Search - 2023

 
 
Japan aims for nuclear power to make up 20% of its energy mix by 2040. However, the restart of the country's reactors is complicated by issues such as local opposition, as is the case for the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 10, 2025

Robust new nuclear target for Japan is shrouded in uncertainty

A new plan envisions nuclear power making up 20% of Japan's energy mix by 2040. But hurdles to reactor restarts and rising electricity demand cast a shadow on such ambitions.
“The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic” centers on three teenage protagonists who are transported into a fantasy world where they must grapple with a foreign culture.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jan 11, 2025

Isekai anime offers a key to understanding globalization

The fantastical genre wherein characters are dropped into unlikely worlds — and sometimes bodies — can be read as an allegory for the structure of the contemporary anime industry.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya visits the Saint Michael's Cathedral, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv in November.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 11, 2025

Top Japanese diplomat to visit Seoul to shore up ties amid political chaos

Iwaya, who will be the first Japanese foreign minister to visit Seoul in seven years, will meet with his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul and Acting President Choi Sang-mok.
The record high reflected strong corporate demand for working capital amid rising raw materials prices and the yen's weakening, as well as brisk capital investment mainly by large companies.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 11, 2025

Japan bank lending hits record high at end of 2024

Outstanding bank lending in Japan stood at a record high of ¥605.8 trillion at the end of 2024, up 4.4% from a year before, according to industry data.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson drops back to pass during a game against the Giants on Dec. 15.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 11, 2025

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson leads NFL All-Pro team selections

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen trailed Jackson with 18 first-place votes, with Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow nabbing two.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba extends for a handshake with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto after giving a press statement following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, Indonesia, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 11, 2025

Indonesian and Japanese leaders agree to boost defense and energy ties

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba became the first foreign leader to visit Indonesia this year, meeting President Prabowo Subianto a day after visiting neighboring Malaysia.
Yuzuru Hanyu smiles during an interview in his hometown of Sendai in between performances of his latest tour, Ice Story.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Jan 11, 2025

30 minutes with Yuzuru Hanyu

The two-time Olympic champion exited the competitive arena in 2022. His overall career goal — to make spectators say "wow" — has not changed.
Ekkalak Paenoi, a suspect in the assassination of former Cambodian politician Lim Kimya, is escorted by police officers in Bangkok on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 12, 2025

Thai suspect confesses to killing Cambodian ex-lawmaker

A Thai man suspected of killing a former Cambodian opposition lawmaker in Bangkok confessed to the crime in a livestream video.
Climate scientists say that global warming is making extreme weather events more frequent and intense.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 13, 2025

2024 hottest recorded year, crossed global warming limit

Excess heat is supercharging extreme weather, and 2024 saw countries all over the world suffer disasters that cost more than $300 billion.
Lantoko, a company operated by Taiwan native Ping-Fang Lan, offers drift ice walking tours and other exhilarating experiences in and around Shiretoko National Park.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jan 13, 2025

Due north: Foreign-born guides introduce Hokkaido’s unique charms

With adventure tourism on the rise in Hokkaido, a new generation of foreign-born guides is eager to greet travelers.
Attendees walk through the main entrance during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 13, 2025

Tech sector's energy transition draws attention at Vegas show

Data centers accounted for 4.4% of U.S. electricity needs in 2023, a figure that is likely to rise to 12% by 2028, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Shunsuke Nakamori pitches at Zozo Marine Stadium last season.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Jan 13, 2025

Marines will need other pitchers to step up after Roki Sasaki departs for MLB

The Marines — if they have not already — will be forced to accept a new reality where their starting rotation is not headed by one of the best young pitchers in the world.
Cleveland-Cliffs and Nucor may launch a joint bid for United States Steel after Nippon Steel's bid was blocked by U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 14, 2025

Cleveland-Cliffs and Nucor consider joint bid for U.S. Steel

An offer would involve Cleveland-Cliffs acquiring most of U.S. Steel and Nucor taking its so-called mini-mill assets, a source says.
Tyson Fury during a heavyweight world title fight against Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh on Dec. 22
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Jan 14, 2025

Is retirement really the end of the road for Tyson Fury?

Fury has previously announced his exit on a number of occasions, most recently in April 2022.
Smoke plumes rise from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 14, 2025

Final draft of Gaza truce deal shown to sides after 'breakthrough'

Both sides are "closer than we've ever been" to a deal, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
People hold an anti-Japan rally in Seoul in July 2019 following Tokyo's decision to tighten controls on exports to South Korea.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2025

North Korea incited anti-Japan sentiment in the South

North Korea aimed to fan the flames of anti-Japanese sentiment over issues like wartime labor and the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
A man stops at a site near a sports center in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China, where a deadly car attack in November killed 35 people.  
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 14, 2025

China's rising violence that could lead to foreign aggression

While China does have social welfare programs, the current economic system provides insufficient resources for the working class and unemployed individuals.
Cleveland-Cliffs is reportedly in talks with North Carolina-based steelmaker Nucor to acquire U.S. Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 14, 2025

Japan avoids commenting on Cleveland-Cliffs CEO's provocative comment

Lourenco Goncalves’ remarks over Nippon Steel’s takeover bid for U.S. Steel and description of Japan as being "evil" stunned many in Tokyo.
Special Counsel Jack Smith holds a press conference announcing the indictment of former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Washington on Aug. 1, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 14, 2025

Special counsel report says Trump would have been convicted in election case

The report amounts to an extraordinary rebuke of the incoming president.
The number of corporate bankruptcies with liabilities of ¥10 million or more in Japan last year marked the third consecutive year of increases as rising prices due to the yen's weakening and labor shortages caused business failures in a wide range of industries.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 14, 2025

Japan business failures top 10,000 in 2024, worst in 11 years

The annual figure marked the third consecutive year of increases as rising prices due to the yen's weakening and labor shortages caused business failures.
Mori Building has been offering yoga and body stretch programs in the shared common space of its Azabudai Hills complex in Tokyo's Minato Ward for workers of tenant firms.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 15, 2025

Realtors offer healthy options for office workers of tenant firms

Many companies have learned that preparing a workplace environment in which their employees can stay healthy is key to securing talent.
The flag of Greenland flutters at the Inussivik hall in Nuuk in 2021.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 15, 2025

Why does Trump want Greenland and could he get it?

Greenland's strategic location and resources could benefit the U.S.
Naomi Osaka hits a return during her second round win over Karolina Muchova on Wednesday at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
TENNIS
Jan 15, 2025

Osaka gets 'revenge' on Muchova in Australian Open fightback

The Japanese star, who won in Melbourne in 2019 and 2021, dropped the first set against 20th seed Karolina Muchova before winning 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.
The Fuji TV building in Tokyo's Odaiba district. In a letter to Fuji Media Holdings' board of directors, Dalton Investments expressed outrage over the “serious flaws” in the broadcaster’s corporate governance in relation to its handling of the uproar sparked by TV star Masahiro Nakai, a former member of boy band SMAP.
JAPAN / Media
Jan 15, 2025

U.S. investment firm demands Fuji TV probe Nakai's alleged sex misconduct

Dalton Investments expressed outrage over the “serious flaws” in the broadcaster’s corporate governance amid the uproar sparked by the former member of boy band SMAP.
Tourists visit Fushimi Inari Shrine in the city of Kyoto on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 15, 2025

Kyoto to raise accommodation tax to a maximum ¥10,000 per night

The collected money under the new plan would be used to improve infrastructure in the city, such as increasing public transportation.
China has increased provocations against Japan under Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's weak leadership, exploiting political instability to push its agenda, including military incursions, cyberattacks and other forms of coercion.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 14, 2025

China seizes opportunities amid Ishiba’s weak leadership

China is also no longer hesitant to send its aircraft carrier group through narrow straits in the southernmost Nansei Islands to conduct drills.
The "madman theory" in foreign policy, which some apply to Donald Trump, relies on perceived irrationality to intimidate adversaries and generally fails to achieve its goals, leading to dangerous miscalculations.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2025

There is no place for ‘madmen’ in international diplomacy

Historians root the madman theory in Machiavelli, who wrote that “at times it is a very wise thing to simulate madness.”
Australia's Michael Hooper during the 2019 World Cup in Oita.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jan 15, 2025

Wallabies great Michael Hooper set for comeback with Japan move

The 33-year-old played the last of his 125 test matches in 2023 before being unceremoniously axed by then-coach Eddie Jones.
People wave Palestinian flags while celebrating the announcement of a ceasefire in Ramallah in the West Bank on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jan 16, 2025

Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire deal to end 15 months of war in Gaza

Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire agreement that includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces, the release of hostages and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Red strawberry-flavored candy. The Red No. 3 artificial coloring will no longer be allowed in U.S. food or ingested drugs starting Jan. 15, 2027, according to a Food and Drug Administration document posted online.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 16, 2025

U.S. bans cancer-linked Red No. 3 coloring in cereal and other foods

The artificial coloring will no longer be allowed in U.S. food or ingested drugs starting Jan. 15, 2027.

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