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Tokyo Weather 29¡æ
TOKYO
August 13, 2026
The Independent Voice in Asia
August 13, 2026
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Takaichi
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Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first visit Thursday to one of the disputed islands off Hokkaido. The group of islands known in Japan as the Northern Territories and claimed by Tokyo have been occupied by the former Soviet Union since the end of World War II.
JAPAN / Society
Putin visits disputed Etorofu island off Hokkaido, media reports
Etorofu is among a group of islands off the east coast of Hokkaido that are occupied by the former Soviet Union and are claimed by Japan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first visit Thursday to one of the disputed islands off Hokkaido. The group of islands known in Japan as the Northern Territories and claimed by Tokyo have been occupied by the former Soviet Union since the end of World War II.
South Korean Ambassador to Japan Lee Hyuk speaks to The Japan Times at the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo on August 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Closer ties with Japan an ¡®imperative of our time,¡¯ South Korea¡¯s envoy says
By Kenji Yoshida
Ambassador Lee Hyuk underlines the need for Seoul and Tokyo to boost ties in view of the commonalities they face in terms of the security situation.
The Kusasenri grasslands in the city of Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Tuesday
JAPAN / Society
Kumamoto¡¯s tourism industry hit hard by quake
The prefectural government estimates that the industry has suffered losses amounting to roughly ?6 billion.
Chinese President Xi Jinping might secure a precedent-defying fourth term during next autumn¡¯s CCP leadership congress.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Xi¡¯s secretive graft purges spawn underground market for leaks
The groups are flourishing a year before the leadership congress where Xi could secure a precedent-defying fourth term.
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

Satellite view of Minamitorishima, part of the Ogasawara Islands.
U.S. and Japan plan world¡¯s deepest undersea mine to challenge China
By Alastair Gale, Akemi Terukina and Yoshiaki Nohara
A tiny Japanese island sits astride deep-sea rare earth deposits ¡ª ones that could ¡°meet centuries¡¯ worth of industrial demand,¡± a U.S.-Japan statement said.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian for 20 minutes in phone call on Wednesday.
Takaichi opposes Hormuz fees in phone talks with Iran¡¯s president
The prime minister told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that it is important to ensure free and safe navigation without additional cost in the key waterway.
Hollywood hot dogs bound for Japan with new Pink¡¯s flagship store
By Elizabeth Beattie
Aeon considering compensation over fatal blast after Kumamoto quake
Tohoku firms step up efforts to train next generation of maintenance engineers
Canberra says no ill intent in prime minister¡¯s remark on Takaichi¡¯s gift

BUSINESS

An advance in Japan's producer price index in July was led by oil and coal products, chemical products and nonferrous metals.
Producer price gains maintain pressure on businesses as BOJ mulls rate path
By Yoshiaki Nohara
The measure of input prices rose 7.2% in July from a year earlier, slightly slower than the revised 7.3% in June, the Bank of Japan reported Thursday.
Hiroshi Okuda joined Toyota just as it began establishing itself as a manufacturing powerhouse in the post-World War II era and rose through the ranks to become president in 1995.
Hiroshi Okuda, Toyota chair who pushed for the Prius, dies at 93
Okuda was the first person to helm Toyota from outside the company¡¯s founding family in a generation.
Pork, chicken prices in Japan hit record highs in August
U.S. president sued over plan to sell faster access to his posts on Truth Social
Tokyo Kiraboshi to consolidate consulting and systems divisions
Nvidia¡¯s show of financial force soothes credit markets
By Caleb Mutua

WORLD

Chinese President Xi Jinping might secure a precedent-defying fourth term during next autumn¡¯s CCP leadership congress.
Xi¡¯s secretive graft purges spawn underground market for leaks
The groups are flourishing a year before the leadership congress where Xi could secure a precedent-defying fourth term.
Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks on each other¡¯s commercial ships and ports in the Black Sea.
Key Russian port halts grain exports after Ukrainian attack
Russia and Ukraine, which account for more than a quarter of global wheat exports, have stepped up attacks on Black Sea commercial ships and ports, raising concerns about supply.
One dead, more than 200 rescued after Indonesian ferry from Bali catches fire
Colombia enters ¡®final phase¡¯ of quake search as toll rises
Iran takes more robust military stance amid frozen U.S. talks
Credible missile threat led to secret aircraft switch for Trump, source says
By Steve Holland

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.
Hockey Canada upholds suspensions for four players acquitted of sexual assault charges
Paris St. Germain beats Aston Villa to retain UEFA Super Cup
Deshaun Watson to start at QB in Browns preseason opener
Triple-double king Russell Westbrook announces retirement

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

An ice block floats in the sea waters near a cemetery in Nuuk, Greenland, on Jan. 29.
¡®Imposing ignorance¡¯: U.S. climate science under siege
By Issam AHMED
President Donald Trump¡¯s latest move against science documenting the impacts of climate change is causing concern among experts.
Inventories and farming method gains bolster food system against ¡®super¡¯ El Nino
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

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.
Wagner Moura and Greta Lee fight for survival in new thriller ¡®The Last House¡¯
By Francesca Halliwell
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

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

SUMO
Ikarigata closer to emulating older brother Fujinokawa than many think
By John Gunning
The future Fujinokawa (third from left) and Ikarigata (right) compete against each other at ages 5 and 3, respectively.
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.

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

JT Directory Service

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COMFACTS

Japanese Microalgae Meets American Formulation Science at Chicago¡¯s IFT FIRST
Japanese Microalgae Meets American Formulation Science at Chicago¡¯s IFT FIRST
SPACE SEED HOLDINGS CO., LTD.

WHAT¡¯S TRENDING

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
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.
BUSINESS
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
By Paul Sonne, Alina Lobzina and Oleg Matsnev
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
JAPAN
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
COMMENTARY
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
By Midori Inagaki
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.