Search - tokyo-2020

 
 
Gold prices in Japan are hovering around a record high of ¥10,000 per gram — up around 18% since January.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 12, 2023

Gold bugs in Japan reaping rewards as yen weakness persists

Domestic prices for the precious metal are now hovering around a record high of ¥10,000 per gram — up around 18% since January.
JAPAN / Politics / Notebook
Sep 13, 2023

What Kishida’s reshuffle says about female participation in politics

Political family ties of most of the female appointees speaks to the difficulty women face in entering the political arena.
Arata Oshima follows the events of Sept. 27, 2022 — the day of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s funeral — to capture the state of the nation in the documentary, “The Day of the State Funeral.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 14, 2023

‘The Day of the State Funeral’ bears witness to the end of the Abe era

Arata Oshima’s documentary about the official send-off for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a portrait of a nation adrift.
Passengers wait to board a shinkansen at Kyoto Station.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 14, 2023

Nozomi shinkansen to halt nonreserved seats during peak periods

The restriction will apply between Dec. 28 this year and Jan. 4 as well as the Golden Week and Bon holiday periods.
Arm CEO Rene Haas rings the opening bell, as Softbank's Arm, a chip design firm, holds an initial public offering at Nasdaq MarketSite in New York on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 15, 2023

Chip designer Arm soars 25% in IPO win for owner SoftBank

Shares in the chip designer, still 90% owned by SoftBank, closed at $63.59 in New York trading Thursday, giving it a market value of over $65 billion.
A Palm Sunday procession makes its way toward a government-sanctioned Catholic church in Youtong village in China's Hebei province
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2023

The Holy See shows how to deal with China

In China, the relationship between politics and religion is unique, and the Holy See has adopted a sophisticated approach to diplomacy with Beijing.
Los Angeles 2028 organizers have recommended five "new" sports for inclusion in their edition of the Summer Games.
OLYMPICS
Oct 10, 2023

Cricket among proposed new sports for 2028 Los Angeles Games

The choice of the sports still needs approval from the International Olympic Committee.
A Molten basketball designed exclusively for the 2023 World Cup finals
BUSINESS
Oct 11, 2023

World Cup feat spurs basketball merchandise sales in Japan

The number of junior and senior high school students taking basketball lesson courses is also experiencing a sharp increase.
In September, the Sapporo Convention Center played host to the first Adventure Travel World Summit ever to take place in Asia.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 28, 2023

Travel pros warn against diluting ‘Japaneseness’

“Don’t dilute the Japaneseness, because that’s what makes it special,” said one travel expert. “We want to come to Japan.”
Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell discussed a regional trade pact with Japan's economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura during their meeting in Osaka on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 30, 2023

Australia reassures Japan on CPTPP and strength of relationship

Australian Trade Minister discussed a regional trade pact with Japan's economy minister during their meeting in Osaka.
Toyota’s gigacast rear component. The company plans to employ the gigacasting technology in making electric vehicles.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2023

Tesla’s latest disruption in carmaking draws followers in Japan

Carmakers in Japan are starting to embrace gigacasting as they seek to make up for lost ground in the shift to EVs.
Single-use bathing wear that comes in the form of a blouse or a dress
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Nov 6, 2023

Breast cancer survivors face tough time at public baths

It is customary in Japan not to take clothing or towels into the water at public baths, and some facilities make it a rule for hygienic reasons.
Fortnite is estimated to be played by over 400 million people worldwide.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2023

Fortnite developer fails to report ¥30 billion in revenue in Japan

The problem, which lasted for three years to December 2020, was uncovered in an investigation.
Director Hideo Jojo made the switch from soft-core adult films to more mainstream entertainment with “On the Edge of Their Seats,” a drama about four teenagers watching their high school baseball team lose an important tournament game.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 10, 2023

'Pink film' director Hideo Jojo gets the red carpet treatment

Tokyo's annual film festival named Jojo — who has made over 100 titles, from soft-core adult films to theatrical features — this year's Director in Focus.
Au Pay offers points for each transaction up to ¥250,000, with users receiving reward points.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 10, 2023

Six arrested in ¥171 million au Pay points scam

The store owner is believed to have been recruiting people on social media to cooperate with him on the fake transactions.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks with entrepreneur Elon Musk during a chat session on the rewards and risks of artificial intelligence in London, earlier this month.
EDITORIALS
Nov 10, 2023

Can the world harness AI’s fire without getting burned?

Calls are increasing for governance of artificial intelligence, the world-changing tech that bears both major rewards and risks.
Ruby Lilley practices in a skateboard bowl ahead of the Exposure 2023 skateboarding competition in Encinitas, California, on Nov. 2.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 10, 2023

Female skateboarders display skills in continued push for exposure

In the bowls and street skating ledges and rails of U.S. skate parks, women and girls exude pride over their increasingly impressive skateboarding skills and say even the guys who have long dominated the sport are taking notice.
BASEBALL
Nov 16, 2023

Samurai Japan overcomes slow start to beat Taiwan in APBC opener

Shota Morishita got Japan going with a home run in the seventh inning.
Communicating over the phone, a necessity for businesspeople, is a headache for many young people.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Nov 27, 2023

Many young people in Japan scared of telephone calls

For some, their heart skips a beat when they hear phones ringing and they hesitate to make calls, fearing they might be considered a nuisance.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 21, 2023

MLB pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto gets underway

The right-hander is projected to sign a long-term deal worth more than $200 million.
The Principals’ Board for the Combined Space Operations initiative gather in Ottawa in February 2020 for its annual meeting to formally recognize the addition of France and Germany to the CSpO.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2023

Japan to attend meeting of multilateral space security initiative

Current member countries are slated to discuss Japan's bid to become an official CSpO member, among other topics.
Tomo Kasajima (left) and Asami Shibuya rehearse a scene in Natsuka Kusano’s striking sophomore feature, “Domains.”
CULTURE / Film
Dec 7, 2023

‘Domains’: Hypnotic and truly original

Natsuka Kusano’s experimental, multilayered drama breaks down a tragic event and probes how performances are constructed.
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.
Yuka Tada and her friend pose for a photograph at a BTS fan cafe in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 12, 2023

BTS members head for South Korea military service; fans vow to wait

With three members already serving, the remaining four members of the K-pop supergroup begin their 18-month service.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 13, 2023

Dodgers, Red Sox and Jays to meet with Yoshinobu Yamamoto

While only one MLB pitcher has ever signed for over $300 million, speculation has Yamamoto potentially landing a deal that would approach that figure.
Shingo Takashima, a 26-year-old doctor, killed himself three months into his specialty doctor training at a general hospital in Kobe.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Dec 13, 2023

Young doctor’s suicide highlights overwork culture at Japan hospitals

The issue is coming into sharper focus ahead of the April implementation of a legal cap on doctors’ overtime.
Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Koichi Hagiuda (center) attends a party hosted by his faction, which was previously led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in May in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 13, 2023

Focus turns to replacements as scandal-hit LDP ministers face ax

In a news conference Wednesday evening, Fumio Kishida said he would make replacements the following day but declined to comment on the details.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2023

Sapporo to stop efforts to pursue Winter Games

Sapporo initially worked toward hosting the 2030 Games but abandoned this plan because of a lack of public support.
While non-Japanese readers have in recent years been spoiled for choice when it comes to Japanese literature in translation, there is still a wealth of notable works that translators would love to see rendered into English.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 20, 2023

A wish list of hidden gems for Japanese literature lovers

Eight translators reveal their top Japanese books that English readers have yet to enjoy.
A U.S. Steel coke works in Clairton, Pennsylvania
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2023

A steel deal that’s good for Japan and the U.S.

Nippon Steel’s announcement that it plans to purchase U.S. Steel has triggered an uproar in the United States.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan