Search - travel

 
 
Shoppers walk through a shopping area in Shanghai. China's household spending is less than 40% of annual economic output, some 20 percentage points below the global average.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Mar 1, 2025

China urged to think big, go hard on reviving battered consumption

With China's consumer support focusing on subsidies rather than reforms, pressure is growing on Beijing for policies with a longer-term impact.
The government plans to make it easier for urban workers to get side jobs in regional areas.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 2, 2025

Government to help regional firms hire urban workers for side jobs

The subsidies are part of a program that matches corporate workers with struggling small and midsize companies in regional areas.
JR East started the services in Minamiboso and Tateyama, cities in Chiba Prefecture, on Monday and will begin them in Senboku, Akita Prefecture, in the second half of this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2025

JR East to offer ride-hailing services at limited locations

The firm started the services in the cities of Minamiboso and Tateyama in Chiba Prefecture on Monday, and will begin them in Senboku, Akita Prefecture, later this year.
The figure skater Maxim Naumov, who lost his parents when an army helicopter collided with a passenger jet above the Potomac River, drops to his knees in tears on the ice at the Legacy on Ice tribute in Washington on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Mar 4, 2025

Figure skating stars pay an emotional tribute to the Washington plane crash victims

Dozens of stars from the sport, going back decades, attended the benefit.
Yokohama F. Marinos’ Anderson Lopes celebrates having scored during an AFC Champions League match against Shanghai Port in Shanghai on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Mar 5, 2025

Lopes gives Marinos upper hand in Asian Champions League last 16

Steve Holland's side will take a slender advantage over Shanghai Port into the second leg in Yokohama.
An image of the next-generation E10 bullet train that is expected to be put into commercial service between Tokyo and the Tohoku region in fiscal 2030
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2025

JR East to develop E10 series shinkansen train

JR East aims to put the next-generation shinkansen series into commercial service in fiscal 2030, with each E10 train having 10 cars.
Items from Shohei Ohtani's 50-50 season are seen in an exhibition at Tokyo Node on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 5, 2025

Tokyo fans get the Dodgers on their doorstep

In a big play to grow the team's fanbase, an exhibition connected with the MLB Tokyo Series is offering a taste of the LA experience.
Mendoza, Argentina, offers a combination of natural beauty, a thriving wine industry, political conservatism and valuable resources, making it an attractive potential safe haven amid global instability.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 12, 2025

I just found my nuclear war hideaway

This question is less and less theoretical: The world seems to be living on the edge, with growing tensions between great powers.
Ayako Urasawa shows a skirt with a pocket too shallow to hold a smartphone.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 7, 2025

Women in Japan call for clothing that has pockets

Many women's jackets, pants and skirts either lack pockets or have only shallow pockets.
US President Donald Trump listens to a reporter as he speaks from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 8, 2025

Trump threatens Russia with sanctions until Ukraine peace reached

Trump's threat of banking curbs and tariffs followed a report Monday that the White House was preparing to give Russia possible sanctions relief as part of the push to end the war.
Japan logged a deficit of ¥257.6 billion in the current account, a measure of trade and investment flows, compared with a surplus of ¥334.3 billion a year before, according to the Finance Ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 10, 2025

Japan logs its first current account deficit in two years in January

The nation logged a deficit of ¥257.6 billion in the current account compared with a surplus of ¥334.3 billion a year before.
Fertility rates remain low across much of Asia, with past policies to curb population growth proving difficult to reverse, while governments explore adaptation strategies like immigration and AI.
COMMENTARY
Mar 5, 2025

It’s time we adapt to low fertility rates

South Korea’s fertility rate saw a slight increase, but experts doubt it signals a long-term reversal. Similar trends are seen in Singapore and Japan.
Signage at a Tesla store in Colma, California, on Monday. Tesla shares plunged to their worst day in more than four years, extending a slide in 2025 amid growing concerns on Wall Street about demand for the company's electric cars.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 11, 2025

Tesla’s stock defied gravity for years. Is Elon Musk’s EV party over?

The bulk of Tesla's worth rests on hopes for autonomous vehicles it hasn't yet delivered, despite Musk's continued promises.
The Osaka Expo site on Yumeshima island in December.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2025

Osaka Expo-linked spending expected to hit ¥1 trillion

The estimated spending related to the expo was based on the assumption that 28 million people will visit the event through October.
Coils of rolled steel sit in an industrial yard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 12, 2025

U.S.-Canada trade war heats up as Trump doubles metals tariffs, then backs off

The switch came after a Canadian official also backed off his own plans for a 25% surcharge on electricity.
The 通勤経路 (tsūkin keiro, commuting route) is a big part of most working Tokyoites’ daily routines.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 14, 2025

From 'commuting' to 'passing through,' meet the kanji that's always on the move

The character 通 is also used to denote avenues and forms of communication.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani poses with President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman at Ohtani's introductory news conference at Dodger Stadium on Dec. 14, 2023.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 13, 2025

Dodgers' Andrew Friedman hails team's growing Japan connection

“I think the atmosphere is going to be electric. ... I think it’s the closest I’ll ever get to traveling with the Beatles."
A bullet train at Tsuruga Station on March 16 last year, the day the Hokuriku Shinkansen line was extended to Fukui
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2025

Fukui enjoys visitor boost after shinkansen extension

About 6.42 million people visited Fukui between March 16 last year and Feb. 15 this year, up by about 1 million from a year before.
Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali at a season launch event on Feb. 18 in London.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 16, 2025

Formula One boss to visit Thailand for talks on Bangkok race

The Italian ex-Ferrari boss, who has just extended his contract to remain F1 president until 2029, is keen to examine new markets as the sport soars in popularity.
Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Mar 17, 2025

The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo

Thirty years after Aum Shinrikyo attacked Tokyo’s subways, the nation continues to prepare for the unthinkable.
Myanmar from Thailand's side of the border, in the Mae Sot district on Feb. 5. Osaka police plan to arrest a Japanese man — who is being detained in Thailand for allegedly forcing a Japanese high school student to participate in a fraud scheme in Myanmar — on suspicion he imprisoned an acquaintance in Osaka last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 18, 2025

Osaka police to arrest Japanese man detained in Thailand

The arrest could happen as early as March 25, after he is transferred to Japan from Thailand.
Releasing on March 20, Assassin's Creed Shadows excels in atmosphere and open-world gameplay but falls short of narrative expectations.
LIFE / Digital
Mar 19, 2025

Assassin’s Creed Shadows puts samurai style over substance

Ubisoft’s latest game is a gorgeous jaunt through feudal Japan entirely unworthy of the controversy surrounding it.
Snow falls on a narrow drinking alley in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward on Wednesday morning.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2025

Snowfall in Tokyo as storm sweeps country

A rapidly intensifying low-pressure system was unleashing heavy snow and strong winds across much of Japan.
The film to beat for the Niigata International Animation Film Festival’s top prize seems to be Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s “Look Back,” one of the two Japanese features in competition.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 20, 2025

Indie films vie for views at Niigata animation festival

From Satoshi Kon tributes to indie gems, this year's Niigata International Animation Film Festival continues its dedication to feature-length animation.
As the founder of Z Rakugo, Edanoshin Katsura is introducing the traditional storytelling form to younger audiences by blending it with club visuals and electronic music.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 22, 2025

Edanoshin Katsura: ‘Rakugo and techno are both about rhythm and groove’

A 23-year-old entertainer is redefining the Japanese comedic storytelling tradition for Gen Z by introducing elements of techno and underground youth culture.
U.S. President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, on Saturday
WORLD
Mar 22, 2025

Trump’s makeover of U.S. diplomacy leaves many allies at a loss

Like with most things in Trump’s tenure so far, the president’s second-term playbook on diplomacy marks a significant shift from the past.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to Royal Navy soldiers outside a BAE Systems factory in Barrow-in-Furness, England, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 23, 2025

Keir Starmer on Putin, Trump and Europe’s challenge: ‘We’ve known this moment was coming’

Behind a whirlwind of diplomacy is Starmer's true goal: Persuading Trump of the value of NATO.
Police officers use pepper spray on a demonstrator wearing dervish clothes, during a protest on the day Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was jailed as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 24, 2025

Turkey jails Erdogan’s top rival, risking more unrest

The arrest suggests Turkish authorities won’t be deterred by mass protests that have broken out in cities including Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
Snow covers part of the roof at the U.S. Consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, on Feb. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 24, 2025

U.S. delegation to visit Greenland as Trump talks of takeover

Trump has made the U.S. annexation of Greenland a major talking point since taking office for a second time on Jan. 20.
Saudi fans cheer during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asia zone qualifiers group C match between Saudi Arabia and China in Riyadh on Thursday.
SOCCER
Mar 25, 2025

Renard expecting no letup from Japan as Saudis eye World Cup spot

The Saudis picked up their first win in five qualifiers when they beat China 1-0 at home last week.

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