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From left: Willy Mnangat, Robert Keter, He Jie and Dejene Hailu Bikila cross the finish line in the Beijing half-marathon on April 14. He crossed first but the top three were later disqualified after it appeared they let He win.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Apr 21, 2024

Beijing half-marathon runners stripped of medals after controversial finish

A Chinese runner crossed the line first in a bizarre finish after three others seemed to deliberately allow him to win.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hits a two-run home run against the Mets during the third inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday. The home run was the 176th of his MLB career, breaking a tie with Hideki Matsui for the most by a Japanese-born player.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 22, 2024

Shohei Ohtani breaks Hideki Matsui's mark for MLB homers by Japanese-born player

Ohtani's two-run homer helped the Dodgers beat the Mets and snap a three-game skid.
The "style architect" for Jay-Z since 1994, June Ambrose sees influences of her work across the Japanese fashion landscape.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 1, 2024

June Ambrose: ‘Cultural appropriation is the best form of flattery’

Ambrose has been Jay-Z’s designated “style architect” since the billionaire started Roc-A-Fella Records back in 1994.
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 22, 2024

Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins

This year’s installment of the photography festival highlights underrepresented groups from around the world — while avoiding anything too challenging.
Home electric vehicle chargers during the Montreal Electric Vehicle Show in Quebec, Canada, on Friday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is offering more tax breaks to automotive firms to put their electric vehicle factories in Canada.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2024

Honda nears deal with Canada to boost electric vehicle capacity

The auto sector is particularly important to Ontario, Canada’s largest province by population and home to assembly plants.
Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
CULTURE / Books / Longform
Apr 22, 2024

The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

Shops without staff, shelves for rent, cafes and meetups are some of the ways the country's dwindling bookstores are trying to survive.
Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks during a news conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on March 14.
WORLD
Apr 22, 2024

Poland 'ready' to host nuclear weapons, president says

Discussions about nuclear cooperation between the U.S. and Poland have been in the works for some time.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi says the government is  closely monitoring reports about a missing Chinese professor from a Japanese university.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2024

Japan monitoring reports of professor 'missing' in China

Media reports have said the professor may have been questioned by Chinese authorities before he disappeared.
Shohei Ohtani has been appointed as the new technology ambassador for Rapsodo, the company announced Monday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 22, 2024

Shohei Ohtani signs deal with sports technology company Rapsodo

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has signed a deal to become the technology ambassador for Rapsodo, the company announced on Monday.
U.K. Prime Minster Rishi Sunak speaks during a news conference on his flagship Rwanda migration policy in London on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 23, 2024

Sunak’s Rwanda deportation bill to become law after long fight

The U.K. is set to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda in around July after Parliament approved the prime minister's plan.
Tesla remains the dominant EV maker in the U.S. market, but its earnings have been under pressure for several quarters.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2024

Tesla speeding up release of cheaper cars after sales miss

The maker of electric vehicles plans to release more affordable models by the end of this year or in early next year.
Princess Aiko attends an imperial garden party in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2024

Princess Aiko makes debut at imperial garden party

The princess joined the party hosted by the emperor and empress at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens after graduating from Gakushuin University last month.
Chinese President Xi Jinping. Ever-growing tensions in the South China Sea all point to an uncomfortable truth for Southeast Asian nations, as well as the U.S.: In this standoff, China is winning.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 24, 2024

Xi’s armada is winning the battle for energy in South China Sea

China’s increasingly assertive stance has sparked a flurry of diplomatic and military efforts aimed at countering Beijing’s footprint.
Migrants travel in an inflatable boat across the English Channel, bound for Dover on the south coast of England.
WORLD / Society
Apr 24, 2024

U.K. Rwanda law sparks fear among migrants hoping to cross Channel

At least 15 people have died trying to cross this year so far, already more than in all of 2023.
Toshihiro Nikai, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, announced in March that he would not run in the next Lower House election to take responsibility for the political funds scandal that rocked his party and his own faction.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 24, 2024

LDP veteran Nikai's youngest son expected to succeed him in Wakayama

Nobuyasu Nikai, who serves as secretary to his 85-year-old father, has been asked to stand for election by local leaders in the prefecture.
Sanrio is marking Hello Kitty's 50th anniversary this year. The character's rise mirrors that of kawaii culture globally, and her longevity offers important clues as to the future of cute culture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 22, 2024

Hello Kitty turns 50. What will the next cat's meow be?

The global rise of Hello Kitty, who turns 50 this year, tracks that of Japanese culture. What, then, does the next half-century of kawaii have in store?
Despite the potential benefits AI might have for bank customers, like finding the best interest rates, there are concerns about the destabilizing effects it may have on financial stability.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2024

Generative AI is coming for your bank. Maybe.

Tech investors reckon that supersmart agents will soon upend the business model of traditional banks, but there are caveats.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government has so far shown restraint in responding to a drumbeat of U.S. trade curbs, but driving TikTok out of the U.S. could challenge that calibration.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 25, 2024

TikTok ultimatum puts U.S. firms in firing line for China response

Legislation approved on Wednesday would give parent company ByteDance nearly a year to divest the video-sharing platform before facing an outright ban.
Masahiro Moro, CEO of Mazda Motor, speaks next to EZ-6 electric vehicles during the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2024

Nissan and Mazda roll out new models for China as they aim for comeback

The models, including some concept cars, were introduced at the Beijing Auto Show.
While some publicly traded bitcoin mining companies release details of their energy use, there is no reliable data on exactly how much electricity the industry as a whole consumes.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Apr 25, 2024

Bitcoin miner environmental battles heat up in U.S.

As cryptocurrency groups work to shield mines from local regulations, U.S. President Joe Biden proposed an excise tax on bitcoin energy use.
Japan Times
PRESS
Apr 26, 2024

ニュースで学べる 初級者向け英語学習プログラム「The Japan Times Alpha J」サービス開始

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4月26日、週刊英語学習紙『The Japan Times Alpha』(以下Alpha)の姉妹商品として、新たに英語ニュース学習プログラム「The Japan Times Alpha J」(以下Alpha...
People observe a moment of silence for the victims of a JR Fukuchiyama Line train crash in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, Thursday morning on the 19th anniversary of the accident.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2024

Victims of JR West train crash mourned 19 years on

The president of JR West and other officials observed a moment of silence at 9:18 a.m., the time of the crash, which killed 106 passengers.
Toyota's annual global sales topped 10 million units in 2023 for the first time.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 26, 2024

Toyota sets records for output and sales as scandals fail to dent demand

Global sales increased 5% from a year earlier to 11.1 million units, new data shows, exceeding 10 million for the first time.
Former Auburn and Oregon quarterback Bo Nix Nix thinks his experience gives him an edge over the other potential first-round quarterbacks.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Apr 25, 2024

NFL draft pool shrinks as NIL money entices more players to stay in school

Only 58 underclassmen have declared for this week’s draft, the smallest number since 2011.
Caleb Williams poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Chicago Bears with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft in Detroit on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 26, 2024

Bears take Caleb Williams with No. 1 pick to start QB rush at NFL draft

Five quarterbacks went in the first 10 picks with no defensive players selected.
The smartphone screen of a man in his 70s from the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture shows exchanges with a person claiming to be a woman from Taiwan discussing investment in gold.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / Regional Voices: Fukushima
May 6, 2024

Online predators seduce elderly victims into investment scams

Cases of people being swindled out of money show working-age people are also falling victim.
Health ministry officials enter Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's factory in the city of Osaka on March 30.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 26, 2024

Kobayashi Pharma to cover bills of people who got ill after taking supplements

The Osaka company’s board has also set up a third-party panel to probe the company’s handling of the issue.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said he has instructed his ministry to investigate whether or not there have been any further incidents.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 26, 2024

Five senior SDF officers punished for mishandling secret info

They passed on secret information to personnel within their units who were not cleared to handle such data.
Paul Kraft
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Apr 29, 2024

JapanIQ consultancy eases entry to tough market

Kraft began his career at The Schwan Food Company, then moved to C.H. Robinson Worldwide before starting his consulting firm, JapanIQ, in 2023
Japan has entered an era of full-fledged population decline. If current trends remain unchanged, the nation's population is expected to decline by about half from 124 million in 2023 to 63 million by 2100.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 26, 2024

Japan’s shrinking population is a big problem for the nation

An expert panel sounds the alarm on the nation's declining birthrate and population crisis.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami