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Japan is the only country with a law requiring married couples to adopt the same surname. In 95% of cases, it is women who take their husband's name.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 7, 2024

The land where single surnames are the only option

The business lobby recently joined calls for Japan to accept separate surnames after marriage. What, then, is standing in the way of change? Politics.
The hippocampus is a part of the brain that controls memory, learning and emotions. Stressful life events such as disasters and terrorist attacks are known to lead to post-traumatic stress disorder and result in its shrinkage.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 9, 2024

Tokyo teens were less stressed during first COVID emergency: study

Increases in the volume of the hippocampus in their brains suggest reduced stress, according to research conducted by the University of Tokyo.
Around 55,000 fans showed up for Taylor Swift's first show on the Tokyo leg of her world tour.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 8, 2024

Fans share love for Taylor Swift at sold-out Tokyo shows

Swifties from all over the world flew into Japan to see the pop superstar perform at The Eras Tour’s only stops in East Asia.
Tokyo is filled to the brim with anime-related activities and attractions, but the best require a little digging to enjoy to the fullest.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 10, 2024

An anime otaku's blueprint to nerding out in Tokyo — and beyond

The first step to taking anime otaku-dom to the next level is to educate yourself on the history and evolution of the medium.
An image from the Justice Department that was included in a report by Special Counsel Robert Hur shows a damaged box where classified documents were found in U.S. President Joe Biden's garage in Wilmington, Delaware, during a search by the FBI in December 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 9, 2024

Biden will not face criminal charges over classified papers

Special Counsel Robert Hur described the president as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy takes a video in front of a road sign with the words "Avdiivka this is Ukraine" as he visits in the front-line town of Avdiivka Donets region, Ukraine, on Dec. 29.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 9, 2024

Zelenskyy’s ugly fight with top general exposes split in Ukraine

The Ukrainian president's public fallout with commander-in-chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi has come at the worst possible time.
Pop superstar Taylor Swift delighted fans at her sold-out Tokyo Dome show on Wednesday by confidently telling the audience, “Eras Tour e yokōso!” (“Welcome to The Eras Tour!”)
CULTURE / Music
Feb 9, 2024

Taylor Swift slays her Tokyo era

Pop's reigning queen gets sold-out crowd singing along to her hits for the Japan leg of the global Eras Tour.
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally on Saturday. Many were alarmed by Trump’s comments that he would "encourage” Russia to attack U.S. allies that didn’t pay into NATO, but European leaders were already pondering the prospect of an alliance without the U.S.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 13, 2024

Once-bitten Europe is better prepared for Trump’s NATO tirades

The EU is quietly preparing an impact assessment of the November U.S. election — particularly the scenario in which Trump wins.
Fans gather outside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas before the start of Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Feb 13, 2024

NFL’s Roger Goodell already wants another Super Bowl in Las Vegas

Sunday's Super Bowl marks an important milestone for a city that’s trying to become one of the world’s sports capitals.
Hisashi Oka, president and CEO
ESG CONSORTIUM
Feb 14, 2024

OAT Agrio grows better farms with green tech, agrochemicals

OAT Agrio Co. Ltd. produces environmentally friendly fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals for the sake of both better food security and nature. In a recent interview with The Japan Times, the company’s president, Hisashi Oka, talked about its hands-on efforts to learn more and continue improving...
No politicians, government officials, bankers or business leaders have voiced strong opposition to Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda's intention to put an end to the world’s last negative rate regime.
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2024

Lack of political opposition opens way for BOJ rate hike

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda is in a rare sweet spot for such a move, in sharp contrast to the experiences of his BOJ predecessors.
A Japan Airlines passenger aircraft at Haneda Airport in Tokyo
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2024

JAL plane crossed runway stop line at U.S. airport

The aircraft crossed the stop line in front of the runway at San Diego International Airport just after noon on Feb. 6.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron as chief guest of celebrations marking India's Republic Day on Jan. 26.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2024

The fraternity between France and India has never been stronger

Beyond the pomp of Republic Day celebrations with Macron as guest of honor, Modi and the French leader signed substantive defense deals, cementing ties.
Naoko Motooka began hunting 10 years ago. Her hobby is one way Hokkaido hopes to curb a current boom in the deer population.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 15, 2024

Hunting in Hokkaido; Taylor Swift comes to Tokyo

You probably don’t think of guns when you think of Japan, but Hokkaido’s hunters do.
Paian Siahaan, the 77-year-old father of Ucok Munandar Siahaan who went missing during the May 1998 riots, at his house in Depok on the outskirts of Jakarta, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 16, 2024

Indonesia's next president haunts father of missing activist

"We feel afraid, but I'm fighting for my son."
A shooting that killed one person and wounded 22 took place near Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Feb 16, 2024

Police say argument led to shooting after Chiefs' Super Bowl parade

Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a popular Kansas City radio personality, was the lone fatality.
At the Akan International Crane Center, just north of the city of Kushiro proper, visitors can see the majestic red-crowned crane — a symbol of Hokkaido.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 17, 2024

Faces of the north: A Hokkaido town grapples with depopulation

Residents of Kushiro face an issue that more and more communities in Japan are having to deal with. The city may be young, but it's rich with tradition.
BASEBALL
Feb 16, 2024

Seoul mayor hopes interest in Shohei Ohtani and MLB brings more games to South Korea

The Seoul Series will be a chance for South Korea and MLB to work together to revive professional baseball’s popularity in the nation.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra greets supporters after landing at an airport in Bangkok on Aug. 22.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 18, 2024

Thai tycoon Thaksin tastes freedom in homeland 15 years after fleeing

Thailand's best-known leader has loomed large over politics during the years spent mostly in self-imposed exile.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Feb 18, 2024

Preparing for the hottest year Japan has ever seen

In 2023, summer heat persisted across Japan well into the fall. Predictions by scientists indicate 2024 could be even worse.
No Russian swimmer entered the World Championships currently being held in Doha.
MORE SPORTS / Swimming
Feb 18, 2024

World Aquatics stands by its strict Russia policy for Olympics

Swimming's global governing body approved the return of Russian and Belarusian participants last September, but strict rules remain in place.
People lay flowers and candles at a memorial in front of the Russian Embassy in Berlin on Sunday, following the death of the Kremlin's most prominent critic Alexei Navalny in an Arctic prison.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 19, 2024

Russian courts hand jail terms to dozens of Navalny mourners

Anti-Kremlin demonstrations or public shows of opposition to the regime are effectively illegal in Russia.
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi and teammates sit on the substitute bench during a match against a Hong Kong select XI in Hong Kong on Feb. 4.
SOCCER
Feb 20, 2024

Messi insists Hong Kong no-show was due to injury, not politics

Some nationalist politicians and outlets interpreted Messi's absence as a snub to China, without offering evidence.
An Ishikawa prefectural official gives information on new places to stay for earthquake evacuees lodging at hotels and inns during a meeting in Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Feb. 7.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2024

Departure deadline approaching for Noto quake evacuees in hotels

The extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen on March 16 is expected to lead to a surge in bookings in hotels that have acted as secondary evacuation sites.
A man stands next to a model of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which was used to launch several Indonesian satellites into orbit, at the office of Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, an Indonesia’s satellite-based telecommunication firm, in Jakarta on Jan. 15.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2024

How a Chinese rocket failure boosted SpaceX's fortunes in Indonesia

Elon Musk seized on the incident to prevail over a state-owned Chinese contractor as Jakarta's company of choice for putting satellites into space.
Doosan Bears fans during a game in Seoul in April 2022
SPORTS
Feb 21, 2024

Women outnumber men in South Korea’s sports stadiums

Women in South Korea make up 55% of fans at professional sporting events, including baseball, basketball, soccer and volleyball.
Ahead of the Paris Games, authorities are conducting three preliminary investigations into possible favoritism in the awarding of around 20 contracts worth tens of millions of euros, while a fourth is scrutinizing the pay of chief organizer Tony Estanguet.
OLYMPICS
Feb 21, 2024

Paris 2024: A 'new era' of corruption-free Olympics?

Ahead of the Paris Olympics in July and August, French prosecutors are working on four probes into possible wrongdoing.
During a time in which Western acts have seen their place of prominence in the Japanese market drop in favor of K-pop, Swift is a notable exception.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 22, 2024

What makes a Taylor Swift show worth flying in for?

Swifties say the pop star's concerts provide camaraderie and a sense of validation.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 21, 2024

Senior LDP members likely to appear before ethics committee next week

While the opposition said the willingness of additional LDP figures to answer questions was an improvement, they called for more to step up.
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, at a House Oversight Committee meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 10.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 21, 2024

FBI informant got false dirt on Bidens from Russia: prosecutors

Alexander Smirnov, 43, a dual U.S. and Israeli national, was arrested last week.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.