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Employees of Takahashi Shouten working on the trial production of sake in New Delhi on Nov. 14.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 17, 2024

Japanese sake brewery to make foray into Indian market

Takahashi Shouten, based in the city of Yame in Fukuoka Prefecture, launched a subsidiary in India in February.
Russian and North Korean flags are attached to a car during a ceremony welcoming Russian President Vladimir Putin at an airport in Pyongyang on June 19.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 17, 2024

U.S. hits North Korea and Russia with new sanctions, Treasury says

The sanctions are the latest U.S. measure aimed at disrupting North Korea's support to Russia's war in Ukraine.
An Apple logo is seen in Brussels, Belgium, in 2016.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 17, 2024

Congo files criminal complaints against Apple over conflict minerals

International lawyers representing Congo argue that Apple uses minerals pillaged from the country and laundered through international supply chains.
A man rides a motorbike along a street in the settlement of Hulbuk, formerly known as Vose, in the Khatlon region, Tajikistan, on Dec. 12.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 17, 2024

Tajik migrants fear for income and security as Russia reels from terror attack

Migrants in Russia say a rise in street harassment and police raids are making life there more difficult, a concern also raised by rights advocates.
Environmental activist Paul Watson waves after getting released from prison in Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2024

Japan 'regrets' release of anti-whaling activist Paul Watson

The 74-year-old Canadian-American activist was released after Copenhagen turned down Tokyo's request to bring him to Japan.
Protesters hold placards reading "Arrest Insurrectionist Yoon Suk Yeol!" during a demonstration near the presidential residence in Seoul on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2024

Yoon’s martial law order divides South Korea and may alter foreign policy direction

South Korea’s vibrant civil society also fuels a divided citizenry, evident in protests for and against Yoon’s declaration.
Toshiyuki Mimaki (center) and others lay flowers at the atomic bomb memorial in Hiroshima on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2024

Nihon Hidankyo members make Nobel visit to Hiroshima cenotaph

Toshiyuki Mimaki said that Nihon Hidankyo's receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize represented "the moment when the activities of our predecessors bore fruit."
An entanglement between club hostess Rie (Sakurako Konishi, left) and TV writer Takuya (Kou Maehara) lies at the center of Takashi Watanabe’s “More Than Words.”
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2024

‘More Than Words’: A morally gray melodrama about sexual assault

Takashi Watanabe’s film concerns the plight of a bumbling TV writer whose entanglement with a club hostess leads to his downfall.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the National Caucus holiday party in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2024

Trudeau’s political crisis rips up playbook for trade fight with Trump

Canada's prime minister is now on the back foot after his finance minister resigned, a move that cast doubt on his preparation for a clash with the U.S.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe says athlete welfare is at the top of the organization's priority list.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Dec 19, 2024

World Athletics uses AI to protect 25 athletes targeted by cyberbullies

World Athletics recently unveiled findings of a four-year report analyzing online abuse in the sport.
While the prospect of Eneos Holdings offloading a majority stake in JX has been mooted for years, it is coming closer to reality amid a hot market for share sales in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2024

Eneos considers IPO of up to 70% of JX Advanced Metals

Japan has seen the highest volume of IPOs this year since 2018.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
CULTURE / Film / 2024 in Review
Dec 20, 2024

A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity

International collaborations and indie risk-takers steered the film industry in a fresh direction in 2024.
Supporters of then-President Donald Trump clash with police while storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Dec 29, 2024

Will the guardrails of U.S. democracy hold?

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump continues to express admiration for authoritarian leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A Meteorological Agency official speaks during a news conference held in Tokyo in August to announce the lifting of the government's emergency alert system for a megaquake that may occur in the Nankai Trough.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2024

Japan improves public relations for Nankai Trough megaquake alert

The first such alert, issued in August, caused confusion and unrest as the system was not widely recognized.
Carmelo Anthony (right) is among the first-time nominees for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
BASKETBALL
Dec 20, 2024

Carmelo Anthony and Sue Bird among first-time Hall of Fame nominees

Finalists will be selected during NBA All-Star Weekend on Feb. 14, and the Class of 2025 will be revealed at the men's Final Four on April 5 in San Antonio.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 5, 2025

'Guernica' is always with us

How do we account for the past year, almost nine decades after "Guernica," when all the boundaries of horror have been pulverized?
Lawyers estimate that personal bankruptcies in Japan are on track to reach the highest since 2012 this year.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Dec 22, 2024

Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt

Personal debt is overwhelming an increasing number of Japanese as higher interest rates and the rising cost of living bite.
The flag of China is seen next to the elements of gallium and germanium on a periodic table.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 23, 2024

Tiny but vital metal markets rush to adjust to Chinese clampdown

Beijing this month slapped a ban on U.S.-bound exports of gallium, germanium and antimony in a tit-for-tat move in a technology trade war.
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe speaks during a joint news conference with heads of Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors on their merger talks in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Dec 24, 2024

Honda crafts Nissan rescue plan that plays out over years

While executives called the transaction a merger, Honda will take the lead in forming the new entity and nominate a majority of its directors.
The government said in the survey there were no cases of disruptive behavior, such as radio jamming, from sites that buyers from China acquired targeting the areas with national security importance.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2024

Most foreign buyers of land near Japan security areas are Chinese: survey

Japan's government said there were no cases of disruptive behavior, such as radio jamming, from the acquired sites targeting the areas with national security importance.
A Wall Street sign in front of a U.S. Flag outside the New York Stock Exchange before the Federal Reserve announcement in New York on Sept. 18.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 24, 2024

Risks stack up for the global economy in 2025

New spending priorities beckon for national budgets already stretched after the pandemic, from tackling climate change to boosting armies to caring for aging populations.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market 250 Index is down about 11% so far this year and set for its fourth yearly loss.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 24, 2024

Japan startups set for longest rout on record as rate hike looms

A rate hike by the Bank of Japan would make it more expensive for new companies to finance research and development.
Internally displaced Syrians from eastern Ghouta queue for food in a Damascus countryside in April 2018.
WORLD / Society
Dec 24, 2024

Global hunger crisis deepens as major nations skimp on aid

The United Nations says that, at best, it will be able to raise enough money to help about 60% of the 307 million people it predicts will need humanitarian aid next year.
One researcher claims that the much-touted long lifespans of Japan, Italy and other countries may be propped up by faulty data.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 25, 2024

The secret to living to 110? Bad record-keeping, says Ig Nobel Prize winner.

The true secret to extreme longevity seems to be to "move where birth certificates are rare, teach your kids pension fraud and start lying," the researcher has said.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou during his club's loss to Liverpool on Sunday
SOCCER
Dec 25, 2024

Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window

Spurs have been hit by injuries and suspensions during the past month, but Postecoglou has refused to rein in his attacking approach.
Toyota's business is feeling the strain of intense competition over hybrid cars in the U.S. and locally made electric vehicles in China.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 25, 2024

Toyota sales stagnate as factory glitches compound weaker demand

Vehicle sales totaled 984,348 units last month, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday, down 0.2% year-on-year.
The danger of overreaction and misinformation in the digital age is real, and authorities must provide clear explanations to prevent tragedies while also addressing legitimate concerns about drones.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 25, 2024

How to make America's drone panic so very much worse

The weak and ineffective response of government authorities should serve as a lesson in exactly how not to handle such incidents in the digital age.
The entrance to Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo on Dec. 1
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2024

Chinese man sentenced for vandalizing Yasukuni Shrine

According to the ruling, Jiang Zhuojun, 29, conspired with two other Chinese men to write "toilet" in red spray paint on a pillar at the shrine.
Comedian-turned-investor Toshiya Imura (left) and former Goldman Sachs analyst Keizo Takeiri pose prior to an interview in Tokyo on Dec. 3.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2024

Japanese comedian-turned-investor launches fund with 'stock geek'

The one-time entertainer, Toshiya Imura, has teamed up with Keizo Takeiri, a former Goldman Sachs analyst, to launch Japan's newest stock fund.
A transport ministry panel experiments with a dummy to determine how quickly a person lying on the road during the night would be spotted when drivers use low and high beam lights.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 27, 2024

Japan drivers warned to steer clear of drunk pedestrians sleeping on road

Collisions involving pedestrians asleep on the road typically spike in December, when more people get imbibed at New Year's gatherings.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan