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November 04, 2026
The Independent Voice in Asia
November 04, 2026
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People vote at a polling location on Election Day during the midterm elections in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Americans vote with control of Congress at stake
Surveys and nonpartisan analysts favor Democrats to capture the House while control of the Senate remains uncertain.

More coverage

A guide to the U.S. midterm elections’ biggest questions
Trump approval near career low ahead of elections, poll finds
People vote at a polling location on Election Day during the midterm elections in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Tuesday.
A Ground Self-Defense Force Type 16 maneuver combat vehicle fires during an annual training session near Mount Fuji at the Higashifuji training field in Gotemba,Shizuoka Prefecture, in June.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Japan gets serious about defense spending hike as year-end deadline looms
By Jesse Johnson
The government and ruling coalition are reportedly considering nearly doubling defense spending over the next five years.
Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng in Hong Kong on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Tech
Binance hackers used fake job interviews in record heist
The crypto exchange has said that it will bear the financial cost but the exchange paused withdrawals for almost two days after the incident.
About 77 million email addresses have been leaked from a subsidiary of information technology services firm Paycloud Holdings.
JAPAN / Society
More data breaches hit Japan, including leak of 77 million email addresses
The breaches join a growing list of reported cyberattacks on Japanese companies as concerns rise over the security measures companies are taking.
Japanese astronaut Ayu Yoneda is currently training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for future space missions.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Japan’s newest female astronaut wants to speak Japanese on the moon
By Mai Yoshikawa
Ayu Yoneda, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s youngest astronaut, is mission-ready for her first flight.
Japanese astronaut Ayu Yoneda is currently training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for future space missions.

JAPAN

The original signed copy of the Constitution, promulgated on Nov. 3, 1946
As Japan marks 80 years of Constitution, debate continues on emergency clause
Some experts argue such a clause is needed for swift initial responses to disasters, while others worry it could lead to concentrated authority.
Actress Keiko Matsuzaka is among 3,861 people and 400 women recognized in this year's autumn honors.
Japan recognizes 3,861 people, including 99 foreign nationals, in autumn honors
Among recipients of the honors, set to be awarded at ceremonies including the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, 400 are women, accounting for 10.4%.
Opposition steps up criticism of Takaichi for skipping last month’s G7 meeting
Talking braille blocks allow people with visual impairments to walk around freely
By Natsuko Kato
Private sector steps in to revitalize Japan’s rural communities
Japan and Vietnam consider new pact to prevent crimes

BUSINESS

Google, whose Chromebooks are the most widely used laptops in U.S. classrooms, has faced growing resistance to AI from parents and school districts.
Google lets schools turn off Gemini, but not the AI in search
By Davey Alba
Alphabet, whose Chromebooks are the most widely used laptops in U.S. classrooms, faces growing resistance to AI from parents and school districts.
In Japan, whose economy is dependent on energy imports, bond yields recently hit 30-year peaks.
Global markets were already fragile. Big AI bets could break them.
By Dhara Ranasinghe and Amanda Cooper
So far, the multitrillion-dollar spending splurge on artificial intelligence has propelled stock markets to record highs.
Honda weighs restarting EU car output as new rules take shape
By William Wilkes
Fuji Media and SBI to form joint venture
Disney plans thousands of layoffs while targeting 20% cost savings
By Thomas Buckley
Binance outflows hit $4.7 billion after record North Korea hack
By Ryan Weeks

WORLD

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (R) speak to the media during a joint news conference in Berlin on Tuesday.
Russia bombards Ukraine power grid before Abu Dhabi talks; Merz urges Moscow to engage
In more than four years of war, Russia has repeatedly targeted the Ukrainian energy system as winter approaches.
A Liberian-flagged container ship Contship Jet in the Black Sea off Bulgaria on Oct. 28. The ship sank after being hit by naval drones, according to the Bulgarian government, while en route from Haifa in Israel to Constanta in Romania.
War widens in the Black Sea in a test of NATO red lines
Unabating attacks show how the escalating maritime war between Russia and Ukraine is expanding into a major challenge for NATO.
Bomb threats on flights, cruise ship cause disruption in Europe; no devices found
U.S. intelligence sharing has fractured under Trump, officials say
By Erin Banco and Jonathan Landay
Serbia’s leaderless force starts dismantling Vucic’s regime
By Jasmina Kuzmanovic and Misha Savic
As Americans vote, Trump says U.S. will stop $4 billion in aid to Israel
By Humeyra Pamuk and Patricia Zengerle

Sports

Construction work continues at Aramco Stadium, one of the main stadiums set to host the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, in July 2026.
Asian Cup postponed until December 2027 due to Saudi Arabia unrest
By Aadi Nair
The 24-team tournament will now take place from Dec. 23, 2027 to Jan. 21, 2028.
Gilgeous-Alexander leads Thunder past Cavaliers
Swift and Simmons star as Bears maul Seahawks
How did the Golden State Valkyries fast-track a WNBA title in two years?
By Annie Costabile — Brian Hamilton
Erik ten Hag floats relegation as possibility for struggling Manchester United

Opinion

Visitors to the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai check out the Moonshot booth promoting its Kimi K3 AI model in July.
Will Chinese AI build a global advantage?
Kenichi Doi
Developing countries, however, are not necessarily choosing sides. They seek competitive prices, technology transfer, jobs and data sovereignty.
Asia for China? Tokyo’s answer to Beijing’s coercive strategy
By Stephen R. Nagy
Too much AI can stifle innovation
By Gautam Mukunda
The world’s perilous Ebola complacency
By Tom Achoki - Nebiyu Dereje - Jean Kaseya
The promise and peril of Singapore’s vulnerable prosperity
By David Fickling

ENVIRONMENT

A view of Dumbarton Golf Club submerged by flood water following recent storms in Dumbarton, Scotland, on Oct. 27.
U.K. tries to map out impact of extreme weather on public services
By Olivia Rudgard
This is the first year U.K. government departments have been required to publish the full details of the risks they face due to global warming.
Winds of change: Laos looks up for renewables push
‘Air-con nation’ Singapore eyes alternatives to cool down
AI is part of solution for climate change, COP31 pledge says
By John Ainger
Climate-threatened Fijian utopia rejects calls to relocate
By Ben Strang

CULTURE

Around 80 participants joined the event, drinking coffee, reading, some of them taking part in a book-cover decorating workshop and some discussing the novel.
Is the viral book rave real? We go to the second event to investigate.
By Sarah Yang
The Jucy Book Rave, which went viral for the unusual choice of reading place in a Shimokitazawa livehouse, came back with a second event.
Art Week Tokyo’s Atsuko Ninagawa wants to connect the city’s scattered art scene
By Erik Augustin Palm
‘In Their Traces’: An unflinching documentary about the survivors of sexual violence
By James Hadfield
‘Moonlit Golden-Gai’: A director’s love letter to Shinjuku’s bar district
By Mark Schilling
Ryu Murakami was a provocateur to the very end
By Alyssa I. Smith

LIFE

"Ise-ebi" (spiny lobster) from Aichi Prefecture is just one of the superb dishes at Saki.  
Fine ‘omakase’ dining, with a twist, at Saki
By Owen Ziegler
Curated by a Japanese and a European chef, the courses at Saki include surprises to rankle purists while delighting the rest of us.
A quadrennial Tokyo festival returns to a changed Japan
By Nico Phillips
Putting the almond back into Japan’s ‘almond tofu’
By Simon Daly
Satisfy your kneads at the Setagaya Bread Festival
By Weiwen Lin
‘Stupid Never Dies’: A zombie B-movie resurrected in game form
By Owen Ziegler

COMMUNITY

Tourists enjoy themselves while crossing the famous Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo on Oct. 12.
How this long-term resident avoids the annoying tourist label in Japan
By Daniel Traylor
Don’t like being lumped in with the growing crowds of foreign tourists? We have you covered.
A feline brother and sister pair who are simply out of this world
In tourist-weary Kyoto, U.S. college targets deeper ties between students and residents
By Joel Tansey
The do’s and don’ts when applying for permanent residency in Japan
By Mai Yoshikawa
People-loving Autumn is ready for a new home

Editors' Picks

COMMUNITY
‘Lazy’ running becomes fresh way for Tokyo runners to build community
By Elizabeth Beattie
Members of the Meguro River Lazy Runners group gather for a chat and some stretching prior to their run on a recent weekday morning, in Tokyo's Nakameguro district.
ENVIRONMENT
What a Japanese scientist says can be done about the climate’s nitrogen problem
By Tomoko Otake
A French cereal farmer spreads nitrogen fertilizer white pellets on a wheat field in Larchant, France, in May. While nitrogen gas is harmless and makes up 78% of the air we breathe, human activities have dramatically increased the production and release into the environment of various forms of reactive nitrogen.
LIFE
A haunting in Honjo: Tracing old Edo’s most famous ghost stories
By Alex K.T. Martin
Today a modern commuter hub, the Kinshicho neighborhood was once the epicenter of some of old Tokyo’s most chilling ghost stories.
CULTURE
Is the viral book rave real? We go to the second event to investigate.
By Sarah Yang
Around 80 participants joined the event, drinking coffee, reading, some of them taking part in a book-cover decorating workshop and some discussing the novel.
CULTURE
Japan has mastered the red carpet. Almost.
By Patrick St. Michel
"Ghost — End of Night" director Shingo Natsume is joined by voice actors Issey Takahashi and Mayu Hotta (and a few ghosts) on the red carpet at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival.

Podcast

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

Longform

Famima Park Azabudai is a concept store by FamilyMart that combines convenience store staples with branded apparel, merchandise and a landscaped outdoor space.
Convenience stores, toilets and the allure of everyday Japan
By Elizabeth Beattie

JT Directory Service

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

JCOM expands from cable to social infrastructure
JCOM expands from cable to social infrastructure

COMFACTS

Space Seed Holdings CEO Joins Panel at Japanese Society for Biological Sciences in Space Meeting
Space Seed Holdings CEO Joins Panel at Japanese Society for Biological Sciences in Space Meeting
SPACE SEED HOLDINGS INC.

WHAT’S TRENDING

JAPAN
Japan considers paying low-income workers ¥5,000 through benefit program
The Japanese government is considering providing around ¥5,000 a year to low-income workers under a proposed income-linked benefit program.
JAPAN
U.S. Marine arrested in Okinawa for driving under influence
The U.S. military started the 30-day curfew Oct. 9 after the arrest of a marine belonging to the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
COMMUNITY
‘Lazy’ running becomes fresh way for Tokyo runners to build community
By Elizabeth Beattie
Members of the Meguro River Lazy Runners group gather for a chat and some stretching prior to their run on a recent weekday morning, in Tokyo's Nakameguro district.
JAPAN
Stolen luxury watch returned to Tokyo store via courier with apology note
A watch shop on the Nakano Broadway complex's third floor in Tokyo was stolen on Thursday before being returned on Sunday morning.