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Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2022

For some of Ukraine’s neighbors, ‘Defend Europe’ has another meaning

For the populist leaders of Poland and Hungary, Russia's saber-rattling on the border with Ukraine takes a back seat to domestic politics and issues like immigration.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2022

U.S. and allies close to reviving nuclear deal with Iran, officials say

A return to a 2015 accord is on the table, but the next decisions are up to the new government in Tehran, the Biden administration says.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 1, 2022

Japan preparing for possible Biden visit in late May, report says

The U.S. is looking into having Biden visit South Korea at the same time for talks with its new leader after current President Moon Jae-in's term in office finishes at the start of May.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2022

Japan OKs World Heritage bid for Sado mine despite South Korean protest

The attempt to register the mine, one of the world's largest producers of gold in the 17th century, may face hurdles as issues dating back to World War II fray ties.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2022

Angry U.S.-Russia exchange at U.N. punctuates deepening Ukraine rift

The Americans accused Russia of endangering peace and destabilizing global security, while Kremlin diplomats dismissed what they called baseless and hysterical U.S. fear-mongering.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 1, 2022

Japan's job market showed signs of healing before omicron’s spread

The jobless rate edged down to 2.7% in December, the internal affairs ministry has reported, with the number of workers increasing by 490,000 — the most since 1986.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 1, 2022

Japan's U.S. ambassador calls talks on easing metals tariffs 'robust'

Koji Tomita said the U.S.-EU quota agreement that is now allowing some steel and aluminum into the United States duty free is a template for the talks.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Feb 1, 2022

A photographer to the stars takes up in Tokyo

There are billions of unique individuals in the world. Matthew Jordan Smith says if you want to stand out as a photographer, you need to fine-tune your vision.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 1, 2022

Sony buys Halo game developer Bungie for $3.6 billion

Sony is a regular acquirer of video game studios, though Bungie is by far its largest of the past decade.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2022

Johnson faces fresh calls to quit as report slams lockdown parties

The report into the lockdown gatherings — at a time when Britons were all but banned from social mixing — pointed to 'serious failures of leadership' at the heart of government.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Jan 31, 2022

Looking to get your booster in Japan? Here's what you need to know.

Efforts to increase the administration of boosters are ramping up, with a mass vaccination site run by the Self-Defense Forces having opened in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2022

Tokyo loses population for first time in 26 years amid pandemic

The population of the capital has dropped by about 48,600 people to just under 14 million, the first decline since 1996.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito holds a news conference on Aug. 7.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 20, 2024

Nearly 40% of employees knew of Hyogo governor’s alleged power harassment

Gov. Motohiko Saito has called the allegations — which were made by a prefectural government official who was found dead — “groundless."
A non-genuine battery for electric bicycles catches fire in an experiment conducted by the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024

Number of fires linked to 'fake' lithium-ion batteries on the rise

Non-genuine alternatives are not subject to the same rigorous design and quality control standards, making them more prone to causing fires.
Some investors are still betting on more interest rate hikes in Japan in the coming months.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 20, 2024

Big-name investors still betting on further BOJ rate hikes

Major asset managers are doubling down on their short positions in Japanese government bonds based on the prospect of further hikes.
New gene-edited crops could address climate change and agricultural challenges; however, high regulatory barriers and safety concerns limit innovation.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 18, 2024

It’s time to embrace a new era of gene-edited food

New crops may improve our health or help us mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Berlin's growing military engagement with Indo-Pacific allies and partners is meant to signal that Germany "stands firmly at the side of those countries that are committed to complying with international law and do not accept it being called into  question," German Navy chief Vice Adm. Kaack told The Japan Times.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024

Sea lane fears drive German military's Asian engagement, navy chief says

Developments in the Indo-Pacific, both economic and geopolitical, have direct implications for the security and prosperity of Germany, Vice Adm. Jan Christian Kaack says.
Despite the deep pessimism about the Gaza cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas, many parties involved, including the U.S., Egypt, Qatar, the Gulf States, Lebanon and Iran, stand to gain from an end to the hostilities.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 16, 2024

Only agents of chaos want more war in Gaza

It took a decade for the U.S. to catch Osama bin Laden after al-Qaida’s 9/11 attacks; Israel may need to wait on catching Hamas’ Yahya Sinwar, too.
Bangladesh's instability adds to the existing regional tensions in South Asia, which is already grappling with violence in Myanmar, terrorism in the Pakistan-Afghanistan area and political turmoil in the Maldives and Nepal.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2024

South Asia’s deepening political turmoil

The ouster of Bangladeshi's government is the latest example of political volatility in South Asia — a region struggling to achieve stability, let alone democratization.
By enabling a few wealthy individuals to wield disproportionate influence, today’s global economy increasingly marginalizes and disenfranchises much of the world’s population.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2024

To preserve democracy, tax the rich

What the world needs are progressive tax systems that redistribute income from the rich to the poor without weakening socially beneficial incentives.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, speaks on the first night of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 20, 2024

Democratic Party platform emphasizes Asia, but muted on Harris

The platform laid out a familiar list of priorities and also criticized Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump over his shaky history with regional allies.
Tourists enjoy the beach in Malaga, Spain, on Aug. 14.
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2024

Package deals make comeback in Europe among budget-conscious sun seekers

The combination of a cost-of-living crisis and disruption from strikes and glitches has added to the appeal of a fixed-price package without unexpected add-on costs.
Samples of rare earth minerals cerium oxide (left), bastnasite (center left), neodymium oxide (center right) and lanthanum carbonate
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 20, 2024

Not-so-rare earths: Ample supply weighs on prices of key minerals group

Exports of rare earths from China, the dominant producer, climbed 7.5% year-on-year in the first seven months of 2024, but prices still fell during that period.
Climbers converge in front of Mount Fuji's 5th Station, which leads to the popular Yoshida trail, in Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 11.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2024

Mount Fuji’s new measures bear fruit in tackling dangerous 'bullet climbing'

Restrictions implemented on the popular Yoshida trail have significantly reduced the number of "bullet climbers" and reduced bad behavior associated with the practice.
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui offers flowers for the victims of the massive landslides on the 10th anniversary of the disaster during a ceremony in Hiroshima on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024

Victims of Hiroshima landslides remembered 10 years on

The landslides, which occurred in the early hours of Aug. 20, 2014, claimed the lives of 77 people and completely or partially destroyed 396 houses.
The size of the carry trade strategy is hard to determine because currency transactions, unlike stock trades, aren't tracked on exchanges. We only have estimates.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 14, 2024

How big is the yen carry trade, really?

There is now worry that the unwinding of yen-funded carry trades would wreck investors’ frothy exposures to U.S. technology and AI-related companies.
U.S. President Joe Biden enters the stage after an introduction by his daughter, Ashley Biden, on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2024

Joe Biden begins a long and necessary goodbye

It took grace, maturity and generosity for Biden to bow out. A measure of resentment has also accompanied his exit.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past