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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.
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.
Warren Buffett
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2024

Buffett ups his holdings of Japanese trading houses to about 9%

Berkshire first announced its stakes in the trading houses in 2020 with the intention of holding them long-term and increasing them to as much as 9.9%.
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.
Four-piece Atarashii Gakko! and Okinawan rapper Awich (center) shared the Mojave Stage at 88Risings’s “Futures” showcase at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival last weekend.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 19, 2024

Japanese acts seize Coachella's spotlight — and this ain't your typical J-pop

Yoasobi, Awich and Atarashii Gakko! shine at the California festival, proving just how much J-pop has made strides in reaching international audiences.
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."
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.
The Sapporo home where the severed head of a man was discovered Tuesday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 25, 2023

Severed head in ‘love hotel’ murder case found in family home

The police suspect that the 29-year-old daughter, Runa Tamura, carried out the murder and beheading of a 62-year-old office worker by herself at a short-stay hotel earlier this month.
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.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi said the guidelines were being revised to provide more examples of positive and negative factors for evaluation in deciding whether to grant an individual special permission for residence.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 5, 2024

Japan's Immigration Agency sets new guidelines for visa overstayers

A legislative amendment will outline the new guidelines to improve transparency and allow individuals to directly apply for special permission to stay.
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.
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.
Everywhere, U.S. allies are taking steps to defend or advance their interests in the event former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to power in November elections, an even chance based on recent opinion polls in swing states.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 25, 2024

How U.S. allies are preparing for a possible second Trump term

They want to avoid Trump's "America First" policies dealt them before, which included trade wars and a shakeup of security alliances.
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.
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.
Indonesian fans cheer as they watch the Under-23 Asian Cup quarterfinal between Indonesia and South Korea at a cafe in West Java, Indonesia, on Thursday.
SOCCER
Apr 26, 2024

Indonesians celebrate as soccer team moves one step from second Olympic berth

Indonesia defeated South Korea 11-10 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the Under-23 Asian Cup in Doha on Thursday night.
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.
By the finale, I had completely bought into Samurai Restaurant Time's spectacle — a neon-lit festival with chants and cheers.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 12, 2023

Samurai Restaurant Time gives kitschy thrills fit for Kabukicho

To replace the defunct Robot Restaurant, the neon-soaked streets of Kabukicho are serving up a kitschy second course.
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.
Four scam victims in Japan have sued Meta over fake online investment ads posted on Facebook that use images of celebrities.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 25, 2024

Meta sued in Japan over celebrity investment scams

Social media online hoaxes in Japan led to ¥27.8 billion in losses last year, according to the National Police Agency.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores