search

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 4, 2020

Vienna Philharmonic's Japan tour offers hope for overseas ensembles

The Japanese government granted the orchestra a special entry permit and allowed them to forgo a 14-day quarantine, after considering the “importance of cultural exchange.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 4, 2020

Naomi Osaka inspires own manga character

Japan's three-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka has inspired a new manga character to appear in an issue of Nakayoshi magazine next month, the publishers announced on Nov. 29.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 3, 2020

African nation worst hit by COVID-19 falling behind on vaccines

Almost 22,000 people have died of COVID-19 in South Africa, the 14th-highest figure worldwide.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 3, 2020

NTT Docomo unveils ¥2,980 data plan, cheapest among Japan's top carriers

Unlike KDDI and SoftBank, Docomo does not have a budget brand and is set to lower fees for its main brand — a sign that the carrier is succumbing to pressure from the Suga administration.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 3, 2020

India’s angry farmers have reason to worry

The third rail of Indian politics has always been agriculture. While the economy has been partly liberalized since opening up to the world in 1991, the process has largely bypassed the three-fifths of Indians who depend for their livelihoods, directly or indirectly, on farming. In September, the government...
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Dec 3, 2020

An alarming assassination in Iran

The assassination last week of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran's most important nuclear scientist, was aimed as much at the administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden as it was the regime in Tehran.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 3, 2020

China punctuates greater market freedoms with tough crackdowns

Last month alone, Beijing canned Ant Group's share sale, issued rules to root out monopolies in the internet sector and began scrutinizing investments in new energy vehicles.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 3, 2020

SoftBank winding down options trading after investor backlash

SoftBank shareholders balked after SoftBank's foray into derivatives trading was first disclosed in September, cutting the company's market value by as much as $17 billion.
Rapidus last week printed circuitry on wafers using 2-nanometer gate-all-around process technology, President Atsuyoshi Koike told reporters Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2025

Rapidus reports 2-nanometer progress, moving Japan closer to semiconductor goals

Uncertainty about U.S. President Donald Trump’s willingness to defend Taiwan in the event of an attack is among motivations for Japan’s efforts to build its own foundry.
The Japan Football Association aims to be part of a joint bid to host the 2046 FIFA World Cup.
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 18, 2025

Japan Football Association planning to join Asia bid for 2046 World Cup

The JFA aims to be part of a joint bid including other East Asian countries as well as ASEAN members.
While Seven & I shares are higher than they were before Couche-Tard’s interest became public in August 2024, they fell after the proposal was withdrawn this week and are down by more than a fifth this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2025

7-Eleven operator risks becoming buyout target again if turnaround fails

Seven & I Holdings remains a buyout target in the eyes of some investors, who say new suitors may emerge unless the operator of 7-Eleven turns around its business.
Food banks are struggling to secure rice and other food items to distribute to people in need as inflation has put a dent in donations.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 18, 2025

As rice shortage hits donations, food banks urge politicians to tackle poverty

Food banks are struggling to secure rice and other food items to distribute to people in need as inflation has put a dent in donations.
Houses and rice fields are submerged due to flooding caused by torrential rain, in Yesan, South Korea, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 18, 2025

Torrential rain pounds South Korea for third day as thousands take shelter

Warnings of torrential rain remained in effect for most of the country's western and southern regions.
Mizuho expects AI technology will help the company increase revenue and cut costs, resulting in positive effects totaling ¥300 billion by fiscal 2030.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 18, 2025

Mizuho partners with SoftBank on AI to boost efficiency

Mizuho will be the first in the financial sector to introduce artificial intelligence that is being developed jointly by SoftBank and OpenAI.
People vote during Japan's Upper House election at a polling station in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 20, 2025

Polls open for key Upper House election that could shake Japanese politics

A variety of scenarios await the country should the ruling coalition lose its majority in the Upper House — from an enlarged coalition to an opposition-led government.
A man takes part in Tokyo’s Sanja Matsuri by helping to carry a "mikoshi" (portable shrine). Many Japanese festivals are open to foreign residents and tourists to participate in.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 19, 2025

Dancers, festivals and one very useful Japanese grammar point

From Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri to Tokyo’s Sumida fireworks, Japan’s summer festivals offer history, spectacle — and a chance to learn some vocabulary.
You don't need an oven to make Kenji Morimoto's easy and delicious Miso Sticky Toffee Crepe Cake.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 20, 2025

In microbes we trust: Embracing the nature of fermented food

With simple, fuss-free recipes, Kenji Morimoto's debut cookbook effortlessly guides home cooks into the unpredictable but rewarding world of fermentation.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent before a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 19, 2025

Ishiba and Bessent say 'good' trade agreement still possible

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba urged U.S. Treasury chief Scott Bessent to continue talks with Japan’s chief negotiator to achieve a win-win deal.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on June 27.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 19, 2025

Trump sues Wall Street Journal over Epstein report, seeking $10 billion

The newspaper said that Trump in 2003 sent Jeffrey Epstein a birthday greeting that included a sexually suggestive drawing and a reference to secrets they shared.
Microsoft used Chinese engineers to work on U.S. military cloud computing systems under the supervision of U.S. "digital escorts" hired through subcontractors who have security clearances but often lacked the technical skills to assess whether the work of the Chinese engineers posed a cybersecurity threat, a media report said.
WORLD
Jul 19, 2025

Microsoft to stop using engineers in China for U.S. military tech support

The revelations also prompted U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to order a two-week review of Pentagon cloud deals.
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gives a speech during the 2017 Asia Game Changer Awards and Gala Dinner in Manhattan, New York, in November 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 19, 2025

Australia confident issues raised in U.S. AUKUS review will be resolved

Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd said his country is working with the Pentagon on the U.S. Defense Department's review of the AUKUS submarine project.
South African Deputy Minister of Finance David Masondo (left), Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana (center) and South African Reserve Bank Gov. Lesetja Kganyago address a closing news conference on the last day of a meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Durban, South Africa on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 19, 2025

G20 communique delivers rare show of unity amid Trump trade war

U.S. tariffs have strained the G20’s multilateral foundations and complicated South Africa’s efforts — as this year’s rotating president — to keep the group’s agenda on course.
U.S. President Donald Trump steps on stage to deliver remarks at the Salute to America Celebration at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines on July 3.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 19, 2025

Trump aims tariff double whammy at industries and nations by Aug. 1

In addition to measures on copper, the U.S. has discussed making announcements on lumber, chips, critical minerals and drugs, in that order, though this may change.

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan