Search - news

 
 
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 6, 2021

At least eight dead by being crushed at Texas music festival

People began to fall unconscious, and the mayhem escalated until 9:38 p.m. when a 'mass casualty incident' was triggered.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2021

YouTube's moves against election misinformation were potent

Stricter policies resulted in sharp drops in false and misleading videos on Facebook and Twitter, underscoring YouTube's power across social media.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 8, 2021

Kishida calls for new economic approach in first policy speech

Kishida on Friday vowed to transform the Japanese economy by implementing a “new model of capitalism,' identifying growth and the distribution of wealth as “mutually necessary.”
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Sep 22, 2021

How do you deflect a controversy? Keigo Oyamada blames the media.

Musician Keigo Oyamada cries foul over how he was portrayed in a pair of magazine articles that ended up causing him a job at the Tokyo Olympics.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 30, 2021

Japan's new Digital Agency prepares for daunting task of overhauling tech policy

Past efforts have stumbled due to insufficient resources and bureaucratic divisions, and an ability to overcome these structural issues will make or break the new agency.
OLYMPICS
Jul 23, 2021

At long last, the Tokyo Olympics have begun

After a tumultuous year, an unprecedented Olympics got underway in Tokyo in the age of the new normal.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 17, 2021

Biden says social media ‘killing people’ with virus fiction

Biden's comments came shortly after the head of the CDC said the U.S. is seeing a 'pandemic of the unvaccinated” in parts of the country where inoculation rates are low.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jun 26, 2021

Can a Japanese mom's YouTube post keep anti-vax conspiracies at bay?

Some of Japan's more vaccine-hesitant residents might find comfort in the experiences of parents and grandparents on social media getting the jab.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 10, 2021

Facebook, YouTube erred in censoring COVID-19 ‘misinformation’

Social media fact-checkers don't have any special knowledge or ability to sort fact from misinformation. What they have is extraordinary power to shape what people believe.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2021

Government OKs discharge of Fukushima nuclear plant water into sea

Any release of treated water into the Pacific will be done in small quantities each time and carried out over a period of about 30 years.
Early voters at a polling site during early voting in Queens, New York, on Oct. 27. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia is behind a video that appeared on social media this week falsely claiming that Haitians illegally voted multiple times for Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 2, 2024

U.S. spy agencies issue new warning on Russia’s election misinformation campaign

Three recent videos have sought to undermine confidence in the security of the vote.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump gestures as he meets with House Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 14, 2024

Trump's team drawing up list of Pentagon officers to fire, sources say

It is unclear if Donald Trump will endorse the firings, although in the past he has railed extensively against defense leaders who have criticized him.
The 'X' logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, on July 30, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 14, 2024

Guardian quits X social media platform, citing racism and conspiracy theories

The news publisher, which has 10.7 million followers on X, becomes the first large U.K. media company to retreat from the platform
This cake whisked me back to my own childhood in the way only taste and smell can.
LIFE / Food & Drink / The Recipe Box
Nov 17, 2024

A Danish 'dream cake' inspired by Japan's headline news

Every holiday gathering needs a good cake, and this one takes inspiration from news stories in both Japan and abroad.
Although years have passed since the dramatic arrest and ouster of former Chairman Carlos Ghosn, Nissan remains mired in management upheaval.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 2, 2024

Nissan shares up after news that chief financial officer will step down

The stock gained as much as 1% in early morning trading, though the shares are still down almost 35% this year.
A woman receives a COVID-19 vaccine in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in October.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 29, 2024

Meiji Seika Pharma files suit against lawmaker over 'unfounded' vaccine claims

CDP Lower House lawmaker Kazuhiro Haraguchi has said that the drugmaker's replicon vaccine is "akin to a biological weapon."
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg tries on a pair of Orion augmented reality glasses at the Meta Connect annual event at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 25.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 8, 2025

Meta shelves fact-checking in policy reversal ahead of Trump inauguration

It plans to implement on Facebook, Instagram and Threads a system of "community notes" similar to that used on rival X.
Social media giant Meta slashed its content moderation policies on Tuesday, including ending its U.S. fact-checking program, in a major shift that conforms with the priorities of incoming president Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 8, 2025

Big Tech rolls out the red carpet for Trump ahead of his inauguration

Since the November election, a stream of senior moguls have traveled to meet with Trump at his Florida estate.
Tiger Woods says the situation in the Los Angeles area takes precedence over the status of the Genesis Invitational, the PGA Tour event he has hosted since 2019.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jan 16, 2025

Tiger Woods has no news on status of Genesis Invitational amid wildfires

With wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area, Woods said that real life carries more weight than the event.
Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally surged in French legislative elections last year. Despite social media being a key megaphone for political campaigning, issues like voter dissatisfaction still play a determinant role in electoral outcomes.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 5, 2025

Social media alone didn’t decide last year’s elections

Last year's record number of elections around the world hold some important lessons. One is that social media wasn't the key determinant of outcomes that many made it out to be.
Prince Hisahito heads to greet the Emperor and Empress on the occasion of his 18th birthday in Tokyo on Sep. 6.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2025

Japan's Prince Hisahito to hold first news conference on March 3

It is customary for Imperial Family members to hold a press conference when they reach the age of majority.
Roki Sasaki talks about his marriage announcement during an interview at the Los Angeles Dodgers' training camp in Glendale, Arizona.
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 22, 2025

Roki Sasaki surprises Dodgers teammates with marriage news

Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki surprised teammates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Friday with the big news.
A rally in support of South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Jan. 18. Young men have emerged as a key demographic that has come out in support of Yoon, in contrast to the many young women participating in protests opposing him.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2025

Men, media and MAGA deepen South Korea’s split

Political polarization in South Korea is evermore extreme, with many young men rallying around impeached President Yoon, fueled by online media and a MAGA-inspired movement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an online Security Council meeting from the Kremlin in Moscow on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 11, 2025

Russian disinformation 'infects' AI chatbots, researchers warn

A well-resourced Moscow-based operation is said to be distorting the output of chatbots by flooding large language models with pro-Kremlin falsehoods.
The Voice of America building in Washington on Sunday, a day after more than 1,300 of the employees of the media broadcaster, which operates in almost 50 languages, were placed on leave
WORLD / Politics
Mar 18, 2025

China and Russia eager to fill void as Trump axes U.S.-funded media

Trumps moves come after years of efforts by Beijing and Moscow to promote their own worldview on the global media landscape.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks as Vice President JD Vance looks on during a meeting with President Donald Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador in the White House in Washington on April 14. Rubio and his aides shut down a State Department office on Wednesday that tracks and counters global disinformation from foreign actors, including the governments of China, Russia and Iran, U.S. officials said.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 17, 2025

U.S. State Department closing office targeting foreign disinformation

The GEC had come under intense criticism from some Republicans who said it was straying from its mission, accusing it of disfavoring opinions by conservative media in particular.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building