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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.
Toyota Land Cruisers bound for shipment at Yokohama port
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 21, 2024

Surge in luxury car thefts in Japan spurs call for preventative measures

Stolen vehicles are often illegally exported, leading authorities to call for increased vigilance.
The top U.S. military commander in the Indo-Pacific, Adm. John Aquilino, has said that Beijing is maintaining its goal of being able to invade Taiwan by 2027.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 2, 2024

Will China truly be ‘ready’ to invade Taiwan by 2027? It’s complicated.

The most important factor shaping any plan will not be based on just military readiness, but rather on political and strategic objectives, analysts say.
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 vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
JAPAN
May 1, 2024

Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million

The preliminary figure jumped by 510,000 from 2018, when the previous survey was taken, and doubled from 4.48 million in 1993.
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.
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.
A member of staff at Momuri responds to a request for assistance in submitting a resignation in Tokyo on April 18.
JAPAN / Society
May 8, 2024

Japan's workers turning to agencies that help them quit jobs

One firm that provides such a service saw the highest-ever number of requests following the long Golden Week holiday.
A scene following an Israeli strike on Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 22. Israel has carpet-bombed Gaza, obliterating neighborhoods and targeting hospitals, mosques, schools and camps for displaced people, according to a U.N. report.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 20, 2024

Impunity in Gaza is a threat to the international order

Israel's disregard for human rights and international law in Gaza, and the lack of consequences for such actions, are eroding the liberal international order that Japan relies on.
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.
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?
A pro-Palestinian supporter in Tokyo takes part in a protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Japanese universities are also experiencing their share of pro-Palestinian student demonstrations similar to those elsewhere in the world.
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2024

What the campus Gaza protests lack — in Japan, too

Students are right to be distressed over the suffering of Palestinians. But are they applying cognitive empathy to understand the other side, too?
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?
While carnations and hydrangeas seem to be Japan’s preferred flowers for Mother’s Day, your mom will likely be happy just spending quality time with you for the occasion.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 3, 2024

Before you forget, order those hydrangeas for Mother's Day!

"Before it's too late," "while you remember" — Mother's Day offers us a chance to learn ways to express a range of time in Japanese.
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.
An image provided by I.J. Glasspool shows a microscopic view of 200-million-year-old charcoal from Greenland. By digging into the geologic record, scientists are learning how wildfires shaped — and were shaped by — climate change long ago.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 14, 2024

From ancient charcoal, hints of wildfires to come

For more than 90% of the Earth's history, the planet’s atmosphere and continents lacked the oxygen and kindling required to sustain a flame.
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."
From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
PODCAST / deep dive
Apr 16, 2024

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

We discuss everything from accessibility in Tokyo to dealing with trains and the country’s shifting attitudes.
The salvaged Sewol ferry (back) on display at a port in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province on Tuesday, as South Korea marks the 10th anniversary of the country's worst-ever maritime disaster.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 16, 2024

South Korea marks 10th anniversary of Sewol ferry disaster

Families called out the names of the deceased and threw flowers into the water, followed by a moment of silence.
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.
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.

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