A man in a suit sits onstage at a Roppongi theater in May and fires a fart-fueled dart at a balloon. Later, another comedian flips through oversize image boards to tell an increasingly absurd narrative about feeding ever-larger pies to an old lady. The audience responds with bewilderment, laughter and applause. This is Yoshimoto Comedy Night Owarai, an English-language comedy show staged every Monday by Yoshimoto Kogyo, the powerhouse talent agency best known for its comedians. The Osaka-based company also stages a similar event called Nandeyanen every Friday at Yoshimoto…
Posts published in “Japan”
When Sanae Takaichi took office in October, Japan’s first female prime minister entered office under a relentless media spotlight. Eight months in, she has hardly faded from public view. But the method by which she reaches the public might be changing. Rather than relying solely on exchanges with reporters or television appearances that shaped some of her predecessors’ public image, Takaichi and her administration have leaned into a more direct form of communication — social media, official messaging and rapid online rebuttals. To her aides, the shift is not merely…
Organic food is often presented as a healthier, greener or more ethical choice. But when people decide whether to pay extra for organic milk, eggs or vegetables, something else is going on. Organic food belongs to a curious category that economists call “credence goods”. These are the products whose key qualities can’t be verified even after you’ve bought them. There’s no way that you can tell by looking at, tasting or cooking a food item whether it was genuinely produced to organic standards. Instead, you have to take it on…
U.S. and global oil and gas prices surged higher Monday as concerns grew that attacks by Israel and the U.S. on Iran could spiral into a broader war and disrupt global energy supplies. The U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other senior government officials while talks between Washington and Tehran over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program were reported to be ongoing. European benchmark Brent crude oil surged by as much as 13% in early trade on Monday,…
Iran has arrested the bureau chief of Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK World, and transferred him to Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, two sources have told RFE/RL’s Radio Farda. A spokesman for Japan’s government, Masanao Ozaki, told reporters that a Japanese citizen had been detained on January 20 but declined to give more details. It is unclear what charges the NHK journalist, Shinnosuke Kawashima, faces, although sources said he was taken to Evin prison on February 23. Kawashima is being held in Ward 7 of the prison, where political prisoners are usually…
Japanese companies will finance investments valued at $36 billion in energy and minerals projects in Ohio, Texas and Georgia as part of a trade agreement that will cut U.S. tariffs on Japanese imports to 15%, according to the Trump administration. The announcement is part of Japan’s 2025 agreement to invest $550 billion over the next four years at the direction of the U.S., with the funds aimed at rebuilding and expanding core American industries. In October, the Trump administration provided details on Japanese investments of up to $332 billion to…
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) got a historic landslide victory in last week’s parliamentary elections. This marks the first time since its founding in 1955 that the conservative LDP controls a two-thirds supermajority in the lower house. If necessary, Takaichi’s cabinet could also overrule any opposition in the upper house of the Diet (Japan’s parliament), where her coalition still lacks a majority. Given this, Takaichi now has a massive mandate to push her agenda. This includes boosting defence spending, strengthening the military and…
Japan’s Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, has already made history since taking office in October 2025. Capitalising on her high approval ratings and “fresh new image”, she dissolved the lower house and called an election just four months into her term. Her gamble paid off, winning the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) more seats in the lower house than any party in post-war Japan: 316 of a possible 465. Its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), won a further 36 seats. With a strong (and resoundingly consolidated) mandate, Takaichi is now…
Sanae Takaichi led Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party to a historic landslide victory in February 2026, rebranding it as a modern, youth-friendly force and capitalising on her image as Japan’s first female prime minister — even as scandals and coalition ruptures had recently left the party vulnerable. Her mandate rests more on personal appeal and nationalist positioning than on a detailed policy program, with younger voters backing an image of change rather than a coherent reform agenda. Yet significant uncertainty surrounds her fiscal strategy, which risks deepening stagflation, and her hawkish…
Japan is preparing to lift long-standing restrictions on lethal weapons exports, marking another step in the erosion of its post-war arms export taboo. While the reform creates new diplomatic and commercial opportunities and allows deeper security cooperation with regional partners, Japan’s defence industrial base remains small, costly and capacity-constrained. Domestic procurement demands and labour shortages mean exports will likely remain modest, limiting the policy’s practical and strategic impact on regional military balances. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government is looking to loosen Japan’s long-standing restrictions on weapons exports, marking another step…