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JAPAN / FOCUS
May 13, 2022

50 years after Okinawa’s return, fears of conflict over Taiwan now a top concern

In the months and weeks ahead of the Sunday anniversary, a chorus of top officials have stressed how any Taiwan conflict would also be an emergency for Tokyo.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 13, 2022

Scientists unveil image of 'gentle giant' black hole at Milky Way's center

The black hole — called Sagittarius A* — is the second one ever to be imaged.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 12, 2022

Al-Jazeera journalist killed during Israeli raid in West Bank

Veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, was wearing a press vest that clearly marked her as 'Press' while reporting in the city of Jenin.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 10, 2022

Yoon Suk-yeol takes office vowing larger role for South Korea in global affairs

Although Yoon did not mention China or Russia in his inauguration speech, he did zero in on the importance of the international rules-based order, mentioning the word “freedom” 30 times.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 6, 2022

Boris Johnson blamed as Tories lose seats in U.K. council elections

Mixed results overall will provide some solace for Johnson, who came into the vote under pressure following a series of missteps — including the 'partygate” scandal.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
May 4, 2022

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. could control hunt for family's wealth as Philippines president

If the front-runner triumphs in the May 9 election, he will wield broad powers over government agencies seeking to recover as much as $10 billion plundered by his namesake father.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
May 1, 2022

As Beijing's COVID tightens curbs, hard-hit Shanghai sees signs of life

The outbreaks are testing the government's 'COVID zero' approach in a year when Xi Jinping is expected to secure an unprecedented third term as president.
A lithography system made by ASML at an Intel facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, on April 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 21, 2024

ASML and TSMC can disable chip machines if China invades Taiwan

Sources said the chipmakers have ways to shut-off the world’s most sophisticated chipmaking machines in the event of an attack.
Iwao Hakamata's older sister Hideko (left) marches to the Shizuoka District Court in the city of Shizuoka on Wednesday for a retrial of her younger brother Iwao, who had been on death row over a 1966 murder case.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 22, 2024

Trial ruling date for man accused of 1966 murder set for September

Iwao Hakamata, who in a rare example is being retried over a 1966 murder case, will be given a verdict on Sept. 26.
Ecuador has sought funding to fight the effects of climate change, including a June 2023 flood that followed heavy rains in Esmeraldas. So far, the developed world has offered the debt-strapped nation more loans than grants.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 23, 2024

Rich nations reap climate finance dividend, benefiting from rates and terms

Developed nations have pledged to send $100 billion a year to poorer countries to aid adaptation, but money from the deals is being funneled back into rich economies.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan attends a meeting with Venezuela's National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez (not pictured) at the Federal Legislative Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela April 22, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024

Why a prosecutor went public with arrest warrant requests for Hamas and Israeli leaders

ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan accused Netanyahu and his defense minister of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.
PODCAST / deep dive
May 23, 2024

What does climate change sound like in Okinawa?

This week, Japan Times climate editor Chris Russell joins us to discuss what researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology are listening to.
South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol (left), U.S. President Joe Biden (center) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walk during the Camp David summit on the outskirts of Washington last August. South Korea and Japan will be going into the summit with China more aligned than before following the Camp David meeting.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 24, 2024

At Japan-South Korea-China trilateral summit, a chance to manage tensions

Just holding the summit is an accomplishment amid the considerable issues that divide the three countries.
A transport ministry probe into Japan Airlines on Friday targeted daily operations pertaining to flight operations and safety management at company facilities near Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, including JAL's safety promotion headquarters.
JAPAN
May 24, 2024

Emergency probe of Japan Airlines carried out following incidents

The on-site investigation comes after the wings of two JAL planes collided while the aircraft were on Haneda Airport’s parking apron.
Makoto Hasebe during a news conference following his retirement, in Tokyo on Friday. Hasebe played in 114 games for Japan's national team and played over 500 professional games between Japan and Germany.
SOCCER
May 24, 2024

Makoto Hasebe at peace with retirement, says body still 'wants to kick the ball'

Hasebe will eventually return to Germany and begin to lay the foundation for his coaching career.
Masanori Katayama, chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, said the association will work with the Japan Auto Parts Industries Association to address the problem of subcontractor bullying.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2024

Japan’s automakers vow to stop squeezing their suppliers

Member companies of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association have agreed to treat subcontractors more fairly when the latter pass on cost increases.
Judge Nawaf Salam (from left), Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf and Judge Georg Nolte attend a hearing at the International Court of Justice as part of South Africa's request on a Gaza cease-fire, at The Hague on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
May 25, 2024

Top U.N. court orders Israel to halt Rafah offensive

The landmark ruling is likely to increase international pressure for a cease-fire more than seven months into the war sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Chinese Premier Li Qiang for bilateral talks in Seoul on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 26, 2024

Kishida meets China's Li and South Korea's Yoon before trilateral summit

The Japanese leader discussed improving ties with Seoul and how to stabilize Tokyo's relationship with Beijing in separate bilateral talks.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Academy of Defense Sciences in Pyongyang in this image released Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 29, 2024

North Korea's Kim admits failure, but vows to continue building spy satellites

The satellite-carrying rocket had self-destructed Tuesday "due to an abnormality in the first-stage engine," the North Korean leader said.
Lexi Thompson watches her shot from the 12th tee on Day 2 of the 2023 Women's British Open in Walton-on-the-Hill, England, in August 2023.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
May 29, 2024

Lexi Thompson to retire from golf at season end

Thompson is an 11-time LPGA tour winner, a major champion, a two-time Olympian and a six-time U.S. Solheim Cup team member.
Aphelele Vavi (right), 22, who is studying sound engineering, at lunch with fellow students at SAE Creative Media Institute in Rosebank, South Africa, on March 19
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2024

South Africa’s young democracy leaves its young voters disillusioned

The nation is heading into a pivotal election, in which voters will determine who will pick the president, but voter turnout has been dropping in recent years.
With the recent focus on the yen and individual investing, the phrase "Mrs. Watanabe" — one of the most common pieces of jargon in Japanese financial circles — has seen a resurgence.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 29, 2024

My search for the original 'Mrs. Watanabe'

Yen retail traders are back in the spotlight. But where did the phrase for the archetypal Japanese housewife investor come from?
A man watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 30, 2024

In unusual move, North Korea fires off barrage of at least 10 ballistic missiles

While the North has in the past launched multiple missiles in a single volley, the sheer number fired Thursday pointed to training for so-called saturation strikes.
A supporter of former President Donald Trump protests in Palm Beach, Florida, after the guilty verdict over falsifying business records was announced on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2024

Why Republicans go crawling back to Donald Trump

Donald Trump has been convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. But this is unlikely to make much difference to the Republican Party. Not only is he still the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee; Republicans have repeatedly proved perfectly willing to forgive his indiscretions,...
A plastic bag carrying trash that crossed the inter-Korean border with a balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea is seen in Seoul in this picture released Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 3, 2024

North Korea halts sending trash balloons over border to South

Pyongyang has threatened a resumption of the "unpleasant" practice in the event South Korean activists restart the flying of anti-regime leaflets.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures outside Trump Tower, the day after a guilty verdict in his criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in New York on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2024

Trump warns of 'breaking point' for Americans if he's jailed

Prison time is rare for people convicted in New York state of felony falsification of business records, the charge Trump faced at his trial.
In a boon to Saudi Arabia's government, which is seeking to fund a massive economic transformation plan, Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion share sale sold out shortly after the deal opened on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 3, 2024

Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion stock offer sells out in hours

The extent of foreign participation will be closely watched as an indicator of interest in Saudi Arabia's assets.

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