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June 30, 2026
 

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Eric Johnston

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Eric Johnston
Paul Nikel, President of West Canada Homes, with an increasingly rare supply of plastic foam
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 26, 2026
Japanese developers worry over construction supply shortages amid Iran war
The war in the Middle East and the subsequent halt of oil shipments from the Strait of Hormuz threaten to push back projects across Japan.
An official from the Japan Meteorological Agency speaks about the powerful quake that hit northern Japan at a news conference in Tokyo Monday evening.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2026
Japan issues rare special advisory over chance of more powerful quake
The government issued the advisory to residents of 182 municipalities from Hokkaido to Chiba, urging them to be ready to evacuate at any moment.
Buildings in the historic area of Takayama, Gifu Prefecture
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Apr 19, 2026
Japan’s tourism industry begins to feel pain of Iran war
With the Iran war continuing, travel costs between Europe and Japan have increased to the point that many European travelers are canceling their plans.
Minamitorishima has no resident population and is closed to the general public.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2026
Survey of Minamitorishima greenlit to check suitability for radioactive waste disposal
The central government is searching for a permanent disposal site for radioactive waste from Japan’s nuclear power plants.
In recent years, the combination of a surge in tourism to Hokkaido and the operations of the Rapidus semiconductor plant has led to congestion at New Chitose Airport’s train station and on express trains.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Apr 13, 2026
Amid travel boom, Hokkaido struggles to improve airport rail link
Express trains arriving at and departing from New Chitose Airport are congested, creating concern.
Storage tanks are seen at an oil refinery with Mount Fuji in the background in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 9, 2026
Regional cooperation on oil stocks and supplies could offer Japan more stability
Agreements with Asian countries on communal stockpiling and reciprocal supply arrangements may help ease future disruptions to supply and price stability.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during the Upper House budget committee meeting at parliament in Tokyo on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 7, 2026
Japan’s fiscal 2026 budget passes Upper House
The ¥122.3 trillion budget is the largest ever, reflecting Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s goal of an expansionary fiscal policy.
A tanker loads crude oil at a national storage base in Fukuoka Prefecture on March 27. Official efforts to curb consumption in Japan could be needed by the summer if oil imports coming from the Strait of Hormuz have not resumed.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Apr 5, 2026
Gasoline, diapers and drinks: Japan faces wide-ranging impact amid concern over oil
The government has assured the public that the supply of crude oil is sufficient for now, but efforts to curb consumption could be needed if the situation doesn’t improve.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a session of the Lower House Budget Committee in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 30, 2026
Japan’s parliament passes emergency ¥8.56 trillion stopgap budget
Lawmakers across party lines were forced to resort to the temporary measure for the first time in 11 years.
The Finance Ministry projected in December that revenue from tobacco tax increases would total ¥44 billion for the 2026 fiscal year and ¥116 billion in 2027.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 26, 2026
Tobacco and corporate tax hikes to help finance defense expansion
The new taxes are being introduced as the government is looking to secure over ¥9 trillion in defense spending for the 2026 fiscal year, reaching 2% of GDP.
A warning sign is displayed in Shirakawa-go, Gifu Prefecture, last November.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 24, 2026
Spring reawakens concerns over bear encounters in Japan
Experts say that a good harvest of bear staple foods such as acorns and nuts could determine whether the number of reported bear sightings ultimately rise or fall.
Concerns are mounting in the Cape Erimo area of Hokkaido, where Kuril harbor seals have been damaging fishing nets and eating catches.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Mar 16, 2026
Ministry turns to acoustic devices to stop seals from stealing fish in Hokkaido
Authorities hope the measure will protect the local fishing industry and address, in a responsible way, the problem of seals stealing salmon and mackerel from fishing nets.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets with the Liberal Democratic Party’s executives in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 12, 2026
Are disbanded LDP factions staging a comeback?
Former members of the disbanded factions have been meeting informally since the party’s landslide victory in the Feb. 8 Lower House election.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi discusses tax reduction at a national council in Tokyo on Feb. 26.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 10, 2026
CRA might join national council on consumption tax cut after all
Like the Democratic Party for the People, the party fears the political cost of not taking part in talks over the proposed consumption tax cut for food items.
LDP’s security chief Yasukazu Hamada (left) and JIP counterpart Seiji Maehara speak to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 6, 2026
LDP-JIP coalition submits proposal to revise rules on defense equipment exports
The ruling parties’ joint security committee seeks to relax export rules for defense equipment, which would be a major policy shift for Japan.
Japan's drilling-equipped research vessel, Chikyu, departs from Shimizu port, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Jan. 12 to conduct a test recovery of rare earth-rich mud near Minamitori Island.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Feb 27, 2026
What is Japan’s potential for domestic rare earth mining?
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government aims to eventually mine and industrialize rare earths at home, but the timing, investment costs and viability of the project are unknown.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Thursday. While Takaichi wants to use a nonpartisan panel to achieve consensus across party lines on how to pause consumption tax on groceries for two years, opposition parties are concerned about the political fallout of being seen as agreeing too much, or not enough, with her effort.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 26, 2026
Consumption tax panel kicks off without two opposition parties
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had hoped to use the panel to achieve consensus across parties on how to lift the tax for two years.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi looks toward Centrist Reform Alliance leader Junya Ogawa during a parliamentary session in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2026
Despite Lower House dominance, Takaichi puts emphasis on cooperation
The prime minister urged opposition parties to work with her coalition to get the fiscal 2026 budget passed before the end of March, when the current fiscal year concludes.
Junya Ogawa, who heads the Centrist Reform Alliance, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 19, 2026
CRA not a brake for LDP-JIP, but ‘an entirely separate vehicle’
Newly elected chief Junya Ogawa continues to tout the main opposition party as an alternative to the ruling coalition despite its recent setback at the ballot box.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a news conference at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on Feb. 9
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 17, 2026
As parliament reconvenes, Takaichi faces a balancing act
The upcoming budget debate is a test of whether the prime minister can balance her promise to work with the opposition with the need to move quickly to get it approved.
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.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
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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