Search - 2020

 
 
SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son in 2019. Son is said to be selling off assets from the Vision Fund’s portfolio as he prepares for possible forays into AI and related hardware.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 10, 2024

SoftBank's Vision Fund lightens asset load as Son pivots to AI and chips

Son has moved on to new obsessions, inspired in part by the success of Arm — which has soared in value to around $106 billion since its market debut.
Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
May 11, 2024

How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan

Five years into the Reiwa Era and the challenges Japan's moms face are unique, though the qualities that help them persevere haven't changed a bit.
U.S. President Joe Biden touts the economic benefits of semiconductor investment at Intel’s Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, Arizona, on March 20.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 13, 2024

Global chips battle intensifies with $81 billion subsidy surge

The rush of funding has hardened battle lines in the U.S.-China trade war, including in nations like Japan.
Penny Sackett, a former director of the Australian National University’s Mount Stromlo Observatory, in the remains of the observatory, which was destroyed by a wildfire in 2003, just outside Canberra on May 6.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 14, 2024

Alarmed by climate change, astronomers train their sights on Earth

Seeing how climate change has impacted the earth, many astronomers have left science to become full-time activists.
Singapore's new prime minister, Lawrence Wong (left), shakes hands with his predecessor, Lee Hsien Loong, during the swearing-in ceremony at the Istana in Singapore on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 16, 2024

Singapore’s riches grew under its leader. So did discontent.

On Wednesday, the Southeast Asian country’s third prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, handed the reins to his deputy, the first leadership change in nearly 20 years.
Mystik Dan (right) wins the Kentucky Derby in a photo finish at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 4.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
May 17, 2024

Mystik Dan to vie for second leg of Triple Crown in Preakness Stakes

Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan will vie for the second jewel of U.S. flat racing's Triple Crown when he runs in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.
Japan Times contributor Laura Pollacco (front right) was offered the role of one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet, in the Tokyo International Players’ production of “Pride and Prejudice.”
CULTURE / Stage
May 18, 2024

Local theater in Japan is more than a hobby — it’s a community

For contributor Laura Pollacco, companies such as Tokyo International Players and Sheepdog Theatre offer a home away from home.
While not the most outspoken politician on the issue, digital minister Taro Kono has a track record of being serious in his commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
May 19, 2024

The politicians moving Japan forward on climate

In the halls of power, climate-friendly voices may be few and far between, but some in politics are pushing for more aggressive action on decarbonization.
Missile systems form part of the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9. The FBI tries to maintain a tricky balance in spy operations: the more access informants have to valuable intelligence, the higher the risk that they could be compromised.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2024

FBI shed informants linked to Russian influence operations

After a secret review several years ago, the bureau cut off confidential sources thought to be connected to Russian disinformation.
A 2-megawatt solar farm in the city of Fukushima. “Megasolar” refers to farms with a minimum output of 1 MW of electricity — enough to power around 300 homes for a year.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
May 26, 2024

‘Megasolar’ is a dirty word in Japan. Where do solar projects go from here?

Vocal campaigns are pushing back against projects as dangerous eyesores, but "dual-use" approaches and community engagement may offer a solution.
Posters of Negro Leagues players are displayed in the outfield stands at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, during a baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves in August 2020.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 29, 2024

Record books to be rewritten as MLB adopts Negro Leagues stats

The news means that some 3,400 players who competed in the Negro Leagues will now form an official part of baseball history.
Mainland Chinese tourists on a converted car ferry in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor on April 19, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 29, 2024

Business-first Hong Kong now comes with a catch: Beijing politics

The former British colony is hewing closer to mainland China, blurring distinctions that once cemented the city’s status as mostly free from Chinese politics.
Notwithstanding the increase in EV sales, there are now more cars than ever powered by internal-combustion engines.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2024

Nevermind those EVs — oil demand keeps growing

The oil bulls still have reason to worry: With OPEC+ trying to keep prices as close as possible to $100 a barrel, non-OPEC supply, including from biofuels, keeps surging.
A Correctional Services vehicle arrives at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts ahead of the verdict hearing in Hong Kong on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 30, 2024

Fourteen Hong Kong democrats found guilty in landmark subversion trial

Critics say the trial could deal another blow to the city's rule of law and its reputation as a global financial hub.
The World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 2, 2024

WHO countries prolong talks on pandemic accord

Despite increasing momentum in recent months, only 17 of the draft agreement's articles had been fully approved by countries by the deadline.
Pedestrians holding umbrellas during a downpour in Tokyo in June 2023
JAPAN / Science & Health / OUR PLANET
Jun 2, 2024

The growing link between extreme rain and respiratory health in Japan

Researchers have found a strong association between respiratory mortality and severe downpours of the kind being made worse by climate change.
South Korean soldiers examine various objects including what appeared to be trash from a balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea, in Incheon, South Korea, on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 2, 2024

North Korea sends 600 more trash-filled balloons over border

Seoul has warned of strong countermeasures, saying it runs counter to the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War hostilities.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures outside Trump Tower, the day after a guilty verdict in his criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in New York on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2024

Trump warns of 'breaking point' for Americans if he's jailed

Prison time is rare for people convicted in New York state of felony falsification of business records, the charge Trump faced at his trial.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is the world's leading chip contract manufacturer.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 5, 2024

Chinese AI chip firms downgrading designs to secure TSMC production

They submitted the less-powerful designs to TSMC — the world's leading chip contract manufacturer — to comply with U.S. restrictions, sources say.
Kenji Iikura (right), head chef at Akasaka Tantei, and manager Hibiki Kitazawa pose with Okinawan cuisine served at the restaurant in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 17, 2024

How a Michelin-star Okinawan restaurant made a V-shaped recovery

A return to its roots — and Okinawan flavors — struck a chord with new and returning customers.
A monitor shows the GPS tracking of balloons built by a Seoul-based activist group that are designed to distribute anti-Pyongyang messages over North Korean territory, in Seoul on June 3.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 11, 2024

Seoul activists develop 'smart balloons' to send into North Korea

The aim is to drop cargoes deeper into North Korea, including over Pyongyang.
Virtu is located on the 39th floor of the Four Seasons Tokyo hotel in the Otemachi neighborhood of Chiyoda Ward.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 11, 2024

Virtu brings hospitality award home to the country of ‘omotenashi’

This is the first time a bar in Japan has earned the distinction from the Asia's 50 Best Bars organization since it was first awarded in 2020.
A South Korean soldier stands guard near a military facility where loudspeakers dismantled in 2018 used to be, near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 11, 2024

South Korea fires warning shots after North Korea soldiers briefly cross border

The Sunday incursion took place in an overgrown area of the Demilitarized Zone, the heavily fortified border area, and was likely accidental.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks to reporters Wednesday before declaring her candidacy for the gubernatorial election in the afternoon.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 12, 2024

It’s official: Koike will seek reelection as Tokyo governor in July

The incumbent governor finally declared her candidacy on the last day of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly session.
Midfielder Nicolo Barella celebrates scoring the team's second goal during Italy's win over Albania on Saturday.
SOCCER
Jun 16, 2024

Italy begins Euro 2024 title defense with win as Spain starts in style

Italy, whose line-up at kickoff featured only five players who started the 2020 final against England, now moves on to a heavyweight showdown with Spain on Thursday.
People applaud during a campaign event in Tokyo on Thursday. Those running in the July 7 poll will be battling to govern the sixth-largest city in the world by population.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 20, 2024

Tokyo governor poll campaign kicks off with 56 candidates in running

Ideas on how to reverse the capital's declining birth rate and make spending transparent are topping the agenda.
Sota Fujii (right) and Takumi Ito in the city of Kofu, in Yamanashi Prefecture, on Thursday after Fujii was beaten by his challenger for his Eio title.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2024

Shogi star Sota Fujii loses major title for first time

Fujii, 21, gave up the Eio title in his 23rd title match in Yamanashi Prefecture. The challenger, Takumi Ito, 21, won his first crown with three wins and two losses.
Seaweed in the ocean off Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Local residents aim to restore seagrass and seaweed beds suffering from marine desertification, and their project has also been certified to receive "blue carbon" credits.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Jun 23, 2024

Japan looks to 'blue carbon' to cut emissions — and restore its coasts

The nation's net zero goal has driven interest in these ecosystems, but verifying the amount of carbon stored by seaweed presents a challenge.
People await the arrival of the Dalai Lama in New York on Sunday. The Tibetan spiritual leader is in the U.S. to undergo knee surgery.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2024

China must not choose the next Dalai Lama

The 14th Dalai Lama, who is in the U.S. to undergo knee surgery, should leave instructions to choose his successor, therefore delegitimizing any Beijing-anointed figure.
The investigation into the Chinese telcos is the latest effort by Washington to prevent Beijing from exploiting Chinese firms' access to U.S. data to harm U.S. companies, Americans or its national security as part of a deepening tech war between the geopolitical rivals.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 25, 2024

U.S. probing Chinese telcos over internet and cloud risks

Their cloud services and routing of wholesale U.S. internet traffic raise concerns that they could exploit access to American data by providing it to Beijing.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person