Search - 2023

 
 
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2023

U.S. and Japan lay foundation for new era of joint space exploration

A recent agreement appears to focus on increasing efficiencies between NASA and JAXA, particularly in the U.S.-led, multinational Artemis program.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jan 18, 2023

Gauff edges Raducanu in titanic tussle at Australian Open

Enjoying a seven-match winning streak in 2023, Gauff is eyeing her first major after reaching her first Grand Slam final last year.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2023

Warning lights flash faster and brighter on the Korean Peninsula

North Korea appears to be growing more emboldened due to its increasing nuclear arsenal, and is stepping up its military provocations with South Korea.
SUMO
Jan 18, 2023

Unstoppable Asanoyama well-positioned for return to top division

After serving a long suspension for violating the Japan Sumo Association's COVID-19 guidelines, the former ozeki is battling his way back to makuuchi with flair.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 18, 2023

Alarmed by AI chatbots, universities start revamping how they teach

In response to the increased student use of ChatGPT, colleges and universities are restructuring some courses and taking preventive measures.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 18, 2023

Pentagon sends U.S. arms stored in Israel to Ukraine

The Pentagon is tapping into a vast but little-known stockpile of American ammunition in Israel to help meet Ukraine’s dire need for artillery shells in the war with Russia.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2023

South Korea, like Japan, advances a new strategic posture

Seoul and Tokyo's historical enmity may be consigned to the past as the two face a rapidly changing geopolitical environment.
Japan Times
Rugby
Jan 18, 2023

Eddie Jones vows to make Wallabies super-fit and more aggressive

The 62-year-old is due to officially start on Jan. 29 on a deal that will take him through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez celebrates and poses with his championship belts after beating William Scull in Riyadh on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
May 4, 2025

Alvarez outpoints Scull to reclaim undisputed super middleweight championship

Scull, who had an advantage in height and reach over Alvarez, was unable to find an answer to the Mexican's methodical stalking and effective body blows.
Amid shortages, the price of a 5-kilogram bag of rice during the week of April 14 was ¥4,220.
JAPAN
May 4, 2025

Why are rice prices still high in Japan?

The average price of 5 kilograms of rice in mid-April was ¥4,220 — more than double what it cost around the same time last year.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with his partner Jodie Haydon (right) and his son Nathan Albanese (left) at the Labor Party election night event in Sydney on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 5, 2025

Albanese landslide offers rare chance to fix Australia’s economy

Albanese’s center-left government has the best chance in years to take the hard steps economists have called for to ignite growth.
Naomi Osaka pumps her fist during a match at the Australian Open in January. On Sunday, the former world No. 1 earned her first title since becoming a mother.
TENNIS
May 5, 2025

Osaka wins first WTA title since becoming a mother

The win at a smaller WTA 125 event was also the Japanese star's first-ever title on clay.
Phillip Vincent (right), Japan CEO of Plug and Play, and Ma Jingqian, head of ventures, at Plug and Play's Tokyo office, last month
BUSINESS / Companies
May 5, 2025

Plug and Play wants to help Japanese startups go global

The Japanese government is aggressively supporting startups, and large companies are seeking more opportunities to bet on entrepreneurs.
The Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles in 2024. U.S. President Donald Trump says the U.S. movie industry is dying a "very fast death" due to the incentives that other countries are offering to draw American filmmakers.
BUSINESS
May 5, 2025

Saying Hollywood is dying, Trump orders 100% tariff on non-U.S. movies to save it

No details were provided on how the tariffs would be implemented.
The Imperial family attends a spring garden party at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens in Tokyo on April 22.
JAPAN
May 5, 2025

Imperial Household Agency’s YouTube channel surpasses 100,000 subscribers

Launched on April 1, the channel surpassed 100,000 subscribers in just a week.
A Honda vehicle is assembled at a plant in Lincoln, Alabama. Despite concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's economic policies, around half of Japanese firms remain committed to the American market, according to a recent survey.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 2, 2025

Japan Inc. cautiously optimistic despite rising uncertainty

Trump's economic policies and geopolitical risks are front of mind for many Japanese companies. But many remain committed to staying in the U.S. and China, says a recent survey.
Though ChatGPT debuted in late 2022, it was really in 2023 that we started to get a sense of what large language models could do, including diagnosing complex medical issues.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2023

The 10 most intriguing science breakthroughs over the past year

As 2023 has drawn to a close, let’s look back on some of the astounding breakthroughs we’ve seen in the last 12 months.
Rim Nakamura, who is attempting to win Japan's first Olympic gold medal in cycling, will be one of the top Japanese athletes to watch at the Paris Games.
OLYMPICS
Jul 26, 2024

The Japanese Olympians looking to shine in Paris

Team Japan is looking to build on the momentum from three years ago in Tokyo, where the nation earned a record medal haul.
Israeli soldiers carry the body of a victim of the earlier Hamas attack at on a kibbutz in southern Israel, during clean-up operations on Oct. 10, 2023.
WORLD
Oct 13, 2024

Secret documents show Hamas tried to persuade Iran to join its Oct. 7 attack

Minutes of Hamas’ secret meetings obtained by The New York Times show Sinwar’s determination to persuade Hamas’ allies, Iran and Hezbollah, to join the assault.
International bankers in Tokyo say their compensation remain a fraction of pay in other financial hubs despite booming markets in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 26, 2024

Bonuses at Japan's global banks underwhelm despite booming markets

Bonuses at international investment banks fell by about 10% on average in Tokyo for 2023, bankers and recruiters have said.
The sun sets over the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park, near Furnace Creek, during a heat wave impacting Southern California in July.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 10, 2025

Record heat pushed 2024 above global warming threshold of 1.5 C

A clear acceleration in rising temperatures has puzzled scientists, even as the evidence of the fast-warming atmosphere became impossible to miss.
A suspected victim of modern slavery who was initially denied state support after Britain introduced a tougher immigration policy, in London on Sept. 19
WORLD / Politics
Feb 11, 2025

U.K.'s tougher immigration policy risks trapping victims in modern slavery

The protections created under Britain's Modern Slavery Act have been eroded by rules introduced in 2023 to curb illegal migration.
Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway, arrives for a news conference at the Tungaloy Corp.'s headquarters in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, in November of 2011.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 5, 2024

Warren Buffett brought Japan back. Will it last in 2024?

In 2023, Japan experienced an unexpected surge in investor interest, leading to the Nikkei 225 index reaching highs not seen since 1990.
According to the the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, international economic activity is expected to slow amid changing trade patterns.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2024

From 'hyperglobalization' to 'thin globalism'

How geopolitics, pandemics, and economic tensions are transforming global trade.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House in Washington in January 2023. Some Japanese businesses are keenly waiting for the results of the U.S. presidential election in November.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 1, 2024

Japanese firms seek political stability and stronger alliance: survey

A possible Taiwan contingency is just one of the issues on the minds of companies in the country.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Feb 18, 2024

Preparing for the hottest year Japan has ever seen

In 2023, summer heat persisted across Japan well into the fall. Predictions by scientists indicate 2024 could be even worse.
High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Mar 25, 2024

Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?

High-end travelers are looking for sustainability, wellness and adventure when they head abroad. Japan hopes to deliver in places other than Tokyo.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday. Koizumi stressed that the granting of the special residency permits to children subjected to deportation orders was a one-time measure.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 27, 2024

Japan fine-tunes issuance of humanitarian visas

The move comes amid a near-tripling of technical intern trainees from Myanmar going missing from their programs in 2023.
China's strategic government support has enabled it to lead in the production and supply chains for renewable technologies, including wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 22, 2024

What happens when China becomes the green tech superpower?

What should be of more concern is the “soft power” that Beijing will acquire by mastering the green tech sector.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan