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JAPAN / Society
Nov 15, 2020

Japan's male babysitters battle stigma and stereotypes

A series of high-profile cases involving pedophiles has left agencies struggling to balance child protection against discrimination.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 13, 2020

China under pressure to reveal vaccine data after Pfizer success

While Beijing has hailed the progress on its own own COVID-19 vaccines, it has so far yet to back this up with evidence.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 6, 2020

Suga calm in face of Diet onslaught but leaves big question unanswered

The exchanges marked the first time the prime minister's endurance had been tested by criticism in a primary legislative debate session since he became the nation's leader.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2020

Desire to see Trump ousted prods Gen Z voters in Japan to back Biden

Focus on police brutality, climate change and LGBTQ equality drives opposition to U.S. president among Temple University students, but endorsement of Biden only lukewarm.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 2, 2020

Trump’s dismissal of COVID-19 risk paved way to White House outbreak

The story of the president's inability to fend off the virus inside one of the most secure locations on earth is a microcosm of his administration's wider failure.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 2, 2020

Democracy dies when Facebook and Twitter define the truth

Democrats and Republicans alike missed the point on Wednesday when members of the Senate Commerce Committee had their last chance before the election to grill the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter, and Google. With the GOP on the hunt for partisan bias and the Democrats urging greater efforts to reduce misinformation,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 1, 2020

From exile in Kyoto, a social media leader in the fight for Thailand

With thousands of Thai students defying government attempts to halt pro-democracy rallies, many see Pavin Chachavalpongpun as an inspiration for change.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2020

'It'll be carnage': British companies dread a Brexit border breakdown

Even the government has said 7,000 trucks could be held in 100-kilometer queues in Kent, south-east England, if companies do not prepare.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Oct 22, 2020

Harnessing technology key to winning race against COVID-19

Governments that have worked effectively to roll out apps and artificial intelligence for the social good are set to come out on top.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Oct 21, 2020

As the Arctic's attractions mount, Greenland is a security black hole

Shrinking sea ice in the remote region has fast-tracked a race among global powers for control over resources and waterways.
A notice board at a station in Tokyo announces suspended shinkansen services due to a tsunami warning after a strong quake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday. 
EDITORIALS
Aug 1, 2025

A troubling reminder of Japan's vulnerability to natural disasters

There is considerable work to be done. Multiple studies and surveys of municipalities show that they are not prepared for a big incident.
Shintaro Matsue (right), head of the International Furikake Association, holds an enlarged package of <i>furikake</i> in Jakarta on July 9.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2025

'Furikake' app to help manage children's health in Indonesian

After downloading an app featured on furikake product packaging, children input data like their height and weight, then do academic drills, with the reward being manga.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he’ll increase the tariff rate for India "substantially” because of New Delhi’s refusal to halt the buying of Russian oil.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 6, 2025

Trump’s staffing gaps complicate India’s bid to ease U.S. tensions

It’s become urgent for New Delhi to make its case to Washington after being unexpectedly slapped with a 25% tariff and facing further threats over its ties with Russia.
This undated handout photo released by the Australian Defence Force on Tuesday shows the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force JS Mogami frigate sailing at an undisclosed location.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 6, 2025

The Japan-Australia frigate sale is a big deal. Here’s why.

For the Japanese government, this will make for the largest defense export to date.
Heavy traffic on the nation's highways is just as much a part of the Bon holiday period as visiting ancestral graves.
LIFE / Bilingual
Aug 7, 2025

Brave the Bon holiday traffic to discover tourism gems off the beaten path

Learn how to ask about secret spots, regional dishes and specialty gifts using natural Japanese structures on your summer travels.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Elon Musk in Washington on Feb. 13.
WORLD
Aug 7, 2025

Musk vs. Modi: Inside the battle over India's internet censorship

X argues India's internet-policing actions are illegal.
“ChaO” is a romantic comedy centered on a mild-mannered human and a mermaid princess. A spin on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” the animated film takes place in a near-future Shanghai.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2025

Futuristic mermaid tale ‘ChaO’ makes a splash

Yasuhiro Aoki’s feature film debut reimagines “The Little Mermaid” in vibrant detail.
Military personnel in tanks participate in a parade in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on March 27, 2021.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 12, 2025

Myanmar security forces involved in systematic torture, U.N. report says

Investigators said victims were subject to beatings, electric shocks, gang rape, strangulation and other forms of torture.
Katsutoshi Takegami, 77, in his storehouse attic where he discovered his father's Unit 1644 documents
JAPAN / History
Aug 13, 2025

Hidden rosters and the legacy of Japan’s germ warfare

In a dusty box, a Nagano man finds proof his father served in Nanjing, China, with Unit 1644, part of Japan’s covert biological weapons network during World War II.
Former teacher Satoshi Ito speaks during an interview in Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, in June. Ito underwent training for guerrilla warfare at a secret school to prepare for a possible battle in mainland Japan during World War II.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2025

War must never be repeated, says WWII guerrilla commander

Former teacher Satoshi Ito, now 102, said he was a pawn of the military, like many others.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes a keynote speech at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, in September last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 15, 2025

Meta AI rules let bots hold ‘sensual’ chats with kids and offer false info

Meta's standards don’t necessarily reflect "ideal or even preferable” generative AI outputs, an internal document states. But they have permitted provocative behavior by the bots.
A T-6C Texan aircraft flying above a graduating parade at the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Base Ohakea, located north-west of the city of Palmerston North in New Zealand on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 18, 2025

Military court finds New Zealand soldier guilty of attempted espionage

The soldier was caught offering to pass military base maps and photographs to an undercover officer posing as an agent for a third country.
A lot of Japanese workers join online group texts to communicate with their coworkers, but at what point do those chats threaten a healthy work-life balance?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 22, 2025

Expressing annoyance with work group chats in Japanese

Some employees value the convenience; others feel trapped by after-hours texts and social expectations embedded in office messaging culture.
An All Nippon Airways passenger plane landed on a runway where a work vehicle was operating at Wakkanai Airport in Hokkaido on Wednesday, according to the transport ministry.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2025

'Serious incident' to be probed after ANA plane lands while vehicle on runway

The Japan Transport Safety Board has appointed two aviation accident investigators to begin an investigation into the event at Wakkanai Airport in Hokkaido.
Police have issued a warning over the existence of online message boards promoting extreme sexual role play that are, in reality, serving as hubs for actual crimes involving sexual violence.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 22, 2025

Police warn of internet forums soliciting sexual violence

A woman was attacked in her apartment in Tokyo after an acquaintance of hers found a man via an internet board willing to commit sexual assault.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang during an event in Washington, in July. Huang says Nvidia is currently in talks with the U.S. over the potential offering of a more powerful chip for sale in China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 22, 2025

Nvidia CEO says in talks with U.S. over new China chip

The tech giant is reportedly working on a new chip based on its latest Blackwell architecture that will be more powerful than a model currently greenlit for sale to China.
Four leading Japanese life insurance companies will stop sending employees on loan to agents and banks for insurance sales, following recent scandals involving these workers, sources revealed on Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2025

Japanese life insurers to stop transferring workers on loan

The move follows a series of scandals in which employees sent to sales agents leaked rival insurers' customer information.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks next to U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Terry Cole, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), during the signing of executive orders by U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 26, 2025

U.S. weighing sanctions on EU officials implementing Digital Services Act

The law aims to make the online environment safer, in part by compelling tech giants to tackle illegal content such as hate speech and child sexual abuse material.
A government building that houses the National Police Agency in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. Japanese authorities issued a joint advisory Wednesday about Salt Typhoon, a Chinese government-backed hacker group, in a document prepared by the United States and signed by a total of 13 countries.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 28, 2025

Japan and others warn of Chinese government-backed hacker group

The group is linked to Chinese telecommunications firms that provide services to the Chinese People's Liberation Army and China's Ministry of State Security, authorities have said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a joint news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2025

At Tokyo summit, India and Japan outline path forward for the coming decade

The leaders of the two countries outlined multiple areas of cooperation, including tech, the environment and health.

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