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Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 17, 2023

Vietnam president quits as Communist Party intensifies graft crackdown

Vietnam has been rife with speculation he would be removed following January's dismissal of two deputy prime ministers who served under him.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2023

LDP lawmakers to set up group to promote Japan's defense exports

The move comes after the government last month revised its key defense documents, including the National Security Strategy, a long-term policy guideline.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 17, 2023

Kishida and Yoon call for improved bilateral relations

Kishida said in his written message that relations between Japan and South Korea need to be brought back to normalcy and promoted further.
Japan Times
SUMO / Basho reports
Jan 17, 2023

Takakeisho takes care of Meisei to remain sole leader

No. 8 maegashira Onosho and No. 13 Kotoshoho improved to 8-2 to remain one win off the pace at the 15-day tournament.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jan 17, 2023

Andy Murray turns back the clock to win five-set epic

Murray will play the winner of Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis and Italian veteran Fabio Fognini for a place in the third round.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 17, 2023

With Kishida criticism, Suga steps back onto Japan's political stage

The former prime minister broke his monthslong silence to express his discontent with Kishida's decision to remain as an LDP faction leader.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2023

Boston startup raises $40 million to develop new low-carbon cement technology

The cement industry makes as much as 8% of the world's emissions — meeting global climate goals would require reducing that to zero.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2023

Climate activists say Big Oil is taking cycling fans for a ride

Sports sponsorships have emerged as a major battleground in the push to ban fossil fuel companies from advertising their brands.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2023

COVID-19 tracker: Tokyo reports 11,120 new cases, 28 deaths

On Monday, the daily number of new cases across Japan came to 52,622, down by about 40,000 from a week earlier.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 17, 2023

Japan’s largest trade union head says 2023 is pivotal for wages

Trade union leader has stressed the importance of moving toward continued wage growth in the face of rapid inflation and economic stagnation.
Ryu Shionoya, former chairman of the General Council of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks at a news conference at the parliamentary building on Tuesday after he left the party.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 24, 2024

Ryu Shionoya quits LDP, ending scandal-linked punishment process

With the acceptance of the resignation, the LDP's process of punishing party lawmakers involved in the political funds scandal concluded.
Pedestrians walk on a flooded road in the city of Akita on Sunday morning after heavy rains hit the area.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2023

Heavy rains hit Tohoku region, leaving at least one dead and four injured in Akita

A man died and more than 2,000 people evacuated as heavy rain pounded Akita Prefecture over the weekend, local authorities said Sunday.
“Butter” author Asako Yuzuki was inspired by the real-life story of Kanae Kijima, who was nicknamed the “Black Widow” and the “Konkatsu Killer” by the media for killing three men she dated to maintain her luxurious lifestyle of gourmet meals and a high-end cooking school.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 12, 2024

Asako Yuzuki's 'Butter' is a heady serving of food culture and feminism

The author's foodie femme fatale character was inspired by a real-life "black widow" case that caught the public's attention in 2009.
Dennis Kwok, then a pro-democracy lawmaker, answers questions from the media outside the High Court in Hong Kong on Oct. 31, 2019.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2023

Hong Kong police target more family members of wanted democracy activists

The pair, former lawmaker Dennis Kwok and unionist Mung Siu-tat, are among eight exiled activists sought by authorities for alleged violations of the National Security Law.
From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
PODCAST / deep dive
Apr 16, 2024

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

We discuss everything from accessibility in Tokyo to dealing with trains and the country’s shifting attitudes.
The painting as seen before the July 8 incident
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2023

Iconic dragon painting at Sensoji Temple peels off ceiling

Visitors to Tokyo's Sensoji Temple were left in shock as an iconic dragon painting on the ceiling of the main hall peeled off and was left hanging above their heads.
Japan's consumer prices rose 3.3% year-on-year in June, with the pace of inflation accelerating from the 3.2% recorded in May.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2023

Japan's price growth accelerates ahead of BOJ inflation update

Prices excluding those for fresh food gained 3.3% from a year ago, accelerating a little from the rise in May as energy prices were less of a drag on inflation.
Delfin Lorenzana
BUSINESS
Apr 20, 2024

Philippines wants U.S. and Japan to take over rail deal eyed by China

The $868 million Subic-Clark railway will link former U.S. military bases turned commercial hubs and form part of the planned Luzon Economic Corridor.
In Japan, 35% of students graduate with a degree in the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math — compared with 38% in the U.S., 42% in South Korea and Germany and 45% in Britain.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 21, 2023

Japan to give ¥300 billion to universities expanding science education

As the country's R&D status continues to drop, the ministry’s new program aims to fund schools pivoting toward STEM subjects.
Delegates meet for the Development Committee Plenary during the World Bank and IMF 2024 Spring Meetings in Washington on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2024

Negotiating a bigger, better World Bank

Recent changes at the global lender are important steps toward making the World Bank’s financial model fit for “ending poverty on a livable planet.”
Tokyo Gendai is described by fair organizers Art Assembly as Tokyo Bay’s first international contemporary art fair in 30 years.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 22, 2023

Can a new art fair finally put Tokyo on the map?

Tokyo Gendai puts on a good event but still needs to change Japanese opinions on contemporary art.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses a joint session of Congress in Washington on Thursday. Kishida’s recent summit with U.S. President Joe Biden is being lauded as a success.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2024

Give credit where credit’s due after prime minister's outstanding U.S. summit

The Japan-U.S. summit has been rightly called historic and a big deal for Tokyo and the alliance — if its long list of deliverables is realized.
Dried cocoa beans at the Somos Cacao farm and production in Ragonvalia, department of Norte de Santader, Colombia, on March 22, 2024. Cocoa is the best-selling commodity in the world so far in 2024, and futures have doubled in less than three months as poor harvests in West Africa, where most of the world's cocoa is grown, have led buyers to look elsewhere for supplies.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 29, 2024

Cocoa market 'broken' as crop failure drives third year of shortages

here’s a risk poor harvests in West Africa could be long-lasting, with climate change and crop disease ravaging trees.
A safety course for electric scooters offered in Tokyo in June
JAPAN / Explainer
Jul 21, 2023

Bike, scooter, taxi? Here are your options for nonrail transit in Japan

Here's a rundown on your options and how best to utilize them — whether your a tourist or long-time resident.
Nadeshiko Japan celebrates after defeating the United States in the 2011 Women's World Cup final in Frankfurt, Germany.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Jul 21, 2023

Nadeshiko Japan's Women's World Cup glory now distant memory

Japan begins its latest World Cup campaign against Zambia on Saturday, but is ranked 11th now and no longer among the favorites.
Takeru Satoh (right) and Masami Nagasawa play an engaged couple whose relationship is put to the test by memories of an earlier romance in Tomokazu Yamada’s “April, Come She Will.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 28, 2024

‘April, Come She Will’ promises more than it delivers

Tomokazu Yamada’s ruminative romantic drama sets out to interrogate love story cliches, but ends up succumbing to them.
Lakers forward LeBron James celebrates after a dunk against the Pistons on Tuesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Feb 18, 2024

All-Stars say NBA future in good hands once LeBron is gone

James has been the top star in an older generation of talent that also includes Golden State's Stephen Curry and Phoenix's Kevin Durant.
Haruhiko Aoyama (left), one of the plaintiffs of a lawsuit over significant base pay cuts after reaching the retirement age and being reemployed, speaks to reporters in Tokyo Thursday following a ruling by the Supreme Court.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2023

Japan top court sends back reemployment pay case

In the lawsuit, the male plaintiffs have demanded that their employer pay the difference between what they were paid before and after the retirement age.
Mika and Jesse say their landlady prefers a hands-off style of property management, leaving all matters, including maintenence and repairs, to the renting couple.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 18, 2023

Renting akiya: A backdoor into Japan's abandoned homes

“If the choice is between leaving (an akiya) empty or renting it out, please rent it out.”
Kiyoto Imamura is escorted by police after he arrived at Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture in February after being deported from the Philippines.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 21, 2023

Crime ring suspect served fresh warrant over Chiba robbery

The case is part of a spate of robberies across Japan allegedly committed by a group whose ringleaders are believed to have recruited people through social media posts.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores