Reidy and Daniel Moss
But if Tokyo is indeed coordinating policy ¡ª or messaging at least ¡ª with the U.S. to strengthen the currency, it marks a new and more creative era.
The age of ¡®middle powers,¡¯ hegemons and hypocrites
By Brad Glosserman
Can China reverse its demographic decline?
By Yi Fuxian
After Davos, bond markets are wielding a new big stick
By John Authers
Has Greenland become Donald Trump¡¯s Crimea?
By Sergey Maidukov

ENVIRONMENT

The sun rises by the Eiffel Tower and the Sacre Coeur Basilica in Paris on July 1.
World not ready for rise in extreme heat, scientists say
By Nick Perry
Nearly 3.8 billion people could face extreme heat by 2050, and while tropical countries will bear the brunt, cooler regions will also need to adapt, scientists said Monday.
'So little we know': In submersibles revealing the deep sea
By Sara Hussein
India's solar-panel boom: Full throttle today, uncertain tomorrow
By Philippe Alfroy
What one year of Trump's climate censorship reveals
By David Sherfinski
Water ¡®bankruptcy¡¯ era has begun for billions, scientists say
By Danielle Bochove

CULTURE

In Emi Yagi¡¯s surreal novel, statues are able to talk and the book's protagonist is paid to be a conversation partner in Latin for a statue of Venus.
When the museum is closed, a girl falls in love with a statue
By Grace En-yi Ting
A quirky tale of intimacy and connection in the strangest of places, the novel ¡°When the Museum is Closed¡± unfolds through a girl falling in love with a statue.
Netflix Japan lays out 2026 slate of anime, adaptations and live baseball
By Gabriella Geisinger
Artist Alfredo Jaar turns his critical eye toward Japan¡¯s relationship to ¡®America¡¯
By Thu-Huong Ha
Late-night noh theater finds new groove in techno and jazz
By Zoria Petkoska
Hanabie makes metalcore cute and chaotic
By Adam Davidson

LIFE

Turning "konnyaku" into braids is an easy way to present the low-calorie ingredient in a fun shape.
Twists and turns to spice up the mild 'konnyaku'
By Elizabeth Andoh
A staple of Setsubun, the gelatinous food can be easily enlivened by shaping it into braids and sprinkling them with some fiery chili peppers.
No pictures, just text: A Japanese cookbook for the nerds
By Simon Daly
Data-driven travel rankings crown Japan as world¡¯s top destination
By Owen Ziegler
Don¡¯t let Japan¡¯s next winter storm catch you cold
By Simon Daly
Stay warm with a Japanese-style ¡®pot-au-feu¡¯ stew
By Makiko Itoh

COMMUNITY

A native of Washington state, Roger Dahl began contributing comics and editorial cartoons to The Japan Times in 1991.
¡®Zero Gravity¡¯ comes to an end, but Roger Dahl will keep drawing
By Gendel Gento
The Japan Times¡¯ long-tenured cartoonist has kept busy over the past decades ¡ª and has plenty more projects on the horizon.
Millie the comeback cat is ready for her next chapter
Jose Imai: ¡®Poker and business are about numbers, intuition and emotions¡¯
By Kris Kosaka
This Dalmatian is ready to bloom
Shinkansen vs. Amtrak and the lost art of small talk
By Daniel Traylor

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Centrists vs. conservatives? It¡¯s not that simple.
By Gabriele Ninivaggi
Centrist Reform Alliance co-leaders Yoshihiko Noda (second from left) and Tetsuo Saito (third from left) cheer at the launch of their party at the parliament building in Tokyo on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Downfall of top Chinese military officer raises questions about Xi and Taiwan
By Jesse Johnson
Zhang Youxia (center), then newly elected vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, swears an oath as he is flanked by CMC members He Weidong (left) and Li Shangfu after their election during a session of the National People's Congress at Beijing's Great Hall of the People in March 2023. Both He and Li were later removed from their posts and purged from the Communist Party, while Zhang has been placed under investigation.
SUMO
Incredible Aonishiki continues to edge closer to perfection
By John Gunning
Aonishiki (center) defeats Atamifuji to clinch the championship at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Sunday.
BUSINESS
Waymo-backed robotaxis quietly ply the streets of Tokyo as tests continue
By Kazuaki Nagata
Waymo autonomous taxis on Bush Street in San Francisco on Dec. 17
LIFE
Just between you and me: Gender and Japanese pronouns
By Peter Backhaus
The English ¡°I¡± has gendered equivalents in Japanese that give the listener hints as to how the speaker identifies.

Podcast

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

Longform

The reflection of one of Ueno Zoo¡¯s twin pandas is seen at their enclosure. The animals¡¯ popularity has prompted concern among local businesses that their departure could hurt foot traffic in surrounding neighborhoods.
What happens when the pandas leave Ueno?
By Alex K.T. Martin

JT Directory Service

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COMFACTS

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TSUNAN SAKE BREWERY

WHAT¡¯S TRENDING

JAPAN
China warns citizens against Japan visits during Lunar New Year
A Chinese tourist group is led by a tour guide in Tokyo's Asakusa sightseeing spot in November.
JAPAN
Police arrest head of Natural, Japan¡¯s largest sex worker scouting ring
Hiroaki Obata
SUMO
Incredible Aonishiki continues to edge closer to perfection
By John Gunning
Aonishiki (center) defeats Atamifuji to clinch the championship at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Sunday.
WORLD
Gaza war triggers unprecedented Israeli mental health crisis
By Alisa Odenheimer
An Israeli soldier patrols near the site of a Hamas attack on a music festival in southern Israel, on Oct. 12, 2023.
JAPAN
Takaichi says Japan-U.S. alliance would 'collapse' if Tokyo ignored Taiwan crisis
By Jesse Johnson
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who serves concurrently as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, delivers her first campaign speech for the Lower House election in Tokyo on Tuesday.