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July 24, 2026
 

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Gearoid Reidy
The yen trades in the ?162 range against the dollar in the afternoon of the June 30.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 21, 2026
Japan¡¯s 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
Japan¡¯s 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.
Japan¡¯s 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.
Japan¡¯s 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 Japan¡¯s 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 Japan¡¯s 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 Japan¡¯s 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 Japan¡¯s 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.
Japan¡¯s popular cheap curry lunches and other popular dishes at international restaurants are increasingly under threat as tighter visa rules and labor shortages squeeze the migrant workers and restaurant owners who sustain them.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 14, 2026
Japan food sector: immigration, a labor crunch and rising costs
While you might think this is the result of the immigration policy of the Sanae Takaichi administration, both issues can be traced to her predecessors.
The yen has traded in a narrow ?158 to ?159 range against the dollar for two months as Japan steps up efforts to contain further weakness.
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2026
¡®Keep phones on,¡¯ Tokyo warns as yen battle intensifies
Traders are going to need to hold onto their devices going forward, as these kinds of interventions are becoming the new normal.
Sanae Takaichi¡¯s economic strategy seeks to break Japan¡¯s stagnation by boosting investment and demand despite high debt, a theory that remains promising but uncertain according to some experts.
COMMENTARY
Apr 27, 2026
Struggling to understand Sanaenomics? A new book helps.
Takaichi argues the solution is investment ¡ª with Aida proposing a ¡°high-pressure economy¡± where demand outstrips supply and the government breaks the deadlock.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi greets members of British rock band Deep Purple, Ian Paice (left), Ian Gillan (center) and Roger Glover at the Prime Minister¡¯s Office in Tokyo on April 10.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 20, 2026
Iran risks are smoke on the water for Takaichi
Japan gets some 94% of its oil imports via the Strait of Hormuz. The lack of panic so far has been thanks to a preparedness that comes from past bitter experience.
Japan¡¯s iconic department stores, once central to urban culture, are rapidly declining due to e-commerce growth, tourism-driven sales and changing consumer behavior.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 17, 2026
Has the death of the department store reached Japan?
Many thought Seibu would be one of the few landmarks to survive. Yet the owners were unable to renew terms with the Shibuya landowners, and it will close after nearly 60 years.
Young Japanese are rapidly embracing investing through programs like NISA amid rising markets, and while critics warn of ¡°NISA poverty,¡± the trend largely reflects a positive shift toward asset-building.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 14, 2026
Are Japan¡¯s youth really in ¡®investment poverty¡¯?
let the young max out their retirement account if they like; politicians should focus on ways to boost young people¡¯s take-home pay.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces' Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.
Summer has arrived in Japan and so have hot sleepless nights
Amid the heat and humidity in Japan, a good night¡¯s sleep is growing increasingly elusive without the heavy use of air conditioning.
Maya Ongaku¡¯s DIY dream is getting bigger
The members of Maya Ongaku ¡ª (from left) Tsutomu Sonoda, Shoei Ikeda and Ryota Takano ¡ª grew up on the Shonan Coast south of Tokyo and have been friends since their school days.

Podcast

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

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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