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July 01, 2026
 

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Jesse Johnson
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers reporters' questions about her phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 25, 2025
Takaichi holds first talks with Trump since start of row with China
Sanae Takaichi told reporters that U.S. leader Donald Trump had “explained the current state of U.S.-China relations,” including details of his talks with Xi Jinping.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (second from left) stands for a group photo with leaders including Chinese Premier Li Qiang (second from right) at the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 24, 2025
Japan-China divide widens as fears of long-lasting chill in ties grow
The cavernous gap was on full display over the weekend as any contact between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Chinese Premier Li Qiang failed to materialize at a G20 summit.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the Lanting Forum in Beijing on Oct. 27.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 23, 2025
Top Chinese diplomat weighs in on Takaichi’s ‘shocking’ Taiwan remarks
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi became the country’s highest-ranking official to weigh in on the row over comments that Japan could intervene in a Taiwan crisis.
A sign reading, "Suspend the sales of all fish products imported from Japan" is displayed in an area home to Japanese restaurants in Beijing in August 2023. China will reimpose a ban on imports of Japanese seafood, media reports in Tokyo said Wednesday, as a diplomatic spat between the two countries deepens.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 19, 2025
China to reimpose ban on Japanese seafood imports amid row over Taiwan, reports say
China ratcheted up the pressure on Tokyo as a prolonged dispute with Beijing over the Japanese leader’s remarks on Taiwan appeared inevitable.
A Chinese tour group in the Ginza shopping district of Tokyo on Sunday. China has advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, following a diplomatic feud sparked by remarks from Tokyo's new prime minister about a hypothetical attack on Taiwan.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2025
Japan sends senior official to China to cool boiling tensions
Masaaki Kanai, a top Foreign Ministry official, will be looking to explain that there has been no change in Japan’s existing position on the Taiwan issue.
Two Chinese tourists wearing kimonos take a selfie as they visit Sensoji temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 16, 2025
Fears rise of rupture in Japan-China ties in wake of Taiwan remarks
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi broke years of precedent by hinting that Japan could offer military support for Taiwan under certain “worst-case” scenarios such as a Chinese attack.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (left) and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby attend a meeting at the Pentagon in Washington on July 21.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 16, 2025
Pentagon No. 3 praises Seoul’s defense budget hike as eyes turn to Tokyo
South Korea has become the first U.S. treaty ally outside of NATO to hike defense spending to 3.5% of GDP — a move expected to impact Japan’s own spending plans.
Chinese tourists wear kimonos as they visit Sensoji temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2025
China warns citizens not to visit Japan as row over Taiwan heats up
Beijing’s first retaliatory move against Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan could have a significant impact on tourism.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during an Upper House Budget Committee session on Wednesday in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 12, 2025
Takaichi sidesteps commitment to decades-old nonnuclear principles
The prime minister refrained from saying her government would maintain Japan’s Three Non-Nuclear Principles, leaving the door open for a revision.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions during a House of Representatives Budget Committee session in parliament on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 11, 2025
Takaichi doesn’t mince words on Taiwan, but dramatic policy shift unlikely
The prime minister’s remarks illustrate the gradual evolution of Japan’s relationship with Taiwan and its growing concern over China.
People watch a TV news report on North Korea firing ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast, at the main railway station in Seoul on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2025
North Korea fires ballistic missile into waters outside Japan’s EEZ
In brief remarks to reporters, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that the missile had likely landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens as South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back speaks during a joint news conference following talks at the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 4, 2025
Hegseth says ‘flexibility’ needed for U.S. forces in South Korea
The U.S. defense secretary hinted that U.S. troops stationed in South Korea could be used in the event of a “regional contingency.”
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday. Takaichi said she is prepared to “act boldly” to create a breakthrough and resolve the abductions issue with North Korea “without ruling out any options.”
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 3, 2025
Takaichi says she told North Korea of desire for summit with Kim
The new Japanese leader’s remarks echo those of her predecessors and come as time runs out for families of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang decades ago.
Pressed on his claims that Russia and China have been testing their nuclear weapons, U.S. President Donald Trump said that a global monitoring system that employs state-of-the-art technology had somehow failed to detect the tests.
WORLD / FOCUS
Nov 3, 2025
Trump claims that China and Russia secretly conduct nuke tests
The U.S. leader alleged that the nation’s rivals “test way underground, where people don’t know exactly what’s happening.”
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping talk after a meeting at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 3, 2025
Trump says China’s Xi aware of ‘consequences’ of attacking Taiwan
The U.S. president also again claimed that Chinese leader Xi Jinping would not invade democratic Taiwan as long as Trump remains in office.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi looks on during an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) defense ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 2, 2025
Koizumi builds ties with partners and airs concerns with China defense chief
The defense minister also said that Tokyo had “identified a concrete demand” for Japanese defense gear from a number of countries.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung shakes hands with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi after taking a group photo during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 1, 2025
South Korea’s Lee says ‘worries vanished’ after meeting Takaichi
At a news conference, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that he believed the bilateral relationship would continue to improve.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ahead of their talks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 30, 2025
Japanese and South Korean leaders agree to boost ties in first meeting
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held her first in-person talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on the sidelines of the APEC regional summit Thursday evening.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during a visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 29, 2025
Takaichi buys time and builds trust with ‘near-perfect’ Trump summit
Experts called the PM’s meeting with the U.S. president an “overwhelming success,” especially considering the tumult and uncertainty in bilateral relations over the past year.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi shake hands at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2025
Hegseth says U.S. never demanded Japan defense spending hike
In his first meeting with Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, U.S. defense chief Pete Hegseth called Japan’s current defense spending plans “wonderful.”
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan falls in gut-wrenching fashion as Brazil strikes late to win World Cup clash
Brazil's Gabriel Martinelli (right) shoots past Japan defenders Shogo Taniguchi (left) and Takehiro Tomiyasu to score in the second half of a match in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Houston on Monday.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

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
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