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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2023

Wagyu goes high tech to meet surging demand

Farmers say overseas wagyu fans help make up for weak domestic demand, particularly in premium cuts such as sirloin.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 16, 2023

In China, no easy way to get Pfizer's COVID drug Paxlovid

Beijing has acknowledged that supplies are still insufficient to meet demand, even as millions of courses of the treatment were shipped to the country recently.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2023

Japan marks three years since first COVID case

With experts saying that the mortality rate for omicron is lower than that of seasonal influenza, the government is currently discussing reviewing the classification of COVID-19.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jan 16, 2023

Si-woo Kim rallies to win Sony Open

The key moment came at the par-3 17th, where Kim's tee shot missed the green. He chipped in from about 28 feet away for a birdie that proved pivotal.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jan 16, 2023

Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk won't shake hands with Russian players at Australian Open

Russian and Belarusian players are allowed to play at Melbourne Park this year without their flag or country displayed.
Japan Times
Rugby
Jan 16, 2023

Eddie Jones appointed Wallabies coach in 'major coup' after Dave Rennie dumped

It will be the veteran's second stint in charge after his 2001-05 spell during which he took the Wallabies to the 2003 World Cup final, where they lost to England.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2023

Japanese CEOs facing inflation are talking more about merit-based pay

On one hand, such talk can be seen as a sign of corporate Japan casting aside the remains of a compensation system based on across-the-board rewards and seniority.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2023

Japan's sharp wholesale price rise heaps pressure on BOJ's ultraeasy policy

While global commodity prices slipped, companies continued to pass on past increases in raw material costs for goods such as auto parts and electricity equipment.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2023

India-Japan defense ties enter new phase with first joint fighter drills

The ASDF said that the purpose of the exercises is to “promote mutual understanding, strengthen defense cooperation between the air forces” and enhance the ASDF's tactical skills.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 16, 2023

Japan looks beyond U.S. alliance for help to deter China military

Yet Japan's deepening unease about the dangers in its neighborhood has prompted a fresh push to build a bulwark of other partnerships.
A screening of "Mei and the Baby Cat Bus," which is being billed as a "mini-sequel" to the Studio Ghibli classic "My Neighbor Totoro," is set to take place at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 19, 2024

Rare sequel to 'My Neighbor Totoro' to play at Cannes

The screening is part of the lead-up to Studio Ghibli's receiving an honorary Palme D'Or at the festival.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi pose for a photo during their meeting in Jakarta on Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2023

U.S., Japan and South Korea condemn North Korean missile launch

The condemnation came after North Korea fired a powerful long-range missile that flew for a record 74 minutes to an altitude of 6,000 kilometers.
A serviceman, wearing prosthetic legs, walks past Ukrainian flags symbolizing fallen soldiers on the Independence Square in Kyiv, on Oct. 30.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 2, 2023

'When will it end?': Ukrainians turn to psychics for war forecasts

Military forecasts by Ukraine's most popular soothsayers rack up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and TikTok.
Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi waits ahead of a high-level meeting with Chinese Communist Party officials at Beijing's Great Hall of the People in December 2017.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2023

Japan ruling bloc lawmakers facing hurdles to China visit plans

Trips to China by Komeito leader and senior LDP official both put on ice over Chinese anger at planned release of treated Fukushima water.
Most projections show the world will hit peak humanity in the 21st century as people choose to have smaller families and women gain power over their own reproduction.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2023

Don’t worry about global population collapse

While environmentalists have long warned of a planet with too many people, now some economists are warning of a future with too few.
Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi meets with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Friday in Jakarta.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2023

Japan calls on China to approach Fukushima water release in 'scientific manner'

The issue of the water release took up a substantive amount of the hourlong talks between the nations' top diplomats, but the two did not come to a clear agreement on the matter.
Dried cocoa beans at the Somos Cacao farm and production in Ragonvalia, department of Norte de Santader, Colombia, on March 22, 2024. Cocoa is the best-selling commodity in the world so far in 2024, and futures have doubled in less than three months as poor harvests in West Africa, where most of the world's cocoa is grown, have led buyers to look elsewhere for supplies.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 29, 2024

Cocoa market 'broken' as crop failure drives third year of shortages

here’s a risk poor harvests in West Africa could be long-lasting, with climate change and crop disease ravaging trees.
Support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet dropped to 30.8% in July, a survey shows.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 13, 2023

Poll shows Kishida Cabinet approval down to 30.8%

The slide in support may have reflected the string of problems related to My Number personal identification cards.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa meets Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo on Oct. 21.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 8, 2023

Explaining Japan's nuanced approach to the Israel-Hamas war

Japan has the potential to influence the conflict due to its distinctive position within the international community.
New Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (right) waves alongside outgoing leader Tsai Ing-wen during the presidential inauguration ceremony at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 20, 2024

‘Cease the intimidation,’ Taiwan’s new president tells China in inaugural speech

New leader Lai Ching-te used his inauguration speech to deliver a clear message to Beijing: Taiwan will not be subordinate to China.
A man stands atop a float holding a portable shrine at this year’s Sanja Festival in Tokyo.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 20, 2023

Why 2023 will be a deciding year for Japan’s iconic summer festivals

As the population gets older do we risk losing the summer festivals that make Japan unique?
Some economists hope the labor ministry panel will make an annual average minimum wage proposal of above ¥1,000 this week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 23, 2023

The average minimum wage may top ¥1,000 this year. But is that enough?

Aside from the symbolic hurdle, a more substantial issue remains: Will momentum for wage hikes from this spring continue or will it be short-lived?
As two friends deal with normal problems teenagers face, their lives are complicated by the looming specter of an alien takeover in “Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction Part 1.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 21, 2024

‘Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction: Part 1’: A prophetic vision of pandemic life

Tomoyuki Kurokawa’s adaptation of Inio Asano’s manga of the same name pokes fun at modern society and politics amid a crisis.
Mamiko Tanaka (right), wife of Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani, arrives at Incheon International Airport on Friday ahead of the 2024 MLB Seoul Series baseball games.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 18, 2024

A mystery no more: What we know about Ohtani’s wife

No one in the sports world is receiving as much attention right now as baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani — that is, besides his wife, Mamiko Tanaka.
Asia's best bartenders congregated in Hong Kong for the unveiling of the 2023 list of the continents top watering holes.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 21, 2023

Tokyo’s Ben Fiddich inches toward top of Asia’s 50 Best Bars

A total of 14 bars in Japan cracked the top 100 of this year’s continent-wide rankings.
Elon Musk said he was looking to change Twitter's logo, tweeting: "And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds."
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 24, 2023

Elon Musk says Twitter to change logo and bid adieu to 'all the birds'

In a tweet Sunday, the social media platform's billionaire owner added: "If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we'll make go live worldwide tomorrow."
Naoya Inoue celebrates his victory over Luis Nery in their IBF-WBA-WBC-WBO super bantamweight title boxing match at Tokyo Dome on Monday.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
May 7, 2024

After blockbuster boxing victory, what next for ‘Monster’ Inoue?

Some want the boxer to take on more fights outside of Japan.
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.
CULTURE / Books / Longform
Apr 22, 2024

The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

Shops without staff, shelves for rent, cafes and meetups are some of the ways the country's dwindling bookstores are trying to survive.
Employees of a fishing net manufacturer, including Ainu Indigenous people, work at a facility in Urahoro, Hokkaido, in June.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Jul 23, 2023

In Hokkaido, an Ainu group's lawsuit and climate change converge on salmon fishing

The Raporo Ainu Nation in Hokkaido is fighting for its Indigenous rights to fish for salmon. But warming waters are raising questions about future fish stocks.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa delivers a video message during a meeting of the International Group of Eminent Persons for a World without Nuclear Weapons in Yokohama on Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 23, 2024

Yokohama meeting on nuclear disarmament ends with call for focus on AI

The 15 participating experts came from states both with and without nuclear weapons, including superpowers such as the United States, Russia and China.

Longform

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan