Search - 2025

 
 
Ride-sharing vehicles in Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture, in March
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2025

One year in, ride-hailing in Japan has room for improvement

Japan has lagged in adopting ride-hailing services, largely due to opposition from the country's powerful taxi industry.
Emperor Naruhito speaks during the opening ceremony of the 2025 Osaka Expo on Saturday.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2025

Emperor meets with Turkmenistan president

The meeting followed the president's attendance in Turkmenistan's national day event Monday at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (right) and Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov shake hands at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 16, 2025

Ishiba's expo diplomacy begins with hosting of Turkmen president

The two leaders released a joint statement calling for maintaining "the free and open international order based on the rule of law."
On the 28th floor of the Waldorf Astoria Osaka, the Peacock Lounge exemplifies the art deco decadence the brand has become synonymous with.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 19, 2025

Japan’s first Waldorf Astoria brings art deco luxury to Osaka

Stays at the Waldorf Astoria Osaka start at ¥150,000 per night, but this is no hotel to be pinching pennies.
Ado opened her Sunday night concert at the 2025 Osaka Expo with “Shin Jidai” (New Genesis)” after a rain-soaked lead-up to the show’s 7:45 p.m. start.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 18, 2025

Japan wanted a cultural do-over. Ado gave it one.

The 22-year-old J-pop singer cast a spell on the first weekend of the Osaka Expo
Visitors walk atop the Grand Ring at Expo 2025 in Osaka on April 13.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 20, 2025

Digitalized Osaka Expo troubling elderly visitors

Under the Expo's digital and paperless policies, visitors are asked to use devices such as smartphones to make reservations and navigate the massive venue.
Makoto Miyamori (second from the right) receives commemorative gifts with his family as the 1 millionth visitor to the expo on Wednesday in the city of Osaka.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2025

Osaka Expo reaches 1 million visitors

The event's official association is aiming for 28.2 million visitors to the expo, which will close on Oct. 13.
National agency Heritage Malta worked with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure the painstaking restoration of samurai armor that spent over half a century forgotten in storage in Valletta, Malta.
JAPAN / History
May 1, 2025

Lost and found history receives glittering homecoming at Osaka Expo

Hidden away since World War II, samurai armor gifted to Malta from Japan in 1862 has been restored to its full glory and put on display at the Malta Pavilion.
The long-awaited India Pavilion has finally opened. A model of the Chandrayaan-3 unmanned probe, which made an unprecedented landing near the moon's south pole in 2023, is displayed, on Thursday in the city of Osaka.
JAPAN
May 1, 2025

India Pavilion opens at Osaka Expo

The pavillion features space exploration technologies and information technologies, areas in which the South Asian country has excelled.
The café space at the Osaka Expo's British pavilion
JAPAN
May 2, 2025

Britain responds after Expo 2025 afternoon tea brews outrage

Earlier this week, a post deploring the overall quality of the pavilion's tea set — including "a tea bag stuck in a paper cup" — went viral on X.
“‘Future of life,’ by Ishiguro,” the World Expo pavilion by roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro, displays humanlike androids.
LIFE / Travel
May 2, 2025

Want to see the future at the Osaka Expo? Get in line.

Androids and lab-grown heart cells: A dispatch from the world fair.
The number of passengers on shinkansen and other express trains during Golden Week increased 3% from a year earlier to over 13 million, data from six Japan Railways group companies showed Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2025

JR express train passengers during Golden Week up 3%

The result is believed to reflect the impact of the 2025 World Exposition in the city of Osaka, as well as demand from foreign visitors.
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 was bustling with participants of various nationalities Thursday, and multiple languages could be heard around the room as many engaged in conversations throughout the day.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 8, 2025

SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 expands to become one of Asia's largest startup events

This year, the conference — focused on sustainable cities and high technology — feels bigger and more global.
A gate to the Osaka Expo site is crowded with visitors on Monday.
JAPAN
May 13, 2025

One month on, Osaka Expo urged to boost heat and crowd control measures

Experts say the real test will come in August when higher turnout is expected.
Overall net profit is expected to go down 42.9% from the previous year to ¥200 billion at Nippon Steel, 18.4% to ¥75 billion at JFE Holdings and 16.8% to ¥100 billion at Kobe Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2025

Three major Japan steelmakers say they expect profit falls in fiscal 2025

Overall net profit is expected to go down 42.9% from the previous year to ¥200 billion at Nippon Steel, 18.4% to ¥75 billion at JFE and 16.8% to ¥100 billion at Kobe Steel.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 13, 2025

Consumption tax set to dominate Upper House election debate

Broaching the subject has traditionally been seen as akin to kicking a hornet's nest.
South Korean presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung speaks in Goyang, South Korea, on April 27.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 14, 2025

South Korean think tank halves 2025 growth forecast to 0.8%

The revised outlook reflects the fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign on the trade-reliant nation as its presidential race hits full swing.
Walking along Osaka's Kanjosen brings you closer to a different side of the city that the head-in-the-clouds Expo 2025 misses.
LIFE / Travel
May 17, 2025

Fighting Osaka Expo fatigue? Walk the 21-km Loop Line for a cure.

Officially completed in 1961, the Osaka Kanjosen runs through the city’s most famous and less touristed neighborhoods alike.
The crowded center circle of the Kansai Pavilion at the Osaka Expo, featuring photos and videos of various prefectures
JAPAN
May 25, 2025

Osaka Expo highlights uniqueness of Kansai region

The Kansai Pavilion offers numerous experiences to allow visitors to understand the rich history and culture of the region.
Visitors at the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka earlier this month
JAPAN
May 19, 2025

BIE head suggests later Osaka Expo close time

The expo's current opening hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
China’s Made in China 2025 program set an ambitious agenda, and a decade later, initial assessments conclude it had mixed success but maintain its goals will shape Chinese policy for years to come.
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2025

Ten years of Made in China 2025 sees mixed success

MIC2025 set an ambitious agenda, and a decade later, early reviews say it has had mixed success but maintain that its goals will shape Chinese policy for years to come.
PRESS
May 28, 2025

The Japan Times Destination Restaurants が 今年の受賞レストランを発表

Destination Restaurants
People queue up for events at various pavilions during the 2025 Osaka Expo in Osaka on May 21.
JAPAN
May 28, 2025

'Expo grandma' completes tour of all Osaka Expo pavilions

Tomiyo Yamada visited her last remaining pavilion, the Netherlands pavilion, on Wednesday.
Visitors at the 2025 Osaka Expo in May
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2025

Osaka Expo sees highest daily visitor number

The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition expects a total of 28.2 million people to visit the event, which is set to run until Oct. 13.
The government plans to develop a shelter strategy for foreign armed attacks by the end of fiscal 2025, according to sources.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 5, 2025

Japan to decide plans for shelters from armed attacks within fiscal 2025

The government will also compile basic guidelines for evacuating residents in Okinawa Prefecture's Sakishima Islands, apparently with a possible Taiwan contingency in mind.
World Bank Deputy Chief Economist Ayhan Kose speaks during an interview on Monday in Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 11, 2025

World Bank sees Japan's growth slowing in 2025

The institution has lowered its 2025 growth estimate for Japan's gross domestic product to 0.7% in inflation-adjusted real terms.
The total amount of unpaid costs for the construction of the German, Serbian and Romanian pavilions at the ongoing 2025 World Exposition are said to reach hundreds of millions of yen.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 20, 2025

Construction costs allegedly unpaid for three more expo pavilions

The total amount of unpaid costs for the German, Serbian and Romanian pavilions are said to reach hundreds of millions of yen.
A voter takes a photograph of a candidate running for a Tokyo assembly seat, in Tokyo on June 21.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 27, 2025

Lawmaker hints at new social media regulations as misinformation taints elections

Under a new law, social media sites can remove posts defaming political candidates if creators don't respond within two days, but lawmakers say that's too long.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

LDP to discuss governance plans after Upper House election, Moriyama says

During this year's ordinary parliament session, the ruling coalition secured the passage of some bills through partial alliances with opposition parties.
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.

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