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March 08, 2025
 

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JAPAN

Defense Minister Gen Nakatani arrives at the Naval Station Ernesto Ogbinar, previously known as Wallace Air Station, in San Fernando City, La Union province, Philippines, on Feb. 23. Japan and the Philippines have entered into a reciprocal access agreement that is pending approval by the Lower House.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
LDP panels approve implementation bill for defense pacts
By Himari Semans
The bill will streamline laws associated with such agreements, for instance, when a member of a foreign military deployed to Japan commits a crime.
Members of the media look out across the bay at smoke rising from a mountain in the rain as firefighters continue to battle a wildfire near the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2025
Iwate wildfire enters second week as rain offers hope of relief
By Yukana Inoue
As of Wednesday morning, 4,111 people had been evacuated from Ofunato, or about 13% of the city’s entire population.
A stick-sized container containing an egg and a tank used to freeze eggs
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Mar 5, 2025
More women in Japan turn to egg freezing amid increase in financial support
Although the practice is emerging as a new option for women, experts are urging individuals to carefully weigh its benefits and drawbacks.
The health ministry issued a business improvement order to a medical clinic in Fukuoka, saying a range of stem cell treatments it offers violate the law on the safety of regenerative medicine.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 5, 2025
Fukuoka clinic issued business improvement order over stem cell treatments
By Tomoko Otake
The clinic offers various stem cell treatments without the prior submission of its plans to the authorities, the health ministry said.
Trash cans have been installed at Nara Park for the first time in about 40 years following a rise in littering alongside an increasing number of foreign tourists in recent years.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 5, 2025
Rise in tourists prompts Nara Park to install trash cans to protect deer
Increased littering in the park has created a health hazard for the protected animal.
Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested a former deputy manager at Hana Credit Union’s Yokohama branch on suspicion of stealing ¥619 million in cash from the branch's safe deposit boxes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 5, 2025
Hana Credit Union employee arrested on suspicion of safe deposit box theft
The suspect admitted to the allegations, telling police he used the stolen money to pay off debts and gamble.
Elbridge Colby appears at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee to be undersecretary of defense for policy at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
Trump Pentagon policy pick pushes Japan and Taiwan to boost defense spending
By Jesse Johnson
Tokyo should boost its defense budget to 3% of GDP "as soon as possible,” said Elbridge Colby, Trump's pick for the top policy job at the Pentagon.
Upper House lawmaker Shinji Morimoto speaks during a meeting of signatories to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons held at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2025
Japanese lawmaker addresses nuke ban treaty meeting for first time
"Nuclear weapons and humanity cannot coexist," Shinji Morimoto from the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan stressed at a panel discussion.
Billboard advertisements for host clubs in the Kabukicho area of Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2025
Tokyo police step up crackdown on sex worker scout group
The group is believed to have earned about ¥7 billion over five years by dispatching women to the sexual service businesses that offered the best pay.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato. Subject to the Moritomo document disclosure are paper documents of 17 pages or more, as well as electronic data, Kato told a parliamentary meeting.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
Government to release controversial Moritomo documents
The government will start disclosing documents related to a controversial state land sale to school operator Moritomo Gakuen in a month's time at the earliest.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito (center) during the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly's plenary session on Wednesday in Kobe
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2025
Efforts to identify whistleblower against Hyogo governor likely illegal, panel says
The report found the governor's rebukes of prefectural officials to be "largely true" and called on him to "fulfill his accountability."

ASIA PACIFIC

A Taiwan flag flutters in the wind as soldiers prepare to celebrate national day to mark the 113th birthday of the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name, in Taipei last October.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 5, 2025
Taiwan turns to companies in Ukraine for China contingency planning
By Yimou Lee
Taipei hopes to learn from Ukraine's first-hand experiences — how private companies helped build the resilience of its government and society during wartime.
Military delegates arrive for the opening session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
China says it will boost defense spending by 7.2% this year
By Jesse Johnson
The 1.78 trillion yuan ($246 billion) budget was revealed at the annual session of China’s National People’s Congress on Wednesday.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline along the Dalton Highway in Stevens Village, Alaska, on Sep. 19, 2024
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
Trump says Japan and South Korea want to partner in Alaska pipeline
Japan, South Korea and other countries want to partner with the United States in a "gigantic" natural gas pipeline in Alaska, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, claiming they would invest "trillions of dollars each."

WORLD

U.S. President Donald Trump is applauded by Vice President JD Vance (center) and House Speaker Mike Johnson, as Trump arrives to deliver his address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
In speech, Trump warns of tariff ‘disturbance’ as he touts trade plans
Data shows new strains on the economy as factory activity stagnates, inflation simmers, consumer confidence ebbs and stocks lag behind equity markets in other countries.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (second from left), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (right) and envoys meet in Riyadh on Feb. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
Putin agrees to help Trump broker nuclear talks with Iran
Discussions are in their initial stages and it’s not clear whether any talks between the U.S. and Iran would yield any progress.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during an emergency Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
Arab states adopt Egyptian alternative to Trump's 'Gaza Riviera'
By Andrew Mills, Yomna Ehab, Nafisa Eltahir and Nidal al-Mughrabi
While hurdles remain, Egypt's $53 billion reconstruction plan would avoid displacing Palestinians from the enclave.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks to reporters in Washington on Tuesday morning. Vance’s comments on the Anglo-French proposal to protect Ukraine have sparked criticism in Britain.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
JD Vance denies disrespecting U.K. and France over Ukraine peacekeeping force
By Andrew MacAskill and John Irish
Vance's comments caused politicians in both countries to say he was dishonoring troops killed fighting alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine plan to sign a minerals deal that fell through on Friday, sources said.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2025
U.S. and Ukraine now plan to sign minerals deal, sources say
By Erin Banco, Gram Slattery and Andrea Shalal
The deal from last week offered Kyiv no explicit security guarantees but gave the U.S. access to Ukraine's natural resources.

BUSINESS

Nippon Steel is trying to build its business globally with U.S. Steel as a key component.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Mar 5, 2025
U.S. Steel seen as key to Nippon Steel's global strategy
By Kazuaki Nagata
To meet its target of raising its annual crude steel production capacity to over 100 million metric tons, the firm needs to forge ahead into promising foreign markets.
Multibillionaire and Trump adviser Elon Musk speaks via video link to an election campaign rally for the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Halle, Germany, on Jan. 26.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2025
Musk rallies the far right in Europe. Tesla is paying the price.
By Andrew MacAskill, Andrew R.C. Marshall and Nick Carey
The multibillionaire's support for right-wing political parties could help boost his empire by cutting back regulations he thinks impede tech innovations.
Japan aims to more than triple domestic cybersecurity industry sales in the next decade, from the current ¥900 billion ($6 billion) to ¥3 trillion.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 5, 2025
Japan aims to triple domestic cybersecurity industry sales in next decade
By Francis Tang
Japan-made cybersecurity products currently occupy less than half of the nation's domestic market share.
A ship sails through the Panama Canal after Hong Kong's CK Hutchison agreed to sell its interests in a key Panama Canal port operator to a BlackRock-backed consortium on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2025
BlackRock to buy Hong Kong firm's Panama Canal port stake amid pressure
By Sabrina Valle, Suzanne McGee and Michael Martina
The $22.8 billion deal, coming amid pressure from the White House, will give the BlackRock-backed group control of ports along the strategic waterway and dozens of others.
An image of the next-generation E10 bullet train that is expected to be put into commercial service between Tokyo and the Tohoku region in fiscal 2030
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2025
JR East to develop E10 series shinkansen train
JR East aims to put the next-generation shinkansen series into commercial service in fiscal 2030, with each E10 train having 10 cars.
Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Shinichi Uchida
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2025
BOJ’s deputy chief hints at more rate hikes, without rushing
By Toru Fujioka
The remarks come as BOJ watchers look for hints that the next upward move could come earlier than the view that projects the move will come in the summer.
TikTok has complained to Australia’s government for excluding YouTube from a nationwide move to curb social media.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 5, 2025
TikTok blasts Australia for YouTube carve-out in social media ban
By Angus Whitley
The Chinese-owned short-form video platform described the move as a "sweetheart deal” that’s "illogical, anti-competitive and short sighted.”
A person takes a photo of the Google Cloud logo during the 2025 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on Tuesday. The administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden in November had called for Google to sell its Chrome web browser and make other changes to its business.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 5, 2025
Google urges DOJ to reverse course on breaking up company
By Josh Sisco and Davey Alba
Representatives argue that the Alphabet unit’s critical importance to the U.S. economy and national security requires a softer touch.
With a pact to pay Arm Holdings $250 million over a period of ten years, Malaysia joined a growing number of countries that are trying to build domestic production of a component critical to future technologies and national security.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2025
SoftBank’s Arm to drive Malaysia’s $270 billion chip goals
By Anisah Shukry
Malaysia, which packages roughly a tenth of the world’s semiconductors, has inked a pact to pay Arm $250 million over a period of 10 years for licenses and knowhow.
MAGA hats adorn a row of monitors on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 5, 2025
Day one of Trump’s trade war delivers wild ride for Wall Street
By Eshe Dey and Jessica Menton
The S&P 500 index tumbled 2% shortly after the open Tuesday, wiping out its $3.4 trillion advance since Election Day on Nov. 5.
Many Japanese companies are exporting more to the United States to get ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2025
Japanese firms boost exports to U.S. to get ahead of tariffs
By Tsuyoshi Inajima, Yuki Furukawa and Koh Yoshida
Overall, Japanese exports to the U.S. jumped 8.1% in January to ¥1.5 trillion ($10 billion), the highest for the month in at least 19 years.
John Bozzella, president of the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), president and CEO of the United States-based Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Auto Innovators), speaks at the Paris Automotive Summit during the 2024 Paris Auto Show on Oct. 15, 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 5, 2025
Automakers warn that Trump tariffs will hike vehicle prices as much as 25%
By David Shepardson
Many in the industry warn that the tariffs will disrupt the integrated supply chain across North America that has been in place for more than 25 years.

Opinion

Poles and members of the Ukrainian diaspora take part in a rally in front of the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw on Monday to protest after U.S. President Doland Trump clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their meeting in the Oval Office.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2025
The Oval Office blowup: What went wrong and how to fix it
By Calvin Chrustie
The world may have underestimated this incident's significance due to media spin and partisan bias by those more focused on political allegiances.
Japan and South Korea are in their most fragile political states in decades just as their ally, the United States, enters the second administration of President Donald Trump.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 5, 2025
Japan and South Korea in the age of ‘America first’
By Tunchinmang Langel
Japan and South Korea are at their most fragile political states in decades just as their ally, the United States, has begun the second administration of Donald Trump.

Sports

Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, on Jan. 26, the final day of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 5, 2025
Can sumo avoid becoming another soulless corporate sport?
By John Gunning
Whether sumo also falls into the trap of creating greater separation between supporters and athletes remains to be seen.
Yokohama F. Marinos’ Anderson Lopes celebrates having scored during an AFC Champions League match against Shanghai Port in Shanghai on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Mar 5, 2025
Lopes gives Marinos upper hand in Asian Champions League last 16
By Michael Church
Steve Holland's side will take a slender advantage over Shanghai Port into the second leg in Yokohama.
Items from Shohei Ohtani's 50-50 season are seen in an exhibition at Tokyo Node on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 5, 2025
Tokyo fans get the Dodgers on their doorstep
By Jason Coskrey
In a big play to grow the team's fanbase, an exhibition connected with the MLB Tokyo Series is offering a taste of the LA experience.
A video board highlights LeBron James' 50,000 career point milestone after the Lakers forward scored a three point basket against the Pelicans in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Mar 5, 2025
LeBron James becomes first NBA player to score 50,000 total points
By Rory Carroll
James has shown no sign of slowing down in his 22nd season in the league.
Carlos Alcaraz speaks to the media during a news conference in Indian Wells, California, on Tuesday.
TENNIS
Mar 5, 2025
Alcaraz chases third straight Indian Wells title
By Rebecca Bryan
Carlos Alcaraz, coming off a quarterfinal defeat in the Qatar Open, is seeded second behind Germany's Alexander Zverev.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc during an event to celebrate Scuderia Ferrari and Puma's 20 years of collaboration, in Maranello, Italy, on Tuesday
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 5, 2025
McLaren still the team to beat in F1, says Leclerc
By Alex Fraser
Formula One data indicated the team as quicker than Ferrari on low fuel, with a slightly smaller advantage on race pace, in testing in Bahrain last week.
Cherry blossom season set to kick off on March 21 in Tokyo
A Weathernews forecast shows the cherry blossom season will begin on March 21 in Tokyo.
Tokyo responds to Trump remarks on 'interesting' Japan-U.S. security pact
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive for a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 7.
Nagoya High Court rules not recognizing same-sex marriage unconstitutional
Following the Nagoya High Court ruling on the same-sex marriage lawsuit, lawyers and others raise banners and boards that read "unconstitutional" and similar statements on Friday in Naka Ward, Nagoya.
Foreign single mothers struggle with language barriers and visas
Forbidden from seeing friends and forced to devote herself to housework, Reina (whose name has been changed), a 37-year-old Filipino national living in the city of Nagoya, became socially isolated.
At 102, world's oldest pharmacist celebrates her calling
Kesa Hatamoto, a 102-year-old Japanese woman who is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest pharmacist, speaks during an interview on Jan. 28 in Tokyo's Meguro Ward.
Cherry blossom season set to kick off on March 21 in Tokyo
A Weathernews forecast shows the cherry blossom season will begin on March 21 in Tokyo.
‘Granny hobbies’ are the new self-care
Yarn shortages are a sign that hobbies like knitting and crochet are gaining in popularity.
Can Shiori Ito’s documentary open Japan’s black box?
Shiori Ito is the first Japanese director to have been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature film. "Black Box Diaries," which tells the story of her quest for justice following her rape in 2015, hasn't been released in Japan.
Japanese stocks stalled at 1989 levels as investors weigh tariffs and rates
An electronic sign displays the benchmark Nikkei stock average on a street in Tokyo. The stock average has been range-bound between about 38,000 and 40,000 since hitting a new all-time high in July last year.
Redevelopment and resistance in historic Nishiogikubo
Tsuyoshi Mizukoshi, owner of a pub in Nishiogi’s commercial area, is a community organizer who is rallying local residents against the road development plan.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly
By Tomoko Otake

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