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July 20, 2025
 

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JAPAN

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Science & Health
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Soil from the Fukushima No. 1 plant is delivered to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's office in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN
Fukushima soil delivered to Ishiba's office for reuse
With few willing to take the contaminated earth, the government took it upon itself to reuse some of the soil to show it is not dangerous.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves concurrently as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, delivers a campaign speech in Yokohama on July 6.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
91²Ö¿â minority government faces election snub as economic storm brews
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's LDP and its partner Komeito are forecast to lose their majority in a repeat of last year's Lower House election.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who serves concurrently as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, waves to voters from atop an election campaign van during a rally Friday in Yokohama for Sunday's Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Ishiba's future in balance as polls hint at rout in Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba likes the nitty gritty of policy, cigarettes and making models, but his dream job as Japanese leader could go up in smoke this weekend.
JAPAN
Amid searing summer heat, eel restaurants draw crowds on Day of Ox
JAPAN
Six years on, victims of fatal Kyoto Animation attack remembered
JAPAN
Emperor emeritus diagnosed with another heart disorder
JAPAN
Rainy season ends in the Kanto region, a day earlier than average

Politics

People watch a campaign speech in Tokyo on July 13.
Politics
Record 21.45 million people vote early in Upper House poll
The figure represents 20.58% of all voters, with many people using the system given the long weekend.
Politics / FOCUS
91²Ö¿â minority government faces election snub as economic storm brews
Politics / FOCUS
Ishiba's future in balance as polls hint at rout in Upper House election
Politics
As rice shortage hits donations, food banks urge politicians to tackle poverty
Politics
Concerns grow in Japan over possible Russian interference in Sunday¡¯s election
By Yukana Inoue
Politics
Parties vow measures to tackle falling birth rate
Politics
People with intellectual disabilities create election dictionary

Society

The Solomon Islands. A team from the U.S. nonprofit Ocean Exploration Trust has discovered the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki on the deep seabed off the Solomon Islands as the 80th anniversary of the war's end approaches.
Society
Sunken WWII Japanese warship Teruzuki found off Solomon Islands
The Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer was discovered at a depth of more than 800 meters off the small island nation northeast of Australia.
Society
Japan taps ASDF chief as new top uniformed officer
By Jesse Johnson
Society
91²Ö¿â Emperor Emeritus admitted to hospital to begin new heart treatment
Society
Over 10,000 people sent to hospital last week due to heatstroke
Society
Boosting support for parents of children with disabilities in Japan
Society
Japan releases guidelines on shooting of bears in urban areas
Society
Philanthropist Yoshiomi Tamai dies at 90
By Jessica Speed

Crime & Legal

Shoshi Maekawa (center) and his supporters enter the Kanazawa branch of the Nagoya High Court in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Friday.
Crime & Legal
Man acquitted in retrial over 1986 murder of school girl
Shoshi Maekawa was previously found guilty and served a prison sentence.
Crime & Legal
Shiga government ordered to compensate ex-assistant nurse acquitted of murder
Crime & Legal
Tokyo police arrest man for attempted arson at tourist go-kart company
Crime & Legal
Chinese court jails Japanese executive after sudden detention for spying
Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Teachers sharing illicit student images raises question of systemic failure
By Jessica Speed
Crime & Legal
Tens of millions of yen found at home of Aum Shinrikyo founder's wife
Crime & Legal
23-year sentence sought for senior member of 'Luffy' crime ring

Science & Health

Researchers at the University of Osaka Hospital last year became the first in Japan to conduct surgeries of reducing the number of fetuses in multiple pregnancy as part of clinical research.
Science & Health
Researchers in Japan conduct multifetal pregnancy reduction surgeries
It is the first time that the procedure has been carried out as clinical research in Japan.
Science & Health
Japanese scientists discover clue to why women burn more fat than men
By Jessica Speed
Science & Health
Japan researchers identify gut bacteria strain that boosts anticancer drugs
By Tomoko Otake
Science & Health
Mouse embryo implantation reproduced in lab equipment
Science & Health
Japan to cut price of Alzheimer's drug lecanemab
Science & Health
About half of people who died from cancer discussed last days with doctors
Science & Health
Japan¡¯s H2A rocket retired after successful final launch
By Jessica Speed

Explainer

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits for a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee to begin in Tokyo on Friday.
Explainer
What's the fuss over Ishiba's gift vouchers?
By Himari Semans and Gabriele Ninivaggi
The prime minister's standing has worsened following reports that he handed out gift vouchers worth ?100,000 ($668) each to rookie lawmakers from his party.
Explainer
What we learned at Fuji TV's marathon Nakai scandal news conference
By Yukana Inoue
Explainer
Miyazaki quake falls short of triggering Nankai Trough megaquake advisory
By Yukana Inoue
Explainer
Winter chill, hot baths and the risk of heat shock: How to stay safe
By Kathleen Benoza
Explainer
Don¡¯t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card ¡ª for now
By Tomoko Otake
Explainer
What is the Freelance Act, Japan¡¯s first-ever law to help freelancers?
By Himari Semans
Explainer
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
By Francis Tang and Gabriele Ninivaggi

History

Mahatma Gandhi led the Indian independence movement with an unshakable faith in nonviolence that arguably dovetailed with Zen philosophy in some respects.
History / The Living Past
Gandhi¡¯s philosophy of nonviolence ¡ª and Zen?
By Michael Hoffman
The Indian nationalist¡¯s beliefs hewed close to certain aspects of Zen thought, particularly his fearlessness in the face of death.
History
Vault for Hiroshima A-bomb victims shown to media
History / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Man inspired as a boy by WWII-era commando questions 91²Ö¿â past actions
History
Memory of detention in Mongolia still fresh for 107-year-old Japanese man
History / Japan Times Gone By
Japan Times 1950: Kyoto¡¯s ¡®Golden Temple¡¯ burns to the ground
History
Okinawa marks 80th anniversary of end of ferocious ground battle
By Eric Johnston
History / The Living Past
Gandhi and Japan: Turning away from ¡®brute force¡¯ and toward love
By Michael Hoffman
Read more JAPAN stories
Japanese markets brace for triple whammy if opposition wins big
A Sanseito campaign van in Shinjuku. The populist party is gaining ground and challenging the more centrist parties.
Sunken WWII Japanese warship Teruzuki found off Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands. A team from the U.S. nonprofit Ocean Exploration Trust has discovered the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki on the deep seabed off the Solomon Islands as the 80th anniversary of the war's end approaches.
Living conditions index hits lowest level in 15 years in Japan
The share of respondents to a Bank of Japan quarterly survey in June who said they have become worse off came to 61.0%, up 5.1 percentage points from the previous survey.
In Upper House race, younger voters in Tokyo turn to DPP for new direction
The Tokyo district has the highest number of candidates in the 2025 Upper House election with 32 people in the running for seven seats.
Concerns grow in Japan over possible Russian interference in Sunday¡¯s election
A think tank researcher said anti-government propaganda by Russian bot accounts was what has made the small far-right party Sanseito so popular leading up to the Upper House election.
91²Ö¿â rice farmers are confounded by Shinjiro Koizumi¡¯s policies
Kiyoshi Shibata stands in front of one of the rice paddies in Murayama, Yamagata Prefecture, where he produces the prefecture's signature rice brand Tsuyahime.
From stalking to death threats, female candidates still face harassment
Mayu Ushida, a former NHK newscaster running for election in the Tokyo electoral district on the Democratic Party for the People ticket, signs an autograph for a voter after a public rally at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Kawaii Lab redefines idol pop for the TikTok generation
Misa Kimura is the main producer for Kawaii Lab, a project by entertainment agency Asobisystem whose groups have found success by pairing a social media-first strategy with a fresh perspective on traditional idol-pop tropes.
Craig Mod's life in motion in a disappearing Japan
Mod's memoir ¡°Things Become Other Things¡± chronicles his walking trips across the Kii Peninsula, surveying ¡°a graceful end to a certain life cycle.¡±
With China and Trump, Japan defense report says world entering ¡®new era of crisis¡¯
A senior member of a Self-Defense Forces honor guard inspects a formation before the arrival of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for a visit to the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on June 30.

Podcast

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

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa

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