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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 3, 2023

A plea and a promise for 2023: No more ‘pacifism’

The characterization of Japan as a “pacifist” country is widespread — and very misleading.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2022

Pfizer’s RSV vaccine succeeds where others failed

Early data bodes well for Pfizer's RSV shot, which would be given during pregnancy to protect infants in the early months of life.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 7, 2022

How China has added to its influence over the iPhone

Apple is taking small steps toward India. But the production of its latest phone, set for introduction on Wednesday, shows how difficult it will be to make big changes.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 3, 2022

The two parties finally agree on something: American democracy is in danger

In a remarkable consensus, a new Quinnipiac University poll found that 69% of Democrats and 69% of Republicans say that democracy is 'in danger of collapse.”
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Women at Work
Aug 16, 2022

Creating parity in the field of science in Japan

Noriko Osumi is one of the highest-ranking female scientists in Japan, and has worked to address the structural causes behind the severe lack of women within certain academic fields.
Directed and co-written by Sunao Katabuchi, animated film “In This Corner of the World” depicts the beauty of nature and the horrors of war with equal potency.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 27, 2024

Films that give the Japanese perspective of the atomic bomb

Movies about the nation's darkest days — in genres such as dramas, fantasies and anime — offer another side to Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' story.
An electronic board shows stock indexes at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai on March 21, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 17, 2024

China's money managers lament loss of quality research amid analyst cutbacks

A prolonged market slump has reduced trading commissions as authorities tighten limits around what research analysts are allowed to publish.
The "style architect" for Jay-Z since 1994, June Ambrose sees influences of her work across the Japanese fashion landscape.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 1, 2024

June Ambrose: ‘Cultural appropriation is the best form of flattery’

Ambrose has been Jay-Z’s designated “style architect” since the billionaire started Roc-A-Fella Records back in 1994.
A Lamborghini Diablo SL automobile displayed at the company's event to mark the automaker’s 60th anniversary in Seoul in September 2023. While the boost in wealth among crypto investors was mostly poured into discretionary spending, a significant portion spilled into local housing markets, the researchers found.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 6, 2024

Lamborghini bros no more: Crypto is creating a new wealth effect

Study suggests that household spending out of crypto gains is more like the patterns from traditional equity investments, such as on home purchases.
Pine trees in a coniferous forest Canterbury, New Zealand
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 28, 2024

Millions more trees isn’t the climate fix New Zealand envisaged

The result of a project linking incentives for forestry development and emissions trading turned out to be less effective than hoped.
U.S. President Joe Biden reacts to the audience during a campaign stop in Detroit on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 13, 2024

'I'm not going anywhere,' Biden says as campaign struggles

The 81-year-old president is trying to shift the conversation from his mental sharpness to the impact of another Donald Trump presidency.
Visitors take selfies at Kinkaku-ji Golden Temple in Kyoto.
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2024

Overtourism isn’t the conundrum it’s made out to be

142 countries are projected to exceed their pre-pandemic tourism performance this year, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.
The integration of large language models into war-game simulations and planning promises faster scenario analysis, but recent research highlights significant issues, including a risk of escalation.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024

Resist the seductive power of AI in military decision-making

The maturation of AI and the creation of large learning models have driven the war-gaming industry — and it is an industry — to new heights of fever and frenzy.
A washed-up boat on the shore of the city of Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Friday
JAPAN / Society
Sep 3, 2024

Typhoon-chaser's firsthand account of his pursuit of Shanshan

James Reynolds, who has built a career of venturing into the eye of nature's most ferocious storms, braved the elements as the cyclone bore down on Japan.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shake hands at a news conference in Rome on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 17, 2024

Starmer courts Meloni in Rome with eye on risk from U.K. right

The British prime minister said he’s looking to his Italian counterpart for lessons on tackling what is known as irregular migration.
Starbucks has 10 support centers around the world where agronomists work with farmers on research and best practices.
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2024

Starbucks buys research farms as climate change threatens coffee supply

Bolstering the coffee industry’s climate resilience has taken on fresh urgency this year.
Stadium workers paint the World Series logo on the field at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, a day ahead of the start of the Fall Classic.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 25, 2024

Baseball’s biggest stars and biggest markets align for MLB broadcaster

As much as the history of the two franchises, the teams’ star players and league-leading records this season should help attract more casual baseball fans.
People walk along Wall Street in New York.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 11, 2024

Wall Street math wizards are decoding private-market returns

Decoding such illiquid investments is fraught with pitfalls, however, as many modeling mortgage bonds and derivatives before the financial crisis would testify.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. He, 69, is a Politburo member and Beijing’s point person for U.S.-China economic and trade affairs.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 14, 2024

Xi’s key players to lead China in another Trump trade fight

Donald Trump’s return to power makes Beijing’s potential negotiators some of the most important people in Xi Jinping’s government.
Film festivals around the world are giving space to AI-generated cinematic experiences, with Venice and Cannes among the heavy hitters with sections dedicated to "immersive" works, including those made using virtual and augmented reality.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 23, 2024

Asia’s film industry should balance AI with human creativity

AI is revolutionizing cinema. Japan and Asia as a whole are well-positioned to harness technology to empower storytelling while retaining film's essentially human nature.
Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, South Korea's main opposition party, leaves after delivering a public statement on the impeachment motion against acting President Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2024

In South Korea’s impeachment saga, who’s really in trouble?

Lee Jae-myung, facing six criminal cases, needs an election before any convictions are finalized, as a conviction could disqualify him from running for president.
“The Place of Shells” takes place mostly in Gottingen, Germany, where both the author and the book's narrator live, while also jumping both geographically and temporally to Sendai, Japan, through memories of the 3/11 disaster and its aftermath.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 10, 2025

Grief ebbs and flows between two tragedies in 'The Place of Shells'

Mai Ishizawa’s debut novel, which won one of the three Akutagawa Prizes awarded in 2021, is also her first to be released in English, translated by Polly Barton.
Japan, despite facing multiple territorial disputes, lacks a dedicated university program on the issue, unlike Western countries, and would benefit from an interdisciplinary academic initiative to foster expertise.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 17, 2025

Japan needs academic programs focused on territorial issues

While many countries have territorial disputes with their neighbors — in fact, there are at least 150 active disputes worldwide — Japan faces issues with nearly all its neighbors.
Japan forward Mina Tanaka dribbles during a SheBelieves Cup match against Australia in Houston on Feb. 20.
SOCCER
Mar 20, 2025

How Mina Tanaka evolved into a prolific striker for Nadeshiko Japan

Mina Tanaka is having a moment. The Nadeshiko Japan and Utah Royals striker dominated the SheBelieves Cup, winning both MVP and top scorer as Japan defeated the U.S.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a Democratic Party for the People convention in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, on Feb. 11.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Apr 6, 2025

Breaking with tradition: From the shop floor to fighting for millions

Tomoko Yoshino has rubbed shoulders with political heavyweights and business leaders as the first female leader of Rengo.
Yuki Tejima, who runs the Instagram account booknerdtokyo, hesitated to try her hand at literary translation until she won an award at the International Translation Contest.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 29, 2025

Yuki Tejima's metamorphosis from bookworm to literary translator

An Instagram “bookfluencer” and professional translator for over 10 years, Tejima’s love of books was, strangely enough, a hurdle to working in literary translation.
A television station broadcasts U.S. President Donald Trump speaking during a Rose Garden event, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Apr 8, 2025

Frustrated world leaders wonder if Trump even wants a deal

U.S. President Donald Trump has set a high bar, telling reporters that any agreements would need to eliminate bilateral trade deficits.
A rescue worker stands in front of a damaged building following a strong earthquake, in Mandalay, Myanmar, on April 3.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 11, 2025

Making money out of a disaster: Fake news and the Myanmar quake

Online schemes prey on the heightened fears and appetite for news that follow any disaster or outbreak of war.
The Advanced Micro Devices headquarters in Santa Clara, California
BUSINESS / Tech
May 7, 2025

AMD and Arm offer a window into the AI landscape ahead of Nvidia earnings

Though chipmaking stocks have taken a hit this year, underlying results may show a stronger foundation for the AI trade than recent stock performance indicates.
French scientist Marie-Anne Blanchet examines bear cubs before taking tissue biopsies and blood samples from their sedated mother, in eastern Spitzbergen, in Norway's Svalbard archipelago, on April 6.
ENVIRONMENT
May 19, 2025

Polar bear biopsies shed light on Arctic pollutants

The team's findings may help explain how the bears' world is changing, and at an alarming rate.

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