Home page

 
Menu
Search
 
Menu
Search
Tokyo Weather 26℃
TOKYO
July 02, 2026
The Independent Voice in Asia
July 02, 2026
World Cup
China
Falling yen
Latest News
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
BUSINESS / Companies
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
By Kazuaki Nagata
The demographic challenges faced by the country could create demand for products that help older people and support treatment.
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Revisions to the laws meant to tackle the imperial family's dwindling numbers included clauses that throw succession rules into question.
JAPAN
Law revisions regarding imperial family invite controversy about succession
By Kanako Takahara
Revisions to the laws meant to tackle the imperial family’s dwindling numbers included clauses that throw succession rules into question.
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
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
By Yukana Inoue
Previously set at ¥1,000, the tax has risen to ¥3,000 for all travelers departing Japan, regardless of nationality.
A concept model of the Global Combat Air Program’s fighter jet is displayed during the Defense Security Equipment International Japan exhibition at Makuhari Messe in the city of Chiba in May last year.
JAPAN
Japan’s trilateral fighter jet program locked in following U.K. funding commitment
By Gabriel Dominguez
The news comes after months of uncertainty and concerns about delays to the Global Combat Air Program with Britain and Italy.
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.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
By John Gunning
The latest banzuke offers more than just top-tier intrigue, with the July meet set to feature standout stories in every division of professional sumo.
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.

JAPAN

Self-Defense Forces personnel stand guard at the entrance of the Defense Ministry in Tokyo in April.
Japan weighs state ownership of defense plants to boost arms supply
By Kenji Yoshida
A draft of the government’s basic economic and fiscal policy guidelines calls for reviewing existing law to allow greater state involvement.
Masayo Tanabu, secretary-general of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and a senior Upper House lawmaker, speaks during an interview with The Japan Times in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan’s opposition faces a make-or-break choice over wider integration
By Kenji Yoshida
The Centrist Reform Alliance has yet to fully convince the public of its significance, said senior opposition lawmaker Masayo Tanabu.
Number of hibakusha drops to 91,105
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
By Kyoko Hasegawa
Traditional Japanese mechanical dolls showcased in London
China arrests two Japanese nationals held in Dalian

BUSINESS

Japan spent ¥11.7 trillion ($73 billion) between late April and late May to prop up the weak yen.
Why is the yen so weak and what can Japan do about it?
By Simon STURDEE
The yen has tumbled past a 40-year low against the U.S. dollar, prompting the Japanese government to vow “appropriate action at any time.”
Fans react to a World Cup match in Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, on June 24. JoongAng Group, which made a big bet on World Cup rights, is facing financial trouble after a series of missteps.
Failed World Cup bet sinks South Korean media giant’s Disney dream
By Sohee Kim and Haram Lim
A South Korean content powerhouse’s mistimed global expansion and ill-judged bets on World Cup soccer and Olympic rights ended up derailing its dream.
Japan’s FX chief flags contact with U.S., intervention impact
By Erica Yokoyama and Takashi Umekawa
Kawasaki Heavy seeks ¥200 billion via new shares and convertible bonds: sources
By Miho Uranaka and Sam Nussey
Roadside land prices rise in popular Japanese tourist sites
Panasonic targets further AI growth to build on record valuation
By Reed Stevenson and Mari Kiyohara

WORLD

Members of the Chinese (left) and Russian delegations, led by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, respectively, hold talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, on July 3, 2024.
Russia approved secret China military training at top level, sources say
China’s covert military training of Russian forces last year was personally approved by Russia’s defense minister and directly involved at least four Russian and Chinese generals.
A group of civilian volunteers searches for survivors in a collapsed building in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Saturday.
Venezuela quake death toll nears 2,000 as aftershocks ease
Opposition leader María Corina Machado, who is stuck in Panama after unsuccessful attempts to reenter the country, has vowed to return as quickly as possible.
North Korea-Russia bridge opening likely delayed, think tank says
By Kyu-seok Shim
NATO allies have grown silent on rights concerns in Turkey
By Jonathan Spicer
Taiwan’s aging seaweed harvesters hope younger women will wade in
By Joy Chiang and Sally JENSEN
U.K. defense plan blows £5 billion hole in Burnham’s budget
By Ellen Milligan

Sports

Mexico players celebrate after beating Ecuador to qualify for the round of 16 of the World Cup, in Mexico City on Tuesday.
Mexico sees off Ecuador to break 40-year World Cup curse
Mexico had not won a World Cup knockout game since 1986, when it last hosted the tournament.
Clippers dealing Kawhi Leonard back to Raptors
Serena Williams beaten at Wimbledon in first singles match in four years
By Steven Griffiths
Mbappe and Haaland fire France and Norway into World Cup last 16
By Rob Woollard
Morocco advances after penalty shootout win over Netherlands in Monterrey thriller
By Janina Nuno Rios

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.
Greenspan deflated one bubble — his own authority
By John Authers
Is the tide turning against Russia in Ukraine?
By Sergei Guriev
Mark Carney has given Canadians something to celebrate
By Stephen R. Nagy
The U.S. Supreme Court just betrayed asylum seekers
By Noah Feldman

ENVIRONMENT

Yana Hrynko, senior researcher of The National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, shows a bird&#039;s nest made with fragments of optic fiber, which was found by a Ukrainian service member on the front line and then passed to the museum in Kyiv on June 23.
Bird nests of fiber-optic cables show war’s impact on Ukraine
The nests demonstrate how the more than 4-year-old conflict is reshaping the natural environment, researchers say.
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
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
By Shoaib Mir and Parthu Venkatesh P

CULTURE

Yo Katami found a permanent home for Loneliness Books in Higashinakano in August 2024, but still travels for book pop-ups at fairs and events in Japan and across Asia.
How a private collection of queer books became a cultural hot spot
By Mike Fu
Since establishing a permanent location in Nakano Ward in 2024, Tokyo’s queer-focused bookstore Loneliness Books has become a hub of events and activities for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.
Strange bedfellows: Manga and lesbian sex work agencies team up for storytelling
By Marta Fanasca
Singer and actor Kazuya Kamenashi to marry Minami Tanaka
Trooper Salute marches to its own beat on dazzling debut album
By Patrick St. Michel
Buzzcut backlash: AKB48 member’s termination stirs online furor
By Patrick St. Michel

LIFE

“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.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
By Aarohi Narain
Originally published as a six-volume series in the 1930s, “A Dictionary of Color Combinations” has become a go-to for creatives in Japan and around the world.
Smash tacos with bear-approved veggies
By Simon Daly
Summer in Japan: The language and flavors of staying cool
By Eric Margolis
‘A little funky’: Japanese ‘nattō’ disgusts and delights the world
By Tomohiro Osaki & Sarah Lai
Can a single clay pot really elevate everything you cook?
By Simon Daly

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

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.
ENVIRONMENT
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
By Elizabeth Beattie
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
LIFE
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
By Robbie Swinnerton
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.

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

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

Ex.Portal By Synergy Media Specialists

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
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.
ENVIRONMENT
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
By Shoaib Mir and Parthu Venkatesh P
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.
JAPAN
Reform panel calls for easing data center building standards
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasized that the government will promote reforms of regulations and systems that fit the artificial intelligence era.