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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 30, 2021

Five nonfiction books about Japanese food to devour from cover to cover

In an age where the internet provides an abundance of information, to still be unaware of the varieties of Japanese cuisine could be seen as a form of self-exile from pleasure. While curating a list of the “best” nonfiction on the topic is certainly subjective, the following books, which offer immersive...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Explainer
May 27, 2021

What you need to know about the latest changes to Japan's border control measures

In response to the spread of the coronavirus variant first detected in India, Japan has once again tightened quarantine rules for arrivals.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 21, 2021

Rapper Daichi Yamamoto gets personal about breakups, his biracial background and a love of jazzy beats

Japanese rappers are beginning to share more about their own experiences in their tracks, an approach Daichi Yamamoto says is upping the standards for domestic hip-hop.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2021

How to be smart about taxes on Bitcoin

Lots of crypto investors might be tempted to hide their heads in the tax-planning sand, and it's easy to see why. The tax issues are complex.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 11, 2021

What we know about the Indian variant as COVID-19 sweeps South Asia

India has recorded the world's sharpest spike in coronavirus infections this month, with political and financial capitals New Delhi and Mumbai running out of hospital beds, oxygen and medicine.
Houses and buildings lie in ruins in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Jan. 19 following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 4, 2025

Egypt's alternative to Trump's 'Gaza Riviera' aims to sideline Hamas

Cairo's plan does not tackle issues such as who will foot the bill for Gaza's reconstruction or outline any specific details around how the strip would be governed.
Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo gives a short speech during a media briefing in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 4, 2025

Taiwan says U.S. will 'not abandon' Asia-Pacific region

The remarks by Taiwan's defense minister came days after U.S. President Donald Trump's fiery clash with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (second from left), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (right) and envoys meet in Riyadh on Feb. 18.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 5, 2025

Putin agrees to help Trump broker nuclear talks with Iran

Discussions are in their initial stages and it’s not clear whether any talks between the U.S. and Iran would yield any progress.
An Israeli hostage who was released from captivity in Gaza arrives at a medical center in Tel Aviv on Feb. 22.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2025

Trump warns Hamas as U.S. holds unprecedented talks for Gaza hostages

The move broke with a decades-old policy against negotiating with groups that the U.S. brands as terrorist organizations.
Campaign supporters light a total of 1,638 candles, representing the number of dead victims claimed by HIV/AIDS in the Philippines since 1984, as part of their commemoration of International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day in metro Manila in 2016.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 6, 2025

Philippines' LGBTQ+ groups seek options to replace U.S. aid

Advocacy groups are looking at new financing strategies and calling for greater involvement by local health institutions to protect against foreign aid withdrawals.
Sony Group President Hiroki Totoki told a news conference last month that the Playstation maker had been preparing for tariffs by building up inventory from its gaming and electronics divisions in the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Mar 6, 2025

Sony and Suntory build U.S. stockpiles as Japan faces Trump tariff threat

In his latest trade salvo this week, U.S. President Donald Trump hinted that he might target Tokyo next, after imposing tariffs on Mexico and China.
Yoko Suetsugu at Haco, her gallery in New York
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Mar 17, 2025

Sculptor connects Fukushima to U.S. through New York gallery

Yoko Suetsugu is aiming to launch a program inviting U.S. artists to hot springs in the city of Fukushima for a creative retreat.
The Eastern District of New York Court Federal Court House in New York on Feb. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2025

Judges face rise in threats as Musk blasts them over rulings

In recent weeks, Musk, congressional Republicans and other top allies of U.S. President Donald Trump have called for the impeachment of some federal judges.
France's President Emmanuel Macron addresses the media during a news conference at the end of a Special European Council to discuss continued support for Ukraine and European defense at the EU headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / EXPLAINER
Mar 7, 2025

How realistic is France's offer to extend its nuclear umbrella?

France has only a fraction of the number of airborne nuclear weapons the U.S. can provide, and any upgrade of its systems would be costly.
A man walks past an electronic board showing the Nikkei 225 index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange along a street in the capital on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 11, 2025

Asian stocks slide as U.S. growth worries grip markets

In Asia, stocks were battered across the board with Japan's Nikkei and Taiwan stocks hitting their lowest levels since September.
Coils of rolled steel sit in an industrial yard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 12, 2025

U.S.-Canada trade war heats up as Trump doubles metals tariffs, then backs off

The switch came after a Canadian official also backed off his own plans for a 25% surcharge on electricity.
Federal law enforcement agents led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement prepare to conduct an arrest south of Atlanta, Georgia, on Feb. 5.
WORLD / Society
Mar 12, 2025

Amid Trump deportation threats, U.S. communities prepare

The harsh rhetoric and detentions are intensifying into a pounding drum beat that is prompting new action from civic groups.
Ukrainian officers fire a D-30 howitzer toward Russian troops on a front line in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on March 7.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 13, 2025

Cautious Russia weighs Ukraine ceasefire plan as U.S. tries to seal a deal

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was hope for a positive response and that a negative one would say a lot about the Kremlin's true intentions.
Travelers make their way through the departures terminal of Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, in 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 13, 2025

Canadians, stung by Trump's tariffs and rhetoric, balk at U.S. travel

Even a 10% drop in Canadian travelers could cost the United States $2.1 billion in lost spending, the U.S. Travel Association estimated.
Toyota vehicles are loaded onto a ship at the Port of Nagoya in June last year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 13, 2025

Concerns grow over possible U.S. tariffs on Japan's auto sector

U.S. President Donald Trump has pointed out that the U.S. is importing a "very big" amount of Japanese cars while other countries are not really buying American cars.
Rolled steel is stored at a Hyundai Steel plant in Dangjin, South Korea, in 2011.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 13, 2025

South Korean steelmakers eye U.S. investments as Trump tariffs kick in

Posco and Hyundai Steel say investments in operations in the U.S. are among their options. Meanwhile, European steel mills warn of a flood of surplus metal.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on during a meeting with students in Tehran on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 15, 2025

Despite tough talk, economic woes may force Iran to bargain with Trump

Behind the defiant rhetoric of Iran's leaders in public, there is a pragmatic willingness within Tehran to strike a deal with Washington.
Then-U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol attend an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework event at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco in November 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 15, 2025

U.S. designated South Korea a 'sensitive' country amid talk of nuclear weapons

The move after the South Korean president briefly imposed martial law and amid talk of Seoul potentially developing nuclear weapons.
A ship fires missiles toward an undisclosed location, after U.S. President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on Saturday.
WORLD
Mar 17, 2025

U.S. vows to keep hitting Houthis until shipping attacks stop

The Houthi-run health ministry said U.S. airstrikes on Saturday killed at least 53 people.
Bank of Japan headquarters building in February. In January, the BOJ voted to raise its short-term policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25%, taking it to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 17, 2025

Bank of Japan unlikely to raise rates this week as trade war intensifies

The central bank voted to raise its short-term policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25% in January, taking it to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
Megan Garcia
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 18, 2025

Teen’s suicide turns mother against Google and AI chatbot startup

Megan Garcia says her son would still be alive today if it weren’t for a chatbot urging the 14-year-old to take his own life.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the White House on Thursday directing the secretary of the Department of Education to take steps to close the agency.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2025

Cutting the department of education is theater, not a plan

Despite all the pomp, Trump is focused on fixing the wrong problem and that presents Democrats with a perfect opportunity.

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