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Chinese tourists buy gold bars and gold accessories at LukFook, a jewelry store, in Hong Kong.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 28, 2023

Gold bars and Tokyo apartments: How money is flowing out of China

The outbound shift of money in part indicates unease inside China about the sputtering recovery after the pandemic as well as deeper problems.
A field study by elementary school students takes place in the Izawa River basin in Shiso, Hyogo Prefecture.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 24, 2023

Unveiling Shiso, a hidden gem of nature and coexistence

With 90% of its area covered by forest, the Hyogo city boasts picturesque streams and a bounty of access points to refreshing natural spring water.
The remains of a shopping district that caught fire in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, due to the New Year's Day earthquake
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2024

Japan ushers in a bruising beginning for 2024

Japan has learned from past disasters and mistakes and must continue to do so.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 9, 2024

Arrested lawmaker Ikeda allegedly ordered disposal of fundraising data

Tokyo prosecutors suspect that ex-LDP member Yoshitaka Ikeda led the destruction of evidence related to alleged slush funds.
Self-Defense Force personnel taking part in the earthquake-relief efforts help residents in an isolated village in Ishikawa Prefecture on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 9, 2024

The U.S. role in Japan's domestic disaster relief

The U.S. pledge for support offers another example of how the U.S.-Japan alliance contributes to Japan's domestic disaster relief.
A Ground Self-Defense Force AH-1S Cobra attack helicopter fires ammunition during a live-fire exercise in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jan 25, 2024

Will drones replace helicopter pilots in the Self-Defense Forces?

Japan has already begun to make a major shift to transfer the functions of traditional defense aircraft to unmanned aerial vehicles.
A mid-19th century ukiyo-e woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi depicts Xu Fu’s voyage in search of the elixir of life. He can be seen near the left side of the image, with what looks to be Penglai, or Mount Fuji, in the background.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Jan 20, 2024

Eternal pursuits: A history of Japanese quests for immortality

Whether it's a permanent state of meditation or feasting on mermaid, the quest for immortality in Japan isn't too far off from those in other cultures.
Emperors sought eternal life for centuries, but scientists believe our physical bodies have limits. That's where technologists come in.
BUSINESS / Tech / Longform
Feb 3, 2024

The digital beyond: Is an eternal existence within grasp?

Immortality has been a dream for centuries, but scientists doubt its possibility. Can technologists and coders find a virtual path instead?
Japanese fans of Taylor Swift take a selfie before entering Tokyo Dome for the pop star's Eras Tour show in Japan on Feb. 7.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Feb 7, 2024

Taylor-mania hits Tokyo as Swift resumes tour before Super Bowl

Excited fans from countries such as Australia, Thailand and China joined the vast crowd at Tokyo Dome ahead of the megastar's Eras Tour show on Wednesday.
In the quest for immortality, some researchers believe mind uploading will be our ticket to an eternal existence.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 8, 2024

Japan’s take on immortality; problems in Palworld

As scientists and technologists attempt to tackle the problem of aging and death, we discuss Japanese ideas about immortality.
Jim Rauh, founder of Families Against Fentanyl, holds a photograph of his son Thomas in Akron, Ohio, on March 4. How Trump and Biden address a lethal chapter of the U.S. drug-overdose epidemic will be pivotal in swing states that are likely to decide the election.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 27, 2024

270,000 overdose deaths thrust fentanyl into heart of U.S. presidential race

More than 4 in 10 Americans personally know someone who has died from a drug overdose.
Get the rubber gloves and cleaning supplies out. This is the time of year when we should clean our homes and prepare them for the upcoming rainy season.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 11, 2024

Dust off your tidying vocabulary with a refreshing spring clean

While most Japanese households take part in a big clean at the end of the year, it doesn't hurt to tidy a little as the weather changes.
Mikuni Minato is not a town that has recently fallen on hard times — it's been that way for a century.
LIFE / Travel
May 7, 2024

48 hours in Mikuni Minato, Japan’s port town that time forgot

A trip to Mikuni Minato may not appeal to the average tourist, but well-traveled residents will find it fascinating.
The main targets of a new bill on smartphone software are the app stores provided by Google and Apple, as consumers effectively have only two choices for smartphone operating systems: Apple's iOS or Google’s Android.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 22, 2024

Japan aims to curb Apple and Google's smartphone app duopoly

A new bill would compel dominant platforms to allow third parties to launch their own app markets and to offer more payment options.
Completed in 1889, the original Yebisu brewery finally has a worthy successor in the neighborhood that still bears the beer's name.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 1, 2024

A new brew for Ebisu, the town that beer made

Ebisu and its beer are unique among communities with drinking histories. Here, the beer named the town.
A woman holds a baby wrapped in a blanket as displaced Palestinians leave an area in east Khan Younis after the Israeli army issued a new evacuation order for parts of the city on July 1.
WORLD
Jul 10, 2024

Gaza's pregnant women defy odds to give birth and protect their babies

For new mothers in Gaza, giving birth in a warzone is just the first step on a traumatic journey marked by constant fear and anxiety.
Demonstrators with a stylized painting depicting Telegram's founder, Pavel Durov, protest against the blocking of the popular messaging app in Russia, during a May Day rally in Saint Petersburg on in May 2018.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 25, 2024

Telegram messaging app CEO Durov arrested in France, reports say

Pavel Durov, the Russian-French billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at Bourget Airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, TF1 TV and BFM TV said, citing unidentified sources.
Pen-chan, a female Cape penguin born and raised in captivity, is seen on Sept. 8 in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, two weeks after escaping from an event in the area. The bird's keeper, Ryosuke Imai, described her return as a "miracle."
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2024

'Miracle' penguin found two weeks after escape

Pen-chan had never swum in the open sea before or fended for herself.
The South Korean Coast Guard vessel Taepyongyang, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Waesche and the Japan Coast Guard vessel Wakasa patrol in formation during a trilateral exercise in the Sea of Japan in June.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 23, 2024

With ramped-up activities, U.S. Coast Guard plots greater Indo-Pacific role

The move comes at a time when a growing number of coast guards in the region are becoming deeply involved in patrolling disputed waters.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida accepts a gift of 'dekopon' citruses, a specialty product and symbol of Kumamoto Prefecture, from Kumamon, itself a mascot and instantly recognizeable symbol of the region.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 28, 2024

Japan’s ‘meibutsu’-industrial complex is a wonder to behold

If you name a Japanese prefecture, many locals will instantly be able to tell you something that the region is famous for or a product synonymous with that area.
The devastating effects of flooding on a residential area in the town of Alfafar, in Spain's eastern Valencia region, on Friday.
WORLD
Nov 2, 2024

Power mostly restored as Spain grapples with aftermath of deadly floods

Spanish rescuers battled to reach areas still cut off on Friday as the death toll rose to 205 people, most of them in Valencia.
U.K. university tuition fees for domestic students are set to rise for the first time in seven years due to a financial crisis in higher education.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2024

Britons don't pay enough to go to university

U.K. university tuition fees for domestic students are set to rise for the first time in seven years due to a financial crisis in higher education.
An employee at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Lost and Found Center in the Iidabashi area of central Tokyo bags, tags and organizes thousands of items.
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2024

Tokyo police care for lost umbrellas, keys and flying squirrels

In Japan, lost items are rarely disconnected from their owners for long, even in a megacity like Tokyo — population 14 million.
Thimphu TechPark building in Thimphu, Bhutan, on Oct. 17
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 16, 2024

Secret to AI profitability is hiring a lot more doctorates

Nagging questions persist about whether AI will actually prove useful enough for businesses around the world to pay up for it.
For the 20 Questions column this year, writers asked their interview subjects about everything from their lives in Japan to their thoughts on news topics.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 28, 2024

There were plenty of hot topics to opine on in 2024

We take a look back at some of the best answers that our interviewees gave for 20 Questions from throughout the year.
On the first day of the 2000s, the world was relieved that the Y2K computer glitch was mostly nothing. And in Russia, Vladimir Putin came to power.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jan 1, 2025

Japan Times 2000: Japanese celebrate new year

Check out what was on the front page on Jan. 1 in 1925, 1950, 1975 and 2000.
A firefighter monitors the spread of the Auto Fire in Oxnard, North West of Los Angeles, California, on Monday.
WORLD
Jan 15, 2025

Fire-hit LA faces new peril as dangerous winds ramp up

A week after blazes erupted and spread uncontained, forecasters predicted "particularly dangerous" Santa Ana winds in Los Angeles would spike the wildfire threat anew.
Construction for a new Microsoft data center in East Wenatchee, Washington, in November 2024.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 10, 2025

What DeepSeek? Big Tech keeps its AI building boom alive.

After DeepSeek’s breakthrough rattled markets, U.S. tech giants doubled down on massive data center investments to stay ahead in AI.
Medical workers treat a earthquake survivor on a bed in the compound of a hospital in Naypyitaw on Friday, after an earthquake in central Myanmar.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 29, 2025

Massive quake kills at least 150 in Myanmar and Thailand

The quake flattened buildings, downed bridges and cracked roads across swathes of Myanmar, and even demolished a 30-story skyscraper under construction in Bangkok.
Learning the ropes of Japan’s online marketplaces can yield hidden treasures and also help you freshen up your home or closet from time to time.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Mar 31, 2025

How to navigate Japan’s e-commerce platforms and online flea markets

Looking to refresh your wardrobe or home with the arrival of spring? Check out our tips for how to make the most of Japan’s online marketplaces.

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