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Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2020

Strength in numbers: A more open approach to tracking the virus in Japan

Like many foreign residents of Japan during the early days of the country's COVID-19 outbreak, Shane Reustle and Jiahui Zhou recall poring over websites run by the health ministry and local municipalities to try to get a clear picture of how infections were spreading in the world’s third-largest economy....
EDITORIALS
Jul 31, 2014

Privacy rights and 'big data'

The government is moving to expedite the use of massive amounts of personal data — collected online or otherwise from a variety of sources — for commercial purposes on condition that the data is processed to ensure anonymity of the information.
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Nov 24, 2013

Secrets bill raises fears among nuclear foes

In late 2005, U.S. government officials, invited by Japan, observed a counterterrorism drill at the Mihama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture and came away worried about the security situation at the complex.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 14, 2012

Check with school, kids before posting videos of children online

Reader A writes: "I'm a junior high and elementary school teacher, and I was wondering if you'd published any articles outlining the law regarding privacy policy and children in Japan?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2012

Will 3/11 prove social media watershed?

Massive disasters that claim thousands of lives and change communities forever sometimes also spur the development of radical new technologies, or new ways of applying existing techniques, that otherwise may have occurred more slowly, if at all.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WEEK 3
Aug 21, 2011

Three Mile Island's lessons for Japan

In the early hours of March 28, 1979, human errors and mechanical failures combined to cause a cooling system to stop working at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. One of the station's two nuclear cores overheated, thrusting the plant into a crisis that would...
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2010

Officials fear WikiLeaks' potential to harm U.S. ties

What's next? What disasters await in the pipeline?
Japan Times
JAPAN / CITIZEN JUSTICE
May 15, 2009

Media fret risk of biasing lay judges

Fourth in a series
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2002

Keeping data on info seekers OK: probe

Storing data on individuals seeking information disclosure by the Defense Agency and Air and Ground Self-Defense Forces does not pose any legal problems, according to an in-house investigation made public Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 15, 2000

Future of transport just round the corner

It's a sunny morning in the spring of 2013. As you ride a commuter train, an information panel on the wall announces a 30-minute delay caused by an accident. With your cellular phone, you search for an alternative route and make a reservation to get to your destination.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2000

Here comes Japan's e-boom

Let me make some predictions about Japan's economic performance in and after 2000. I believe that recovery in the next 12 to 18 months will be slow but robust expansion will take place after that. The boom will not benefit everyone, as did the past expansion, however. It will be accompanied by the polarization...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2023

Henry Ford and the lesson crypto enthusiasts must learn

As with automakers at the turn of the last century, the more promising investment approach to digital assets now is to think about what technologies will be needed if the sector takes off.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 15, 2022

China’s surveillance state hits rare resistance from its own subjects

As China builds up its vast surveillance and security apparatus, it is running up against growing public unease about the lack of safeguards to prevent the theft or misuse of personal data.
Japan Times
Special Supplements
Jun 17, 2021

Working to achieve SDGs through strong ESG investing

In his book “A Brief History of the Future: A Brave and Controversial Look at the Twenty-First Century” (2006), Jacques Attali predicted two industries would emerge as the most influential of the 21st century — entertainment and insurance.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 24, 2021

The art of 'leaking' in the Japanese government

Leaks do not have to be true — they just have to be perceived as factual by the individuals reporting them.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 22, 2020

How South Korea turned urban planning system into a virus tracking database

System seen as critical in helping health authorities identify coronavirus hotspots.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 2, 2020

How democratic Taiwan outperformed authoritarian China

The free flow of information provides the best defense against the spread of COVID-19.
Toyohara Kunichika experimented with established norms of composition and began spreading a single figure over three full sheets, as seen in this “Kabuki Play 'Kagamiyama Gonichi no Iwafuji'” triptych.
CULTURE / Art
Feb 15, 2025

Kunichika's vibrant ukiyo-e gets a chance to shine at anniversary exhibit

An underappreciated ukiyo-e master is the focus of the largest-ever retrospective of his work in Japan, marking the 190th anniversary of his birth.
A protest called "America, wake up" is held in front of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv on March 8, days after U.S. President Donald Trump paused American military and intelligence support for Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 14, 2025

Ukraine needs U.S. weapons — but it needs intelligence more

The problem is that, on issue after issue, Trump changes course on a whim.
More companies are offering tailored solutions for the unique health and wellness needs of men.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 21, 2025

'Mentech' starts gaining traction in Japan

Inspired by products and services catering specifically to women, mentech aims to provide tailored solutions to meet the health and wellness needs of men.
Increased reliance on AI and digital technology is weakening cognitive skills, such as critical thinking and problem-solving, as people depend more on machines for tasks that once required mental effort.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2025

‘Use it or lose it’ — a grim mantra for the AI age

In sum, “excessive dependence on AI without concurrent cultivation of fundamental cognitive skills may lead to underutilization and subsequent loss of cognitive abilities.”
The Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Minnesota is seen off the coast of Western Australia on March 16.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 15, 2025

AUKUS exemption to U.S. defense trade controls doesn't cover nuclear subs, officials say

The controls create hurdles to defense industry collaboration on U.S. Virginia-class sub production.
Foreign tourists gather on a platform at Kyoto Station on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 17, 2025

Tokyo hotel operators face possible warnings over suspected price cartel

It is believed that information sharing among the hotels, such as occupancy rates and average room prices, may have influenced pricing.
A new study is offering fresh insight into where consciousness resides in the brain.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 2, 2025

Scientists explore where consciousness arises in the brain

There are practical applications in gaining a deeper understanding of the mechanics of consciousness in the brain.
The Osaka city board of education organized classes in which elementary school students disassembled devices slated for disposal and learned about the recycling of the rare metals contained in them last November.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 6, 2025

Disposal questions arise as student learning devices need replacing in Japan

The Osaka city board of education organized classes in which elementary school students disassembled devices slated for disposal.
Officials and government leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin (center right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (center left) attend a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Victory Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow on May 9.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 9, 2025

Secret Russian intelligence document shows deep suspicion of China

Some officials believe Beijing is trying to recruit Russian spies and steal sensitive military tech, at times by luring disaffected Russian scientists.
Gen. Jennie Carignan, Canada’s Chief of the Defense Staff, attends an interview with The Japan Times on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2025

Japan ‘priority’ as Canada eyes bigger Asian footprint, military chief says

Ottawa's concerns about what it sees as growing challenges to the current world order are driving its Asia push.
Voters in Tokyo listen to a speech by a candidate in Japan's Oct. 27, 2024 general election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 13, 2025

Japan news media association pledges accurate news for elections

The statement says that social media platforms should take proactive measures against fake and false information on the internet.
Hong Kong-based crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, World Liberty Financial co-founder Zach Witkoff and Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization Eric Trump attend the TOKEN2049 conference in Dubai on May 1.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 14, 2025

Trump's $100 million crypto mystery man

A venture calling itself Aqua 1 Foundation announced last month it had bought $100 million worth of U.S. President Donald Trump’s World Liberty crypto tokens.
The Foreign Ministrys budget request for fiscal 2026 will call for building information infrastructure and developing digital human resources.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2025

Foreign Ministry to seek ¥874.3 billion budget for fiscal 2026

The budget request will call for building information infrastructure and developing digital human resources.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight