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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 14, 2017

Mayor Soichiro Takashima envisions Fukuoka as a living lab for internet of things

Assessing damage caused by natural disasters with just a glance at a monitor screen. Controlling water levels and knowing the best time to fertilize crops without actually visiting your farm. Checking the whereabouts of your son or daughter who is returning from school by using location-based services....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 14, 2017

Japan-Russian oil exploration project meets with U.S. resistance

A Japanese group's plans to explore for Russian oil with state-run Rosneft PJSC have been stymied by U.S. intervention over sanctions, according to people familiar with the matter.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jul 13, 2017

Rakuten, Barcelona hail official start of partnership, lucrative sponsorship

Rakuten Inc. will be splashing its name across "the most important shirt in the world," according to Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, after the e-commerce giant celebrated the start of its four-year, $235 million sponsorship with the iconic Spanish soccer club on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 13, 2017

Siemens, AES combine forces for battery-based energy storage venture

Siemens AG and AES Corp., the Virginia-based independent power producer, are forming a venture to focus on a sector that's revolutionizing electricity markets: battery-based energy storage.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jul 13, 2017

Meet the kawaii witches of the East

Despite being a fantastic go-to costume on Halloween, witches in the West have never had it easy. There were the Salem witch trials of the 1690s, and similar trials elsewhere in North America and Europe through the 17th century, which served as warnings to independent women that they could be persecuted...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jul 13, 2017

'Transformers' actor LaBeouf apologizes for Georgia arrest, says he's seeking treatment for addiction

Actor Shia LaBeouf apologized Wednesday for his expletive-filled rants hurled at the officers who arrested him in Georgia last week on charges of disorderly conduct and public intoxication, and said he is seeking help for addiction.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jul 13, 2017

Conservative Malta becomes 24th nation to legalize same-sex marriage

Maltese lawmakers voted on Wednesday to legalize same-sex marriage on the Roman Catholic Mediterranean island, fulfilling Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's campaign promise to make this the first law brought before parliament in his new term.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2017

Okinawa moves to block U.S. base construction at Henoko

Three months after the Okinawa Defense Bureau started seawall construction off the coast of Nago in Okinawa's Henoko district, work to build a replacement facility for a U.S. military base in Ginowan is moving forward — and along with it, renewed legal and political resistance to the controversial...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 12, 2017

Trump reportedly may replace Yellen at Fed with economic council head Gary Cohn, ex-Goldman Sachs president

U.S. President Donald Trump is increasingly unlikely to nominate Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen for a second term next year, and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn is the leading candidate to succeed her, Politico reported on Tuesday, citing four people close to the process.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2017

Education ministry panel approves private-sector English testing for university entrance

In a move sure to shake up the nation's English examination system for college enrollment, an education ministry panel has approved a plan featuring a complete shift to proficiency testing by private firms.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Jul 11, 2017

Nash reflects on memorable time as Toyama coach

Bob Nash's passion for basketball is as visible as a Hawaiian rainbow on a clear day.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 11, 2017

Rock act Boris marks 25 years with an album inspired by fans

Halfway through my conversation with Atsuo, drummer and spokesman for drone metal trio Boris, I bring out an original CD copy of the group's 1996 release, "Absolutego."
WORLD
Jul 11, 2017

U.S. deploys advanced long-range anti-aircraft missiles in Baltics for first time for drills

The United States deployed a battery of Patriot long-range anti-aircraft missiles in Lithuania to be used in NATO wargames from Tuesday — the first time the advanced defense system has been brought to the Baltics where Russia has air superiority.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 10, 2017

Smart speakers powered by voice agents seen ushering in era of AI

Major tech firms have been keen to sell speakers equipped with voice-based artificial intelligence agents recently.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Jul 9, 2017

Saitama woman turns maligned waste disposal firm into recycling powerhouse

As a child, Noriko Ishizaka was ashamed of her father's company — a waste disposal firm with towering smoke stacks overlooking a small town in Saitama Prefecture.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Jul 8, 2017

Leading cancer researcher Yusuke Nakamura pursues answers

Yusuke Nakamura could easily have had a long, successful career as a surgeon in Japan, but he isn't the kind of person who is satisfied with unanswered questions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jul 8, 2017

Enterprising Aomori apple farmer pivots to boutique hard cider

On a steamy June afternoon, the apple trees in the Tsugaru region of Aomori Prefecture are laden with fruit. Now, the young apples are hard green spheres the size of golf balls, but come autumn they will be plump, sweet and ready for harvest.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 7, 2017

GPIF posts return of ¥7.9 trillion for fiscal 2016, marking best performance in two years

The world's biggest pension fund posted its best annual gain in two years, as Japanese and overseas stocks rose while government bonds slid.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 7, 2017

Cultural construction boom aims to offset Hong Kong's business-like image

The theater stage is bathed in a luscious lavender hue, a color that in Chinese tradition signifies nobility and mystery — and portends things to come. A young couple, pure of heart, fall in love only to see their romance thwarted by the machinations of a corrupt bureaucrat. They declare their devotion...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 7, 2017

GE and Canon risk fines as EU clamps down on merger violations

General Electric Co., Merck KGaA, Sigma-Aldrich Corp. and Canon Inc. are the latest companies to risk hefty penalties as the European Commission clamps down on violations of its merger approval procedures.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 7, 2017

Branson ready to resume powered flights of rocket plane, eyes 2018 trip to space

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is poised to resume powered test flights more than 30 months after the fatal breakup of its experimental rocket plane, with the billionaire entrepreneur aiming to make the first trip into space himself by the middle of next year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 6, 2017

Experts say key criteria aligning in Japan's long battle to escape deflation

Japan's economy is running the hottest relative to capacity since the global financial crisis. More than four years after the Bank of Japan launched its radical monetary easing, key conditions are aligning in its long battle to truly escape from deflation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jul 6, 2017

'Gloomy Japan' highlights a loss of hope

"In recent times, reflections on the future of Japanese society have not generally been couched in optimistic terms," says Yuji Genda, a professor of Labor Economics at the University of Tokyo's Institute of Social Science.

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