91²Ö¿â

author

 
Menu
Search
 
May 15, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Tim Kelly
Ground Self-Defense Force members during a training exercise at Narashino exercise field in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, in January.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2026
Rattled by Trump, U.S. allies eye 91²Ö¿â biggest arms opening since WWII
The interest comes amid shaky U.S. security commitments to allies and the wars in Iran and Ukraine that are straining U.S. weapons supplies.
Counterfeit U.S. 100 dollar banknotes on the floor inside a compound in Cambodia used for scam operations
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 7, 2026
Scammers' abandoned Cambodia compound exposes brutality and banality of fraud
A visit to a bombed-out compound near the Thai-Cambodian border offered a look into ?the fraud that has fleeced billions of dollars from victims globally.
Hitoshi Nakama, a fisherman who has been fishing around the Senkaku Islands, speaks as his fishing boat sails past a Japan Coast Guard ship docked at a port in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, on Jan. 13.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 3, 2026
Fearing clash with China, Japan asks fishermen to avoid flash point islands
The requests signal an abrupt shift after years in which Tokyo tacitly accepted such trips.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a campaign event at Maiko Park in Kobe on Thursday
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 31, 2026
Strong voter mandate could hand PM Takaichi new clout to counter China
A big win on Feb. 8 will help send a message to Beijing that its attacks have not damaged her domestically, a senior Japanese government official said.
In a government survey released on Friday, 68% of 1,534 respondents pointed to advances in ?Chinese military technology and its activities close to ?Japan and in ?the South China Sea as their ?top security worry, up from 61% when the poll was last conducted three years ago.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 9, 2026
China tops Japanese public¡¯s security worries in latest government poll
Beijing¡¯s growing military power is now the leading security concern, overtaking the threat posed by North Korean nuclear missiles.
Crew members of a South Korean navy submarine salute during a fleet review in the waters off Busan, South Korea, on Sept. 26.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 5, 2025
Seoul¡¯s nuclear sub gamble raises prospect of underwater arms race in Asia
South Korea¡¯s rapidly developing program could irk China and pressure Japan to develop similar capabilities.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to the media after a telephone call with the U.S. president in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 27, 2025
Trump asked Takaichi to avoid escalating dispute with China, sources say
Takaichi sparked a diplomatic bust-up with Beijing when she said that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger Japanese military action.
Sanseito party leader Sohei Kamiya speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Sept. 25.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 1, 2025
91²Ö¿â far-right party courts Trump allies and vows not to get 'wacky'
Sanseito has set up an international arm to court Trump's allies, betting that conservative recognition will help it shake up staid Japanese politics.
Japan has hired energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie to assess a proposed $44 billion Alaska gas pipeline and LNG project backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, sources say.
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2025
Japan hires Wood Mackenzie to assess Trump-backed Alaska LNG project: sources
The scope and cost of the deal with Wood Mackenzie is unclear, as is whether any resulting report will be made public.
Students visit the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima¡¯s Peace Memorial Park in late April. Attitudes in Japan are shifting away from the traditional pacifist views that have held sway since the end of World War II.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2025
Trump shock spurs Japan to think about the unthinkable: nuclear arms
There is a growing willingness to loosen the country¡¯s decades-old pledge not to produce, possess or host nuclear weapons in its territory.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Program's fighter jet during an exhibition at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on May 21
JAPAN
May 30, 2025
Japan frets over fighter rollout target and weighs stopgap options, sources say
The joint Global Combat Air Program is falling behind schedule due to a lack of urgency from Britain and Italy, one of the sources said.
Takahiro Mori, executive vice president of Japan's biggest steelmaker Nippon Steel, speaks about its strategy in its headquarters in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 26, 2025
Garage meets and sleepless flights: How Nippon Steel's negotiator stuck at U.S. merger
With Biden's incoming successor Donald Trump also voicing opposition to the planned purchase, the outlook was bleak.
Oil pipelines in Alaska. U.S. President Donald Trump wants Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to join a $44 billion natural gas export project.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2025
Alaska governor to brief Trump on Asia gas push as tariffs bite
Gov. Mike Dunleavy is winding up a trip through Asia where he has been seeking investors and long-term buyers.
Officials from the state-run Alaska Gasline Development Corporation and development partner Glenfarne Group want to transport natural gas south from Alaska's remote north via a $44 billion 1,300-kilometer pipeline, to be shipped as liquefied natural gas to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2025
Alaskan officials to seek investors in Japan as Trump touts LNG
Japanese energy firms have yet to commit, with cost being a focal point.
Sony Group President Hiroki Totoki told a news conference last month that the Playstation maker had been preparing for tariffs by building up inventory from its gaming and electronics divisions in the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Mar 6, 2025
Sony and Suntory build U.S. stockpiles as Japan faces Trump tariff threat
In his latest trade salvo this week, U.S. President Donald Trump hinted that he might target Tokyo next, after imposing tariffs on Mexico and China.
Japan is the world's No. 2 LNG buyer, a major investor in energy infrastructure and a trading hub with a glut of LNG that could help open new markets for U.S. gas in Southeast Asia.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 22, 2025
Trump seeks to reshape Asia's energy supplies with U.S. gas
While the Alaska LNG proposal faces hurdles, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and others are buying into the idea of increasing U.S. gas imports more broadly.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an 'Unleashing American Energy' event at the Department of Energy in Washington in June 2017.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 31, 2025
Japan weighs Alaska LNG pipeline pledge to win Trump's favor
President Trump may raise the project when he meets Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for the first time in Washington as soon as next week.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's direct approach appears to mark a shift in the Japanese government's stance on the deal.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 26, 2024
Ishiba urges Biden to approve Nippon-U.S. Steel deal, sources say
The prime minister sent a letter asking the U.S. president to avoid marring recent efforts to strengthen ties between the two countries.
Japanese radio equipment maker Icom director Yoshiki Enomoto shows its model IC-V82 device, which the company said they stopped production in 2014, during an interview at its headquarters in Osaka on Thursday.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Sep 21, 2024
Hack of Hezbollah devices exposes dark corners of Asia supply chains
Counterfeiting, surplus inventories and complex contract manufacturing deals can sometimes make it impossible to identify the source of a product.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a news conference in Tokyo on Friday, ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 7, 2024
U.S. opposition to Nippon Steel deal 'very unsettling,' PM hopeful Ishiba says
Some experts say blocking the deal could undermine U.S.-Japan cooperation on national security, and put the lie to the notion of "ally shoring."
Legendary figure skater Kaori Sakamoto announces marriage
Figure skater Kaori Sakamoto smiles as she holds a bouquet of flowers at a news conference in Kobe on Wednesday.
After rule change, Japan see 96% drop in business manager visa applications
Manish Kumar, an Indian national who has run an Indian restaurant in Saitama Prefecture for 18 years, speaks at a rally in Tokyo in protest of new business manager visa requirements.
Hello Panda: A globally loved snack Japan said goodbye to in 1989
Meiji's Hello Panda chocolate cookies are displayed for sale at a store in Manhattan in April.
Designated trash bags run low in Japan as fears grow over supply shortages
Many municipalities across Japan say buzz online and anxiety over the situation in the Middle East has led to people panic buying garbage bags.
Xi warns Trump that Taiwan missteps could lead to U.S.-China conflict
U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a welcome ceremony with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday.
Legendary figure skater Kaori Sakamoto announces marriage
Figure skater Kaori Sakamoto smiles as she holds a bouquet of flowers at a news conference in Kobe on Wednesday.
Hello Panda: A globally loved snack Japan said goodbye to in 1989
Meiji's Hello Panda chocolate cookies are displayed for sale at a store in Manhattan in April.
Takaichi¡¯s Golden Week diplomacy: a cheat sheet
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (left) and her Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, visit the Canberra Nara Peace Park in Canberra on May 4.
Rising bear encounters test Japan¡¯s approach to wildlife management
The nature guides and conservationists at Picchio Karuizawa focus on nonviolent interventions like collaring and tracking bears to keep the animals away from human settlements and oft-used hiking routes.
Path to glory opens for Hoshoryu after injuries to rivals Onosato and Aonishiki
Yokozuna Hoshoryu will be in the spotlight as the favorite during the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.

Podcast

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

Longform

Japanese content creators in China have emerged as informal ¡°digital diplomats,¡± using social media to share everyday experiences amid a period of deepening tension between Tokyo and Beijing.
How Japanese influencers in China are bridging a growing divide
By Mike Fu

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER