archive

 
Menu
Search
 
March 08, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
March 2025
SMTWTFS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031 
« Feb

JAPAN

The Tohoku Shinkansen made an emergency stop after the two trains became detached on Thursday in Tokyo's Arakawa Ward.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2025
Tohoku Shinkansen trains decoupled during service again
No passengers on the two trains were harmed, according to East Japan Railway.
Former Executive Vice President Ichiro Takekuro enters the Tokyo High Court for the appellate court ruling in January 2023 in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2025
Acquittal of two former Tepco executives to be finalized
The Supreme Court supported the lower courts' decisions that the accident was unpredictable and decided to dismiss an appeal by lawyers acting as prosecutors.
Firefighters battle a wildfire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2025
Wildfire slows in Iwate as government announces relief support
By Yukana Inoue
The city saw 26.5 millimeters of rain on Wednesday, far exceeding the 2.5mm total for the entire month of February.
A sign shows directions to a public toilet. Saitama police have arrested a nursery school director for urinating in a student’s water bottle.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2025
Saitama nursery school staff arrested for urinating in student's water bottle
By Karin Kaneko
School director Toshifumi Miura, 24, said he was “trying to scare the boy into obeying” him.
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.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2025
At 102, world's oldest pharmacist celebrates her calling
"There's nothing happier than having a job for a lifetime. I want to continue my career forever," says Kesa Hatamoto.
Minister for Reconstruction Tadahiko Ito responding to a question at a group interview on Monday at the Reconstruction Agency
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2025
Reconstruction minister vows to address Fukushima soil reuse
"It's natural that Futaba residents are concerned," Tadahiko Ito said of the envisaged plan to first consider reusing the decontaminated soil in the town.
Kaoru Hasuike, who was abducted by North Korea before returning to Japan, speaks on Wednesday in Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2025
Former abductee urges Japan to work with U.S. to press North Korea
Kaoru Hasuike said that the abduction issue "has not been resolved."
Toru Akama cares for dogs and cats left behind in the March 2011 Fukushima meltdown disaster, at his home in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2025
Former Fukushima plant worker continues caring for pets left behind
The 62-year-old was driven by a sense of responsibility for the pets being abandoned as “it came about because of the meltdown at our plant.”
A Weathernews forecast shows the cherry blossom season will begin on March 21 in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2025
Cherry blossom season set to kick off on March 21 in Tokyo
By Jessica Speed
Blossoms are expected to reach full bloom at a pace similar to or slightly faster than average years in western and eastern Japan.
An explosion at a factory in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, left one person killed on Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2025
Explosion at Aichi auto parts factory kills one and injures two
By Jessica Speed
A dust collector inside Chuo Spring's Fujioka plant, which produces springs for automobiles, exploded shortly after 8 a.m.
High school student Mayu Kobayashi (right) speaks as she and other "student peace ambassadors" call for the abolition of nuclear weapons in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 6, 2025
Japanese high school students call for nuke abolition in New York
They stress that peace must be continuously protected and is not something to be taken for granted.
After the ruling in the lawsuit seeking an injunction against the operation of the No. 3 reactor at Shikoku Electric Power's Ikata nuclear plant, the representatives of the legal team led by attorney Kan Ebisuda (center) hold a news conference on Wednesday in Naka Ward, Hiroshima City.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2025
Hiroshima court rejects request for Ikata reactor injunction
Presiding judge Kazumi Ohama said "It cannot be said that there is a specific danger that violates the lives of the plaintiffs."
Maki Kanazawa (left) and Misaki Soejima repair a net in Owase, Mie Prefecture, on Jan. 27.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2025
Fisherwomen shining in male-dominant industry in Japan
In Owase, women had been banned from boarding fishing boats because a deity of ships was believed to be a jealous goddess.

ASIA PACIFIC

Rohingya refugees use a makeshift raft to cross the Naf River from Myanmar into Bangladesh in 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 6, 2025
Rohingya refugee food aid to be halved from next month: U.N.
The U.N. World Food Program says that "severe funding shortfalls" has forced it to cut monthly food vouchers for around 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
Hong Kong activist Tang Ngok-kwan speaks to reporters in Hong Kong on Thursday after the Court of Final Appeal ruled in his favor and quashed his jail term for refusing to hand over information to the city's national security police.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 6, 2025
Hong Kong’s Tiananmen activists win rare appeal in security case
By Alan Wong
The ruling marked a rare victory in challenging the enforcement of the national security law imposed by Beijing.
Debris lies at a damaged church after MK-82 bombs fell outside the shooting range during joint live-fire exercises near the demilitarized zone in Pocheon, South Korea, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 6, 2025
South Korea air force jets accidentally drop bombs on homes, injuring 15
By Ju-min Park and Hyunsu Yim
Residents were evacuated around midday as authorities checked whether there were any unexploded bombs.
Campaign supporters light a total of 1,638 candles, representing the number of dead victims claimed by HIV/AIDS in the Philippines since 1984, as part of their commemoration of International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day in metro Manila in 2016.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 6, 2025
Philippines' LGBTQ+ groups seek options to U.S. aid
By Mariejo Ramos
Advocacy groups are looking at new financing strategies and calling for greater involvement by local health institutions to protect against foreign aid withdrawals.

WORLD

The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in Washington in 2024. The Justice Department unsealed charges against a dozen Chinese citizens accused of being part of a sophisticated hacking ring that steals data from American businesses and people to sell to the Chinese government and others.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2025
U.S. says China paid hackers to target critics, steal data
By JAKE BLEIBERG and Jamie Tarabay
The Justice Department has charged 10 Chinese citizens and two government agents for hacks that targeted dissidents, news outlets and American government agencies, among others.
People walk past the Department of Education building in Washington on Feb. 4.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2025
Trump to order U.S. Education Department abolished, WSJ reports
Trump has repeatedly called for eliminating the department, calling it a "big con job."
French President Emmanuel Macron addresses the nation in Paris on Wednesday, in this screen grab taken from a video.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2025
France to open talks to extend nuclear shield for Europe, Macron says
By Samy Adghirni
The French president’s remarks come as the EU rushes to counter the threat of Russian aggression after the withdrawal of the U.S.’ commitment to European security.
The Eastern District of New York Court Federal Court House in New York on Feb. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2025
Judges face rise in threats as Musk blasts them over rulings
By Peter Eisler, Mike Spector, Ned Parker and Nate Raymond
In recent weeks, Musk, congressional Republicans and other top allies of U.S. President Donald Trump have called for the impeachment of some federal judges.
People gather in front of an Israeli military vehicle in the Nur Shams camp for Palestinian refugees, where troops allowed residents to retrieve belongings after issuing reported demolition notifications for several houses, in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.
WORLD
Mar 6, 2025
Israel's settler pressure on West Bank villages stirs annexation fears
By Ali Sawafta and James Mackenzie
Most countries consider Israel's settlements in the occupied West Bank to be illegal.
Clinic director Oleksandr Feskov poses for a photo in one of the operating rooms at the Feskov clinic in Kharkiv on Feb. 17. Many more Ukrainian civilians are freezing their sperm and eggs — procedures that were rare before the war — with demand rising every time the war takes a turn for the worse.
WORLD / Society
Mar 6, 2025
Ukrainians waiting for peace before having children
By Lea DAUPLE
New legislation means that Ukrainian soldiers can freeze their sperm for free, and many clinics are already offering the service.
An Israeli hostage who was released from captivity in Gaza arrives at a medical center in Tel Aviv on Feb. 22.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2025
Trump warns Hamas as U.S. holds unprecedented talks for Gaza hostages
By Steve Holland and Matt Spetalnick
The move broke with a decades-old policy against negotiating with groups that the U.S. brands as terrorist organizations.
An M777 howitzer crew firing at Russian targets near the front lines of the Dnipro region, Ukraine, on Feb. 12
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2025
U.S. cuts intelligence for Ukraine, adding pressure for peace deal
By Jonathan Landay and Erin Banco
The move underscores Trump's willingness to play hardball with an ally as he pivots to a more conciliatory approach to Moscow.
Oil pipelines in Alaska. Although the Alaska LNG project has been planned for decades, it faces headwinds from its large price tag and mammoth scale.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2025
Trump touts plans to spur mammoth Alaska gas export project
By Jennifer A Dlouhy
Japan, South Korea and other countries want to partner with the U.S. and invest in "a gigantic natural gas pipeline in Alaska," the U.S. president said.

BUSINESS

The weighted average of wage hikes demanded by 2,939 member unions of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, in this year's shuntō labor-management negotiations came to 6.09%, a Rengo survey showed Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2025
Japan pay hike demands top 6% for first time in 32 years
It is the first time in 32 years for the average wage hike request to exceed 6%, amid the soaring cost of living and labor shortages.
Rengo says its member unions have demanded an average wage increase of 6.09% this year, up from last year’s 5.85%.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 6, 2025
Japan’s biggest union group demands highest wage hike since 1993
By Erica Yokoyama
Member unions of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation are seeking an average wage increase of 6.09% this year, up from last year’s 5.85%.
U.S. President Donald Trump is exempting automakers from newly imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada for one month, the White House said Wednesday, as a temporary reprieve following pleas from industry leaders.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 6, 2025
Trump’s tariff pause cheered globally and watched closely in Tokyo
By Kazuaki Nagata
The U.S. president is delaying 25% tariffs on cars from Mexico and Canada and might consider carve-outs for agricultural imports from those countries.
Seven & I named Stephen Hayes Dacus as its first foreign chief executive on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2025
Seven & I announces measures to fend off Couche-Tard takeover
By Tomohiro Osaki
The announcements are the latest twist in a saga that began last year when Seven & I rebuffed a takeover offer from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard.
"It is an expanding field. We need more people,” said Kaoru Onishi, head of the global product division at Nissay Asset Management.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2025
Nissay Asset ramps up hiring as alternative investment booms
By Taiga Uranaka and Nao Sano
Japanese asset managers are trying to boost returns at a time when policymakers are encouraging households to shift their savings to investments.
Foster City, California’s Gilead is laser-focused on HIV and is seeking an actual cure.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2025
Gilead's Japan head says nation can be among first to end HIV epidemic
By Francis Tang and Richard Meyer
The pharmaceutical powerhouse has drugs that disrupt the transmission of the virus, one of which has been approved for prevention in Japan.
The yield on Japan’s 10-year note climbed 7 basis points to 1.5%, the highest since 2009.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 6, 2025
German bond rout goes global as yields surge in Japan
By Mia Glass and Saburo Funabiki
The yield on Japan’s 10-year note climbed 7 basis points to 1.5%, the highest since 2009.
Seth Fischer, chief investment officer of Oasis Management, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2025
Oasis says investors back its proposed board changes at Kao
By Hideyuki Sano
Oasis, which holds a 5.2% stake in Kao, has presented five candidates to become outside directors of the company.
Sony Group President Hiroki Totoki told a news conference last month that the Playstation maker had been preparing for tariffs by building up inventory from its gaming and electronics divisions in the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Mar 6, 2025
Sony and Suntory build U.S. stockpiles as Japan faces Trump tariff threat
By Tim Kelly, Kentaro Okasaka and Rocky Swift
In his latest trade salvo this week, U.S. President Donald Trump hinted that he might target Tokyo next, after imposing tariffs on Mexico and China.
Ryota Ishibashi, president of a subsidiary of Trial (far left), in a joint news conference with Seiyu
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2025
Discount store operator Trial to acquire Seiyu
Trial currently plans to retain Seiyu's company name and staff.
Tariffs and trade uncertainty are causing the U.S. economy to lose steam, and companies more vulnerable to slower growth are starting to show the cracks.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 6, 2025
Investors spy the dawn of a tectonic shift away from U.S. markets
By Dhara Ranasinghe and Amanda Cooper
For most of the last three years, investors had bet on "U.S. exceptionalism," with the country ahead of others in economic growth, stock prices and AI.

ENVIRONMENT

A dry rice field in Subang, West Java, Indonesia, on July 29, 2023
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 6, 2025
Europe’s defense budget rips through its climate-crisis buffer
By Gautam Naik
Spending cuts here and now mean future climate costs may rise, said the head of a climate nonprofit.

Opinion

Ukraine has become a leader in drone warfare, particularly with its innovative use of first-person view drones. These drones have proven highly effective in targeting Russian military equipment and ammunition depots.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2025
Breaking down Ukraine’s true value
By Anastassia Fedyk and Emilia Marshall
With the U.S. now increasingly acting in Russia’s interests, supporting Ukraine is not just a moral imperative for Europe, it is an existential one.
President Donald Trump delivers an address to a joint session of Congress in Washington on Tuesday. Some critics are questioning if the U.S. is shifting away from global leadership under his stewardship.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2025
Trump's speech was more campaign rhetoric than leadership
By Kuni Miyake
Trump's speech to Congress, like the one eight years ago, was little more than domestic political propaganda.

Sports

FIFA President Gianni Infantino unveils Brazil as the winner of the bid to host the 2027 Women's World Cup at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok on May 17, 2024.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Mar 6, 2025
Japan shut out of bid process for hosting 2031 World Cup
Japan Football Association President Tsuneyasu Miyamoto said in an interview last year that Japan wanted to host the 2031 event to "raise the value of women's football here."
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson catches the ball during his club's first-leg win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League in Paris on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Mar 6, 2025
Liverpool stuns Paris St. Germain late in first leg of Champions League clash
Goalkeeper Alisson, who was named man of the match, said it was the performance of his life.
Former Australian player Fred Stolle (right) receives an award from French Tennis Federation President Jean Gachassin during the French Open in Paris in 2015.
TENNIS
Mar 6, 2025
Australian great 'Fiery' Fred Stolle dies at 86
Stolle was part of a golden generation of Australian players who dominated the men's game at the start of the professional era.
Naomi Osaka hits a shot during her match against Camila Osorio in Indian Wells, California, on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Mar 6, 2025
Naomi Osaka falls in first round at Indian Wells
The four-time Grand Slam champion never looked comfortable against Osorio's dynamic game and piled up unforced errors on a cool evening in the California desert.
Masamune Goto (front) pilots his boat during a powerboat racing competition at Tokyo's Tamagawa boat course on Feb. 23.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 6, 2025
Powerboat racing revs up bid to shed shadowy reputation in Japan
By Andrew MCKIRDY
Powerboat racing started more than 70 years ago under a special gambling law that classifies it alongside horse racing, speedway and cycling in Japan.
Tiger Woods speak at The Genesis Invitational in San Diego, on Feb. 16.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Mar 6, 2025
Tiger Woods says 'heart not into practicing right now'
With the Masters looming five weeks away, it may prove challenging for the 15-time major champion to be ready for Augusta.
The Capitals' Alex Ovechkin takes a shot during the third period against the Flames in Washington on Feb. 25.
MORE SPORTS / Ice Hockey
Mar 6, 2025
Record-chasing Alex Ovechkin to donate to cancer research with each goal
He will donate an amount equal to his career total for every goal he tallies for the rest of his career.
Akwasi Frimpong competes during a skeleton heat at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Feb. 15, 2018.
OLYMPICS / Skeleton
Mar 6, 2025
Skeleton racer Akwasi Frimpong wants to open doors for more African athletes
The 39-year-old broke barriers in 2018 when he and Nigerian Simidele Adeagbo became the first African skeleton racers to compete at an Olympics.

LIFE

While you need to pass over cash for taxes, don't fall for scams that trick you into paying what you don't owe.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 6, 2025
Scams, taxes and tariffs: It's that time of year.
By Yuko Tamura
Financial scams abound in Japan and a new one uses tax-related terminology.

CULTURE

A group of talentless noiseniks are sent away on a year-long retreat to the countryside to write a hit song in “The Gesuidouz.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 6, 2025
‘The Gesuidouz’ flips the bird at viewers
By James Hadfield
Kenichi Ugana’s horror-fixated punk-rock slacker comedy is one of the director’s laziest films to date.
Netflix reality show “K-foodie meets J-foodie” follows South Korean YouTuber Sung Si-kyung and Japanese actor Yutaka Matsushige as they share meals in their respective countries.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 6, 2025
Can a meal make you besties? ‘K-foodie meets J-foodie’ says yes.
By Patrick St. Michel
The new Netflix show pairs a Korean crooner and a Japanese food icon for a cross-cultural food rally.
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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Yamagata’s Zao Onsen Ski Resort is a classic beauty
Yamagata’s Zao Onsen Ski Resort is a classic beauty

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER