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A recently enacted ordinance aimed at respecting individual differences in Sapporo has not been without controversy.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Apr 28, 2025

Sapporo enacts ordinance to foster diversity and inclusion

The number of foreign residents in Sapporo has doubled over the past decade, despite an overall population decline in the city.
Young girls practice taekwondo as they prepare for an event at Kalobeyei Sports Complex at the Kalobeyei refugee settlement in Kenya on March 28.
MORE SPORTS / Taekwondo
Apr 18, 2025

Refugee girls in Kenya find strength in taekwondo

Kakuma is Kenya's second-largest refugee camp and home to over 300,000 people.
Argentine artist Javier Sativa draws the face of the late Pope Francis on a street in front of the entrance of the Buenos Aires Cathedral on Monday. Francis died Monday at 88, a day after making a much hoped-for appearance at St. Peter's Square on Easter Sunday, the Vatican said in a statement.
WORLD
Apr 22, 2025

Pope Francis' death from a stroke sets off global tributes and mourning

World leaders from U.S. President Donald Trump to Russian leader Vladimir Putin paid tribute to the pope's moral and spiritual leadership.
Pope Francis waves to the crowd during his trip to Nagasaki Prefecture in November 2019.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 22, 2025

Japan joins world in mourning death of Pope Francis

Leaders commended the pontiff’s lifelong efforts in delivering the message of peace, which included a trip to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Hungarian Nikoletta Bogadi speaks during an interview in Budapest on April 2. Bogadi's life was turned upside down when one of her four children came out as gay and another one as transgender.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 22, 2025

Trump helps inflame anti-LGBTQ+ feeling from Hungary to Romania

The U.S. president's anti-LGBTQ+ push is emboldening similar efforts in Europe.
Pope Francis' body is carried in a coffin to Saint Peter's Basilica, on the day of its translation, at the Vatican, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Apr 24, 2025

Thousands honor Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica

Mourners flood the Vatican to bid farewell to the late Pope Francis, whose funeral will be held Saturday, with world leaders set to attend.
Pope Francis, a reformer known for his humility, inclusivity and focus on social justice, passed away at 88, leaving behind a divided church and a legacy of advocating for humanity's most vulnerable.
EDITORIALS
Apr 25, 2025

The Catholic church loses a lion

Francis’ spirit of inclusion should define who we are as human beings and his compassion should be the lodestar for action, both personal and political.
Armed Druze men stand at a checkpoint in Jaramana, southeast of Damascus, Syria, on Friday.
WORLD
May 1, 2025

Israel strikes Syria, saying it hit group that attacked Druze

Since Assad was ousted in December, Israel has seized ground in the southwest and vowed to protect the Druze.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich during a game in April 2024
BASKETBALL / NBA
May 3, 2025

NBA icon Popovich stepping down as Spurs coach after 29 seasons

Popovich, 76, will take on a new role as president of basketball operations, the Spurs said.
A pullback by some of Asia's richest families from U.S. assets marks a rapid change from just a few months ago, when many in region’s business elite cheered U.S. President Donald Trump’s election win, sending share prices at banks and major tech firms to record highs.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2025

Asia’s superrich rapidly scale back U.S. exposure amid trade war

The pullback marks a rapid change from just a few months ago, when many in the region’s business elite cheered the election win of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kotoba Slam Japan runs regional competitions to select a representative for the annual World Poetry Slam Championship, which will take place in Mexico at the end of the month.
CULTURE / Stage
May 9, 2025

Japan’s slam poetry scene is all about raw vulnerability

Slam poetry is a rarity in Japan, but the scene is full of energy and potential that the poets have been bringing to the world slam poetry stage for 10 years now.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and French President Emmanuel Macron at the AI Action Summit in Paris in February. The mood at the event was largely optimistic despite growing evidence that chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT are being used by malicious actors.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2025

How much will we risk in the name of AI?

AI safety breaches are a very present danger. Evidence shows that leading chatbots are perpetuating Kremlin talking points, while many leaders tout optimism rather than concern.
Nostalgic-looking photos can give off an emotional vibe, one that Japanese youth refer to as "emoi."
LIFE / Language / Vocabulary Boost
May 16, 2025

Speak like you scroll: A roundup of recent Japanese slang

A lot of new Japanese slang terms have their origins in — where else? — the internet.
Buildings destroyed during the war in Harasta, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria.
WORLD / Politics
May 16, 2025

Trump’s pledge to lift Syrian sanctions faces a complex road

The move was seen as a highlight of Trump’s trip to the Arabian Peninsula this week, but actual implementation will be a protracted and thorny challenge.
Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / Longform
May 26, 2025

Do Japan's trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?

