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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.
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.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida rides on a forestry processor during an inspection of afforestation in Hitachiomiya, Ibaraki Prefecture, in October.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024

Japan groups eye online market to promote use of domestic lumber

The process of reforestation has faced obstacles, primarily stemming from the considerable burdens placed on forest owners.
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.
Remember, Vladimir Putin ridiculed the idea that he would invade Ukraine, right up until he ordered close to 200,000 troops over the border.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2024

Would Putin stop if he wins in Ukraine? Let’s not find out.

Just because the Russian leader is a serial liar doesn’t prove he is being untruthful now.
Japan's stock market attention is shifting to whether domestic market-oriented firms can bring some bullishness back to the market.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 25, 2024

Revival in Japanese stock market hinges on domestic demand taking hold

Attention has shifted to whether domestic market-oriented laggards may be able to bring some bullishness back to the market.
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.
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.
The eruption of a volcano on Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture on Wednesday
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2024

Sakurajima volcano erupts; no immediate reports of injuries

The Kagoshima Meteorological Office maintained the volcanic activity alert level at three, urging people not to approach the volcano.
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.
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.
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.
The new V Point reward point program will have a combined number of 154 million subscribers from its two former programs, the largest in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2024

New 'V Point' program launched after merger

The combined number of subscribers to the two former programs was 154 million, the largest in Japan.
Philippine, Australian, Japanese and U.S. warships take part in the four nations' first-ever joint military drills in the South China Sea on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 7, 2024

Philippines, U.S., Australia and Japan hold joint military drills in disputed South China Sea

The exercises came as the Chinese military held a “joint maritime and aerial combat patrol” in an unspecified area of the waterway.
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.
Elon Musk, X's owner, has been open about his belief that X should carry almost all content that isn’t illegal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 29, 2024

Elon Musk’s X is testing ‘adult content’ groups for users

Openly offering "NSFW” groups may be another way for X to try to differentiate itself from other mainstream social networking services.
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 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 Daiso shop in New York in September 2022. While Daiso originally entered the U.S. in 2005, it has scaled these efforts up over the past few years — the retailer now has about 120 stores across seven states.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2024

Daiso banks on ‘brand Japan’ for U.S. expansion

The discount store chain plans to open 65 stores in the U.S. in 2024, and over 100 next year.
A cargo vessel on the Sulina Channel en route to the Danube River, in Romania
WORLD
Jul 21, 2023

Ukraine grain relies on a river that’s drying up

A heatwave fanning across the southern part of Europe is lowering river levels and crimping export capacity, which will make shipping grain even more difficult.

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