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April 25, 2024
 

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Etienne Balmer
For Etienne Balmer's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Cars ready to be loaded onto a ship for export at the port in Yantai, in China's eastern Shandong province, on Jan. 2
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 31, 2024
China seized Japan's crown for vehicle exports in 2023, data shows
The Chinese auto sector has boomed in recent years largely because of massive investments in electric cars, while Japanese firms have been more cautious.
Customers browse through items sold as part of the Uniqlo Pre-owned Clothes Project at the brand's Harajuku store in Tokyo in October.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2023
Japan revisits used garments as inflation adds to fashion appeal
Awareness of the sector's huge environmental impact has yet to spark much interest in secondhand options in the world third-biggest clothes market.
The front entrance gate leading to the former Ashigakubo Elementary School in Yokose, Saitama Prefecture. The school, which was more than a century old, was forced to close in 2009.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2023
School's out forever in aging Japan
As the number of children in Japan decreases, public money has been made available to help municipalities repurpose old schools.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 19, 2023
Takeshi Kitano returns to Cannes with an 'indifferent' outlook
The director's first feature-length film in six years will premiere at the festival, but Kitano says he does things his own way, regardless of success.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Apr 6, 2023
As China, Europe and the U.S. power ahead with EVs, Japan clings to hybrids
Last year, 59,000 new EVs were sold in Japan — a record and a threefold annual increase, but still less than 2% of sales of all cars in the country in 2022.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2023
Hot springs block Japan's geothermal potential
Geothermal is a renewable resource that harnesses heat from deep below the Earth's crust — a seemingly attractive option for energy resource-poor Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2023
Sakhalin reliance leaves Japan out of step with G7 despite holding presidency
Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 in Russia's Far East are an anomaly in Tokyo's otherwise lockstep efforts with allies to reduce dependency on Moscow's hydrocarbons.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2023
Reviving Japan's nuclear power industry will not be easy
All the country's reactors were shut down for safety checks after the Fukushima meltdown, and there are currently 33 considered operable. By mid-December, nine were generating electricity.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2023
'Big challenges': Choosing a nuclear career in Japan
In the decade after the Fukushima disaster, the number of atomic science students in Japan fell by more than a quarter, according to the education ministry.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 30, 2022
The rural temple where winemaking equals worship
Yamanashi Prefecture's Daizenji Temple is dedicated to the premodern monk who is said to have introduce the joy of wine to Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 15, 2022
'True balance': Japan's quiet telework revolution
COVID-19 has upended office routines worldwide, but in Japan, some say the shake-up was sorely needed.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Over 40% of Japan's municipalities at risk of vanishing, study finds
Of 1,729 local municipalities nationwide, 744 have been identified as being at risk of disappearing.
Tokyo issues strong warning on yen intervention as currency dips further
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks during a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on the sidelines of IMF and G20 meetings in Washington last week.
Princess Aiko makes debut at imperial garden party
Princess Aiko attends an imperial garden party in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan's former PM Aso meets Trump for talks on security and economy
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Taro Aso, vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in New York on Tuesday. The Japanese government’s top spokesman on Wednesday played down the meeting as one conducted "in the capacity of one lawmaker" and “without the government’s involvement.”
New workers name Shohei Ohtani as 'dream boss' for two years running
Shohei Ohtani has been overwhelmingly voted as the “dream boss” for people who started working in April, according to a survey.
A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Tsukiji 2030s: A stadium, culinary center and transportation hub
A computer-generated image shows redevelopment plans for the former site of the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.
Hearing the impact of climate change in Okinawa, one bird call at a time
Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.

Podcast

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

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
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa
A young restaurant leads the way in Karuizawa

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