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Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 9, 2020

Why calls to boycott 'Mulan' over concerns about China are growing

Disney’s live-action remake of "Mulan” has drawn a fresh wave of criticism for being filmed partly in Xinjiang, the region in China where Uighur Muslims have been detained in mass internment camps.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2020

Straight talk about Taiwan and ‘strategic ambiguity’

A lack of clarity dissuades China from seeking reunification through force by leaving open the possibility of a U.S. response and dissuades Taiwan from reckless actions.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 6, 2020

Iceland has very good news about coronavirus immunity

The emergence of a handful of people reinfected by SARS-Cov-2 — including individuals in Hong Kong, Italy and the U.S. — has sparked panic over the future course of the pandemic.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 1, 2020

Talking about your (un)productive COVID-era hobbies

A lot of us took up new hobbies during the pandemic, but not all of have stuck with our activities.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 31, 2020

All you need to know about how Abe’s successor will be chosen

The choice is neither up to the Japanese people, nor is it something to be decided in the Diet. Instead, the decision rests solely within the LDP.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 25, 2020

What bugs me most about the summer

It's summertime and that means the sounds of cicadas and the bites of mosquitoes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 24, 2020

What do we know about Abe's health?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited a Tokyo hospital on Monday for the second time in days, fanning further speculation about the state of his health.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2020

U.S. college admissions are about to get even more unfair

The pandemic will make institutions even more eager to admit wealthy legacy students.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 19, 2020

Fears about the marriage market might deter Japanese women from attending Todai

This gender imbalance represents a real national problem
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 18, 2020

Talking about the weather is increasingly extreme

As the weather gets more extreme we will no doubt be talking about it a lot more. Get a start on your climate vocabulary so you can join the conversation.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 17, 2020

Abe hospital visit raises speculation about his health

Sources close to the prime minister brushed off concerns that his health had deteriorated amid criticism of his administration's response to the virus crisis.
New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a news conference in New York in February 2024.
WORLD
Sep 20, 2025

Top U.S. prosecutor overseeing Letitia James case resigns after Trump threat

Trump said he had soured on Erik Siebert after learning that Virginia's two Democratic U.S. senators supported his nomination.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media at the White House on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 21, 2025

Trump shapes immigration gilded age with $100,000 H-1B fee

The U.S. president also unveiled a "Gold Card” visa program — where for the price of $1 million, individuals could get U.S. residency.
U.S. President Donald Trump, in front of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., delivers remarks linking autism to childhood vaccines and to the use of popular pain medication Tylenol for pregnant women and children — claims that are not backed by decades of science — at the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 23, 2025

'I'm not a doctor': Trump's autism announcement gives COVID-19 flashbacks

The U.S. president's announcements linking a painkiller to autism ranged from unproven medical claims to self-proclaimed expertise.
Intel has approached Apple, a longtime customer that switched to in-house processors in the past five years, about securing an investment.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 25, 2025

Intel is seeking an investment from Apple as part of its comeback bid

A deal with Apple would represent further validation of the ailing chipmaker’s turnaround bid.
James Comey, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is sworn in remotely from his home during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing exploring the FBI's investigation of the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian election interference, in Washington, in September 2020.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Sep 26, 2025

FBI ex-chief Comey criminally charged as Trump targets critics

If convicted, Comey could face up to five years in prison. He faces charges of making false statements and obstructing a congressional investigation.
U.S. President Donald Trump stands with U.S. Vice President JD Vance (left) and FIFA President Gianni Infantino during an announcement at the White House on Aug. 22.
SOCCER / World cup
Sep 26, 2025

Donald Trump says World Cup matches will be moved if host cities are not safe

Trump was asked by reporters in the Oval Office specifically about games in Seattle and San Francisco.
Three Russian MiG-31s, like the one seen here, violated Estonian airspace this month over the Gulf of Finland, escalating regional tensions further.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2025

Russia’s probes of NATO airspace demand a unified response

The Nordic-Baltic skies should be defended, not merely patrolled. That requires a greater NATO commitment with more aircraft.
A semiconductor wafer is tested on a Flying Probe Tester 4080 at Semicon 2025 in Taipei on  Sept. 10.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 27, 2025

Trump mulls tariffs on foreign electronics based on number of chips

A source said the Commerce Department was considering a 15% tariff rate for electronics from Japan and the European Union.
Fans at Dodger Stadium pose in front of a mural highlighting the Dodgers' Japanese stars from past and present during a game earlier this year.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 30, 2025

How Ohtani has boosted Japan's soft power and made LA even more baseball-obsessed

From concessions filled with Japanese ballpark staples to murals on Los Angeles buildings, Ohtani's success is creating new baseball fans and Japanophiles in LA.
Destruction in Gaza City, in the Gaza Strip, on Monday. Israel has been seeking to destroy Hamas for almost two years, devastating Gaza in the process.
WORLD
Oct 2, 2025

Hamas pressed by Arab and Muslim states to accept Trump’s Gaza plan

The leaders apparently see Israel’s campaign in Gaza and the assertion of military hegemony over the Middle East as a threat to their own national security.
The European Commission's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas (left) and Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic present EU-Mercosur and EU-Mexico trade agreements in Brussels last month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 2, 2025

Hit by Trump tariffs, rest of world races to forge new trade alliances

New trade pacts may not fully compensate for losses in commerce with a more protectionist America, but rival economies have been spurred into action nonetheless.
The U.S. government shutdown — while inconvenient and messy — is unlikely to leave a lasting imprint on the U.S. economy, itself.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 2, 2025

U.S. government shutdowns raise uncertainty but rarely have lasting effect on economy

Even if a shutdown leaves policymakers and investors flying somewhat blind for an unknown stretch, it is unlikely to leave a lasting imprint on the U.S. economy, itself.
DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, on Thursday. Overall international enrollment at the private Catholic university decreased by 755 students compared to last year.
WORLD
Oct 3, 2025

Fewer foreign students and fewer dollars make U.S. colleges feel the pinch

Dozens of schools in the U.S. have announced budget cuts in response to Trump administration policies that are upending higher education.
Hamas said on Friday that it had agreed to release all of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza, in response to the peace proposal introduced by President Donald Trump earlier this week.
WORLD
Oct 4, 2025

Hamas agrees to release Israeli hostages but sets conditions

The statement was a positive step that still raised questions about whether the promise would be sufficient to end the conflict.
A member of the Chinese People's Liberation Army stands as a DF-17 hypersonic missile is displayed during a military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Beijing on Sept. 3.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 5, 2025

The missiles threatening Taiwan

China is transforming parts of its east coast into a platform for potential missile strikes against Taiwan and the nearby seas as it eyes taking the democratic island.
A banner of U.S. President Donald Trump on the Department of Labor in Washington, on Thursday
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Oct 6, 2025

Fake job scams cost U.S. job seekers $12 billion as labor market tightens

Employment-related scam cases rose by over 1,000% from May through July, when new graduates typically search for jobs, according to McAfee.
U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed climate change as "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world" and his administration has reportedly moved to quash debate on the issue.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 8, 2025

Trump calls climate change a con; science braces for more

The Department of Energy is reportedly telling staff to avoid using language that runs counter to the president's views on climate science.
The Jingei, the third of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Taigei-class submarines, was commissioned in March last year. It is equipped with lithium-ion batteries, enabling it to have a longer diving time and cruising distance than older models with lead-acid batteries.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Oct 8, 2025

With nuclear sub proposal, Japan faces array of political and tech challenges

An expert panel has called for Japan’s next-generation subs to be able to operate longer and strike targets from farther way, a shift from current policy.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes