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July 02, 2026
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July 02, 2026
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Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Thursday
JAPAN / Politics
Takaichi looks to India in the face of supply chain and energy concerns
By Kenji Yoshida
Takaichi and her Indian counterpart met in New Delhi to advance cooperation in artificial intelligence, economic security, clean energy and defense.

More coverage

Indian defense research institute head hails Japan’s lifting of arms export ban
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Thursday
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi might take a more pragmatic approach in pushing up the lowest wages in Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Government signals flexibility on ¥1,500 minimum wage target
By Kazuaki Nagata
Its annual policy guidelines indicate the much-discussed goal could be reached early next decade rather than by the end of this decade.
Traders see little long-term relief from the Japanese government’s repeated warnings that it will take bold action to stem the yen's decline.
BUSINESS / Markets
Traders plot worst-case scenario for yen if currency crisis hits
By Ruth Carson and John Cheng
The yen sliding to a once-unthinkable ¥200 to the dollar level is now a risk — albeit an extreme one — for some investors.
A vessel in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
U.S.-Iran talks conclude in Doha, focused on Strait of Hormuz
Sources said the two ‌countries discussed the Strait of Hormuz and financial incentives ​for Iran, two pillars of the initial agreement they signed in June.
Japan’s head coach, Hajime Moriyasu, directs his players from the touchline during the 2026 World Cup round of 32 match between Brazil and Japan in Houston on Monday. Brazil won 2-1.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Soccer’s Asian century is still just a distant dream
Gearoid Reidy
Asian teams’ underwhelming World Cup showings have raised questions about the region’s potential, driven by a nascent soccer culture compared to Europe’s more competitive systems.
Japan’s head coach, Hajime Moriyasu, directs his players from the touchline during the 2026 World Cup round of 32 match between Brazil and Japan in Houston on Monday. Brazil won 2-1.

JAPAN

A sign showing bear deterrent measures is displayed next to a wolf-shaped robotic device outside a convenience store in a rural area of Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture.
Bear spray goes off in Japan post office, leaving five hospitalized
At least five people have been killed by bears in Japan since April 1 after a record 13 deaths last fiscal year.
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
By Kyoko Hasegawa
“I always wanted to become a bridge between Japan and Nepal ... but my dream is broken,” Budhathoki Samjhana said.
Interrogation footage to be shown at trial over prosecutor questioning
LDP to halt debate on JIP priorities to focus on imperial family bill
Man arrested after his ex-wife and daughter found dead in Nagano
Police in Japan work to crack down on fraud-linked social media posts

BUSINESS

Junichi Miyakawa, the head of SoftBank's telecom unit. The company's new AI-tailored-cloud venture, 49% of which will be owned by its parent group, has the potential to generate profit "on a different order of magnitude,” Miyakawa said in a recent interview.
SoftBank plans to offer AI-tailored cloud services in U.S. from next fiscal year
By Min Jeong Lee
The mobile carrier operator and group company will set up the new venture this month, aiming to supply data center capacity at a scale of 10 gigawatts by around 2030.
Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa downplayed the significance of Renault abstaining from last week’s vote to reappoint influential outside director Motoo Nagai.
Nissan CEO insists alliance with Renault has never been better
By Siddharth Philip and Chester Dawson
Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa has downplayed the significance of Renault abstaining from last week’s vote to reappoint influential outside director Motoo Nagai.
Sinking yen and robust economy support BOJ case for earlier rate hike
By Toru Fujioka
An English furniture maker faces AI era of bots buying sofas
By Katie Linsell and Maddie Parker
Toyota and Hyundai sales rise on hybrid demand while GM sits out
By Gabrielle Coppola and David Welch
First-half bankruptcies reach highest level since 2022 as weak yen takes toll
By Erica Yokoyama and Takahiko Hyuga

WORLD

The Society of Saint Pius X consecrates four new bishops in Econe, western Switzerland, on Wednesday in defiance of Pope Leo XIV, who pleaded with the ultra-traditionalist breakaway group to turn back from what he called a "schismatic act" with Rome.
Members of rebel Catholic group in schism, excommunicated, Vatican says
The Vatican said on Thursday that priests and lay Catholics who are part of a breakaway right-wing Catholic group that ordained bishops without Pope Leo's approval are in schism with the wider church and now excommunicated.
Over the past three years, Singapore has overtaken Hong Kong as the top destination for Taiwanese offshore wealth.
‘In case of emergency’: Taiwan’s rising rich flock to Singapore
The city-state has overtaken Hong Kong as the top destination for Taiwanese offshore wealth over the past three years.
Kilometers apart but a world away: the Starbucks with a view of North Korea
By Kang Jin-kyu
Eight Thai monks killed after boy drives truck into procession, police say
Erdogan shows Europe why NATO needs Turkey’s clout on defense
Officials skeptical of EU push to reset China trade amid retaliation fears
By Alberto Nardelli

Sports

Harry Kane (third from left) celebrates with his teammates following England's win over Congo during the World Cup round of 32 in Atlanta on Wednesday.
England coach says team overcame past demons with comeback win over Congo
England is aiming to end a 60-year wait to win a major tournament.
WTA Finals moves to Indian Wells after early end of deal with Saudi Arabia
U.S. shifts focus to Belgium after short-handed win over Bosnia and Herzegovina
Stylish Naomi Osaka cruises into third round at Wimbledon
Jalen Brown saga ends as Celtics reach deal to trade star to Sixers

Opinion

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders gather during the Group of Seven summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 16.
China’s export controls target Japan to split the Group of Seven
Christopher Nye and Charles Sun
Why Japan and why now? Tokyo raised the first question itself: Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara protested that controls singling out Japan depart from international practice.
Modi is rigging Indian democracy
By Jayati Ghosh
When the other side is framed as the antichrist
By Nina L. Khrushcheva
Greenspan deflated one bubble — his own authority
By John Authers
Is the tide turning against Russia in Ukraine?
By Sergei Guriev

ENVIRONMENT

Scientists from the UJEP university in the northern Czech city of Usti nad Labem prepare a field for Miscanthus plants at a former brown coal mine near Most city, northern Czech Republic, on June 1.
NATO project tests perennial grass to clean Ukraine’s war-hit soil
Nearly 4½ years of fierce fighting have polluted much famed farmland.
Net-zero champion Europe snared by climate change on its doorstep
Industrial firms warn EU carbon overhaul could benefit polluters
By Kate Abnett
World’s oceans break June heat record: EU monitor
U.K. grid issues another supply warning as heat tests network
By Eamon Akil Farhat

CULTURE

After premiering in July 1966, the original “Ultraman” series gained a peak viewership of nearly half of all TV-owning households in Japan.
The heroism and humanity of ‘Ultraman’: Documentary looks back on 60 years
By Sebastien Raineri
The iconic sci-fi franchise is the focus of a documentary, co-helmed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, that examines its cultural impact on generations of Japanese and international viewers.
Japan’s first great AI music trend is gloriously wrong
By Patrick St. Michel
Strange bedfellows: Manga and lesbian sex work agencies team up for storytelling
By Marta Fanasca
Singer and actor Kazuya Kamenashi to marry Minami Tanaka
How a private collection of queer books became a cultural hot spot
By Mike Fu

LIFE

From January 2028, PlayStation games will release only as digital downloads, calling into question protections about ownership over software and the long-term playability of older titles released on discs.
Sony to end video game disc production in January 2028
By Owen Ziegler
The gaming giant says the move toward digital-only games aligns the company with consumer trends toward online marketplaces.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
By Robbie Swinnerton
Smash tacos with bear-approved veggies
By Simon Daly
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
By Aarohi Narain
Summer in Japan: The language and flavors of staying cool
By Eric Margolis

COMMUNITY

James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
By Mai Yoshikawa
Beyond the paperwork and the language barrier, James Benstead says the hardest part about adopting in Japan was the waiting.
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
Fear and uncertainty for foreign business owners after Japan revises rules
By Elizabeth Beattie

Editors' Picks

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.
BUSINESS
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
By Kazuaki Nagata
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
JAPAN
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
By Jessica Speed
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
JAPAN
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
By Elizabeth Beattie
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
COMMUNITY
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
By Mai Yoshikawa
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

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
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
By Yukana Inoue
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
JAPAN
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men&#039;s restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
COMMUNITY
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
By Mai Yoshikawa
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
JAPAN
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
By Elizabeth Beattie
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
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.