Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi has now officially become Japan’s third astronaut commander of the International Space Station (ISS). Onishi, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut, took command on March 16, 2025, after launching on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft with three other crew members. The mission is expected to run for approximately 6 months. The key was given to …

New Zealand winger Mark Tele’a will depart from the Auckland Blues at the conclusion of the 2025 season to pursue rugby in Japan, putting him out of contention for All Blacks selection in 2026. Tele’a, a 28 year old player has been a standout performer since his international debut in 2022, scoring 13 tries in 19 tests. He was a …

The Bank of Japan revealed through its latest survey that Japanese consumers expect increasing prices and show record annual inflation forecasts from the survey. People answered the Bank of Japan survey from February 6 to March 4 and told researchers that prices would go up 12.2% during the following year. This increase marks a jump from the prior 11.5% seen …

The Chinese Coast Guard ships extended their stays near the Senkaku Island region which led Japan to lodge formal diplomatic objections. Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said on Monday that China’s maritime expansion near the disputed islands is rapidly intensifying to create more international political instability. The ships stayed 92 hours inside Japanese waters for the first time since Japan acquired …

Japanese officials joined South Korean and Chinese foreign ministers in Tokyo to plan a summit based on historical turning point statements from Japan’s Takeshi Iwaya. The recent talks between Japan and its neighbors arise from uncertainty about the United States and its traditional alliances while China attempts to build stronger regional connections.  During the meeting Wang Yi stressed the three …

Japan achieved historical first place in World Cup 2026 qualification after beating Bahrain 2-0 at Saitama Stadium. After bringing on Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo as substitutions Japan scored two goals during the second half to beat Bahrain and ensure their spot in the FIFA World Cup. https://x.com/LaLigaEN/status/1902710466180526472 Japan led Group C with nine points while Australia ranked behind them …

The Indian government places a tariff of up to USD 986 per tonne on Trichloro isocyanuric acid when imported from China and Japan. This duty remains active for five years to defend domestic producers against cheap imports that injure their operations. The DGTR found that Indian producers experienced harm from dumped goods from China and Japan so the Finance Ministry …

On Thursday Japan’s Iwate region in Ofunato city observed a major wildfire that burned 80 buildings and compelled authorities to send nearly 600 people from their homes. Because of strong wind gusts the forest fire traveled quickly across the area and burned most of the homes to ash. NHK broadcast aerial images showing homes burned in Ofunato Japan while only …

Samsung decides to introduce its Galaxy S25 phones to Japan ahead of their worldwide debut. Traditionally Samsung’s new phone releases waited three months in Japan but this launch took place on February 14 after global marketing. Since 2015 Samsung Phones dropped their previous brand name Galaxy for their new phones and returned to using their complete company name “Samsung“. SoftBank …

Analysts believe Tokyo would seek to interact more with Southeast Asia since issues regarding the expected departure of the historically balanced diplomacy become more important. Japan is closely watching Malaysia’s ambitions to join the BRICS group of developing countries—an alliance frequently seen as counterbalance to Western powers including Europe, the United States, and Japan. Japan’s concerns revolve on the likelihood …