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Tokyo Weather 29¡æ
TOKYO
August 12, 2026
The Independent Voice in Asia
August 12, 2026
Kumamoto earthquake
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Takaichi
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to members of the media at the White House in Washington on July 30.
BUSINESS
U.S. Treasury chief¡¯s ¡®whatever it takes¡¯ vow to help yen masks limited firepower
By Daniel Flatley and Anya Andrianova
Â鶹´«Ã½ currency slid as much as 1% Monday to past ?159 per dollar, wiping out half the rally triggered by the July 31 U.S.-Japan intervention.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to members of the media at the White House in Washington on July 30.
Aeon Mall Kumamoto in the town of Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture damaged by an explosion after a massive earthquake that occurred on July 28
JAPAN
Aeon allowed workers to return to Kumamoto mall before blast
The building was evacuated after the quake but some workers had asked to return to their shops to secure the cash registers or collect personal items such as car keys.
The H3 Rocket No. 9 lifts off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Japan successfully launches H3 rocket with Michibiki satellite
The No. 9 rocket was the first H3 unit carrying a practical-use satellite since a launch failure last December.
Several recent cases have renewed scrutiny of allegations that some lawmakers in the Diet received government money to be used for secretarial staff ¡ª despite little or no evidence that anyone performed their duties.
JAPAN / Politics
Concerns persist over salaries of lawmaker secretaries in Japan
Recent cases have highlighted allegations that some lawmakers improperly received government funds for secretaries despite little evidence that they actually did their jobs.
A diner eats by the light of their phone during an air defense drill where most of the shops went dark for 30 minutes at the LaLaport mall in Taichung, Taiwan, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Taiwan gingerly tests how it would cope if China choked its internet
By Chris Buckley and Amy Chang Chien
The democratically run island is testing, for the first time on a mass scale, how it might cope if a Chinese attack disrupted its communications.
A diner eats by the light of their phone during an air defense drill where most of the shops went dark for 30 minutes at the LaLaport mall in Taichung, Taiwan, on Monday.

JAPAN

Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Tokyo Electric Power Company reported roughly 640 power outages in Ibaraki Prefecture as of 6:00 p.m. Tuesday.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a news conference in the city of Nagasaki on Sunday.
Takaichi to forgo foreign trips this summer following Kumamoto quake
Takaichi will stay at home to prioritize the response to a powerful earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture last month.
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
Japan mulls use of domestic AI in SDF command system
Fireworks event in Shiga abruptly canceled
Japan shares data on foreign nationals facing deportation with local governments

BUSINESS

The yen saw the worst performance among Group-of-10 peers on Monday as it weakened to the ?159 level against the dollar.
Yen erases half of intervention gains as traders test Japan and U.S. authorities
By Anya Andrianova and John Cheng
The Japanese currency weakened by 1%, ending the session at ?159.29 per dollar, marking the worst performance among Group-of-10 peers on Monday.
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani attends the 51st Gems and Jewellery Awards in Jaipur, India, on Nov. 30, 2024.
Gautam Adani wins dismissal of U.S. securities fraud charges
The U.S. alleged Adani was part of a scheme to pay more than $250 million in bribes to lock in solar energy contracts ¡ª allegations Adani consistently denied.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
By Paul Sonne, Alina Lobzina and Oleg Matsnev
Kioxia says investment vehicle for SK Hynix is top shareholder
By Mayumi Negishi
Intel is said to near share sale upsize to raise $20 billion
How the hard reality of climate change hit Europe¡¯s economy this summer
By Balazs Koranyi

WORLD

Rescuers look for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building in Pereira, Colombia, following a massive earthquake in the area on Monday morning.
Colombia quake death toll climbs as civilians aid in rescue
By Katherine Pennacchio
Colombia¡¯s new president faces his first major crisis after an earthquake killed 132, damaged over 5,000 homes and overwhelmed emergency crews.
The headquarters for the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva, Fiji, on Friday
China missile test deepens Pacific divide over growing militarization
By Lucy Craymer
Pacific Islands ?foreign ministers have been unable to agree on a collective statement condemning Beijing¡¯s missile test, despite individual leaders expressing alarm.
Trump cites unproven autism risk in attack on childhood vaccines
Indonesia races to contain fires as haze spreads
Farage vs. Count Binface: What to know about U.K. snap poll
Five years after return, Afghan Taliban government builds diplomacy
By Rosie SCAMMELL

Sports

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) reacts at the end of the fifth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Dodger Stadium on Monday.
Tarik Skubal remains winless since trade, but Dodgers edge Royals
Skubal has yet to earn a win in two starts since he was acquired by LA after winning the past two American League Cy Young Awards ?for the Detroit Tigers.
Japan end of June government debt hits record ?1.3 trillion
Trump defends Infantino as UEFA-led schism with FIFA deepens
By Derek Wallbank
No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdraws from Cincinnati Open with knee injury
Slumping Dodgers refuse to press panic button

Opinion

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.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Midori Inagaki
The main question is how Japanese language ability will be assessed. Japan must avoid turning the Japanese Language Proficiency Test into a de facto national filter.
Colombia¡¯s new right-wing government faces an uphill battle
By Jose Antonio Ocampo
Saudi Arabia can break the Houthis¡¯ grip on the Red Sea
By James Stavridis
At Jensen Huang¡¯s favorite Japan pub, it¡¯s not last call yet
By Gearoid Reidy
How disinformation on X imperils Â鶹´«Ã½ democracy
By Stephen R. Nagy

ENVIRONMENT

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.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
By Tomoko Otake
Increasing tree coverage in Japanese cities could have myriad benefits as the planet warms. But canopy coverage in Tokyo and beyond is headed in the wrong direction.
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

Summer Sonic stalwarts Babymetal curated an eclectic lineup to celebrate the summer music festival's 25th anniversary.
Too much music, not enough weekend: A guide to Summer Sonic 2026
By Patrick St. Michel
From metal to 1990s dance nostalgia, this year¡¯s event packs an absurd amount of music into one long weekend.
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
¡®The Man Who Carries the Voice of August¡¯ explores the fragile legacy of the hibakusha
By Sebastien Raineri

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.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
By Yumi Wijers-Hasegawa
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

Editors' Picks

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.
SOCCER
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
By Sean Carroll
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

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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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

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
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.
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.