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July 13, 2025
 

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Joel Tansey

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Joel Tansey
Joel joined The Japan Times in 2017 after four years as a reporter with Black Press Media in western Canada. He's currently a senior news editor and in 2022 he helped launch a new section of the paper focusing on climate change, earth science and other environmental issues.
A Japan day ceremony at the Osaka Expo featuring Myaku-myaku on Thursday in the city of Osaka
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2025
Best-selling singer Misia and Hello Kitty celebrate Japanese culture at Osaka Expo
The expo’s national day celebrating its host country spanned culture from contemporary to ancient, in a ceremony featuring calligraphy and gagaku and more.
Momentum appears to be building toward what Osaka Expo organizers hope will be a boom period for the event as they try to recoup ballooning costs via ticket sales. But long lines are making some guests weary.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2025
Two months in, Osaka Expo organizer struggles to improve experience as crowds grow
Even before the expo reaches its peak attendance, some visitors are already growing weary of the long lines.
Nissan's Oliver Rowland races to victory at the Tokyo E-Prix on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
May 18, 2025
Oliver Rowland’s ‘dream’ Formula E season continues as Nissan driver wins in Tokyo
The win gives Rowland an iron grip on the championship trophy.
Founded with a mission of promoting electric vehicles, Formula E has always placed sustainability at the forefront of its raison d’etre.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
May 18, 2025
For Formula E, ‘sustainability is at the heart’
Now in its 11th season, Formula E's efforts to reduce emissions and promote electric vehicles are paying off.
Maserati's Stoffel Vandoorne holds up the trophy after winning the Tokyo E-Prix on Saturday, alongside Nissan's Oliver Rowland (left) and McLaren's Taylor Barnard.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
May 17, 2025
Stoffel Vandoorne rides perfect strategy to Tokyo E-Prix win
The Belgian’s triumph was to the dismay of the loyal Nissan fans at the track, with championship leader Oliver Rowland slipping down to second after starting on pole. 
People visit the Osaka Expo on the first day it opened to the public, in the city of Osaka on Sunday.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2025
Osaka Expo throws open its doors as mega-event kicks off
A steady rain failed to dampen the spirits of organizers and expo early-birds as 160 countries, regions and organizations showed off their best tech and culture.
A large statue of Osaka Expo mascot Myaku Myaku sits near the east entrance of the event's venue in Yumeshima island, Osaka, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2025
After a tumultuous buildup, a first look at the Osaka Expo
Members of the media and other invited guests got a glimpse of the event's shiny pavilions spread over 155 hectares, and the signature Grand Ring overlooking them.
A Haas F1 car on display in the fan zone at Suzuka Circuit on Saturday as Toyota marks a soft return to Formula One.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 7, 2025
Toyota's synergy with Haas fuels automaker's modest return to Formula One
Toyota’s decision to partner with the American team immediately left observers wondering if it might have its eyes on more, such as an engine deal or a full-blown Toyota team.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 6, 2025
Clinical Verstappen caps final home race for Red Bull-Honda with a win
The victory was the Dutch star’s fourth straight at Suzuka Circuit, while Red Bull debutant Yuki Tsunoda finished back in 12th.
Honda Racing President Koji Watanabe says the carmaker's development on the next generation of Formula One engines is proceeding as planned ahead of sweeping regulation changes in 2026.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 5, 2025
Honda looks toward its F1 future as Red Bull partnership nears end
Honda Racing President Koji Watanabe discusses the carmaker's past and future in Formula One as its Red Bull partnership draws to a close.
Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda competes during the qualifying session of the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 5, 2025
Tsunoda struggles in first qualifying with Red Bull as Verstappen takes pole
Tsunoda will start 14th at Suzuka Circuit on Sunday after a scruffy lap in the second qualifying stage, while his teammate grabbed a surprise pole.
Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda is a lot calmer than he was as a hotheaded rookie in 2021.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 4, 2025
How Yuki Tsunoda’s new attitude helped him land a seat with Red Bull
Those close to Tsunoda are adamant that Red Bull is getting a new and improved version of the hotheaded rookie from 2021.
Yuki Tsunoda wears his special kabuki-themed helmet on Thursday ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 3, 2025
Five drivers to watch at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix
From Lewis Hamilton to Yuki Tsunoda, here are five of the drivers to keep an extra close eye at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.
Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda speaks during a news conference for the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 3, 2025
Yuki Tsunoda feeling relaxed ahead of blockbuster Red Bull debut 
The veteran of 89 Formula One races appeared at ease in his new colors, exuding the quiet confidence that he’s had since making his debut in the series in 2021.
All eyes will be on Yuki Tsunoda as he makes his Red Bull debut at the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 1, 2025
No longer a 'bridesmaid': Yuki Tsunoda prepares for the Red Bull pressure cooker
New Red Bull driver Tsunoda tells The Japan Times he started to believe that a promotion to the senior team might never come — until it did.
Asian seabass are bred at the Songkhla Coastal Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Research and Development Center in southern Thailand.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Feb 23, 2025
Japan looks to save seafood and seaweed farming from warming oceans
Projects at home and in Thailand are seeking to address challenges stemming from climate change as well as sustainability concerns.
The Osaka Expo site on Yumeshima island in December. A survey of 3,000 people from across Japan conducted in October by the Mitsubishi Research Institute showed that just 24% of respondents expressed an interest in attending the Osaka Expo.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 4, 2025
Excitement for the Osaka Expo is low. Can organizers build hype?
A little over two months before it opens, the Osaka Expo is just about ready to welcome guests from Japan and the rest of the world — that is, if they are ready to come.
Wawira Njiru, the founder of Food4Education, serves food during the opening of a new kitchen in Mombasa County, Kenya, in 2022. The organization started in 2012 by feeding 25 children out of a single kitchen. Now it feeds nearly half a million every day.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jan 19, 2025
Amid rising world hunger, a Japan-inspired group in Kenya is making a big impact
Food4Education is helping feed half a million students through a program that drew inspiration from Japan's renowned school lunch programs.
On Dec. 11, Universal Studios Japan officially unveiled its new Donkey Kong Country area, putting the iconic character in the spotlight for the first time in a while.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 12, 2024
USJ’s new Donkey Kong Country is a barrel of fun
Mine Cart Madness is the area’s only ride, but there are shops and snacking options as well as chances to meet costumed characters from the iconic series.
A portion of the Tokyo skyline from an observatory deck at an industrial port in Kawasaki
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Oct 20, 2024
Japan scientists are tracking the big climate problem with tiny aerosols
The clear signs of climate change are everywhere, but a Japan team has found a way to trace the crisis with something that's a little less visible: aerosols.
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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

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