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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.
This pure gold tea bowl was stolen last week during a department store event and has been found at an antique shop in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2024

Stolen pure gold tea bowl recovered at Tokyo antique shop

During the exhibition, the pure gold tea bowl was on display with no lock or alarm system.
The first Lower House political reform committee meeting begins in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 26, 2024

Gaps between Japan's parties on political reform on show at committee

At the committee's first meeting, differing views were expressed on the legal responsibility of politicians as well as punishments for wrongdoing.
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."
A U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 8.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 16, 2024

U.S. deploys midrange missile system in Indo-Pacific for first time

The deployment for joint military exercises in the northern Philippines — effectively China's backyard — was widely expected to unnerve Beijing.
Yum China, which operates KFC and Pizza Hut, plans to add more than 5,000 outlets by 2026 with more than 50% of them outside megacities.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 23, 2024

China’s small towns thrive as more opt out of demanding megacity life

As an economic downturn in China’s biggest cities prompts layoffs and competition for remaining posts, many are finding a better quality of life elsewhere.
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.
Smuggled cannabis resin, which had been hidden inside ethnic Indian musical instruments, alongside the instruments in which they were hidden, at a police station in Fukuoka Prefecture in 2012.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 14, 2023

Bill to legalize cannabis-derived drugs clears Japan’s Lower House

The bill was sent to the Upper House the same day. If approved there, changes stipulated in the bill will likely go into effect by the end of next year.
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.
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.
Red Sox shortstop rounds the bases after launching a two-run home run against the Cubs on Saturday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 28, 2024

Masataka Yoshida and Ceddanne Rafaela help Red Sox to rout of Cubs

The former Orix Buffaloes star had four hits and three runs scored as the host Boston Red Sox crushed the Chicago Cubs 17-0 on Saturday.
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.
Former Auburn and Oregon quarterback Bo Nix Nix thinks his experience gives him an edge over the other potential first-round quarterbacks.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Apr 25, 2024

NFL draft pool shrinks as NIL money entices more players to stay in school

Only 58 underclassmen have declared for this week’s draft, the smallest number since 2011.
Ippei Mizuhara, the 39-year-old former interpreter for Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani, was ordered released on $25,000 bond after his first court appearance to face a bank fraud charge accusing him of stealing $16 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers star to cover illegal gambling expenses.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 13, 2024

Ohtani's ex-interpreter issues apology after release on $25,000 bond

Ippei Mizuhara was released on bond after appearing in court on a bank fraud charge accusing him of stealing $16 million to cover illegal gambling debts.
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.
Yoasobi vocalist Lilas Ikuta, who goes by “Ikura,” and bandmate Ayase performed a solo set Friday night and appeared a second time as part of the American company 88Rising’s showcase Sunday at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 17, 2024

A White House dinner, a slot at Coachella — Yoasobi is having a great week

J-pop's Ikura and Ayase say they had to cut their hair and learn English for a string of stateside engagements.
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.
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.
A website for a lawyers group supporting followers and next of kin over alleged Jehovah's Witnesses abuse
JAPAN / Society
Nov 21, 2023

Many children of Jehovah’s Witnesses experience abuse, Japan report says

Report sheds lights on abuses such as forcing the children to refuse blood transfusions regardless of their situation, and corporal punishment.
Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr delivers a speech in Najaf, Iraq, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2023

Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr hints at comeback with torching of Swedish Embassy

By having his supporters torch the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad, the unpredictable Shiite cleric has dragged an administration run by his rivals into a diplomatic crisis.

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