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Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jan 1, 2021

Japan to play placeholder role in Asia as Biden gets his house in order

Tokyo will be particularly interested to see how the next U.S. president tackles China, trade, regional security as well as its relationships with Southeast Asia and the two Koreas.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jan 1, 2021

Adults seek solace in the wisdom of children online amid pandemic

Parents have spent more time with their children over the past 12 months than perhaps any time in the country's history.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 1, 2021

After a year of anxiety, what can we expect from the Year of the Ox in 2021?

Astrologers say the ox denotes hard work, positivity and honesty — stable qualities that will be manifested in all of us in some way or another over the next 12 months.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 31, 2020

In 2020, sports was about staying safe and speaking out

When the pandemic subsides, what will endure from 2020 in sports?
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2020

COVID-19 exposes nation's shortcomings

Only by working together — as citizens and residents, politicians and medical health professionals — can we defeat COVID-19 and make 2021 the year of recovery and hope.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 31, 2020

Nuns arrested as Beijing turns up heat on Catholic Church in Hong Kong

The Catholic Church in Hong Kong is coming under mounting pressure as China moves to extinguish opposition voices in the city under a new national security law.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Dec 31, 2020

2020 was a watershed year for Japan's foreign residents

Increased discussion on the status of biracial Japanese, media misinterpretations of foreign communities and a bungled border policy made up our 2020.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / Beyond COVID-19
Dec 31, 2020

Potential for a big bounce-back in 2021?

Engineering a big economic rebound in 2021, and maintaining strong and sustainable growth thereafter, will require much more than a COVID-19 vaccine.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / Beyond COVID-19
Dec 31, 2020

A New Year's resolution for the world: Find a common path to recovery

The 2020 crisis has shown us that we need even more global cooperation in order to face this century's toughest challenges.
Bereaved families of the victims of the 2020 Kumamoto rain and flooding disaster lay flowers at a memorial held in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2025

Kumamoto marks five years since deadly flooding

Hitoyoshi Mayor Hayato Matsuoka has pledged to continue supporting all of those affected by the disaster.
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jun 29, 2025

As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity

With hot weather and a growing population, the region is becoming a key growth market for Daikin and other players. But experts warn of a vicious cycle leading to more emissions.
Roger Federer salutes the crowd prior to an exhibition match in Shanghai last October.
TENNIS
Jun 29, 2025

Roger Federer's long-term deals make him a tennis billionaire

Federer, who won 20 Grand Slams between 2003 and 2018, amassed $130.6 million in prize money during a 24-year playing career, but made far more off the court.
Simon Wang and his mother, Willa, arrive at the NHL draft in Los Angeles on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Ice Hockey
Jun 29, 2025

Simon Wang becomes highest drafted Chinese-born player in NHL history

"Coming from China, I hope I can inspire a lot of kids coming over," Wang said.
In a world rocked by war and shifting power, Pope Leo XIV steps into the global spotlight, seeking unity and moral authority for a diverse and wounded flock — not with force, but through tradition, saints and patience.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2025

How many saints can Pope Leo add to his army?

When the world goes off kilter, words from the Vatican can seem toothless. But don’t underestimate the power of the Church’s long game.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2025

Canada's middle power myths give way to harsh realities

The goal is not to become America’s 51st state but to make such absorption unthinkable because Canada provides more value as a sovereign partner.
Kazuhiro Asano (center left) receives a commemorative gift with his family as the 10 millionth visitor to the Osaka Expo on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2025

Osaka Expo visitors top 10 million

"The number of customers is increasing more and more, at a faster pace than we thought," Secretary-General Hiroyuki Ishige said during the event in the Expo venue.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addresses a news conference in Tokyo last Monday. Ishiba said that he will do his utmost to ensure the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito secures an overall majority in the upper house of parliament when voters head to the polls in July.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2025

Ishiba cautious about expanding ruling coalition

At a conference hosted by a private policy proposal group, Ishiba also expressed support for the idea of establishing a nonpartisan consultative body on social security reform.
President Lee Jae Myung has nominated Koo Yun-cheol to be his administration’s new finance minister.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 29, 2025

South Korea's Lee names Koo Yun-cheol finance minister and makes other picks

Koo, a former vice finance minister, still needs to go through parliament hearings before being confirmed as finance minister.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday. Inflation in Tokyo slowed in June for the first time in four months as a result of government steps to reduce utility and gasoline prices.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2025

Measures to ease inflation must be speedy, says Prime Minister Ishiba

Ishiba has opposed lowering the sales tax ahead of an Upper House election where voters will vote on the performance of his minority government.
U.S. President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte attend the opening of the NATO leaders summit in The Hague on June 25.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2025

NATO’s Donald Trump dilemma

NATO's fate — and the future of global stability — will hinge on whether European leaders push back.
Japanese seafood in a supermarket in Hong Kong in July 2023
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2025

China partially lifts ban on Japanese seafood imports in bid to ease frictions

Tokyo labeled the move “a major turning point,” though improving the relationship still faces hurdles over China’s military moves near Japan.
A satellite view shows an overview of Fordo underground complex, after the U.S. struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran, on June 22.
WORLD
Jun 30, 2025

U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites set up 'cat-and-mouse' hunt for missing uranium

Iran's more than 400 kg of uranium is enough, if further enriched for up to nine nuclear weapons.
Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 30, 2025

What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji’s deadliest weekend still echoes today. Luckily, area rescue squads have leveled up their game.
Pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham (center) speaks at a League of Social Democrats press conference at their headquarters in Hong Kong on Sunday. The League of Social Democrats, one of the city's last remaining opposition parties, said it will disband after a five-year political crackdown by Beijing, a year ahead of its 20th anniversary.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 30, 2025

Hong Kong opposition party disbands, citing 'immense' pressure

The League of Social Democrats is the latest opposition party to cease operating after Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020 to end democracy protests.
Beachgoers wait in an underground bomb shelter after sirens sounded to warn of an incoming Iranian missile attack in Tel Aviv on June 20. Iran has found itself humbled after a ceasefire was declared but retains plenty of capacity to hit back.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 30, 2025

Israel emerges stronger from Iran war but risks blowback

Israel building military positions beyond its borders in Syria and Lebanon opened the country to risks of repercussions from regional partners wary of its assertiveness.

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan