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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2023

Questions raised over Japan's habit of putting together large-scale supplementary budgets

In the past few years, spending big has in effect been the basic tenet for extra budget compilation, as the ruling camp pushed aggressively for massive additional outlays.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2023

Japan and South Korea discuss Seoul's proposal to solve wartime labor dispute

The Japanese government is expected to back the proposed solution so long as it can maintain its position on the issue of compensation, sources familiar with the bilateral ties said.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / Longform
Jan 16, 2023

The race to save the Japanese giant salamander

River infrastructure is causing the salamander's decline. To stop Japan from losing this rare species, conservationists are calling for an alternative vision of rural development.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jan 16, 2023

The drug mules carrying Europe's cocaine in their guts

More than a sixth of the cocaine consumed in France is smuggled inside the bodies of drug mules from its poverty-stricken South American region of Guiana.
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.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 27, 2024

Japan party leaders make final pitches ahead of Sunday by-elections

The outcome of the Shimane by-election is expected to affect Kishida's grip on power and his strategy for a possible dissolution of the Lower House.
The Pacific League's Chusei Mannami is congratulated by his teammates after his home run during Game 2 of NPB's All-Star series in Hiroshima on Thursday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jul 21, 2023

Chusei Mannami powers Pacific League to two-game sweep of All-Star games

The 23-year-old Mannami, who is having a breakout season with 15 home runs, 41 runs, and 42 RBIs this year, was making his first All-Star appearance and was named Game 2 MVP.
Japan's Yuki Ishikawa (left) scored a match-high 27 points during his team's win over Slovenia in the Nations League semifinals.
MORE SPORTS / Volleyball
Jul 21, 2023

Japan beats Slovenia to reach Nations League semifinals for first time

Japan defeated Slovenia in straight sets Thursday to reach the semifinals of the Nations League men's volleyball tournament for the first time in the history of the event, previously called the World League.
The yen’s slide has pushed up import bills in Japan, keeping domestic consumer spending tepid, with analysts saying any gains in real wages may evaporate if the yen depreciates further.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 24, 2024

Investors loved weak yen boosting shares until it went too far

Concern is growing that the currency is becoming a liability for Japan’s economy and stocks.
Medics help a woman who had passed out from the heat in Athens, Greece, on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 21, 2023

Extreme heat and weather conditions attributed to stagnant jet stream

It’s no coincidence that extreme heat is engulfing huge swaths of Asia, Europe and North America all at the same time.
There are currently over 35 million digital nomads around the world, with a collective economic value of $787 billion.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 2, 2024

Japan's digital nomad visas to require ¥10 million in income

People from 49 countries and territories will be able to stay in Japan under the “specified activities” visa category.
Construction near Mailuu-Suu in the Jalal-Abad region, Kyrgyzstan. Dams in Kyrgyzstan holding uranium mine tailings have become unreliable after a 2017 landslide.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 24, 2024

Unstable nuclear-waste dams threaten fertile Central Asia heartland

One more earthquake or landslide, and dams in Kyrgyzstan holding back radioactive waste water could burst, rendering the area uninhabitable.
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.
Inmates in a cell at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre mega-prison southeast of San Salvador on Aug. 21, 2023.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 28, 2024

El Salvador's two-year push has crushed street gangs but at a high price

Deployment of the military and police dealt a heavy blow to the structures of the gangs but at the cost of human rights, and poverty remains a major issue.
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 giant screen shows Chinese leader Xi Jinping next to a flag of the Communist Party of China, at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing in October 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 21, 2024

Xi orders China’s biggest military reorganization since 2015

China will terminate the Strategic Support Force, which was created to enhance capabilities in space, cyber, political and electronic warfare.
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.
The yen's exchange rate against the dollar on Wednesday. The yen declined from ¥103 against the dollar in 2020 to as little as ¥151 in late 2023.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 11, 2024

Is a weak yen good for Japan’s economy?

The yen's fast depreciation is boosting overseas investment and sectors like tourism, but could also trigger inflation. In response, the BOJ should raise interest rates.
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.
The Anegasaki gas-fired power station in Chiba Prefecture
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2024

Rapidly weakening yen threatens higher power bills

Pricier power illustrates the far-reaching impact of the yen’s decline.
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 Lions' Yuji Kaneko hit .219 in the team's first 25 games of the season.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Apr 29, 2024

Lions muzzled by poor performance at plate

The record will show the Seibu Lions lost to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on Sunday after a 2-2 slider from Jefry Yan got away from catcher Takeru Furuichi as Riku Ogata raced home to score the walk-off run in the 12th inning of a 3-2 Hawks win.
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 demonstration in front of a Nagoya court in 2020 before the appeal trial for a father accused of sexually assaulting his 19-year-old daughter. Sexual violence remains a widespread problem in Japan and one affecting many young victims.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 10, 2024

Landmark sexual violence survey reveals shocking data

Sexual violence remains a huge problem in Japan. Despite recent legal reforms, much more needs to be done to prevent crimes and protect victims.

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