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July 13, 2025
 

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Hiroko Tabuchi
Smoke from the Pacific Palisades fire blankets the area in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Researchers see a growing health danger from the vast plumes of pollution spawned by wildfires like the ones devastating Los Angeles.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 12, 2025
Far from the Los Angeles fires, the deadly risks of smoke are intensifying
By some estimates, wildfire smoke causes as many as 675,000 premature deaths a year worldwide, as well as a range of serious health problems.
What role should money from oil and gas — the very industry that’s the main contributor to global warming — have in funding the work of climate scientists?
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 4, 2024
Two young climate scientists. Two visions of the solution.
The pair's biggest question: What role should money from oil and gas have in funding work like theirs?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2023
The secret behind Japan’s wintry strawberries
Strawberries are a major Christmas and winter staple in Japan, but their growth comes with an environmental toll.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 13, 2022
How fashion giants recast plastic as good for the planet
An explosion in the use of inexpensive, petroleum-based materials has transformed the fashion industry, aided by the successful rebranding of synthetic materials into hip alternatives.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2021
Six automakers and 31 countries say they’ll phase out gasoline car sales
Toyota, Volkswagen and the Nissan-Renault alliance did not join the pledge, and the governments of Japan, the United States and China — three of the largest car markets — also abstained.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 14, 2021
Exports of U.S. plastic garbage rise, despite ban
Environmental watchdog groups say exporters are ignoring the new rules that went into effect last year.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 13, 2020
How one firm drove influence campaigns for big oil across the U.S.
In early 2017 the Texans for Natural Gas website went live, urging voters to "thank a roughneck” and support fracking. Around the same time, the Arctic Energy Center ramped up its advocacy for drilling in Alaskan waters and in a vast Arctic wildlife refuge. The next year, the Main Street Investors...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2008
Robots in all walks of life? Matter of time
At the Meiji University lab in a Tokyo suburb, engineering students are wiring a rubbery robot face to simulate six basic expressions: anger, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise and disgust.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2007
Innovations make navigating in Second Life more lifelike
You can always spot the novices in the virtual reality world of Second Life: Their online characters, or avatars, stumble around awkwardly and walk into objects as their real-world users fumble with the keyboard controls.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2007
PCs getting pushed aside by other, powerful gadgets
Masaya Igarashi wants ¥20,000 headphones for his new iPod Touch, and he's torn between Nintendo Co.'s Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3 game consoles. When he has saved up again, he plans to splurge on a digital camera or flat-screen TV.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2007
Scandals in food industry shatter safety myth
Ocean fresh sushi? Quality marbled beef? Exquisite confectionaries? Think again.
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2007
Robot industry moves to aid seniors
If you grow old in Japan, expect to be served by a feeding robot, ride a voice-recognition wheelchair and hire a nurse in a robotic suit — all examples of cutting-edge technology to care for the country's rapidly graying population.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2007
Aso hip with comic book crowd
Former Foreign Minister Taro Aso is the clear underdog in the race to become the next prime minister. But among young fans of pop culture, Aso is king.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2007
Japan, China in a race to the moon with upcoming launches
Japan claims its project is the biggest since the Apollo missions put the first humans on the moon. China, hoping to pave the way for its own manned missions, says its probes will study the lunar surface to help plan a landing.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2007
Soldier confirms wartime sex slavery
South Korea lashed out Saturday at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for disavowing Japan's responsibility for using Asian women as sex slaves for its troops in World War II. Abe said Thursday there was no proof that "comfort women" were forced into sexual slavery during the war.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2007
SDF deploys perky mascot to boast cuddly image
Perky cartoon character Prince Pickles -- with saucer eyes, big dimples and tiny, booted feet -- poses in front of tanks, rappels from helicopters and shakes hands with smiling Iraqis.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2007
Pending retirees suddenly find, dote on wives
Mitsutoshi Fukatsu has been with his wife for three decades, but their lives have grown apart.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2006
Only best for graying population -- of pets
Andy has sprouted white whiskers, suffers from lower back pain and no longer bounds up the stairs like he used to.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2006
Temples grope for gimmicks to stay relevant, flush
The Kamiyacho Open Terrace cafe in central Tokyo has all the trappings of a trendy establishment -- good coffee, homemade desserts, an airy terrace.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2006
Filmmaker retraces footsteps of Palestinian thinker
"Fighting the jihad with the pen is the same as dying for the jihad," says Mahmoud, a young Lebanese man in a new documentary dedicated to Edward Said, the Palestinian-American intellectual and advocate for the Palestinian cause.
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Nissan clinches $4.5 billion bond deal after orders soar
Nissan Motor has raised $4.5 billion through a junk bond sale in U.S. dollars and euros, part of which carries a record-high coupon rate.
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
An emoji used to say it all. Now it might say too much.
Apple’s Craig Federighi shows off a set of emoji at a conference on June 13, 2016. While the small pictures have proved helpful in conveying nuance in our texts, younger people are using them less often.
‘Our ultimate goal is to save every single Japanese video game’
After nearly shuttering earlier this year, the Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society continues its work to save the early history of Japanese gaming.
Rare vintage shots and first-time shows at TOP’s 30th anniversary
The museum's curators selected a wide array of works from the archives for the milestone exhibitions. Among other photos, Nobuyoshi Araki's work from the series "Winter Journey" (1990) was included in the "Continuity and Change" exhibition that concluded in June.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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