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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 17, 2023

Could the Akutagawa Prize get its first American winner?

Gregory Khezrnejat, whose short story “Kaikonchi” is up for the literary award, sees writing in Japanese as a minor rebellion against English's assumed dominance in global culture.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 17, 2023

Brazil's crowdfunded insurrection leaves paper trail for police

Pix, a wildly successful government-run payments system, has become a key financial pillar underpinning Bolsonaro's election-denial movement.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 17, 2023

China’s population falls, heralding a demographic crisis

Deaths outnumbered births last year for the first time in six decades. Experts see major implications for China, its economy and the world.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2023

China issuing visas for some Japan travelers despite halt

Under what criteria Chinese authorities approve visa applications is unknown, but there have been some cases in which applications were accepted.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 17, 2023

With this Japanese ace, the ghost stories are true

Fans, teammates and even opponents are excited to see new Mets ace Kodai Senga's trademark 'ghost fork' — if they can manage to track it.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jan 17, 2023

Jurgen Klopp searches for solutions to Liverpool 'low point'

The cost of Liverpool's bid for an unprecedented quadruple last season, which brought the club victories in the FA and League Cup finals, is still being felt as injuries and losses mount.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 17, 2023

China's economy slows sharply, with 2022 growth one of worst on record

GDP grew 2.9% in October-December from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, slower than the third-quarter's 3.9% pace.
PRESS / Corporate Trends
Jan 17, 2023

Announcement: “Originator Profile Collaborative Innovation Partnership” established

The Japan Times, Ltd. (President and CEO: Minako Suematsu) today announced its participation in a nonprofit initiative “Originator Profile (technology) Collaborative Innovation Partnership (OPCIP)”, alongside firms in the media and advertising industries from Japan and abroad.
PRESS / Corporate Trends
Jan 17, 2023

オリジネーター・プロファイル(OP)技術研究組合の設立について

株式会社ジャパンタイムズ(本社:東京都千代田区、取締役社長:末松弥奈子)は、国内外のメディア、広告関連企業などとともに「オリジネーター・プロファイル(Originator Profile=OP)技術研究組合」を設立しました。
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 17, 2023

Japan pushes global counterparts to regulate cryptocurrencies like banks

FTX's bankruptcy and fraud charges against Sam Bankman-Fried have battered the crypto sector, highlighting gaps and differences in global digital-asset regulation.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol meet in Hiroshima on May 21, on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit meeting.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2023

In first, Biden planning three-way standalone summit with Kishida and Yoon in August, sources say

If the plan goes ahead, it will be the first standalone summit between the leaders of the U.S., Japan and South Korea.
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Top 5
Apr 21, 2024

A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives

From microbreweries to tiny pubs stocking umpteen bottled choices, Tokyo is now more than ever a beer lover’s dream.
A woman and baby at the Zamzam displacement camp, close to El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan, in January.
WORLD
Apr 30, 2024

Surrounded by fighters and haunted by famine, Sudan city fears worst

The contest for control of El Fasher in Darfur has prompted alarmed warnings from American and United Nations officials who fear mass bloodshed.
Scientists handle a multiple-core sampling device for extracting sediments and sludge, in Beppu Bay, off Oita Prefecture, in June 2021. Beneath the seawater lie layers of seemingly unremarkable sediment and sludge that tell the story of how humans have fundamentally altered the world around them.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2023

Japanese sea sludge tells story of human impact on Earth

Beppu Bay is among areas being considered for designation as a "golden spike," a location that offers evidence of a new geological epoch defined by our species: the Anthropocene.
Tony Bennett at the Apollo Theater in the Harlem neighborhood of New York in 1997
CULTURE / Music
Jul 21, 2023

Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96

Bennett vaulted to fame in the early 1950s with a string of emotional hits, including "The Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "Because of You" and "Blue Velvet."
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attend an event in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2024

Imperial couple to visit Britain in June in first trip to country since '22

The visit will be the first trip to Britain by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako since they attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda speaks during a news conference in Nagoya on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2024

World No. 1 but mired in scandal: Toyota sees mixed start to 2024

Despite the steady performance of its business, the carmaker has been shaken by wrongdoing at group firms, leading to an apology from the chairman.
Director Hirobumi Watanabe (second from left) stars alongside his brother Yuji (far right), who has served as composer on all of his films, in his new feature “Techno Brothers,” which follows a sibling trio on the road to Tokyo to find success in the music business.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 21, 2023

Foolish Piggies Films keeps humor at its heart

Indie director Hirobumi Watanabe looks back on 10 years of making distinctive, micro-budget films with his brother and seeking out new challenges on and off screen.
Saou Ichikawa (right) won Japan's Akutagawa Prize for her debut novel "Hunchback" on Wednesday. The Naoki Prize was awarded to Sayako Nagai (left) and Ryosuke Kakine (center).
CULTURE / Books
Jul 20, 2023

Disabled author wins Akutagawa literary award for the first time

Saou Ichikawa, who has congenital myopathy, was awarded the prestigious prize for her humorous novel "Hunchback," which offers commentary on the privileges of non-disabled people.
Wang Xiuting chats with her virtual boyfriend on Wantalk — an AI chatbot created by Chinese tech company Baidu, on her phone in Beijing.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 13, 2024

'Better than real men': Young Chinese women turn to AI boyfriends

Users say they are driven by a desire for companionship because China's fast pace of life and urban isolation make loneliness an issue for many.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 21, 2023

Kishida takes ‘global green’ initiative to the Middle East

Middle East countries are keen to diversify their economies, reducing their reliance on oil and gas for revenue. Japan hopes to assist in that transition.
As of the end of June, 3,223,858 foreigners resided in Japan, up 148,645 from the end of December 2022, the Immigration Services Agency announced Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 14, 2023

Number of foreign residents in Japan rises to record 3.2 million

As of the end of June, 3,223,858 foreigners resided in Japan, up 148,645 from the end of December 2022, according to the Immigration Services Agency.
Health ministry officials enter Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's factory in the city of Osaka on March 30.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 26, 2024

Kobayashi Pharma to cover bills of people who got ill after taking supplements

The Osaka company’s board has also set up a third-party panel to probe the company’s handling of the issue.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a NATO leaders summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12. The leader's efforts to conduct diplomacy in the face of conflict have drawn comparisons with British wartime leader Winston Churchill.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 20, 2023

Why Zelenskyy's diplomacy is a key factor in Ukraine's efforts to win war

The leader's counteroffensive came at a critical time, sandwiched between two summits — the Group of Seven summit in May and a NATO summit earlier this month.
Vapor rises from cooling towers of a nuclear power station in Bugey, France. Geopolitical instability and war are putting the growth of nuclear power, a key clean energy source to combat climate change, at risk.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 26, 2024

Nuclear power’s expansion risks collapse on widening conflicts

Meeting nuclear energy targets requires adding 800 gigawatts over 25 years, equivalent to launching 30 large reactors annually until 2050.
Beyond Meat plant-based burger patties for sale at a plant-based grocery store in Hong Kong in June 2019.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2023

The coming disruption of animal production

It will be easier to persuade people to avoid meat from animals if they can eat meat and other animal products that taste like those they know, but do not require raising animals.
This Israeli Army handout released on April 18 shows Israeli soldiers conducting operations in the Gaza Strip against Hamas militants.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2024

Freeing hostages matters more than destroying Hamas

After a joint plea from the US and 17 other nations focusing on Hamas, Israel should lean into a deal.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is greeted by Abdulla bin Touq Al Mari, the UAE's minister of economy, during a reception in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 20, 2023

Kishida's Middle East visit creates an opportunity for Japan

Kishida visit shows Japan's policy vis-a-vis the Middle East is shifting from the traditional energy-securing economic diplomacy to a more strategic foreign policy.
Directed and co-written by Sunao Katabuchi, animated film “In This Corner of the World” depicts the beauty of nature and the horrors of war with equal potency.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 27, 2024

Films that give the Japanese perspective of the atomic bomb

Movies about the nation's darkest days — in genres such as dramas, fantasies and anime — offer another side to Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' story.
Demonstrators protest against Japan's plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the ocean, in Seoul on July 7.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 20, 2023

Fukushima water opposition is steeped in anti-science

Skepticism over Japan’s plan to discharge treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant must not give way to scaremongering.

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree