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May 30, 2026
 

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EDITORIALS

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during the National Defense Academy's graduation ceremony in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in March. The Japanese leader currently has the political and procedural leverage to pursue sweeping reforms, including the creation of an intelligence agency modeled on the CIA.
EDITORIALS
Long overdue, Japan updates its intelligence infrastructure
The government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is taking steps to improve that capability with passage of the National Intelligence Council Law.
EDITORIALS
Defeating tokuryū requires more than just better law enforcement
The problem of tokuryū, or anonymous crime groups, was thrust back into headlines last week, after the robbery and murder of an elderly woman
EDITORIALS
A sigh of relief as Trump visits Xi
Trump will declare the meeting a win for his diplomacy and credit his personal relationship with Xi. The Chinese leader will be less effusive.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) attends a monetary policy meeting with other high-ranking officials in Tokyo on April 28.
EDITORIALS
May 8, 2026
Japan pulls out the stops to halt the yen’s slide
While the yen's dive has been abetted by speculators, the real causes of the currency's weakness are structural.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi departs on an official trip to Vietnam and Australia from Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Friday.
EDITORIALS
May 1, 2026
Golden Week security assignments for Takaichi’s Cabinet
Japan has strengthened ties with countries throughout the region through aggressive security diplomacy that has revitalized agreements.
A Type-88 missile is test-fired near Shinhidaka, Hokkaido, in June. Japan’s easing of arms export restrictions is intended to strengthen security cooperation and defense capabilities while adapting to a more unstable global environment.
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 2026
Japan’s new arms export stance and changing security realities
This new policy responds to the new security reality, recognizing that dangers are mounting and every nation must do more.
Railway training for foreign workers under Japan’s Specified Skilled Worker program on March 6 in Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture
EDITORIALS
Apr 17, 2026
Japan squeezed between economic and social demands
In 2023, international students accounted for 31.1% of the total in the European Union, 17.1% in the United States and 13.4% in the United Kingdom; they were just 3.3% in Japan.
Pro-government supporters rally after the announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the war with the United States and Israel, at Enqelab Square in Tehran on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 10, 2026
A ceasefire in Iran offers the world little hope
While there is inevitably uncertainty during such hostilities, the prosecution of this conflict suggests a damning amateurism if not disorientation.
A domestically produced Japanese long-range Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile with improved capability undergoes a test launch in California in October.
EDITORIALS
Apr 3, 2026
Japan’s counterstrike move reflects rising regional challenges
Japan has for some time debated the acquisition and deployment of "strike capabilities" that can hit adversaries from considerable distances.
Tanker trucks line up at an oil terminal in Yokohama earlier this month amid surging oil prices due to the Iran conflict.
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2026
Iran war exposes the global economy’s vulnerability
Oil is the Achilles heel of the global economy. Skyrocketing gasoline prices get considerable attention with good reason, but their real impact is more extensive than imagined.

Sony takes final bow as standalone TV maker with new Bravia sets
The newest Sony Bravia TVs are likely the brand's final high-end television sets before its TV and home theater business merges with TCL next year.
Deeply entrenched gender roles a key factor in Japan’s low birthrate
Hiroya Masuda (center), head of the Forum for the Future We Choose, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in March.
Japan’s 2025 census reflects steepest fall in population on record, data shows
Japan's population saw the largest decline on record in 2025, but Tokyo continued to mark a rise in the number of residents.
New Taiwan-Japan ferry service debuts on ship that has war evacuation role
The Yaima Maru ferry, which will operate between Taiwan and Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture, is docked in Keelung, Taiwan, Thursday.
Japan and Philippines agree to elevate ties to new level amid China concerns
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before a meeting at the Akasaka Palace state guest house in Tokyo on Thursday.
Built for speed: Inside Japan’s child protection system
The Children and Families Agency says language should not be a barrier to calling the 189 hotline.
Record number of students in Japan need help learning Japanese
How Japanese-language instruction is provided currently varies widely according to region.
Why youths have become central to tokuryū crimes
With the proliferation of smartphones and growth of an internet-savvy generation, the application pool for dodgy jobs posted on social media or apps like Timee — which matches companies with job-seekers for one-off jobs — began to skew younger.
Even at home, American shoppers are flocking to Japanese supermarkets
Tokyo Central staff offer handroll sushi at its Emeryville outlet in California.
Japan’s automotive industry is driving — slowly — toward a greener future
Toyota's bZ4X electric vehicle at an international car show in Indonesia in August 2023. At 10% of Japan’s economy, the automotive industry is a pillar of the nation.

Podcast

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

Longform

Community programs and tracking systems are expanding across Japan as local governments search for ways to prevent dementia-related disappearances.
He told his wife he was ‘coming home.’ Then he disappeared.
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

TDC Global challenges norms at Japan workplaces
TDC Global challenges norms at Japan workplaces

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