author

 
Menu
Search
 
April 25, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Helen Reid
For Helen Reid's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Puma launches a new brand campaign with Olympic athletes in Paris on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS
Apr 10, 2024
Puma hones focus on speed in Olympic battle with Adidas and Nike
As Puma tries to win over more everyday and serious runners, its sponsorship of Jamaica's Olympic team helps to associate the brand with speed.
A Zara clothing store in Brussels on November 2022. Inditex is an outlier among big clothing retailers in not publishing details of the factories from which it sources.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 12, 2024
Zara owner Inditex faces pressure from investors on supply chain disclosure
Regulators and investors want transparency from clothing retailers, to prove supply chains are free of forced labor and workers are paid decent wages.
The Galaxy Leader cargo ship is escorted by Houthi boats after being hijacked in the Red Sea in this photo released on Nov. 20.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 21, 2023
Exporters explore flights to avoid deepening Red Sea bottleneck
Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have stepped up attacks on vessels in the Red Sea since Nov. 19.
Lionel Messi jerseys, in Inter Miami’s distinctive pink color, for sale at the Adidas store in Manhattan in September. In the span of three months, the soccer superstar has made Inter Miami’s eye-catching pink jersey the hottest piece of sports merchandise on the planet.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 2, 2023
Adidas and Puma eye 'sports culture' market as soccer courts fashion
The Women's World Cup showed huge unmet demand for soccer-related merchandise for women, with the trend extending to fashion-conscious fans of both sexes.
A joint study by consultant McKinsey and data firm NielsenIQ earlier this year found that 78% of U.S. consumers say a sustainable lifestyle is important to them.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 8, 2023
Shoppers say they want sustainable goods, but won't pay more
When push comes to shove, manufacturers sometimes find consumers aren't buying their sustainable products.
A clothing packaging warehouse near Barcelona last month
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Sep 1, 2023
Fast fashion firms prepare for EU crackdown on waste mountain
Fast fashion, or making and selling cheap clothes with a short lifespan, is "highly unsustainable," the European Commission said in July.
Workers at a garment factory in the Hlaing Tar Yar industry zone in Yangon, Myanmar, in 2010. Fast fashion retailer H&M says it is following up on 20 alleged instances of labor abuse at Myanmar garment factories.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 16, 2023
H&M probes Myanmar factory abuses as pressure intensifies
The move comes after top rival Zara owner Inditex said it is phasing out purchases from the Southeast Asian country.
England goalkeeper Mary Earp has criticized team outfitter Nike over failing to produce replicas of her uniform for sale.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Aug 15, 2023
Adidas and Nike navigate bumps in retail demand as WWC breaks records
As the market for women's soccer grows, marketers have to juggle the fan base's ever-changing demands.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2022
War and energy crisis fires global hunt for coal, sparking investment in polluting fuel
Buyers in Europe and beyond are now vying to pay top dollar for coal, often from remote places that until now hardly even shipped the fuel.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Apr 2, 2022
In Zimbabwe, coal power project seeks other backing after China's U-turn
China's recent about-face on foreign coal financing is forcing developing nations across Africa and Asia to rethink their energy plans.
'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.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
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.
For amateur sumo, a fresh start offers hope against time-wasting and gamesmanship
Wrestlers prepare for the start of a bout at the 2023 Sumo World Championships in Tokyo. Starting this month, placing one hand on the clay first is no longer allowed.
LDP veteran Nikai's youngest son expected to succeed him in Wakayama
Toshihiro Nikai, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, announced in March that he would not run in the next Lower House election to take responsibility for the political funds scandal that rocked his party and his own faction.
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.

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

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass
Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER