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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.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference as part of the EU-Japan Summit at the European Union Building in Brussels on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 15, 2023

My Number, Fukushima concerns push Kishida Cabinet support rate down

The support rating dropped to 34.3% from 40.8% in the previous poll in mid-June, while the disapproval rating increased to 48.6% from 41.6%.
The rate of the U.S. dollar against the yen is displayed on an electronic stock board outside a securities firm in Tokyo earlier this month.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 17, 2024

Majority of Japanese firms say weak yen hurts profits: survey

About half of surveyed companies said a yen trading around ¥110 to ¥120 to the dollar would be appropriate.
A young woman (Hana Sugisaki) slips through the cracks of Japan’s family register system in “Ichiko.”
CULTURE / Film
Dec 24, 2023

‘Ichiko’: Hana Sugisaki transfixes with career-high performance

Akihiro Toda’s impressive drama shows different sides of its slippery protagonist without passing judgment.
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.
The colored patterns of Tsuguru "nuri," made in Aomori Prefecture, are achieved by applying multiple coatings of lacquer, which are later polished down to reveal layers of colors beneath.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
May 18, 2024

A new initiative rethinks old Tohoku crafts

Described as “collector's items,” the works are being kept under wraps until their debut at a May 24-25 exhibition at Kudan House in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward.
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.
Japan's digital trade deficit in 2023 was up about 2.6 times over nine years since 2014, as smartphones have become ubiquitous tools and the digital services sector is dominated by U.S. information technology giants.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 20, 2024

Japan's digital trade deficit continues to expand

The deficit in Japan's balance of payments in digital services continues to expand steadily.
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.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during an interview with Reuters in Kyiv on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2024

Ukraine's Zelenskyy wants allies to step up aid and war involvement

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation on the battlefield was "one of the most difficult" he had known since the start of Russia's invasion.
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 new tooth is seen in a ferret's mouth after it was administered a drug to stimulate the growth of tooth buds.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 24, 2023

Japan pharma startup developing world-first drug to grow new teeth

Toregem Biopharma, funded by Kyoto University, is expected to begin clinical trials on healthy adults in around July 2024 to confirm the drug's safety.
The modernization of Japan's defense strategy is not just about military capabilities, it is also about building consensus and fostering public understanding.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 21, 2024

The winding road to Japan's defense modernization

The government's efforts to engage the public on defense issues are crucial for building consensus and ensuring the sustainability of defense reforms.
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?
A group of 19 host club owners in Kabukicho who own most of the host clubs in the area have pledged to ban the pay-later system by April and prohibit entry to those under 20 years old from January.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 26, 2023

How Japan's host clubs trap young women under mountains of debt

False promises of love — and even marriage — lead to huge bills for some as young as 18, who are often then coaxed into sex work to make repayments.
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."
Wind turbines stand next to solar panels at a solar plant in Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture. Japan's energy plan under a review is expected to call for raising the renewable energy sources in the power mix.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
May 16, 2024

Japan begins review of basic energy plan amid spread of AI

Power demand could expand further if growth in the amount of information processed by advanced AI accelerates.
A railgun prototype developed by the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency. A railgun uses electromagnetic force to fire bullets at high speeds, making them harder to intercept, but challenges remain over improving fire accuracy and making the weapon smaller.
JAPAN
May 21, 2024

Japan sends defense official to U.S. Navy for railgun development

The move is aimed at absorbing the know-how of the United States, which long researched railguns, to put the weapon into practical use as soon as possible.
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.

Longform

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