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July 07, 2026
 

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COMMENTARY

Japan

World
Japan
Fighting yen psychology is a losing battle
COMMENTARY / Japan
Fighting yen psychology is a losing battle
Turning the currency around, never easy at the best times, has just become harder given the renewed embrace of the greenback.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Japan positioned to link U.S. and Europe in a fragmented world
With Washington and Europe drifting apart, Tokyo’s FOIP strategy offers a path to maintain unity.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Asian landlords are ready for a hawkish Fed
The lesson across these markets is the same: Property owners who cleaned up their debt profiles ahead of time are well poised to navigate any economic turmoil.
Newly enthroned Emperor Naruhito takes part in a ritual at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in May 2019, in which imperial envoys are dispatched to the Ise Grand Shrine and imperial mausoleums.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 3, 2026
Tradition vs. change: Japan’s imperial succession debate intensifies
By Kuni Miyake
For decades, the government has postponed action. This week, however, Prime Minister Takaichi’s administration submitted a bill to the Diet to revise the Imperial House Law.
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 2, 2026
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
By Midori Inagaki
Once volunteer-based, the system is shifting toward shared responsibility between local governments and trained professionals.
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
By Gearoid Reidy
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.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders gather during the Group of Seven summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 16.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 1, 2026
China’s export controls target Japan to split the Group of Seven
By Christopher Nye and Charles Sun
Why Japan and why now? Tokyo raised the first question itself: Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara protested that controls singling out Japan depart from international practice.
Chinese warships and fighter jets take part in a military display in the South China Sea in April 2018.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 26, 2026
The world should reject China’s latest maritime power grab
By Robert D. Eldridge and Carl O. Schuster
The U.S. and international community must immediately reject that claim. Otherwise, Beijing will interpret the silence as tacit acceptance.
A ship lays undersea fiber-optic cable off a beach near Bilbao, Spain, linking Europe and the U.S.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jun 24, 2026
Japan lays the groundwork for submarine cable resilience
By Anna Oriishi
Fiber-optic cables carry nearly all the world’s data between continents.
A GMO AI and Robotics humanoid robot performs a dance at an international exhibition at Tokyo Big Sight in December.  REUTERS
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jun 24, 2026
Japan’s manufacturing sector and the race for physical AI
By Makoto Shiono
Turning industrial strength into leadership in the next AI frontier.

Murakami says his novels are ‘different’ from AI literature
Haruki Murakami's first book in three years hit shelves in Japan on Friday.
Thailand gets serious about chasing high-spending tourists
Chinese tourists at Wat Arun Ratchawararam Rathawaramahawihan in Bangkok
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Tokyo hospital baby hatch accepts 20 newborns in first year
Hitoshi Kato (left), head of San-ikukai Hospital in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, speaks during a news conference at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building on Thursday.
Hayabusa2 flies past asteroid as Japan aims to acquire data for planetary defense
A graphic illustration of the Hayabusa2 probe flying past the asteroid Torifune
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
X Games returns to Chiba with new team format
Skateboarder Sora Shirai practices at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Friday afternoon. X Games Chiba begins on Saturday.
NU Festival tests Takanawa Gateway City complex’s culture cred
Veteran improvisers Kazuo Imai and Atsuhiro Ito brought some unruly energy to NU Festival, a three-day multimedia event held at the Takanawa Gateway City complex.  

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency
New Logistics Consortium baton to accelerate trucking efficiency

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