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A bridge linking Izushima and the Oshika Peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture is scheduled to open in December.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 30, 2024

Onagawa nuclear plant's restart sparks concerns over evacuation routes

Residents, particularly those of islands close to the newly restarted plant, lament the limited options for escaping a disaster.
Appi Geothermal Energy's power plant in Hachimantai, Iwate Prefecture, began commercial operations in March.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Oct 31, 2024

Geothermal power slowly gains steam in Japan

Development of the energy source has long stalled, partly because they tend to lie beneath national parks, which are protected for wildlife conservation.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako speak with Hifumi Abe (third from right), an Olympic judo gold medalist, at a fall garden party on Wednesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2024

Emperor and empress meet Paris Games gold medalists at garden party

A change at the fall party saw the husbands and wives of guests referred to by name, rather than simply as spouses.
Tohoku Electric Power officials explain on Sunday in Sendai a problem that occurred at the No. 2 reactor of the Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2024

Onagawa No. 2 reactor halted due to measuring instrument problem

No radioactive material has leaked out, Tohoku Electric Power said.
Shares in retailers may rise after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba formed a minority government that may cut taxes to lure cooperation from opposition parties.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 12, 2024

Minority government in Japan can help retail stocks and utilities

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba may cut taxes to keep smaller parties on side — increasing workers’ disposable income.
A meeting between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to take place in Lima on the sidelines of a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on Friday and Saturday.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2024

Ishiba and Xi to affirm mutually beneficial strategic ties

In his meeting with Xi, Ishiba plans to demand China resume imports of Japanese fishery products at an early date.
Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture in 2017
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2024

Tsuruga reactor formally ruled noncompliant with safety standards

The Nuclear Regulation Authority ruled the Tsuruga No. 2 reactor did not meet the safety standards after a screening process taking nearly nine years.
A Chinese foreign national was arrested Tuesday for allegedly swindling an elderly woman through a fake investment scam.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 13, 2024

Chinese national held over swindling of Ibaraki woman who lost ¥809 million

Wan Cheuklun allegedly conspired with others to impersonate economist Takuro Morinaga on LINE, offering false investment opportunities.
Hokkaido Electric Power's Tomari nuclear plant. The company says it will be able to meet a boom in consumption from planned data centers and a chipmaking plant provided it is allowed to restart its nuclear reactor.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2024

Hokkaido Electric sees power demand surge with data center boom

Hokkaido boasts a cold climate, which reduces cooling costs, and potential for renewable energy, particularly offshore wind.
Kashiwazaki Mayor Masahiro Sakurai has expressed his willingness to conditionally green-light the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2024

Mayor accepting Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant restart is reelected

Following safety inspections at the plant's No. 7 reactor, Tepco has finished its preparations to restart the facility.
Angela Merkel waves after delivering her speech at a party congress of Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union party in Hamburg, Germany, in December 2018, handing off leadership of her party after nearly two decades at the helm.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 26, 2024

In memoir, Merkel defends her record on the refugee crisis and Russia ties

Since stepping down, Germany's former chancellor has been accused of leaving the country reliant on cheap Russian gas and sparking the rise of the far right.
Sanae Takaichi (left) celebrates Shigeru Ishiba’s victory in becoming the head of the Liberal Democratic Party along with then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo in September. Takaichi appears to be the only woman in any party who is close to breaking the glass ceiling to become the nation’s first female leader. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 26, 2024

The derailing of potential female prime ministers

Sanae Takaichi stands as the closest woman to breaking the glass ceiling and becoming Japan's first female prime minister.
DPP leader Yuichiro Tamaki in Tokyo on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 27, 2024

DPP’s Tamaki leverages new position with energy proposal

Yuichiro Tamaki has been a long-time advocate of nuclear power and the reactivation of Japan’s halted nuclear power plants.
A Shiseido at a consumer products exhibition in Haikou, China, in 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2024

Shiseido profit outlook squeezed by China downturn, president says

Shiseido joins other luxury brands that have been hurt by slowing growth, increased competition and weaker consumer confidence in China.
A woman lays a bouquet of flowers outside the Shenzhen Japanese School on Sept. 19, following the death of a 10-year-old child who was stabbed by an assailant on the way to the school, in Shenzhen, southern China.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 1, 2024

Suspect formally arrested in stabbing of Japanese schoolboy in China

While the motive for the attack remains unclear, rising anti-Japan sentiment in China has led Japanese diplomatic missions to warn citizens abroad.
Chinese people's sentiment toward Japan is believed to be impacted by their use of social media platforms such as Weibo and Douyin, as well as whether they have visited Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 3, 2024

Nearly 90% in Japan and China have negative views of other

The proportion of Japanese respondents who said they had a negative view of China stood at 89.0%, down 3.2 percentage points from a year before.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announces his decision to impose martial law on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 5, 2024

South Korea turmoil strikes at heart of U.S. alliances in Asia

The potential impeachment of South Korea’s president after an aborted attempt to impose martial law may complicate U.S. efforts to counter China.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in parliament on Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2024

Ishiba raised most funds among Japanese party leaders in 2023

An LDP chief has topped the rankings list for 10 years in a row.
Kansai Electric Power's Takahama nuclear power plant's No.1 reactor (right) in Fukui Prefecture, which surpassed 50 years of operation in November. On the left is the No. 2 reactor.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2024

Renewables eyed as biggest source of Japan's energy mix in fiscal 2040

The government is also expected to aim for a 20% share for nuclear energy as part of efforts toward decarbonization.
The government is preparing to set Japan’s new Nationally Determined Contribution, an emissions reduction commitment made by members of the United Nations climate framework's Paris Agreement.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Dec 10, 2024

As Japan nears new climate goal, criticism of policy process ramps up

Critics say the process is not intended to facilitate genuine debate, and that those who support the energy status quo are overrepresented on policy panels.
A handout photo shows Kosuke Nozaki (right), who was found dead of a drug overdose, and Saki Sudo, who was his wife.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 12, 2024

28-year-old widow of ‘Don Juan of Kishu’ acquitted of his murder

Prosecutors had argued that Saki Sudo, 28, somehow caused her wealthy 77-year-old husband Kosuke Nozaki to ingest drugs, resulting in a fatal overdose.
Cables connect to servers at a data center. The rapid global adoption of AI has triggered a boom in demand for the energy-hungry data centers on which the technology depends, putting power grids to the test.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2024

Fossil fuels initially needed for AI boom, Tepco adviser says

While electricity demand has been trending downward in Japan, experts have suggested that the decline could be reversed as the nation builds more data centers.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers an address to the nation at his official residence in Seoul on Saturday after the National Assembly voted to impeach him earlier in the day.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 15, 2024

South Korean president impeached over martial law decree

The 204-85 vote means Yoon Suk Yeol's ultimate fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which can either decide to formally oust him or return him to office.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of South Korea's Democratic Party, speaks to members of the media on the steps inside the National Assembly after an impeachment vote against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul on Dec. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 16, 2024

Yoon’s fall gives nemesis surprise path back to lead South Korea

The impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is giving his biggest political rival, Lee Jae-myung, a chance to finally win the country's top job.
Just over a year ago, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden celebrated their historic summit at Camp David, but Yoon's controversial policies and martial law attempt have undermined that progress.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

Yoon's impeachment widens East Asia fault lines

leadership changes in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington add to the instability, raising concerns about the future of this critical alliance.
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?
Steam rises from a geothermal plan in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture. Despite its long history and potential, geothermal provided just 0.3% of Japan's overall energy mix in the fiscal year from April 2023
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Dec 22, 2024

Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential?

Japan boasts the world’s third-largest potential supply of geothermal energy, but this renewable energy resource has mostly been untapped.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, casts his vote during an impeachment vote against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the National Assembly in Seoul  Dec.14.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 22, 2024

A race to the Blue House or the jail house

Since the end of martial law in 1987, there have been eight democratically elected presidents — and all but two of those have either been impeached or imprisoned.
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.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Nov. 15 during their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 26, 2024

Japan and China to continue delicate diplomatic dance in 2025

While Tokyo and Beijing have touted the importance of thawing ties, experts say a number of issues are likely to mean continued hedging by both sides.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?