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TOKYO
May 31, 2026
The Independent Voice in Asia
May 31, 2026
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U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
JAPAN
Hegseth says U.S. has ¡¯high expectations¡¯ for Japan on defense spending
By Gabriel Dominguez and Jesse Johnson
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has delivered a veiled warning to Tokyo, saying that while Japan was "headed in the right direction," more must be done.

More coverage

U.S. and Japan defense chiefs agree to accelerate missile coproduction
Mogami frigate talks anchor first Japan, Australia, N.Z. trilateral defense chiefs¡¯ meeting
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
Passersby walk past a screen displaying the Nikkei share average and current yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar outside a brokerage in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Japan used record $73.6 billion to support yen over past month
Finance Ministry data for the month from April 28 to Wednesday showed a total intervention of ?11.73 trillion ($73.6 billion) over a period marked by several spikes in the yen.
Investigators with the Tochigi Prefectural Police load cardboard boxes believed to contain seized items into a vehicle after completing a search of the Yokohama apartment of two suspects in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture, on May 21.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Fifth high school boy arrested in Tochigi robbery-murder case
The 18-year-old student allegedly used a communication app to introduce the boy, 16, to another, despite knowing he would be used to help carry out the crime.
Toyota plans to scrap development of a mass-production model of the LF-ZC electric sedan under its Lexus luxury car brand.
BUSINESS / Companies
Toyota to pull plug on next-gen EV development
The automaker said that it will allocate its management resources to the development of SUVs, which are in strong demand.
A satellite image shows military activity underway at an octagon-shaped installation, with large tents and a range of military vehicles, in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on April 30.
ASIA PACIFIC
China is building launchpads near its nuclear missile silos
By Greg Torode, Laurie Chen and Vijdan Mohammad Kawoosa
The scale of the construction points to a sweeping expansion of hardened infrastructure ?designed to protect and operate China's land-based nuclear forces.
A satellite image shows military activity underway at an octagon-shaped installation, with large tents and a range of military vehicles, in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on April 30.

JAPAN

Internal affairs minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a meeting on cybersecurity in Tokyo on May 21.
Japan to set special aid category for community-based startups
The internal affairs ministry aims to promote what is known as AI transformation, in which companies reform themselves by placing AI at the center.
Kazuhiko Shigetoku, Lower House parliamentary affairs chief of the Centrist Reform Alliance (center left), and Yoshitaka Saito, Upper House parliamentary affairs chief of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (center right), meet in parliament on Thursday.
LDP and CRA agree on debate schedule for fiscal 2026 supplementary budget
The budget committees of both the upper and lower houses will each spend one day deliberating the extra budget for the fiscal year that started in April.
New Zealand to decide on Japan¡¯s frigates by end of 2027, defense chief says
By Gabriel Dominguez
Japan voices concern over rice imports in white paper
Japan passes bill to raise co-payments for prescription drugs similar to OTC counterparts
By Tomoko Otake
Japan¡¯s 2025 census reflects steepest fall in population on record, data shows
By Yukana Inoue

BUSINESS

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer talks with Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard as they leave National Palace amid talks to review the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact, in Mexico City last month.
Trump administration wants to raise North American auto content to 82%, with half from U.S.
The proposed new thresholds were revealed to automakers during two days of bilateral talks to revise the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade that concluded on ?Friday.
Damage at the site of a launchpad after an uncrewed Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded during a test at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Friday.
Space rally gets reality check with Blue Origin blowup
By Arvelisse Bonilla Ramos
The Jeff Bezos-backed firm's New Glenn rocket blew up Thursday evening while undergoing a test on a Florida launchpad.
Few Japan firms take steps toward economic security, government paper finds
Prices for over 1,000 food items in Japan set to rise in June
BOJ will probably raise rates in June, former board member says
By Toru Fujioka and Sumio Ito
Japanese banks see hybrid bond boom to fund regulatory capital
By Atsuko Fukase

WORLD

Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing stands outside a polling station during the second phase of a general election in Yangon, Myanmar, Jan. 11
Myanmar¡¯s junta chief turned president heads to India, with an eye on China
The five-day trip underscores the gradual return of regional re-engagement for Myanmar, five years after being shunned by many of its neighbors.
People wave Iranian flags during a rally in Tehran on Friday.
Iran¡¯s strongest card in nuclear talks: its highly enriched uranium
By Francois Murphy
Iran and the United States are in discussions to extend their ceasefire so as to start negotiations on issues including Tehran's nuclear program.
China is building launchpads near its nuclear missile silos
By Greg Torode, Laurie Chen and Vijdan Mohammad Kawoosa
U.S. judge freezes Trump ¡¯slush fund¡¯ for allies
Russian Oreshnik missile fired in January was nine years old, Ukrainian experts say
By Max Hunder
Trump insists on red lines as Iran deal remains elusive

Sports

Wakatakakage receives the Emperor's Cup from Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku on Sunday at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
Rare komusubi title win bodes well for Wakatakakage¡¯s future
By John Gunning
Wakatakakage is just the 11th man since 1931 to claim sumo's most important prize while ranked at komusubi.
Paris Saint-Germain edges Arsenal for second consecutive Champions League title
Victor Wembanyama steps up as Spurs dominate Thunder to force Game 7
MLB owners push for salary cap in negotiations with MLB Players¡¯ Association
Four-time Stanley Cup champion Claude Lemieux dies at 60

Opinion

Protesters opposed to revising Japan¡¯s ¡°peace¡± Constitution take part in a rally in Tokyo on May 3.
Goyo gakusha: Welcome to Japan¡¯s new cancel culture
Waka Ikeda
Guilt by affiliation is not scholarship. It is the abandonment of scholarship.
Long overdue, Japan updates its intelligence infrastructure
Indo-Pacific deterrence rests on allied industrial coordination
By Brad Glosserman
Japan¡¯s an AI laggard. That could be its edge.
By Catherine Thorbecke
China will fight back if digital dollars corner global savings
By Andy Mukherjee

ENVIRONMENT

As France endures a record-breaking early season heat wave, scientists warn that many of Europe's forests are already bearing the scars of years of rising temperatures and intense drought.
Trees taking drastic measures to survive climate-driven heat
By Sofia BOUDERBALA
Countless trees across Europe's forests are adopting drastic ¡ª and often fatal ¡ª strategies to survive worsening heat and drought linked to climate change.
New gold rush threatens indigenous havens in Brazil¡¯s Amazon
By Fran BLANDY
Climate change fueling growth of antibiotic-resistant salmonella
By Karoline Kan
Record temps as spring heat wave bakes Europe
As bee population collapses, U.S. apiarists fear research cuts
By Paul BLAKE

CULTURE

At music festival Zipangu¡¯s inaugural edition, headliner Ado performed original songs as well as classic J-pop hits such as Miki Matsubara¡¯s 1979 track ¡°Mayonaka no Door: Stay With Me.¡±
Music festival Zipangu offers a glimpse of J-pop¡¯s future beyond anime
By Patrick St. Michel
Ado, Chanmina, Atarashii Gakko!, Yuki Chiba and more turned a Pasadena golf course into a showcase for the breadth of Japanese music and its growing appeal abroad.
Sakanaction¡¯s overseas breakthrough came from a viral dance meme
By Patrick St. Michel
Crime and comic antics abound in ¡®Tokyo Burst: The Roundup¡¯
By Mark Schilling
Girl group Hana channels positivity into every performance
By Patrick St. Michel
¡®Nameless¡¯: Cursed killer goes wild in uneven thriller
By Mark Schilling

LIFE

Other Japanese role-playing game series may be more popular overseas, but in Japan, Dragon Quest still reigns supreme ¡ª even 40 years after the first game in the franchise hit shelves.
On Dragon Quest¡¯s 40th anniversary, ¡®it¡¯s impossible to ignore its influence¡¯
By Gendel Gento
The famous JRPG franchise that developers around the world say set the standard for the genre turns 40 on May 27.
¡¯Geek¡¯ hangout to tourist draw: Japan¡¯s maid cafes
By Mathias Cena and Caroline Gardin
Barbaric tastes: The pickled Portuguese dish that won over Japan
By Elizabeth Andoh
What I ate at SoNoMa, Kyoto¡¯s newest fine-dining restaurant
By Kyoko Nakayama
At Kawasaki¡¯s ¡®penis festival,¡¯ phalluses are vessels of compassion
By Elizabeth Beattie

COMMUNITY

Tokyo native Noemi Minami founded Koen Book Club in 2021 with two friends. The club continues to meet monthly in public parks across Tokyo, weather permitting.
Anglophone bookworms unite across Japan
By Mike Fu
Book clubs, book swaps and other reading events are providing a space for wholesome offline socializing in Tokyo and beyond.
Sturdy Tanpopo is a ¡®dandy lioness¡¯
Exuberant eater Minori will bless your home
Fujisawa flashpoint: A mosque project stokes nativist fears
By Simon Scott and Ben Stubbings
Italian creatives find their niche in Japan
By Agnese Dionisio

Editors' Picks

JAPAN
Japan enacts bill to drastically raise visa-related fees
By Himari Semans
Haneda Airport in April 2025. An immigration bill enacted Friday includes plans to introduce an electronic travel authorization system by March 2029.
JAPAN
Meet the Japanese mayor seeking to normalize maternity leave in public office
By Mai Yoshikawa
Yawata Mayor Shoko Kawata recently announced that she will take maternity leave, making her the first sitting mayor in Japan to do so.
BUSINESS
Labor shortage fuels ramp-up of humanoid robot development
By Elizabeth Beattie
A humanoid robot is displayed at the Humanoids Summit in Tokyo on Thursday.
CULTURE
Kore-eda¡¯s sci-fi film ¡®Sheep in the Box¡¯ fuzzy at edges
By James Hadfield
Bereaved parents Kensuke (the mononymous Daigo, right) and Otone (Haruka Ayase, left) have their late son resurrected as a humanoid robot in Hirokazu Kore-eda¡¯s ¡°Sheep in the Box.¡±
JAPAN
Built for speed: Inside Japan¡¯s child protection system
By Mai Yoshikawa
The Children and Families Agency says language should not be a barrier to calling the 189 hotline.

Podcast

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

Longform

Community programs and tracking systems are expanding across Japan as local governments search for ways to prevent dementia-related disappearances.
He told his wife he was ¡®coming home.¡¯ Then he disappeared.
By Alex K.T. Martin

JT Directory Service

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COMFACTS

TSUNAN SAKE BREWERY Launches Multilingual Category Hub for ¡°Premium Table Rice Sake¡±
TSUNAN SAKE BREWERY Launches Multilingual Category Hub for ¡°Premium Table Rice Sake¡±
TSUNAN SAKE BREWERY

WHAT¡¯S TRENDING

JAPAN
Japan¡¯s 2025 census reflects steepest fall in population on record, data shows
By Yukana Inoue
Japan's population saw the largest decline on record in 2025, but Tokyo continued to mark a rise in the number of residents.
BUSINESS
Sony takes final bow as standalone TV maker with new Bravia sets
By Chris Welch
The newest Sony Bravia TVs are likely the brand's final high-end television sets before its TV and home theater business merges with TCL next year.
JAPAN
Japan enacts bill to drastically raise visa-related fees
By Himari Semans
Haneda Airport in April 2025. An immigration bill enacted Friday includes plans to introduce an electronic travel authorization system by March 2029.
JAPAN
Deeply entrenched gender roles a key factor in Japan¡¯s low birthrate
Hiroya Masuda (center), head of the Forum for the Future We Choose, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in March.
JAPAN
Japan national volleyball player arrested over suspected cannabis possession
Executives of the Japan Volleyball Association bow in apology during a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday following the arrest of Shunichiro Sato, a member of the national volleyball team, on suspicion of cannabis possession.