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Tokyo Weather 29¡æ
TOKYO
August 12, 2026
The Independent Voice in Asia
August 12, 2026
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Takaichi
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The yen traded in the ?155-to-the-dollar range on Aug. 3 after coordinated intervention by Japan and the United States.
BUSINESS / Markets
Intervention and higher rates might not be enough to stop yen from weakening
By Kazuaki Nagata
Fiscal questions are hanging over the market, especially after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi committed to cutting the consumption tax on groceries.

More coverage

Bessent-Takaichi split on BOJ risks undermining joint yen rescue
New ¡®Katsu Curry Index¡¯ aims to show how weak the yen really is
The yen traded in the ?155-to-the-dollar range on Aug. 3 after coordinated intervention by Japan and the United States.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has had a relatively successful run in the post, but with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi considering a Cabinet shake-up, his future remains uncertain.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Koizumi exceeded expectations as defense minister. Will he stay on?
By Michael MacArthur Bosack
The defense minister has enjoyed a relatively successful outing, maintaining public visibility, avoiding gaffes and representing Japan in security engagements globally.
News coverage showing file footage of a North Korean missile launch is seen on a screen at the main rail station in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
North Korea fires off second missile in less than a week
By Jesse Johnson
The missile was believed to have fallen outside Â鶹´«Ã½ exclusive economic zone, the Defense Ministry in Tokyo said.
A soldier keeps watch as rescue efforts continue at the site of a damaged building following an earthquake, in Cali, Colombia, on Tuesday.
WORLD
¡®Waiting for any sign of life¡¯: Colombia reels after earthquake
By Matthew Bristow
Rescuers are scouring mountains of rubble in search of survivors following Monday¡¯s magnitude 7.4 quake.
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
JAPAN / History / FOCUS
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
By Mai Yoshikawa
Technical wreck diver Kingo Wakasa, 56, is going against all odds to document the rusted hull of the USS Emmons destroyer on the seabed off northern Okinawa.
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.

JAPAN

Yasukuni Shrine in April
Ban on military-style clothing does not apply to active-duty members, Yasukuni clarifies
By Kenji Yoshida
The shrine said that it has seen an increase in visitors wearing military attire without any affiliation or qualification.
Mexican alligator lizards seized by Tokyo Customs from a Mexican man who attempted to smuggle them into Japan on Saturday through Haneda Airport
Mexican man arrested over attempt to smuggle some 200 lizards into Japan
The 23-year-old Mexican national has admitted to the allegations, which involved some 200 lizards hidden in dozens of socks inside a suitcase.
Takaichi unlikely to visit Yasukuni Shrine on war anniversary
Kumamoto¡¯s tourism industry hit hard by quake
JAL plane crash victims mourned 41 years after accident
Chiba woman arrested over 89-year-old mother¡¯s 2024 killing

BUSINESS

A South Korean job seeker checks his appearance using a smartphone as another reviews his notes before an interview at a job fair in Seoul on July 12.
World youth unemployment rate rose last year, U.N. agency says
Some of the steepest increases were seen in high-income countries as artificial intelligence begins to change the jobs market.
Aviation fuel surcharges are calculated based on the averages of aviation fuel market prices and of foreign exchange rates over the previous two months.
ANA cuts North America and Europe route surcharges to ?55,000
The move comes as aviation fuel prices have fallen after rising sharply amid turmoil in the Middle East.
Nvidia¡¯s show of financial force soothes credit markets
By Caleb Mutua
Rakuten¡¯s shares plunge after mobile losses fuel investor fears
What is Unitree and why are China¡¯s humanoid robot makers racing to list?
By Eduardo Baptista
Hiroshi Okuda, Toyota chair who pushed for the Prius, dies at 93

WORLD

An Iranian woman holds a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei as Shia Muslim devotees take part in a mourning procession marking Arbaeen in Tehran on Aug. 4.
Iranian factions squabble over war aims as supreme leader maintains low profile
By Golnar Motevalli and Patrick Sykes
The absence from public life of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has left a vacuum in which disputes between political factions have seeped into the open.
A Taiwanese soldier participates in a drill during the annual Han Kuang military exercises in Yilan, Taiwan, on Monday.
Taiwan condemns ¡®dangerous¡¯ planned Chinese navy drill with Indonesia
By Ben Blanchard
Taipei says Beijing was trying to create a false impression that it controls waters east of Taiwan, where the drills were conducted.
Zhu Rongji, Chinese premier who cajoled economy into modern era, dies at 97
Parkour helps Singapore¡¯s elderly boost agility, strength
Myanmar ramps up civilian attacks with airborne weapons, U.N. says
By Philip J. Heijmans
Johannesburg¡¯s water crisis angers voters while driving rich off-grid
By Tim Cocks

Sports

The future Fujinokawa (third from left) and Ikarigata (right) compete against each other at ages 5 and 3, respectively.
Ikarigata closer to emulating older brother Fujinokawa than many think
By John Gunning
While many expect Ikarigata to reach juryo in the near future, there¡¯s less confidence in his ability to match his older brother¡¯s achievements, which could be a mistake.
Warriors planning for star guard Stephen Curry to finish career with team
Naomi Osaka falls against Elena Rybakina in Toronto
LeBron to make Sixers debut against defending champion Knicks on opening night
White Sox celebrate ¡®Pope Night¡¯ with holy hat giveaway

Opinion

A U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet prepares to launch from the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury¡¯s attack on Iran from an undisclosed location on March 14.
Are we on the verge of World War III?
Brad Glosserman
Still, historians are quick to see parallels to the situation before 1914.
Western allies are about to fail Ukraine, again
By Marc Champion
Why Takaichi can¡¯t be the next Shinzo Abe
By Yuichi Hosoya
Colombia¡¯s new right-wing government faces an uphill battle
By Jose Antonio Ocampo
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
By Midori Inagaki

ENVIRONMENT

A combine harvests wheat in a field in the Rostov Region, Russia, on July 18.
Inventories and farming method gains bolster food system against ¡®super¡¯ El Nino
Still, wars in the Middle East and the Black Sea region that impact fertilizer availability temper optimism, experts have warned.
Italy¡¯s record-low Po River forces farmers to weigh crop switch
By Alberto Brambilla
Scientists turn to sharks to improve hurricane predictions
By Marta Serafinko
British Columbia declares state of emergency as more than 20,000 flee wildfires
As the Danube hits record lows, every centimeter of river counts

CULTURE

Tadao Tsuge, one of the leading figures of the "gekiga" manga movement, often depicts postwar harsh realities in his works.
How war shaped the manga of Tadao Tsuge
By Marta Fanasca
The ¡°gekiga¡± pioneer drew on memories of war, hunger and poverty to chronicle Â鶹´«Ã½ overlooked lives.
Too much music, not enough weekend: A guide to Summer Sonic 2026
By Patrick St. Michel
A Yukio Mishima stage adaptation pulls genre-bending strings
By Kris Kosaka
¡®Till We Meet Again on the Starry Hill¡¯: Time-travel kamikaze romance gets a pointless sequel
By James Hadfield
¡®Ghost of Ueno¡¯: A human drama about the invisible among us
By Mark Schilling

LIFE

At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
By Gabrielle Doman
It might sound like pseudoscience, but there could be more to the idea of brewing with music than meets the ear.
?6,000 for shaved ice: Is luxury ¡®kakig¨­ri¡¯ worth it?
By Weiwen Lin
Locked up in luxury at the new Hoshinoya Nara Prison hotel
By Owen Ziegler
How Â鶹´«Ã½ racehorses find second careers away from the track
By Rachel Teo
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
By Yuko Tamura

COMMUNITY

Volunteer Vicky Parthasarathy (right) believes that people from various cultures can understand each other better through food.
This children¡¯s cafeteria in Shikoku serves up free meals and global perspectives
By Jacob Meyer
As immigration becomes an increasingly contentious issue in Japan, a children¡¯s cafeteria in Shikoku is bridging cultural gaps, one hot meal at a time.
This pup has a new take on life
How foreign workers became an essential part of Â鶹´«Ã½ ubiquitous konbini
By Yumi Wijers-Hasegawa
The 180-day locals: Life on Â鶹´«Ã½ digital nomad visa
By Mai Yoshikawa
A friendly ¡®peaches-and-cream¡¯ fellow

Editors' Picks

COMMUNITY
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
By Yumi Wijers-Hasegawa
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
COMMUNITY
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
By Jessica Speed
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
ENVIRONMENT
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
By Tomoko Otake
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
LIFE
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
By Gabrielle Doman
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
JAPAN
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
By Jessica Speed
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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WHAT¡¯S TRENDING

COMMUNITY
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
By Jessica Speed
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
JAPAN
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
By Kenji Yoshida
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
JAPAN
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
JAPAN
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
JAPAN
Strong wind and heavy rain forecast as tropical storm approaches Japan
By Kanako Takahara
Tropical Storm Chan-hom is expected to make landfall in northern Kanto between late Tuesday and early Wednesday.