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May 01, 2026
 

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Sakura Murakami
Reuters
An offering sent by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for the spring festival at Yasukuni Shrine, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 21, 2026
Takaichi risks China's wrath with offering to Yasukuni Shrine
The prime minister's offering of a sacred tree was made on the first day of a traditional spring festival.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrives to a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office last week.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 20, 2026
Takaichi¡¯s ratings stay high with some wavering amid Iran impact
Polls conducted by the Mainichi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun show 5-point declines in the prime minister's approval rates.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi speaks during a parliamentary session in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 10, 2026
Japan lowers view of China relations amid tension over Taiwan
Japan referred to China as "an important neighbor" after describing Tokyo-Beijing ties as "one of the most important bilateral relations" in the 2025 iteration of a key report.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during an Upper House Budget Committee session on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 6, 2026
Japan arranging summit with Iran, Takaichi says
The prime minister's comments come as Donald Trump warns Tehran that the U.S. will bomb Iranian power plants unless it opens up the Strait of Hormuz.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi enters the Prime Minister¡¯s Office on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 13, 2026
Takaichi misses events due to cold symptoms ahead of U.S. visit
A video showing the prime minister looking visibly exhausted after a budget committee session on Thursday garnered attention online.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions during a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 12, 2026
Japan not planning to send minesweepers to Middle East, Takaichi says
The prime minister said that while details about the use of sea mines are unclear, Japan wouldn¡¯t be able to get involved in mine clearance as long as the conflict continues.
Nobumitsu Hayashi, head of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, says how the U.S. responds to Japan's approach to projects tied to both country's $550 billion investment deal remains a variable.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 27, 2026
U.S.-Japan investment funding still needs work, JBIC chief says
How the U.S. responds to 91²Ö¿â approach to projects tied to both country's $550 billion investment deal remains a variable.
Itsunori Onodera, a senior member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Sunday that U.S. tariffs were "a real mess" after President Donald Trump raised levies following a Supreme Court ruling that his earlier tariffs were illegal.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 22, 2026
LDP tax chief calls U.S. tariff situation ¡®messy¡¯
Itsunori Onodera, a former defense minister who currently serves as chair of the party¡¯s tax research group, ruled out Japan seeking to renegotiate its trade deal with the U.S.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers a speech in Tokyo Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 25, 2025
Takaichi says door remains open for China communications
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the door to communications with China remains open and Tokyo¡¯s goal of building a constructive, stable relationship with Beijing has been consistent through her two months in office.
South Korea¡¯s National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac spoke with Japan¡¯s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in two separate meetings in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 23, 2025
South Korea¡¯s security adviser affirms good Japan ties ahead of leader's visit
A meeting between the leaders in January would come as relations between Tokyo and Seoul remain stable after a warming of ties in 2023.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister¡¯s Office in Tokyo last week.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 22, 2025
Support for Takaichi stays firm as China dispute festers
Surveys conducted over the weekend showed that about 70% of respondents were in support of Takaichi¡¯s administration.
Ground Self-Defense Force personnel participate in a live-fire exercise at the GSDF's training grounds in the East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in 2024.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 19, 2025
Japan should have nuclear weapons, official reportedly says
The comments come at a sensitive time for Japan amid a tense security environment in East Asia.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on Nov. 7. Although Takaichi has refused to recant her comments on Taiwan, she said in parliament later last month that she learned her lesson and will avoid speaking about specific scenarios.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 12, 2025
Takaichi¡¯s Taiwan comment that sparked China spat apparently unscripted
The discrepancy between the prepared response and the prime minister's actual comment suggests she veered off-script from official policy.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets with her Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, at the Group of 20 Summit in Johannesburg on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 23, 2025
Takaichi embraces Meloni at Group of 20, but keeps distance from China
In a sea of dark-suited men and Group of 20 stalwarts, a bonding moment this weekend between two populist women stood out.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a meeting on Ukraine on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 23, 2025
Japan blasts China¡¯s ¡®entirely baseless¡¯ claims after U.N. letter
China vowed to take resolute self-defense against Japan if it "dared to intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait¡± in a letter delivered to the United Nations.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and other members of a government panel on economic growth strategy gather for their first meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 11, 2025
Takaichi eyes stimulus package to jump-start growth plan
Takaichi has signaled a shift toward more expansionary fiscal policy and said that Japan remains only halfway toward achieving stable inflation supported by wage growth.
Japan Innovation Party co-leader Fumitake Fujita said on Wednesday that a Bank of Japan rate hike amid government calls for more corporate investment would likely send a mixed policy message.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 6, 2025
JIP cautions against mixed message of a BOJ hike
Such a move could seem contradictory amid calls for more investment in the private sector, Japan Innovation Party co-leader Fumitake Fujita says.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya (center) with other parliament members from the party
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2025
What¡¯s driving the far-right voters who shook Japanese politics
Sanseito¡¯s slogan is "Japanese First,¡± and it campaigned on a mix of tax cutting, vaccine skepticism and restrictions on immigration and foreign investment.
The Fujian aircraft carrier is seen in Shanghai in May 2024 as it leaves for its first sea trial.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
SDF spots China¡¯s biggest aircraft carrier for first time
The Fujian, which has a displacement of more than 80,000 metric tons, was spotted in the East China Sea on Thursday.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba heads toward the Upper House hall in Tokyo on Aug. 1.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 5, 2025
Ishiba reaffirms intent to stay on after tariffs lowered
In a further sign of his intention to stay on, he also announced later in the day that his government will compile an economic package this autumn.
New Zealand officials reject statue remembering 91²Ö¿â comfort women
A statue symbolizing former South Korean comfort women in Seoul
Head of U.S. military in South Korea calls for ¡®kill web¡¯ linking Seoul, Tokyo and Manila
U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson (center), commander of U.S. Forces Korea, walks on a pontoon bridge with U.S. and South Korean Army soldiers during a U.S.-South Korea joint river-crossing exercise, part of the annual Freedom Shield joint military training, near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on March 14.
Japan considers making language programs a factor in residency screenings
The government is considering creating a Japanese language program for foreign people that would be a factor in residency screenings.
'RikuRyu' signs off in emotional farewell
Figure skating pair Riku Miura (left) and Ryuichi Kihara pose for photos at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday. The pair have announced their retirement from competitive skating.
Police search for Tokyo man on the run after hammer attack on students
Tokyo Metropolitan Police officers stand guard outside the home where suspect Teruyuki Takabayashi temporarily took refuge in Fussa, Tokyo, on Wednesday.
Head of U.S. military in South Korea calls for ¡®kill web¡¯ linking Seoul, Tokyo and Manila
U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson (center), commander of U.S. Forces Korea, walks on a pontoon bridge with U.S. and South Korean Army soldiers during a U.S.-South Korea joint river-crossing exercise, part of the annual Freedom Shield joint military training, near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, in Yeoncheon, South Korea, on March 14.
The Japanese dietitian who keeps the Blue Jays¡¯ engines running
Sports dietitian Yuka Sanui works behind the scenes to ensure Blue Jays players get the most out of their bodies when they step on the field.
The American chef reconnecting with Japan through a Kyoto restaurant
SoNoMa chef partner Kyle Connaughton (right) and chef de cuisine Keita Tominaga both have ties to Sonoma County in Northern California, the restaurant¡¯s namesake. Connaughton rose to prominence there with SingleThread, while Tominaga¡¯s father ran a Japanese restaurant in the region.
Inkonbini: Slice-of-life, cozy gaming from Japan¡¯s convenience stores
Alongside the simplified management of a convenience store, Inkonbini asks players to help a small cast of regular shoppers with not only their shopping but problems in their personal lives.
Japanese developers worry over construction supply shortages amid Iran war
Paul Nikel, President of West Canada Homes, with an increasingly rare supply of plastic foam

Podcast

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

Longform

Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
By Alex K.T. Martin

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