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July 03, 2026
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July 03, 2026
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Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
JAPAN / Society
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
By Jessica Speed
Under the new structure, fees will vary depending on the length of the permit, with those in the top bracket required to pay at least ¥65,000.
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
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 / FOCUS
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
By Kanako Takahara
After decades of discussion over their future, the princesses may soon have the option to either leave or remain in the imperial family.
Zhipu's AI service on the web, dubbed Z.ai.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
A new, inexpensive Chinese AI model is catching up with Anthropic, OpenAI on their home turf
By Laurie Chen and Aditya Soni
Z.ai’s GLM-5.2 model has been put at the heart of a growing debate about whether China is finally catching up to the U.S. in the artificial intelligence race.
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan's renewable goals.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Iran war exposed, but hasn’t changed, Japan’s reliance on imported oil
By Eric Johnston
Japan received over 93% of its oil imports through the Strait of Hormuz last year before it was effectively closed.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has strengthened its grip on power by manipulating the electoral process itself.
COMMENTARY / World
Modi is rigging Indian democracy
Jayati Ghosh
The result of voter purging is an electoral system increasingly designed to favor India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has strengthened its grip on power by manipulating the electoral process itself.

JAPAN

Hitoshi Kato (left), head of San-ikukai Hospital in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, speaks during a news conference at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building on Thursday.
Tokyo hospital baby hatch accepts 20 newborns in first year
Seven of the babies were born under conditions of confidentiality, with only a few hospital workers knowing their mothers’ identities.
The women's restroom next to the Lower House's main chamber has only two individual toilet cubicles for women, but that number will be expanded to four.
Following petition, female lawmakers in Japan get two more toilets
The cross-party petition, whose 58 signatories included Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, asked for more toilets for women in the parliament building.
Families mourn victims of 2021 Atami mudslide
Kyoto University to be third recipient of world-class research aid
Russian envoy to skip Hiroshima peace ceremony
JICA holds memorial for victims of 2016 Dhaka terror attack

BUSINESS

Products at the Oshikatsu Expo in Tokyo
Inside Japan’s $25 billion consumer market built on fan devotion
By Eru Ishikawa
From collecting Hello Kitty goods to manga figurines, what was once considered a niche hobby has evolved into a fan-merchandising economy estimated to be worth ¥4.1 trillion.
Google has lost its fight against a record European Union antitrust fine of €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion), a development seen as likely ​to boost Europe's crackdown on Big Tech.
Google loses fight against record €4.1 billion EU antitrust fine
The ruling by Europe’s top court is seen as being likely to boost the bloc’s crackdown on Big Tech.
Japan’s 2026 wage talks result in third year of gains above 5%
By Erica Yokoyama and Akemi Terukina
Kioxia ships samples of new flash memory for AI data centers
By Takashi Mochizuki and Mari Kiyohara
Trump financial disclosure shows 21,000 trades in 2025
SoftBank plans to rent AI compute in U.S. at 10-gigawatt scale
By Min Jeong Lee

WORLD

Myanmar protesters residing in Japan show a placard of detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a rally outside Myanmar's embassy in Tokyo last year.
Searching for Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar’s capital of confusion
Naypyitaw is a labyrinth of anonymous compounds connected by deserted 20-lane highways through tracts of jungle and paddy.
"I love ​my country. I am a proud American," says Tabitha Dell'Angelo, a college professor and former Democratic school board member. "But this version of the celebration does not feel like it's ​about America, but instead a celebration of (U.S. President Donald) Trump."
Happy birthday, America? At 250, nation may be too divided to celebrate as one
By Tim Reid and Jospeh Ax
With U.S. President Trump stamping his imprint on the official commemoration, many Americans are struggling with how to separate the politics from the pageantry.
‘I grabbed my child’: Kyiv residents face devastation of biggest Russian barrage of war
Where the U.S. and Iran stand after Doha negotiations
More than 400 dead in Dr. Congo’s spreading Ebola outbreak
Russia bombards Kyiv in deadliest strike this year, killing at least 30 people

Sports

Naomi Osaka arrives for her second-round match at Wimbledon in London on Wednesday.
Stylish Naomi Osaka cruises into third round at Wimbledon
Osaka, who has ⁠not progressed beyond the third round at the All England Club, takes on Australian Daria Kasatkina in the next round.
X Games returns to Chiba with new team format
By Jason Coskrey
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.
Little hope for a declining yen amid structural pressures
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy calls Russia’s bluff in Belarus
By Sergey Maidukov
Where is China’s trillion-dollar trade surplus going?
By Miao Yanliang
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
By Midori Inagaki

ENVIRONMENT

A woman with an umbrella walks at Plaza Puerta del Sol during a spring heat wave in Madrid on May 27.
Net-zero champion Europe snared by climate change on its doorstep
June’s record-breaking heat wave in Europe has focused minds on the urgency of adapting to global warming in a continent once complacent about its relatively gentle climate.
Japan deploys bear cameras in mountains as attacks surge
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

CULTURE

Tujiko Noriko’s album “PON” is dedicated to Ponpon, her late cat, and includes field recordings of her family life in France.
Tujiko Noriko’s new album is a feline tour de force
By James Hadfield
On tour in Japan this month, the France-based artist talks about channeling her “crazy cat woman” energy into musical creation and finding harmony in dissonance.
Murakami says his novels are ‘different’ from AI literature
‘Human Vapor’ brings blockbuster energy to the small screen
By James Hadfield
‘Piccola Felicita’: From formulaic drama to fever dream
By Mark Schilling
The heroism and humanity of ‘Ultraman’: Documentary looks back on 60 years
By Sebastien Raineri

LIFE

With a golden-brown broth and a host of classic toppings, Rairaiken's shoyu ramen carries on a legacy dating back to 1910.
Japan’s first standalone ramen shop reopens in Asakusa
By Weiwen Lin
Fifty years after it closed its doors, Asakusa Rairaiken is now back to court a new generation of ramen lovers with the shoyu-seasoned broth it created in 1910.
Fender opens a second, more unplugged Shimokitazawa cafe
By Aden Max Juarez
Sony to end video game disc production in January 2028
By Owen Ziegler
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
By Robbie Swinnerton
Smash tacos with bear-approved veggies
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

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

Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI
Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI

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
‘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
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.
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.