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JAPAN
Dec 1, 2023

Japan falls out of top 10 in digital government rankings

The result reflects a series of problems with the country's My Number social security and tax identification cards.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2023

Japan to tighten regulations on over-the-counter drug sales

The plan comes in response to the spread of overdoses mainly among young people.
Gen Nakatani, then-special adviser to the prime minister for international human rights, speaks at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2022
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 1, 2023

Kishida’s puzzling decision to ax his human rights adviser

Why did the prime minister eliminate the post of special adviser on human rights from the Cabinet and what does this mean for Tokyo's foreign policy?
U.S. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in her chambers at the Supreme Court in Washington in 2003.
WORLD
Dec 2, 2023

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female U.S. Supreme Court justice, dies at 93

The court said in a statement that O'Connor died in Phoenix of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness.
An emergency vehicle drives through volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Marapi near Sumatra Island's village of Nagari Lasi on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 3, 2023

Hikers evacuated as Indonesia volcano spews ash tower

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties after the eruption of Indonesia's Mount Marapi, but 42 hikers were unaccounted for.
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber speaks during day three of the COP28 climate conference in Dubai on Saturday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 4, 2023

COP28 president’s fossil-fuel phaseout talk draws condemnation

The comments have raised questions over whether the conference will be able to unite behind a strong pledge targeting the elimination of fossil fuels.
Evergrande has become a poster child for China’s property crisis since the builder defaulted two years ago. It reported a combined loss of $81 billion in 2021 and 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 4, 2023

Evergrande winding-up hearing in Hong Kong adjourned again

The world’s most-indebted property developer now has eight weeks to convince offshore bondholders to agree on a restructuring.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 4, 2023

Nihon University chair vows to continue reforms despite calls to quit

The vice president and president have decided to resign to take responsibility for a drug scandal involving the American football team.
An Israeli soldier fires from a window in the Gaza Strip on Monday. The United States has cautioned Israel to do more to avert civilian casualties as military operations shift to the south, where many Gaza residents are seeking refuge after fleeing the devastated north.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 5, 2023

Two civilian deaths for each Hamas fighter in Gaza, Israel admits

The Israeli military is hoping to reduce noncombatant deaths via high-tech mapping software amid the unfolding humanitarian crisis.
Big Japanese banks are now training a generation of professional front-line staff who have little experience with rising interest rates.
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2023

Staff at Japan's banks scramble to adjust to rising interest rates

Many younger employees have no expertise in dealing with the vagaries of a traditional inflationary environment.
Pedestrians cross a street in the Zhongshan district of Taipei. Many voters on the island, especially those in their 20s and 30s, say they are weary of geopolitics and yearn for a campaign more focused on their needs at home.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 5, 2023

The wild card in Taiwan’s election: Frustrated young voters

Beyond geopolitics, they yearn for more focus on bread-and-butter issues such as rising housing costs, slow income growth and narrowing career prospects.
Injured Palestinians arrive at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 6, 2023

Despite death toll, U.S. unlikely to rethink weapons supplies to Israel

U.S. officials consider private negotiation to be effective in pressuring Israel to minimize civilian casualties in its offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
A protest against the visit by then-U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in August 2022
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2023

The truth about ‘America skepticism’ in Taiwan

Distrust of the U.S. among Taiwanese people stems more from Washington’s policies than propaganda or misinformation.
Rakuten Bank executives hold a placard showing the company logo during a ceremony to mark the company's debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on April 21.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 6, 2023

Rakuten to raise up to $433 million with further sale of bank unit

The planned sale of 25.5 million shares is equivalent to just under 15% of the online bank, according to LSEG data.
American pop singer Caroline Polachek, who lived in Tokyo from the age of 1 through 7, held her first gig as a solo headliner in Japan at Toyosu Pit in November.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 7, 2023

A heady Tokyo homecoming for Caroline Polachek

The U.S. indie pop singer returns to her childhood home for her first solo gig in Japan and builds out her musical universe with maximalist emotions.
U.S. prosecutors accused Amit Patel, the Jacksonville Jaguars' former manager of financial planning and analysis, of stealing the money to fund a luxurious lifestyle
MORE SPORTS
Dec 8, 2023

Ex-Jaguars executive accused of stealing $22 million from team

U.S. prosecutors accused Amit Patel, the team’s former manager of financial planning and analysis, of stealing the money to fund a luxurious lifestyle.
The end-of-year company party has been pretty much on hold for the past few years due to the pandemic. Will people embrace the tradition in bigger numbers as a result?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 8, 2023

Should we forget the year or forget the party?

After a few years without proper yearend work parties, are Japanese workers ready for a big bash? Or, has the tradition come to an end?
An Israeli Merkava tank on Thursday
WORLD / Politics
Dec 9, 2023

White House presses Congress to OK tank shells for Israel

The request is being made even as concerns grow about the use of U.S. weapons in a war that has killed thousands of civilians.
Drag queens (from left) Trinity the Tuck, Manila Luzon and Kylie Sonique Love headlined the most recent edition of Opulence, Tokyo's fast-growing drag performance extravaganza.
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 10, 2023

The opulence of Manila Luzon

The Asian American drag queen who rose to stardom after a stint on "RuPaul's Drag Race" pays things forward with her Philippines-based show "Drag Den."
Sunday's turnout of 27.5% is even lower than in 1999, when only 35.8% of voters cast their vote.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 11, 2023

Hong Kong 'patriots only' election falls flat with record low turnout

The slide comes after Beijing imposed a national security law used to clamp down on dissent and overhauled the system to shut out democrats.
Rina Gonoi, a former member of the Self-Defense Forces, who has accused colleagues of sexually assaulting her during her time in the military, speaks in Yokohama on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 11, 2023

Former Japanese soldier fights for justice in landmark sexual assault case

A former Self-Defence Forces member's yearslong fight for justice against the men she has accused of sexually assaulting her will reach a climax on Tuesday when a court delivers a verdict in a trial that has drawn international attention.
Cybersecurity is a growing concern in Taiwan as the island sits at the center of U.S.-China tensions and has a critical presidential election in January.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 12, 2023

Taiwan taps experts and U.S. to prepare banks for cyberattacks

Officials in Taipei are consulting security experts from the U.S. Treasury Department and American cybersecurity specialists to simulate attacks.
Former Self-Defense Forces member Rina Gonoi arrives Tuesday at the Fukushima District Court, which found three ex-soldiers guilty of sexually assaulting her.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 12, 2023

Guilty verdicts in SDF sexual assault case

Rina Gonoi, 24, took to YouTube last year to share her account after an internal military probe was dropped for lack of evidence.
Chinese influencer Li Ying used social media to help tell the world about last year’s protests in China. Now in exile, he has been threatened and lost his livelihood for his defiance.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 12, 2023

‘I have no future’: China’s rebel influencer is still paying a price

To some Chinese, painter and art school graduate Li Ying is a superhero who stood up to their authoritarian government and leader.
COP28 President Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber gives a press conference at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai on Dec. 4.
COMMENTARY
Dec 8, 2023

Climate solutions are debatable, but science is inescapable

How we set environmental policies depends on how we interpret the facts.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 29, 2023

20 Questions: The best answers of 2023

Our interviewees this year gave a lot of advice for living a good life and paying attention to the things that matter most.
A still from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 14, 2023

Big in Japan 2023: Anime, Murakami and The Legend of Zelda

Our guests tell us why anime dominated in 2023, which books stood out among a lackluster crowd and why the Zelda franchise is experiencing a renaissance.
Eddie Jones at a news conference after being named as Japan rugby head coach in Tokyo on Thursday
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Dec 14, 2023

No guilt for Eddie Jones after taking Japan job

Jones quit his native Australia after leading them to a dismal showing at the Rugby World Cup.
What makes a good gift guide? The answers are as varied as they are complex.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 16, 2023

The naughty and nice of creating holiday gift guides

The most shoppable gift guides, some say, suggest products that are novel but useful, surprising but thoughtful, affordable but not cheap.
The image of activist Frances Hui is displayed during a news conference to issue arrest warrants in Hong Kong on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 15, 2023

Hong Kong police expand dragnet on overseas pro-democracy activists

The move, which adds to a list of eight overseas activists deemed fugitives by authorities in July, triggered criticism from the U.S. and U.K.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear