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Flowers are laid in front of a Japanese school in Shenzhen last Friday. A Japanese boy who was on his way to the school was fatally stabbed last week.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 25, 2024

Expat safety seen as a must for Japanese firms to keep doing business in China

Business leaders have underlined the duty of a host country to foreign firms in the wake of a fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen.
Digital minister Taro Kono, who is contesting the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, shows a board saying "accomplishment of reformation" during a debate in Tokyo on Sept. 14.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 25, 2024

How Taro Kono lost his mojo

Recent polls have shown the digital minister trailing behind his eight other rivals in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race.
Set in a village in the Swiss Alps, Vincenzo Bellini’s opera “La Sonnambula” centers on an orphan named Amina who is unknowingly frightening the locals with her nightly sleepwalking, and they believe there is a ghost among them.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 26, 2024

'La Sonnambula' offers a modern take on a dubious happy ending

Director Barbara Lluch scrutinizes gender expectations and patriarchal societies that thrive on polarizing views in her production of Vincenzo Bellini’s opera.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito after the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly passed a no-confidence motion against him on Sept. 19 
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2024

Hyogo governor to seek reelection after automatically losing his seat next week

Motohiko Saito, who has been at the center of a series of controversies, announced his decision at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
A poster showing portraits of candidates for the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election at the party headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 27, 2024

Takaichi and Ishiba head to runoff in LDP leadership election

Ishiba, 67, and Takaichi, 63, emerged as the top picks in a crowded field of nine in the race that will decide the country’s next prime minister
Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian cities have been unsuccessful in breaking Ukraine's resolve and the strategic benefit of such attacks is questionable.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 26, 2024

Lessons from Ukraine and Gaza on humanitarian law

The conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza challenge, if not outright violate, humanitarian law, which seeks to balance military objectives with minimizing harm to civilians.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves after he was elected as the new head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party during a leadership vote on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 27, 2024

Fifth time's a charm: Shigeru Ishiba set to be Japan PM after LDP poll win

Ishiba, who has also served as party secretary-general, won the LDP presidential election on Friday, defeating economic security minister Sanae Takaichi in a runoff vote.
New Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba (right), economic security minister Sanae Takaichi (left) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Ishiba won the LDP leadership race on Friday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 27, 2024

Yen rallies as Ishiba beats Takaichi in LDP race

Ishiba has shown support for the BOJ’s rate policies and the independence of the central bank.
Gilles Langourieux, chief executive officer of Virtuos, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2024

Game developer Virtuos seeks acquisitions and growth in Japan

The Singapore-based company, which has been involved in such major franchises as Call of Duty and Metal Gear Solid, is in active talks with multiple studios in Japan.
Shigeru Ishiba, newly-elected leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks at a news conference after winning the party's leadership election in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 27, 2024

China, Taiwan and South Korea weigh in on Ishiba victory

All three of Tokyo's neighbors said they hoped for improved relations under the former defense chief, who is set to be named prime minister in the coming days.
Members of the K-pop group NewJeans are embroiled in a dispute with their corporate backers over their creative relationship with an executive producer.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 28, 2024

NewJeans’ ultimatum casts K-pop’s displays of labor in a new light

A YouTube live broadcast from the girl group raises age-old questions about labor practices in the Korean pop industry.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Sazanami leaves Sasebo Naval Base in Saikai, Nagasaki Prefecture, in April 2012.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 28, 2024

Japan and U.S. partners hold dueling military drills with China in South China Sea

The first MSDF warship to transit the Taiwan Strait joined naval and air forces from Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and the U.S. for the exercises.
A Kobayashi Pharmaceutical factory in Osaka
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2024

Kobayashi Pharma sued in Taiwan over beni kōji products

A group filed the lawsuit with the Taipei District Court against six firms including a Taiwanese unit of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical and an importer in Taiwan.
A supporter holds a portrait of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah during an event in a southern suburb of Beirut on Jan. 3.
WORLD
Sep 28, 2024

Hassan Nasrallah, Iran’s man atop Hezbollah, dead at 64

Nasrallah was idolized by many for leading the armed resistance to Israel’s 1982 invasion of southern Lebanon but later became a divisive figure in the Middle East.
Shigeru Ishiba holds a news conference in Tokyo on Friday after winning the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 29, 2024

Ishiba hints at general election in late October as he starts to form Cabinet

Media reports said that preparations were underway for a snap general election to be held on Oct. 27.
A satellite image taken early on Monday morning shows Typhoon Krathon over the northern waters of the Philippines and Tropical Storm Jebi over the waters around the Ogasawara Islands.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2024

Pair of powerful storms to approach Japan this week

Tropical Storm Jebi and Typhoon Krathon are approaching Japan, threatening to unleash strong winds and heavy rainfall on Okinawa as well as Kanto.
Prices of nearly 3,000 food and beverage products will rise in October, due to the soaring costs of ingredients.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 30, 2024

Food price hikes in Japan in October to be largest so far in 2024

Prices of 2,911 products from 195 major food and beverage manufacturers will be raised in October, surpassing April’s figure.
A man mourns at the memorial altar for victims of a crowd crush that killed over 150 people in the party district of Itaewon in Seoul.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 30, 2024

Ex-police chief jailed three years over deadly South Korea crowd crush

Former Yongsan district police chief Lee Im-jae was convicted of failing to prevent the Halloween 2022 crush in the Itaewon district that killed over 150.
The Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 2, 2024

Three suspects arrested for violent robberies in Kanto area

The suspects were apparently not acquainted with each other and police believe that so-called tokuryū groups are involved.
Visitors play Super Mario on a giant video game console during a media preview of the new Nintendo Museum, located inside a renovated old factory, in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, on Sept. 24.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 2, 2024

From cards to consoles: Nintendo opens its first museum

The museum is part of Nintendo's efforts to broaden its brand that include the release of a Super Mario animated movie last year.
Takerufuji, the most recent Emperor’s Cup winner apart from Terunofuji and Onosato, claimed the second-tier title in September in his first full tournament back from injury after a six-month absence.
SUMO
Oct 2, 2024

Who can challenge Onosato's dominance? Takerufuji might be the best bet.

Onosato is sumo's new dominant force, but Takerufuji might have something to say about that as he works his way back from injury.
Tsuchinshan-Atlas comet is seen from Shibukawa, Gunma Prefecture, early Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 2, 2024

University of Tokyo captures images of Tsuchinshan-Atlas comet

The comet can be seen only this time as it does not approach periodically, unlike Halley's comet.
Labor union members rally and call for an increase of the average minimum wage in Tokyo in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 2, 2024

Japan’s new prime minister moots minimum wage moon shot

To achieve Ishiba’s target, increases of over 7% a year would be needed, which economists say would be a challenge.
The icebreaker CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier at the Port of Yokohama on Wednesday. The vessel arrived on Monday after conducting a series of patrols to detect and deter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the northern Pacific, a region critical to implementing Canada’s overarching Indo-Pacific Strategy.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2024

Canada marks expansion of coast guard cooperation with Japan port call

The move will set the stage for greater cooperation with partners in the region as Ottawa ramps up efforts to tackle illegal fishing in the Pacific, experts say.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, 66, has experience as the onetime head of Japan’s former Defense Agency before it became a full-fledged ministry and is seen as a pair of steady hands.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 2, 2024

Ishiba looks to 'defense tribe' to fill key Cabinet positions

The new prime minister has named four former defense ministers to key posts — most notably, the defense and foreign affairs portfolios.
Newly appointed Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya speaks during his first news conference as Japan's top diplomat at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2024

Japan's new top diplomat calls 'Asian NATO' an idea for the future

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya hinted that such a grouping would be open to all countries and partners in the region — including rivals such as China.
“Super Happy Forever” tells the story of a couple (Hiroki Sano, left, and Nairu Yamamoto) who met at a seaside hotel.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 3, 2024

‘Super Happy Forever’: Melancholy romance makes most of fleeting happiness

Kohei Igarashi’s nonlinear romantic drama is an understated but emotionally resonant tale of love and loss.
A talented photographer (Makoto Tanaka, left) can’t help outshining her tight-knit circle of art school friends in “See You Tomorrow.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 3, 2024

‘See You Tomorrow’: A pursuit of passion grounded in reality

Saki Michimoto's stylish and accomplished debut feature centers on a gifted photographer, her art school friends and their uncertainty about what comes next in life.
The Ishikawa Prefectural Government engaged KDDI SmartDrone to have its drone operators survey flood-hit areas in the cities of Wajima and Suzu in the prefecture last week.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 3, 2024

Private drone operators seek bigger role in disaster response

Establishing protocols with local governments and coordinating the use of drones with manned aircraft would make efforts more effective, they say.
PRESS
Oct 4, 2024

ジャパンタイムズ出版、「パートナーシップ制度」を導入

株式会社ジャパンタイムズ出版(本社:東京都千代田区、取締役社長:伊藤秀樹)は、2024年10⽉1日より、全従業員に向けて事実婚や同性のパートナーに対し、法律上の配偶者と同様に福利厚⽣や規程を適⽤する「パートナーシップ制度」を導入しました。...

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