About Ryoron News
Ryoron News is the English edition of 両論ニュース (“Ryoron” means “both arguments”), an independent Japanese site that explains political news by laying out what happened and what each side says, side by side.
Why an English edition
Many claims about Japanese politics, especially about foreign residents and immigration, spread widely on Japanese social media but are rarely checked in English. We translate our fact checks and major-issue explainers so readers outside Japan, and foreign residents in Japan, can see what is actually being said and what the evidence shows.
How we work
- Facts first. Every factual statement is linked to a source: government documents, court and prosecutor decisions, and news reports. Most sources are in Japanese.
- Both sides, in our own words. We summarize each side's main arguments from their own statements and the reporting, and give them comparable space.
- Verdicts. For viral claims we use four labels: False, Misleading, Unverified, and True.
- Speculation is labeled. “Reading between the lines” sections are our editors' interpretation and are always marked as such.
- Social media. Posts by ordinary users are paraphrased, not quoted, and their accounts are not named. Embedded posts are limited to official accounts of politicians, parties, government bodies and news organizations.
- Independence. We receive no funding or direction from any political party or group.
Translation
English articles are translated and adapted from the Japanese originals, which are linked at the top of each article. Japanese names are written given name first, as in most English-language media. If the Japanese original is updated, the English version may lag behind.
Corrections
If you find an error, please contact us through our contact form. Messages in English are welcome.