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

Firefighters battle a wildfire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2025
Japan partially lifts wildfire evacuation orders
Wet weather, which began Wednesday following a record dry period, is helping firefighting efforts.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba with parliamentary vice ministers at the Prime Minister's Office in November. The share of women among Japan's lawmakers was 15.7% as of last December.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 7, 2025
Japan's share of female lawmakers lowest among G7 members
While the global average was 27.2%, the figure in Japan stood at 15.7% as of last December.
Three workers died Friday in Oga, Akita Prefecture, after being found unconscious at a sewage construction site inside a manhole.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2025
Three construction workers die inside manhole in Akita Prefecture
By Jessica Speed
The three — all residents of the city of Akita — had been repairing sewer pipes since early that morning, according to the prefectural government.
Shoshi Maekawa (center) speaks during a news conference in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Thursday following the opening of his retrial.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2025
Retrial ruling set for July 18 over 1986 murder in Fukui
In a hearing at the Kanazawa branch of the Nagoya High Court, Shoshi Maekawa said he was innocent of the junior high school student's murder.
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.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 7, 2025
Tokyo responds to Trump remarks on 'interesting' Japan-U.S. security pact
By Eric Johnston
Japan's top government spokesperson underlined the agreement's cooperative element after the U.S. president complained the deal was one-sided.
Kanagawa Prefectual Police headquarters in Yokohama
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2025
Kawasaki man arrested for alleged murder in 2003
The arrest came after a skeletonized body was found in a bamboo forest in the city in 2010.
The Nagasaki Prefectural Police headquarters in the city of Nagasaki. Nagasaki police have arrested a 54-year-old woman for allegedly locking her naked partner out on their balcony for the night three years ago, which led to the man's death from extreme cold.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2025
Woman held over death of partner after locking him out naked on balcony
The temperature had fallen to a low of 3.7 degrees Celsius on the night of the incident in February 2022.
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.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2025
Nagoya High Court rules not recognizing same-sex marriage unconstitutional
By Karin Kaneko
It is the fourth high court ruling in Japan on same-sex marriage, following decisions in Sapporo, Tokyo and Fukuoka.
Ai Narabayashi, a member of the editorial department of Iwanami Shoten, the publisher of dictionary "Kojien," speaks during an interview in Tokyo in February. Narabayashi said the dictionary has the duty to record the Japanese language without hiding anything and accurately explain the meaning behind words and phrases.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 7, 2025
Why an iconic Japanese dictionary chooses to retain misogynistic words
By Naoki Imai
Publisher Iwanami Shoten considers it a duty for its "Kojien" dictionary to record and accurately explain the meaning and background of words and phrases.
Ayako Urasawa shows a skirt with a pocket too shallow to hold a smartphone.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 7, 2025
Women in Japan call for clothing that has pockets
By Seiji Koyama
Many women's jackets, pants and skirts either lack pockets or have only shallow pockets.
The illuminated advertising board of a host club in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district. The bill approved by the government on Friday aims to ban hosts from emotionally manipulating customers into making excessive purchases — a common tactic in the industry.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2025
Japan looks to crack down on host club exploitation with tighter regulations
By Jessica Speed
Police received 2,776 consultations nationwide related to host clubs last year, with many involving women coerced into sex work to cover unpaid bills.
Shizuko Nishio — who will turn 86 on March 10, when Japan will commemorate 80 years after the bombing of Tokyo — gives an explanation in February in front of a map showing the areas that were burned in the air raids.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2025
'Eerie' sky, charred bodies: 80 years since Tokyo's World War II firestorm
By Kyoko Hasegawa and Atish Patel
Because of the atomic bombings and Japan's surrender a month later, the firebombing of Tokyo is often overlooked in history.
Obstetrician and gynecologist Song Mihyon
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 7, 2025
Doctor urges awareness of a birth control pill covered by health insurance
By Mai Ikehata
“I think doctors need to tell their patients that a birth control pill covered by health insurance exists,” Song Mihyon said.
Hiroko Nagano, a former member of the assembly of Tokyo's Toshima Ward, speaks during an interview in Tokyo in January.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 7, 2025
Female assembly members with children seeing better work conditions
By Miki Hirano
As of July 2024, there were 5,187 female municipal assembly members in the country, or only 17.9% of the total, however.
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.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Mar 7, 2025
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly
By Tomoko Otake
Despite longstanding taboos, evolving attitudes toward women's health highlight shifting cultural norms.
Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Seiji Maehara (left) greets Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after the budget was passed at the Lower House — with the support of the opposition party — on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 7, 2025
Is Nippon Ishin the ruling LDP-Komeito coalition's friend or foe?
By Eric Johnston
The party is juggling between supporting the ruling coalition in return for some of its policies being realized, and opposing them to win votes.
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.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2025
Foreign single mothers struggle with language barriers and visas
By Masako Watanabe
Experts are urging the government to create a safer environment where these women can continue living in Japan without fear.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Councilors on Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2025
Japan to invite stateless people born to Japanese in Philippines
The government will help people collect information so they can take Japanese nationality and will also arrange meetings for them with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

ASIA PACIFIC

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the ongoing National People's Congress in Beijing on Friday. Wang said major powers should assume international obligations and not be profit-driven.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 7, 2025
Major powers should not bully the weak, China's top diplomat says
They should assume international obligations and not be profit-driven, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says.
Supporters of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold placards showing a picture of Yoon during a rally near the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Feb. 25.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2025
South Korean court says Yoon can leave jail
The Seoul Central District Court accepted Yoon’s complaint against his arrest, it said Friday in a text message.
Balboa Port, operated by Panama Ports Company, at the Panama Canal. Conglomerate CK Hutchison, controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, has agreed to sell its ports network, including assets along the Panama Canal, to a U.S. consortium led by BlackRock.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 7, 2025
As Trump hails taking back of Panama Canal, Hong Kong Inc. walks tightrope
By Clare Jim, James Pomfret and Anne Marie Roantree
Firms in the former British colony are increasingly under pressure to shake off any connection with China amid tensions between Beijing and Washington.

WORLD

Students walk through the University of Pennsylvania campus. It has been reported that the U.S. State Department will use artificial intelligence to revoke the visas of foreign students who it perceives as supporters of Palestinian Hamas militants.
WORLD
Mar 7, 2025
Reported U.S. plan to use AI to revoke student visas sparks alarm
Axios reported that a "Catch and Revoke" effort will include AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders' social media accounts.
Chinese teacher Shuaib Ma (right) gives a Mandarin language lesson at a school in Riyadh.
WORLD
Mar 7, 2025
Mandarin lessons in Saudi schools show growing ties with China
By Haitham EL-TABEI
Mandarin's entry into public schools is the latest sign of growing ties between Saudi Arabia and China.
Palestinian fighters and crowds gather to watch a hostage release in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 15.
WORLD
Mar 7, 2025
U.S.-Hamas talks complicate Gaza truce efforts, analysts say
By Callum Paton
The direct contact is "a sign of a breakdown in mediation for a wider ceasefire," one expert said.
France's President Emmanuel Macron addresses the media during a news conference at the end of a Special European Council to discuss continued support for Ukraine and European defense at the EU headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / EXPLAINER
Mar 7, 2025
How realistic is France's offer to extend its nuclear umbrella?
By John Irish
France has only a fraction of the number of airborne nuclear weapons the U.S. can provide, and any upgrade of its systems would be costly.
Antonio Costa, president of the European Council (left), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, arrive for a special European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 7, 2025
EU leaders agree on defense surge, support Zelenskyy after U.S. aid freeze
By Lili Bayer, Andrew Gray and Michel Rose
The European Union's defense summit in Brussels took place amid fears that Russia, emboldened by its war in Ukraine, may attack an EU country next.

BUSINESS

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 7, 2025
Bank of America CEO willing to hire in Japan amid revival
By Lisa Du and Shery Ahn
The bank, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has about 800 employees in Japan.
Nintendo shares sank as much as 9.8% in Tokyo Friday, as U.S. President Donald Trump doubling levies on China means game consoles, mostly made in China, could have higher selling prices in the United States due to heftier import costs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 7, 2025
Nintendo shares plunge on tariff fears as foreign investors retreat
By Hideyuki Sano and Toshiro Hasegawa
Nintendo sank 9.2% in Tokyo, its biggest intraday drop since the stock market rout on Aug. 5.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in December 2019
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 7, 2025
'Psychodrama' tariff negotiations frustrate Mexico and Canada
By Emily Green, Jarrett Renshaw and David Ljunggren
The on-again, off-again tariffs and the high-level discussions surrounding them have exasperated negotiating teams, sources say.
Debris streaking through the sky after SpaceX's Starship spacecraft tumbled and exploded in space, in Big Sampson Kay, The Bahamas, Thursday, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video.
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2025
SpaceX's Starship explodes in space and rains debris over Caribbean
By Joey Roulette and David Shepardson
The failure of the eighth Starship test comes just over a month after the seventh also ended in an explosion.
Couche-Tard has made clear that it wants to learn from Seven & I Holdings to improve its North America operation, and has ruled out going hostile in takeover talks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 7, 2025
Couche-Tard holds talks for sale of U.S. shops in Seven & I deal
By Mathieu Dion
The retailer last year proposed to purchase Seven & I Holdings for $18.19 per share, but so far hasn’t been able to enter negotiations with the firm.

ENVIRONMENT

Actress Mana Ashida during a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday. The U.N. Development Program has picked Ashida as domestic goodwill ambassador for Japan.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 7, 2025
Japan actress Mana Ashida named UNDP goodwill ambassador
Ashida will be in charge of promotional activities in Japan mainly related to the fight against climate change and other environmental challenges.
A monarch butterfly is seen at an enclosure at Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, in August 2019.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Mar 7, 2025
Butterfly populations plummet by 22% in U.S. since turn of century
By Will Dunham
Studies in some other countries have documented declines at roughly the same rate as in the U.S. data.

Opinion

As the U.S. under Donald Trump reassesses its commitment to Ukraine, countries worldwide, particularly in Europe and Asia, are reconsidering their defense policies and alliances with America. 
EDITORIALS
Mar 7, 2025
Europe braces for a post-American world. Is Japan ready?
A diplomatic posture that makes demands only of Ukraine and not Russia suggests, however, that Washington has taken sides.
Japan is grappling with a budget shortfall, and while raising the tax-free threshold has sparked political debate, the country's booming tourism industry presents an untapped revenue source.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 7, 2025
Japan has a revenue hole. Plug it with tourists
By Gearoid Reidy
More than 35 years after sales tax was first introduced, it remains incredibly unpopular and reducing it is a regular promise of opposition parties.
Globally, women are severely underrepresented among leading roles in cinema, with female directors accounting for just over 10% of the industry in Japan. Achieving gender equality on-set would have far-reaching consequences for the whole of society.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 7, 2025
Without women behind the camera, equality stays out of the frame
By Andrijana Cvetkovikj
Cinema isn't only about what stories are told, but who tells them. Overcoming severe underrepresentation, women are reshaping the film industry and cultural narratives.

Sports

Hoshoryu will make his debut at yokozuna during the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament, which begins in Osaka on Sunday.
SUMO
Mar 7, 2025
New yokozuna Hoshoryu and rising star Onosato enter Spring Basho as favorites
By John Gunning
Hoshoryu already has a pair of titles to his name, and is coming off perhaps the most impressive eight-bout stretch of his career to date.
Fenerbahce coach Jose Mourinho reacts during a Europa League match against Rangers in Istanbul on Thursday.
SOCCER
Mar 7, 2025
Fenerbahce coach Jose Mourinho denies racism allegations
Fenerbahce said Mourinho's comments were taken out of context.
Joao Fonseca hits a shot during his first-round match against Jacob Fearnley at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, on Thursday.
TENNIS
Mar 7, 2025
Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca delivers in Indian Wells debut
Fonseca, ranked 80th in the world, enjoyed the vocal support of the boisterous Brazilian fans on hand for the match at the ATP 1000 event.
Naomi Osaka returned to tennis in 2024 after giving birth to her daughter in July 2023.
TENNIS
Mar 7, 2025
WTA and Saudi PIF to provide paid maternity leave to tennis players
The PIF WTA Maternity Fund Program "will offer benefits to more than 320 eligible WTA players," the WTA said in a statement.
England and Wales Cricket Board signage is seen at Lord's Cricket Ground before the second Ashes test in London on June 28, 2023. ECB signage before the start of the second test Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra
MORE SPORTS / Cricket
Mar 7, 2025
England and Wales Cricket Board apologizes for 'ill-judged' post about pope
"This was an ill-judged post and was swiftly deleted," an ECB spokesman said. "We apologize for any offense."
Lewis Hamilton is in his first season with Ferrari after a move from Mercedes.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 7, 2025
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc put on show for Ferrari fans in Milan
Some 35,000 "tifosi" attended the event as seven-time world champion Hamilton performed smoking tire burnouts after filling the city streets with noise.

CULTURE

A welfare caseworker (Takumi Kitamura) heads down a dangerous path despite trying to do the right thing in “A Bad Summer.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 7, 2025
‘A Bad Summer’: A scorching drama of simmering rage and its consequences
By Mark Schilling
Hideo Jojo pushes into forbidden territory and navigates the darker currents of his latest film with assurance.
Ichiko Aoba’s latest full-length album, “Luminescent Creatures,” weaves in sounds mimicking whale songs and wind to express her fascination with the natural world and its interconnectedness.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 7, 2025
Ichiko Aoba’s intimate sonic fantasy born from dreams
By Patrick St. Michel
The singer-songwriter turns her subconscious into songs about the natural world and its interconnectedness on “Luminescent Creatures.”

COMMUNITY

Hiromi Okuda’s study abroad experience at the University of Mumbai inspired her to build a career at the intersection of social welfare and IT.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 7, 2025
Hiromi Okuda: 'Humans and emerging tech should exist symbiotically'
By Jessica Kozuka
For the past 30 years, Hiromi Okuda has forged a career at the intersection of social welfare and technology.
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

Supporting women’s social participation is Cartier’s commitment
Supporting women’s social participation is Cartier’s commitment

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER