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August 12, 2026
 

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Gearoid Reidy
Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia, mingles with members of the media while he was out visiting a local restaurant in Tokyo on July 15.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2026
At Jensen Huang¡¯s favorite Japan pub, it¡¯s not last call yet
Huang¡¯s fans have flocked to Yakiton Sankichi, which is now apologizing to customers for slow service due to an explosion in popularity.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Tokyo on May 12.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 5, 2026
How safe is the yen under the U.S. umbrella?
Having Washington on board brings important potential benefits ¡ª and no small amount of danger.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda addresses a news conference at the BOJ's headquarters in Tokyo on Friday. AFP-JIJI
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 4, 2026
The trans-Pacific yen team has a weak link in Ueda
The bank¡¯s statement on stabilizing underlying CPI inflation was seen as a hawkish shift, but its vague language did not provide the clear message that markets were looking for.
Chiikawa products are displayed at a store in Harajuku, Tokyo, last August.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 4, 2026
In Japan, Odysseus is scared of tiny, cute Chiikawa
Chiikawa is a phenomenon in Japan, with its character appearing on various products, and partnering with the brand is an instant way to increase revenue
Prime minister Sanae Takaichi addresses a budget committee session in the Lower House of parliament in Tokyo on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 31, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ ¡®Iron Lady¡¯ may need to bend, not break
Most Japanese prime ministers go through this pattern of early inflated expectations, followed by a crash as fatigue sets in, along with the realities of passing legislation.
A traditional Shinto wedding takes place at the Meiji shrine in Tokyo. Â鶹´«Ã½ wedding gift custom has stayed fixed at outdated prices even as inflation sharply raises the real cost of such ceremonies.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 26, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ wedding gifts are leaving couples deflated
Wedding cash gifts in Japan remain fixed at ?30,000 even as inflation drives ceremony costs higher, leaving newlyweds to shoulder the extra burden.
The yen trades in the ?162 range against the dollar in the afternoon of the June 30.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 21, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ next economic challenge: bringing yen home
Now, with the yen seen as problematically weak, there are overdue reasons to encourage local capital to stay here.
Argentina¡¯s Cristian Romero scores his team's first goal against Egypt in their 2026 World Cup Round of 16 match in Atlanta on July 7.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2026
These World Cup tweets show how AI will unite us all
Thanks to the automated, LLM-generated translations and algorithmic boosts of social media, I can read comments in my native language.
Japan should shift more pension fund investment back home because stronger domestic returns now make it a better way to support the yen and the economy compared to interest rate hikes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 12, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ yen fix starts with its pension cash coming home
It¡¯s the smartest move to play for the yen. For over two years, we have been hearing how the BOJ must raise rates and close the gap with the U.S. to strengthen the currency.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends an Upper House budget committee session at the Parliament in Tokyo on April 7.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 10, 2026
Takaichi wants to make Japan Inc. great again
The plan is the inaugural post-deflation outline for expansion and the first comprehensive industrial policy in decades, focusing on 17 areas with 62 priority products.
Gaming enthusiasts check out the Sony PlayStation booth during the Tokyo Game Show at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture in September.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2026
Sony hits eject on the era of owning games
Fans are losing one of their last bits of leverage over an industry that is going places many don¡¯t like and there are clear downsides from Sony¡¯s move.
Â鶹´«Ã½ head coach, Hajime Moriyasu, directs his players from the touchline during the 2026 World Cup round of 32 match between Brazil and Japan in Houston on Monday. Brazil won 2-1.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 2, 2026
Soccer¡¯s Asian century is still just a distant dream
Asian teams¡¯ underwhelming World Cup showings have raised questions about the region¡¯s potential, driven by a nascent soccer culture compared to Europe¡¯s more competitive systems.
Â鶹´«Ã½ global soft power through anime and video games has grown in recent years in part because it largely remains more attuned to fans than investors.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 17, 2026
Don¡¯t let Wall Street crush Â鶹´«Ã½ soft power
Gamers fear that big money, foreign or otherwise, is going to ruin what might be one of the least-touched bastions of nerd entertainment.
Ground Self-Defense Force troops lower the Japanese flag at the end of the day at their camp on Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, in April 2022.?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 15, 2026
Who¡¯s afraid of ¡®Japanese neo-militarism¡¯? Nobody
More countries see a stronger Japan not as a danger, but a counterweight to China¡¯s actions and growing U.S. untrustworthiness.
Samsung Electronics workers chant slogans during a rally ahead of a planned strike outside the company's semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on April 23.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 5, 2026
Do Â鶹´«Ã½ chip workers need a Samsung-style strike?
Even as Tokyo firms prepare to award customary summer bonuses, there will be nothing on the scale that South Korean companies are offering.
Tokyo¡¯s push for cooler office attire has sparked backlash in Japan, where conservative workplace norms still shape office culture and critics say shorts and sandals do not belong in the workplace.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 1, 2026
Tokyo wants you to wear shorts to work. Say no.
While the image of the suit-and-tie salaryman endures, in recent years summer office fashions have become much more casual.
Toshifumi Suzuki, then an honorary adviser of Seven & I Holdings, attends the 50th anniversary ceremony of 7-Eleven Japan in Tokyo in April 2023.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 26, 2026
The father of Â鶹´«Ã½ konbini was right to ignore his critics
Since his departure, Seven & I has looked strategically unsettled, ensnared with activist investors and takeover bids.
Despite record Switch 2 sales and blockbuster movie success, Nintendo's shares have plunged as investors worry about rising costs and the company's lack of announced hit games for the crucial holiday season.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 24, 2026
Nintendo gamers love surprises. Investors don¡¯t.
The stock selloff is not entirely irrational: Investors can¡¯t value what they don¡¯t know and Nintendo¡¯s plans for this year are a mystery.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is frustrating Â鶹´«Ã½ traditional media establishment by limiting press access and communicating directly through social media, highlighting how technology is weakening the influence of legacy news institutions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 22, 2026
Takaichi¡¯s press snub sweeps away another tradition
Back home, the press is getting restless at its lack of access to the premier. Takaichi has spoken with the media on fewer occasions than any leader in the past 15 years.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi rings the bell during a ceremony marking the end of trading in 2025 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Dec. 30.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 22, 2026
There¡¯s no Truss moment for Takaichi this time, either
A lettuce famously outlasted Liz Truss¡¯s 49-day premiership. Japan has outlasted its doomsayers for 30 years.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
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.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
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.
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.
Strong wind and heavy rain forecast as tropical storm approaches Japan
Tropical Storm Chan-hom is expected to make landfall in northern Kanto between late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
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.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
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.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
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.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
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.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
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

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