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Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2023

New AI smartphone app will be able to decipher Japanese cursive manuscripts

The app's beta version is set for release later this month, while the full version is scheduled to become available to the public this March.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jan 16, 2023

Rafael Nadal victorious at Australian Open but heartbreak for Nick Kyrgios

Top-seeded Nadal recovered from a second-set wobble to defeat the 38th-ranked Briton 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2023

TV announcer turned portfolio manager beats 97% of Japanese peers

Maiko Uda reckons the Bank of Japan will raise its cap for 10-year sovereign yields to at least 1.5% within two years from 0.5% now.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2023

Japan’s transport ministry plans expressway fee collection through 2115

The transport ministry is drawing up bills to be submitted during the next parliament session that begins on Jan. 23, including a revision to the road construction law.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2023

COVID-19 tracker: Tokyo logs 4,433 new cases

Tokyo reported 4,433 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, down by 3,766 week on week.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 16, 2023

Japan opposition party lawmaker Hakase Suidobashi resigns

The comedian-turned-politician of Reiwa Shinsengumi had stopped his political activities in October last year after being diagnosed with depression.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2023

Why the Fed needs to take the digital yuan seriously

The e-CNY will be more than just a paperless version of cash for China's local economy, its use in trade settlements would pose a challenge to the U.S. dollar.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2023

Fixes to shoddy nuclear waste storage site to cost Japan ¥36 billion

The Tokai Reprocessing Plant was the nation's first plant that reprocessed spent fuel from nuclear reactors to recover uranium and plutonium.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jan 16, 2023

Tomakomai aims to give tourism a boost through sharing creative works

Local communities are being encouraged to enjoy making use of creative works, and to share that joy with tourists.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jan 16, 2023

Manga and anime helping Tomakomai to boost tourism sector

In an effort to attract visitors, people in charge of community development in Tomakomai have begun to pay attention to the city's manga and anime resources.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jan 16, 2023

After 40 years, work to return Okinawa's cultural assets continues

Many artifacts were taken to the U.S. after World War II, and the Ryukyu America Historical Research Society has been working to find and retrieve them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jan 16, 2023

Tomakomai bets on pop culture for tourism boost by embracing cosplay events

The number of visitors to the Tomakomai Cosplay Festa has increased over the years, with about 16,000 people attending in 2019, making it one of the city's most popular events.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2023

Eisai and Biogen apply for approval of Alzheimer's drug in Japan

The two companies hope to gain approval by the end of the year following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision earlier in the month to grant it fast-track approval.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jan 16, 2023

Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka beats Mikael Ymer to advance in Australian Open

The 31st-seeded Nishioka converted six of his 12 break point opportunities as he put away the world No. 69 in two hours and 18 minutes.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jan 16, 2023

'Devastated' Nick Kyrgios out of Australian Open with injury

The talented but temperamental Australian, considered as having an outside chance of winning the title, had struggled with an ankle issue coming into the event.
People walk with umbrellas to shade against the sun in Tokyo's Ginza area on Saturday. The Meteorological Agency announced the same day that the rainy season was believed to have ended in the Kanto-Koshin and Tohoku regions.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2023

Eastern Japan exits rainy season as high temperatures continue

Compared with an average year, the rainy season ended three days later in the Kanto-Koshin region, the agency said.
An artist's conception of a manned lunar rover using regenerative fuel cell technology
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 22, 2023

Toyota eyes lunar rover powered by regenerative fuel-cell tech

Toyota has teamed up with JAXA since 2019 to develop the manned lunar rover — which it dubbed the Lunar Cruiser — that they hope can be put on the moon in 2029.
A man watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 22, 2023

North Korea fires cruise missiles into Yellow Sea, but remains silent on U.S. soldier's fate

Experts say cruise missiles, which fly far slower than ballistic weapons, present a unique danger in that they can fly low and maneuver, making them potentially very difficult to intercept.
Japanese imports of seafood are seen at a supermarket in Hong Kong on July 12.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 22, 2023

Hong Kong tightens radiation inspection of Japanese seafood imports

The tighter inspections started in mid-June and customs clearance of Japanese seafood was delayed by about three hours compared with earlier clearance times.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during Prime Minister's Questions, at the House of Commons in London on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2023

British PM Rishi Sunak avoids wipeout in key local elections

By-elections were seen as an indicator of the two main parties' prospects at a time when voters are struggling with high inflation, strikes and rising mortgage rates.
Green marks the spot where a fissure formed, then fused back together in this artistic rendering of nanoscale self-healing in metal. Red arrows indicate the direction of the pulling force that unexpectedly triggered the phenomenon.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 21, 2023

Self-healing metal? It's not just the stuff of science fiction

Scientists have witnessed pieces of pure platinum and copper spontaneously heal cracks caused by metal fatigue during nanoscale experiments.
The 1975 perform at the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena in London in 2019
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jul 22, 2023

Malaysia halts music festival after same-sex kiss by U.K. band The 1975

Homosexuality is a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia. Rights groups have warned of growing intolerance against the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
A cargo vessel on the Sulina Channel en route to the Danube River, in Romania
WORLD
Jul 21, 2023

Ukraine grain relies on a river that’s drying up

A heatwave fanning across the southern part of Europe is lowering river levels and crimping export capacity, which will make shipping grain even more difficult.
Unlike other social media platforms, including Threads, Twitter has a way of pushing you out of your comfort zone.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 20, 2023

Can Threads dethrone Twitter in Japan?

Netizens in Japan jumped onto the Threads bandwagon soon after its launch, but the honeymoon phase is beginning to end, experts say, with many Japanese users remaining on Twitter.
Yukiko Inui competes in the women's solo free artistic swimming final at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Swimming
Jul 20, 2023

Yukiko Inui repeats two-gold performance at this year's world championships

Host Japan has won four artistic swimming golds so far in Fukuoka.
Icons of Google's Artificial Intelligence app BardAI (or ChatBot), OpenAI's app ChatGPT and other AI apps are displayed on a smartphone screen.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 20, 2023

Google tests AI tool that is able to write news articles

Some executives who saw Google’s pitch described it as unsettling, and two people said it seemed to take for granted the effort that went into producing accurate and artful news stories.
Nikko Asset Management is ditching its bearish view on the yen, and now has a ¥135 target against the dollar by year-end.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 20, 2023

Nikko Asset shifts to bullish yen slant as Ueda bides his time

The shift in his view highlights potential upside for the yen, where inflation-adjusted interest rates have exacerbated its decline to multidecade lows.
Mizuho Financial Group has become the third Japanese megabank to sell Additional Tier 1 bonds after the collapse of Credit Suisse set off a global fire sale.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 20, 2023

Mizuho sells ¥261 billion of AT1 bonds after Credit Suisse turmoil

The lender joined Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in issuing AT1 bonds this year, while the market in Europe is only just reopening.
The value of Japan's exports rose 1.5% in June, led by shipments of cars and construction machinery, government data shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 20, 2023

Japan’s surprise trade surplus comes with caveats for growth

Government report highlights vulnerabilities in the state of demand around the world and points to risks for Japan’s growth prospects.
Officials in the municipality of Daito, in Osaka, speak at a news conference on Wednesday regarding a case in which a mother is suspected of starving her daughter, hospitalizing her and claiming insurance payments.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 20, 2023

Mother in Osaka arrested for starving daughter and claiming insurance money

Investigators believe Kasumi Nawata regularly starved her daughter, hospitalizing her 43 times for a total of 332 days since spring 2018.

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
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