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July 05, 2026
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July 05, 2026
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Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.
JAPAN / FOCUS
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
By Jesse Johnson
The move is seen as at least partially aimed at winning public support for boosting the country’s defense capabilities.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency President Hiroshi Yamakawa speaks during a press briefing in Tokyo in May 2025.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Hayabusa2 flies past asteroid as Japan aims to acquire data for planetary defense
By Jessica Speed
The encounter marks a new phase for Hayabusa2, which completed its primary mission in 2020 after returning samples from the asteroid Ryugu to Earth.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a parliament committee session on June 26.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Takaichi holds key to breaking parliament deadlock
Political maneuvering is expected to intensify, with less than two weeks to go before the current parliament session ends on July 17.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks off the stage after speaking at a Fourth of July rally, marking the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, on the National Mall in Washington.
WORLD / Politics
U.S. turns 250 with Trump center stage
The birthday was marked with parades, flyovers and fireworks, as President Donald Trump stamped his mark on the landmark anniversary.
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Okinawa’s seaweed at a crossroads as harvesters and scientists race to save a fading tradition
By Robert Bociaga
As sea temperatures rise, the prefecture’s ubiquitous mozuku is under threat. Scientists believe they are close to a breakthrough to protect the staple.
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.

JAPAN

Kawasaki fire department helicopters. The government may provide financial support to cover the training costs of pilots for firefighting and disaster relief helicopters.
Japan eyes aid for emergency helicopter pilot training costs
More than 1,000 hours of flight experience is required to become a captain of a firefighting and disaster relief helicopter or a medical helicopter.
Bereaved family members lay flowers during a memorial ceremony to mark the sixth anniversary of the heavy rain disaster in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Sunday.
Memorial held for 2020 rain disaster in Kumamoto
Participants included bereaved family members, land minister Yasushi Kaneko and Kumamoto Gov. Takashi Kimura.
Japan mulls easing travel advisory for Iran
Lithium battery fires hit record high in Japan in fiscal 2025
Japan foreign and defense ministers to attend NATO events in Turkey
U.K., Italy and Japan award $6.14 billion contract to advance GCAP fighter jet

BUSINESS

Micron Technology’s factory in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture
Micron breaks ground on $9 billion western Japan plant expansion
By Mari Kiyohara
The U.S. company is building the facility to make chips such as high-bandwidth memory crucial for AI processors.
Sharp is targeting ¥300 billion in new business sales by fiscal 2030
Sharp targets ¥300 billion new business sales by fiscal 2030
Sharp also plans to expand its satellite communications equipment business, including compact antennas.
Energy-hungry Asia is already drawing lessons from Iran crisis
By Yongchang Chin and Kanoko Matsuyama
European nations now believe some Hormuz fees are inevitable
By Fiona MacDonald and Samy Adghirni
Iran exploring oil sales to Japan, with buyers seeking longer sanctions waiver
By Jonathan Saul and Parisa Hafezi
Japan’s 2026 wage talks result in third year of gains above 5%
By Erica Yokoyama and Akemi Terukina

WORLD

The coffins of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family members are pictured at the Grand Mosalla at the start of the funeral ceremonies in Tehran on Saturday.
Three sons of Iran’s slain leader Khamenei appear at funeral, not his successor
There has still been no public sighting or image released of Mojtaba, said ​to have been injured in the ⁠attack that killed his father and the other family members on Feb. 28.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks off the stage after speaking at a Fourth of July rally, marking the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, on the National Mall in Washington.
U.S. turns 250 with Trump center stage
The birthday was marked with parades, flyovers and fireworks, as President Donald Trump stamped his mark on the landmark anniversary.
Venezuela quake death toll rises to nearly 3,000
North Korea’s Kim oversees latest naval weapons tests
Iran envoy says friendly nations to get ‘special’ Hormuz fee treatment
Trump offers to help Putin find deal with Ukraine

Sports

France&#039;s Kylian Mbappe (center) gets tangled up with Paraguay&#039;s Juan Jose Caceres (right) during their match at the World Cup in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Kylian Mbappe says France can get its ‘hands dirty’ too after scrappy win over Paraguay
“They thought we’d turn up in tuxedos, that we’d just come to pull off some spectacular moves,” Mbappe said after the match.
Fearless Alexandra Eala stuns defending champion Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon
Portugal survives late drama to beat Croatia and reach World Cup last 16
By Frank Pingue
Seiya Suzuki marks 100th home run in MLB career
NBA to test ‘one free throw’ rule in Summer League games

Opinion

Newly enthroned Emperor Naruhito takes part in a ritual at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in May 2019, in which imperial envoys are dispatched to the Ise Grand Shrine and imperial mausoleums.
Tradition vs. change: Japan’s imperial succession debate intensifies
Kuni Miyake
For decades, the government has postponed action. This week, however, Prime Minister Takaichi’s administration submitted a bill to the Diet to revise the Imperial House Law.
Japan positioned to link U.S. and Europe in a fragmented world
By Hitoshi Suzuki
Asian landlords are ready for a hawkish Fed
By Andy Mukherjee
Little hope for a declining yen amid structural pressures
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy calls Russia’s bluff in Belarus
By Sergey Maidukov

ENVIRONMENT

Hunters and a police officer approach a man wearing a bear costume during a drill for a bear intrusion in Yaita, Tochigi Prefecture, last month.
Japan deploys bear cameras in mountains as attacks surge
Bears have killed at least five people since April 1, all in the northern region of Tohoku.
Net-zero champion Europe snared by climate change on its doorstep
NATO project tests perennial grass to clean Ukraine’s war-hit soil
Industrial firms warn EU carbon overhaul could benefit polluters
By Kate Abnett
World’s oceans break June heat record, EU monitor says

CULTURE

Kazama&#039;s woodcut print “Dyslympics 2680” satirizes and compares the 1964 and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Sachiko Kazama’s art bites back at a cruel society
By Jennifer Pastore
Sachiko Kazama has made a name for herself as a sharp satirist. Her art from spanning a nearly four-decade long career is now on display in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are married, as pair hosts New York celebration
Tujiko Noriko’s new album is a feline tour de force
By James Hadfield
Murakami says his novels are ‘different’ from AI literature
‘Human Vapor’ brings blockbuster energy to the small screen
By James Hadfield

LIFE

Stephen Lancaster says Sezanne&#039;s loss of its Michelin stars is an opportunity to move one of Tokyo&#039;s newest fine dining institutions in a new direction.
Stripped of Michelin stars, Sezanne embraces a changing of the guard
By Phoebe Amoroso
Once awarded three stars, the restaurant now holds none. But new executive chef Steven Lancaster sees the sudden change as a golden opportunity.
La & Le brings a slice of Paris cafe culture to Tokyo
By Weiwen Lin
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
By Gabrielle Doman
Japan’s first standalone ramen shop reopens in Asakusa
By Weiwen Lin
Fender opens a second, more unplugged Shimokitazawa cafe
By Aden Max Juarez

COMMUNITY

Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
By Elizabeth Beattie
Takashi Nishihara’s latest work, “Now and Then,” bridges a historical atrocity with the present-day treatment of asylum-seekers.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
By Mai Yoshikawa
Two furry siblings seek their forever home
How a U.S. author found — and helped build — community in a Japanese hot spring town
By Michele Laudig
In Japan, Nepalese students navigate a growing study-to-work pathway
By Mai Yoshikawa

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
By Jessica Speed
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
MORE SPORTS
X Games returns to Chiba with new team format
By Jason Coskrey
Skateboarder Sora Shirai practices at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Friday afternoon. X Games Chiba begins on Saturday.
CULTURE
NU Festival tests Takanawa Gateway City complex’s culture cred
By James Hadfield
Veteran improvisers Kazuo Imai and Atsuhiro Ito brought some unruly energy to NU Festival, a three-day multimedia event held at the Takanawa Gateway City complex.  
JAPAN
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
By Kanako Takahara
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
SUMO
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
By John Gunning
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

JT Directory Service

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency
New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency

COMFACTS

Space Seed Holdings and Three Partners File Core Patents for “SpaceAgent”
Space Seed Holdings and Three Partners File Core Patents for “SpaceAgent”
SPACE SEED HOLDINGS CO., LTD.

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
By Kyoko Hasegawa
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
By Jessica Speed
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
JAPAN
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
By Kanako Takahara
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
JAPAN
Japanese police arrest nine over Sierra Leone-based special fraud
Japanese police have arrested nine individuals for their alleged involvement in a special fraud case using Sierra Leone as a base.
COMMENTARY
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
By Midori Inagaki
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population.