Trees have long occupied a sacred place in Japanese culture. In the fast pace of the 21st century, however, they're increasingly losing out to progress.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (second from left), the businessman Dang Thanh Tam, (third from left), and Eric and Lara Trump (center) attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Trump hotel and golf course in the Hung Yen Province of Vietnam on May 21.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2025

Why Vietnam ignored its own laws to fast-track a Trump family golf complex

Hanoi faces intense pressure to strike a trade deal that would head off Trump’s threat of steep tariffs, which would hit about 30% of Vietnam’s exports.
Oscar Dolan (center), the founder of the New York Sumo Club, officiates at a match between Josh Ortiz (left) and Daniel Akandu during the Empire Cup competition at Japan Village in New York on May 17.
SUMO
Jun 3, 2025

At this New York City sumo club, ‘Everybody gets thrown’

The New York Sumo Club has about 100 wrestlers, with around 20 regulars.
TSMC’s plan to build a second factory in Kumamoto Prefecture is key to Japan’s ambitions to regain leadership in semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2025

TSMC flags delays in Japan expansion while U.S. plans advance

The sudden influx of workers from TSMC’s first plant is already bogging down rural infrastructure in Japan.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the public during the inauguration of various projects at Katra, in Jammu and Kashmir, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 7, 2025

Modi to attend G7 summit in Canada in sign of warming ties

In a post on X, Modi said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney invited him to the G7 summit and he looks forward to their meeting.
Police in riot gear advance past protesters lying in the street outside the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Santa Ana Field Office after reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Santa Ana, California, on Monday.
WORLD
Jun 10, 2025

U.S. deploys marines to LA as Trump tensions with Newsom intensify

Trump suggested that Newsom, a potential Democratic presidential contender in 2028, could be arrested if he interferes with upcoming immigration raids.
A hydroelectric dam near Shannan in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in March 2025
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 10, 2025

Catastrophe on the roof of the world

As the source of 10 major rivers that sustain nearly 20% of the world’s population, the Plateau’s degradation threatens regional water security, food systems and biodiversity.
Princess Kako pays a courtesy call to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday in Brasilia.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2025

Princess Kako helps mark 130 years of Japan-Brazil ties on official visit

The princess expressed gratitude to Brazil, home to the world's largest community of Japanese immigrants and their descendants.
The Tokyo District Court has issued an order to the government to pay ¥1.2 million ($8,300) in damages to two overstayers who got sick while they were held at a detention center.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 18, 2025

Government ordered to compensate overstayers who got sick in detention

The Tokyo District Court held the government responsible over the deterioration of health of the two men — one Iranian, the other Turkish — at an immigration detention facility.
Shibuya’s iconic scramble crossing has helped put the district on the map globally.
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2025

Shibuya, Tokyo's coolest ward, offers startups a leg up in Japan

It's offering international entrepreneurs free space, a good address and a wide range of support services.
Protesters stand outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jun 20, 2025

Dodgers say team kept U.S. immigration agents from accessing Dodger Stadium

The Dodgers have been criticized for their failure to publicly comment on the U.S. government's immigration crackdown in Los Angeles.
Tsutomu Uchida has experimented with various cultivation techniques since he started growing avocados in Shizuoka Prefecture in October 2020.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Jun 22, 2025

As Japan warms, avocados emerge as an unlikely savior for farmers

In traditional mikan strongholds like Shizuoka, farmers are growing increasingly concerned about future production and seeing opportunities with avocados.
A person who contracted HIV after losing access to Pre-exposure Prophylaxis, works out at a gym in Awka, Nigeria, on June 1.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 22, 2025

Trump aid cuts deal a blow to HIV prevention in Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicenter of the AIDS pandemic.
Fidaa al-Eissa hangs a rug to dry on the rooftop of her home, surrounded by the wreckage left by the civil war, in the Qaboun neighborhood of Damascus on Feb. 21.
WORLD
Jun 30, 2025

'She's not coming back': Alawite women snatched from streets of Syria

The overthrow of Bashar Assad in December after 14 years of civil war unleashed a furious backlash against the Muslim minority community to which he belongs.
PRESS
Jul 1, 2025

The Japan Times receives Honorable Mention at SOPA 2025 Awards for Editorial Excellence

A longform feature on a Noto Peninsula community’s recovery efforts following a magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck the northern coast area on Jan. 1. 2024, written by staff writer Alex K.T. Martin and published by The Japan Times, Ltd. (President and CEO: Minako Suematsu) received an Excellence in...
A banner announces the construction of a photovoltaic solar farm in Cabaiguan, Cuba, on May 21.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 1, 2025

China is quietly supplanting Russia as Cuba's main benefactor

Where many of Russia's most recent promises to Cuba have fizzled, China has discreetly stepped up to fill the void.

Longform

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.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji