Search - things-to-do

 
 
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a news conference following his first Cabinet meeting on Saturday in London.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 7, 2024

Britain’s new leader is about to get a crash course in statecraft

Some experts say the shift to Labour was less about ideology and more about fatigue with the Tories and a distrust of political institutions in general.
Many second-generation Indian migrants decide to leave Japan for higher education — with Indians making up less than 1% of the country’s student population — but there is evidence that this cohort’s interest in attending Japanese universities is growing.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 10, 2024

Do university-bound Indian migrants actually stay in Japan?

Can Japan retain second-generation Indian migrants who are seeking a college education? The evidence is mixed, showing an uptick that still has a long way to grow.
Members of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces take part in a military review at Camp Asaka in October 2018. The nation’s public is currently favorable to the SDF, but if scandals aren’t handled correctly, that opinion may change. 
EDITORIALS
Jul 12, 2024

A multitude of scandals threaten Japan’s national defense

Individually, recent scandals are troubling. Together they are reflective of a problematic culture within the defense forces and bureaucracy.
Summer Basho winner Onosato is trying to join Terunofuji as the only wrestlers to win consecutive titles since 2018.
SUMO
Jul 12, 2024

Onosato poised to continue rapid rise at Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament

The 24-year-old former amateur yokozuna has been on fire since turning pro 14 months ago and already stands on the verge of promotion to sumo’s second-highest rank.
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Russian nationals, including Artyom Dultsev, Anna Dultseva, convicted of spying in Slovenia, and their children at 
an airport in Moscow on Thursday following a prisoner exchange with Western countries.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2024

Russia’s prisoner trade says all you need to know about Putin

Among those released to Russia were people convicted by independent courts of cybercrimes, insider trading and breaking sanctions.
Commuters take a subway home at Sungsu station in Seoul on July 15.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 6, 2024

Declaring ‘crisis,’ South Korean firms tell managers to work more

In South Korea, the five-day workweek is only a generation old, introduced by labor laws in 2004.
Officials of the transport ministry speak to a driver suspected of engaging in illegal taxi operations at a tourist spot in Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Aug 12, 2024

Gifu struggles to crack down on illegal cabs at tourist hot spots

Cashless payments make it hard to catch such drivers in the act and some are worried they may be mistaken for a legal ride-hailing service.
By enabling a few wealthy individuals to wield disproportionate influence, today’s global economy increasingly marginalizes and disenfranchises much of the world’s population.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2024

To preserve democracy, tax the rich

What the world needs are progressive tax systems that redistribute income from the rich to the poor without weakening socially beneficial incentives.
An ISIS flag hangs in the bombed-out remains of a palace that militants used as a headquarters in Mosul, Iraq, in 2017.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 26, 2024

Islamic State supporters turn to AI to bolster online support

Digital experts say groups like IS and far-right movements are increasingly using AI online and testing the limits of safety controls on social media platforms.
With projections indicating a population drop in Japan from around 125 million to 63 million by 2100, traditional solutions like immigration and labor reforms are unlikely to be effective in time.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 15, 2024

Japan should master, not resist, its demographic destiny

Japan needs a strategic reorientation toward accepting and mastering its demographic changes rather than resisting them.
Workers picket outside the Boeing Co. manufacturing facility during a strike in Renton, Washington, on Oct. 3.
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2024

Time for unions to join the 21st-century economy

Automation stands to make U.S. ports and transportation of goods cheaper and more efficient. And it is easy to see why unions oppose it.
The emotional impact of constant news about wars and disasters is weighing heavily on many in the younger generations, causing them to seek ways to cope with their distress and anxiety.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2024

Is the apocalypse making you too anxious to work?

A poll reveals that a significant portion of the Gen Z and millennial generations feel unable to function at work due to distress over current events.
People wave the flag of the Syrian National Coalition as they celebrate the fall of the Assad regime in Aleppo, Syria, on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 13, 2024

The Syrians have a chance to be free. They need our help.

The future of Syria, and the wider Middle East, remains uncertain, however, and the ultimate outcome could be more threatening than that of the Assad era.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic during the fourth quarter of Denver's game against Atlanta on Jan. 1.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jan 8, 2025

How Nikola Jokic channeled Larry Bird to become even more dominant

Nikola Jokic has won three league MVP awards and spearheaded an NBA title run. But somehow, this season’s effort may be the best version of Jokic yet.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, marked by betrayal and disregard for relationships, has weakened America’s global alliances, prompting countries to consider alternative allies.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2025

America is surrounded by enemies — that it created

This is not just a Trump problem; America’s whole reputation is shot.
Social engineering scams thrive on poorly monitored social media platforms, and while the UK is pushing tougher laws to hold tech companies accountable, the U.S. resists stricter rules, believing individuals should bear responsibility for avoiding fraud.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2025

The U.K. is trying to fight social scams. The U.S. not so much.

Social engineering is one of the hardest parts of the trillion-dollar online scam industry to block or disrupt.
Elon Musk confirmed plans on Tuesday to reduce his government time commitment to one or two days a week to focus on his battered car company Tesla.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 24, 2025

Trump's Cabinet ready to take back power with Musk stepping back, sources say

Elon Musk plans to reduce his government time commitment to one or two days a week to focus on his battered car company, Tesla.
Paraguayan President Santiago Pena speaks during an interview with The Japan Times in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2025

As Taiwan looks to boost ‘unofficial ties,’ Paraguay’s leader offers facilitator role

Paraguayan President Santiago Pena stressed his government is “more than willing to support and be a strong ally” to Taiwan.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivers a speech during the ASEAN-GCC-China Economic Forum's official dinner in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 28, 2025

China aims to capitalize on U.S. tariff turmoil with new ASEAN-GCC forum

The summit with Southeast Asian and Arab Gulf states is the latest sign of more countries looking to join hands to fend off U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff push.
Onosato celebrates winning the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Sunday.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
May 28, 2025

Historic rise to yokozuna just the beginning for Onosato

There is a good argument to be made that Onosato is already the most widely decorated wrestler in sumo history.
U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Steel Corporation Irvin Works facility in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on Friday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 31, 2025

Trump to hike steel tariffs to 50% to aid Nippon-U.S. Steel

The U.S. president said the move would help protect American steelworkers during a visit to a United States Steel plant on Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June 2019.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jun 7, 2025

Xi bets Trump detente leads to future wins on chips and tariffs

The Chinese leader hopes for tangible wins in the weeks and months ahead, including tariff reductions, an easing of export controls and a generally more civil tone.
Francisco Villarreal moved to Japan in 2014 to attend a teacher training program and has forged deep ties to the kindergarten in Tokyo's Asakusa district where he has worked since 2018.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Aug 11, 2025

Kindred spirits, kindergarten connections: From Buenos Aires to east Tokyo

An Argentinian teacher finds echoes of his hometown in the working-class neighborhoods of eastern Tokyo.
Attendees stand as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a dinner hosted in the newly renovated Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 7, 2025

Trump nests in a White House and city he’s remolding to fit him

A builder and a homebody, Trump has eschewed some of the regular routines of the presidency in favor of nesting at the White House.
Australian Ambassador to Japan Justin Hayhurst (center) walks beside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) during the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2023

Tokyo-Canberra ties key to Indo-Pacific’s future: Australian envoy

"We’ve never been more important to each other," says Justin Hayhurst, Australia’s new Ambassador to Japan.
If you have a specific birth plan in mind, like giving birth at home, it's important to make sure the clinic you use offers that option.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 14, 2023

Giving birth in Japan? Here’s what you need to know.

Giving birth can be overwhelming — even more so if you don’t understand the local language or know the steps you need to take.
The charges against a former U.S. Army soldier underscore the volume of national security secrets flowing to China, which has made aggressive efforts to recruit spies and steal technology.
WORLD
Oct 7, 2023

Ex-U.S. soldier accused of trying to give classified info to China

The underscore the volume of U.S. security secrets flowing to China, which has made aggressive efforts to recruit spies and steal technology.
Sections of the forests in Colville, Washington, have already been thinned, allowing trees to grow less densely and reducing the risk for wildfire.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 26, 2023

How to prevent forest fires by building cities with more wood

Not everyone is convinced mass timber will help forest health.
Hiromi Uetake has future plans to turn some of the currently unused rooms of the former elementary school into taprooms for visiting customers.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 14, 2024

Craft beer’s hoppy road to the deep north

Beer drinkers in these occasionally frozen lands now enjoy flavors infused with deep stories and their home prefectures’ splendid natural beauty.
With emerging headwinds in the U.S. and Japan, U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will have their work cut out for them next month as they look to maintain the momentum driving change in the alliance between both countries.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 31, 2024

Kishida heads to U.S. with a mission — maintain alliance momentum amid challenges

Defense and security will likely top the agenda, though it is unclear how the PM will handle the issue of Ukraine assistance amid a split U.S. Congress.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight