Search - 2021

 
 
Pope Francis leads a prayer in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Dec. 31, 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 26, 2025

Pope Francis saw defending the climate as an urgent priority for the world

Pope Francis spoke and wrote often about climate change, telling oil and gas executives in 2018 that transitioning to clean energy was a "duty” to humanity.
Japan's consumer prices rose 3.3% year-on-year in June, with the pace of inflation accelerating from the 3.2% recorded in May.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2023

Japan's price growth accelerates ahead of BOJ inflation update

Prices excluding those for fresh food gained 3.3% from a year ago, accelerating a little from the rise in May as energy prices were less of a drag on inflation.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Jul 21, 2023

Nadeshiko Japan's Women's World Cup glory now distant memory

Japan begins its latest World Cup campaign against Zambia on Saturday, but is ranked 11th now and no longer among the favorites.
Clothes displayed at Shein’s headquarters in Singapore
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2023

Fast fashion report cards show what’s really in your clothes

Consumers’ drive for quantity over quality is transforming the world’s textile industry, sparking an almost doubling in global fiber production over the past two decades.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2023

Government explains radar deployment plan to residents of Okinawan island

The Defense Ministry stressed the need to build a tight surveillance system in the Pacific, where the Chinese military is increasing its activities.
Residential buildings in the Kachidoki area of Tokyo. The average unit price of newly supplied condominiums in the greater Tokyo area in the first six months of this year reached the highest level for the six-month period due to rising material and labor costs and higher land prices.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2023

Tokyo's new condo prices surge 60% to a record in first half of year

The average price of a new apartment in central Tokyo jumped 60% to ¥129.6 million ($930,000) in the January to June period.
Tony Bennett at the Apollo Theater in the Harlem neighborhood of New York in 1997
CULTURE / Music
Jul 21, 2023

Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96

Bennett vaulted to fame in the early 1950s with a string of emotional hits, including "The Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "Because of You" and "Blue Velvet."
Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr delivers a speech in Najaf, Iraq, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2023

Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr hints at comeback with torching of Swedish Embassy

By having his supporters torch the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad, the unpredictable Shiite cleric has dragged an administration run by his rivals into a diplomatic crisis.
Icons of Google's Artificial Intelligence app BardAI (or ChatBot), OpenAI's app ChatGPT and other AI apps are displayed on a smartphone screen.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 20, 2023

Google tests AI tool that is able to write news articles

Some executives who saw Google’s pitch described it as unsettling, and two people said it seemed to take for granted the effort that went into producing accurate and artful news stories.
Jonas Vingegaard opened up a commanding lead over rival Tadej Pogacar during Stage 17 of the Tour de France between Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc and Courchevel, France, on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Cycling
Jul 20, 2023

Tour de France leader Jonas Vingegaard deals crushing blow to rival Tadej Pogacar on Stage 17

Jonas Vingegaard took a giant stride toward a second consecutive Tour de France title when rival Tadej Pogacar cracked in unexpected and spectacular fashion during Stage 17, the toughest of the race, on Wednesday.
The mushroom cloud caused by the Trinity nuclear test is seen on July 16, 1945. A new study, released on Thursday ahead of submission to a scientific journal for peer review, shows that the cloud and its fallout went farther than anyone in the Manhattan Project had imagined in 1945.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 22, 2023

Trinity nuclear test’s fallout reached 46 states, Canada and Mexico, study finds

The research shows that the first atomic bomb explosion’s effects had been underestimated, and could help more “downwinders” press for federal compensation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Jul 18, 2023

ChatGPT, Bing, Bard and DeepL: Which one offers the best Japanese-to-English translation?

AI is revolutionizing the world of translation, but which tool reigns supreme? We staged a head-to-head battle between ChatGPT-4, Bing, Bard and DeepL … and the results are in.
A photograph by Joel Pulliam provides a hint at what is on offer at VoidTokyo's "Sharaku" exhibition at HikoHiko Gallery.
CULTURE
Jul 19, 2023

Street photography by VoidTokyo on full display in Ginza

With the goal of capturing the city of Tokyo in physical form and not just on social media, VoidTokyo celebrates its members at “Sharaku.”
TikTok is in a race to dominate e-commerce in Southeast Asia.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2023

TikTok steps up Southeast Asia presence amid e-commerce push

As the company intermingles social media and e-commerce, it is betting that this vision of shopping will knock aside rivals in the region.
A disturbing factor that may ultimately defeat the all-volunteer military force is the growing political division across the U.S., which is diminishing the young people's faith in America.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2023

U.S. military’s recruiting woes are a national-security crisis

The U.S. military's struggle to entice even the most surefire candidates — the children of veterans — puts the future of the all-volunteer force in doubt.
Japanese retail investors have increased bets on volatile currencies.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 24, 2023

Japan’s mom-and-pop traders boost emerging-market currency bets

Japanese retail investors have increased bets on volatile currencies.
The Paris Organising Committee's headquarters
OLYMPICS
Jul 19, 2023

As heat wave bakes Europe, Paris keeps eye on weather models for Olympics

A contingency plan was in place to adjust schedules but there were no plans to change any locations of events, a spokesperson for Paris 2024 said.
Brazil midfielder Ary Borges celebrates her hat trick during the team's 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup opener against Panama in Adelaide, Australia, on Monday.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Jul 25, 2023

Brazil's Ary Borges outdoes Pele with emotional World Cup hat trick

The 23-year-old is the first Brazilian, man or woman, to score a hat trick in their World Cup debut, according to governing body FIFA.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walks in front of an intercontinental ballistic missile in this undated photo released in March 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 25, 2023

From 'Young General' to 'Supreme Leader': The evolution of Kim Jong Un

North Korea's thinking on its relations with the U.S. has undergone dramatic changes, and Kim Jong Un's past evolution offers indications of where the country might be headed.
Crunchyroll, now owned by Sony Group Corp., is setting its sights on India as a major growth market.
LIFE / Digital
Jul 15, 2023

Former piracy site Crunchyroll cashes in on anime's global appeal

Crunchyroll expects the anime industry will have more than 800 million fans globally by 2025 outside markets in China and Japan.
Katie Ledecky celebrates with her gold medal after winning the women's 1,500-meter freestyle final at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka on Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS / Swimming
Jul 26, 2023

Katie Ledecky dominates, Matthew Richards leads British one-two

Australia's Kaylee McKeown endured a nightmare after being disqualified from the women's 200-meter individual medley, but made up for that disappointment in the 100-meter backstroke.
Then-Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang holds a copy of China's constitution during a news conference at the National People's Congress in Beijing in March.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 26, 2023

China ousts foreign minister as world grasps for clues as to why

There are still several questions over Qin Gang's fate and whether he will continue to serve in the government as a state councilor.
Cincinnati Opera’s new production of “Madame Butterfly,” directed by Matthew Ozawa, frames the action as a virtual-reality fantasy of Japan.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 27, 2023

Reimagining ‘Madame Butterfly,’ with Asian creators at the helm

As opera houses rework Puccini’s classic, criticized for stereotypes about women and Japanese culture, artists of Asian descent are playing a central role.
A pharmacist displays boxes of Ozempic, a semaglutide injection drug used for treating type 2 diabetes and obesity made by Novo Nordisk.
WORLD
Jul 27, 2023

U.K. probes weight-loss drug over suicidal, self-harming thoughts

Novo Nordisk said it had been notified by the government's review of potential suicidal and self-harming thoughts related to a specific class of drugs.
BASEBALL / MLB / Sac Bunts
Jul 27, 2023

Angels would be taking major gamble by keeping Shohei Ohtani

The Angels have reportedly decided to not trade Shohei Ohtani, setting up the possibility of losing him for nothing in the offseason.
Cameron Lew, the 27-year-old behind the California-based music project Ginger Root, crafted a detailed city-pop-inspired universe with a 1980s idol storyline for last year’s “Nisemono” album.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 28, 2023

Ginger Root's modern spin on Showa nostalgia

The California-based project is set to bring its distinct interpretation of city pop to Fuji Rock Festival this weekend.
People gather in the center of the capital city of Thimphu, Bhutan, in December 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 28, 2023

Bhutan's employment woes drive exodus to Australia

Student migration to Australia from Bhutan has soared, with over 12,000 long-term arrivals moving there in the 11 months to May alone.
Donald Trump tours construction of the southern border wall near Alamo, Texas, in January 2021.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 28, 2023

U.S. says Trump ordered video deleted as second employee charged

A maintenance worker at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort was charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, with accusations of helping to hide documents.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2023

Osaka Expo asks for overtime cap exemption as time pressure mounts

The move comes as the expo faces mounting concerns that construction, especially of pavilions for foreign nations, will not be completed on time for the scheduled opening in April 2025.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 28, 2023

Kishida seeks reset as My Number woes hit approval ratings

The prime minister has embarked on a nationwide tour to listen to the concerns of local communities in an effort to expand his political reach and prop up his popular support.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami