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Amid rising global defense spending, U.S. President Donald Trump's push for 5% of GDP on military budgets poses a challenge for American allies, including Japan, which is already struggling to meet its 2% target.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 25, 2025

U.S. defense spending demands could transform global security

The level of spending the U.S. is demanding could spark an arms race as adversaries try to match NATO and America's Asian allies.
Ichiro Fujisaki
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2025

Ex-Japan envoy concerned over Trump's foreign aid cuts

Former Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki has shown concern that China may expand its influence over developing countries.
Hidehiro Asada, the director of Woodcore, shows the firm's laminated wood at its plant in the town of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, in December.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 26, 2025

Osaka Expo centerpiece a ‘symbol of Fukushima's reconstruction’

Materials for the expo's Grand Ring are being supplied by a wood-processing company in the prefecture, which bore the brunt of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
An Apple store in Walnut Creek, California, on Monday. Apple Inc. Apple investors rejected a proposal to end the iPhone maker’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, but CEO Tim Cook some some adjustments may occur.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 26, 2025

Apple to keep DEI efforts, though some adjustments possible

The proposal to abolish DEI efforts came after competitors like Meta and Google have started winding down such programs.
Nissin Foods expects continued demand for cheap precooked noodles even as the industry works to shed its image of being an unhealthy staple, the firm's president said on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2025

Noodle-maker Nissin plans big investments, eyeing pickup in demand

Nissin Foods expects continued demand for cheap precooked noodles even as the industry works to shed its image of being an unhealthy staple.
Shohei Ohtani swings during batting practice in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 12
BASEBALL
Feb 27, 2025

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani set to make spring debut against Angels

Ohtani was injured stealing second base during the Dodgers' victory in Game 2 of the World Series.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida concludes a news conference at the company's headquarters in Yokohama in February.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2025

Nissan management shake-up plans reported as sharks circle  

Nissan is considering a change in leadership following poor results and the failure of a proposed merger with Honda, according to a report citing unnamed sources.
Kwek Leng Beng, chairman of City Developments Ltd., attends a news conference in Singapore in 2019.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2025

Father-son feud plunges Singapore’s richest clan into crisis

At stake in the feud is control of a major slice of an $18 billion family empire spanning property development to hospitality and finance.
Journalist and filmmaker Shiori Ito made the documentary “Black Box Diaries” about her years-long battle to find justice following her sexual assault.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 27, 2025

Oscar-nominated documentaries put Japan under the microscope

Shiori Ito’s “Black Box Diaries” and Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s “Instruments of a Beating Heart” both mark firsts in their respective categories.
McLaren's Lando Norris drives during the first day of Formula One preseason testing in Sakhir, Bahrain, on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 27, 2025

McLaren's Lando Norris sets tone on first day of F1 testing

The session was extended by an hour after a power outage caused by a substation failure.
Global sales, including that of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors, rose 2% from a year ago to 846,744 units, a record for the month of January, Toyota Motor said Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2025

Toyota’s domestic sales rebound as it recovers from scandals

Despite unease in major markets and a dip in quarterly profit, Toyota raised its annual profit guidance for the fiscal year ending in March.
Taishi Fuwa (left), the general manager at World Woman Pro-wrestling Diana, and his lawyer Kazuhito Ozawa at a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 27, 2025

Settlement reached in female pro-wrestler sexual harassment case

The lawsuit was filed "to raise awareness and prevent similar incidents from happening," said the general manager of the pro-wrestling agency involved.
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar, are stuck in limbo at a compound in Myawaddy, Myanmar, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal / EXPLAINER
Feb 28, 2025

Southeast Asia's latest scam center crackdown

Here's a look at why the crackdown is happening now and the broader implications for relations between China, Thailand and Myanmar.
The luxury Seven Stars in Kyushu train trades the hyper-efficiency of typical rail travel in Japan for a slower, more decadent version.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 1, 2025

Aboard Japan’s most luxurious train, the journey is the destination

For those with yen to burn, the Seven Stars in Kyushu is one of the most luxurious ways to experience some of southern Japan’s best hidden gems.
While Japan's luxury goods market remains strong, its seconhand resale market is proving just as much a draw for tourists searching for great bargains — as long as they can manage to get their hands on the real deal.
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 1, 2025

Not even Japan is safe from counterfeit luxury goods

Despite a reliable reputation, Japan’s secondhand luxury market is still vulnerable to fakes and counterfeits.
On March 21, 1925, a front page headline announced that the Tokyo Radio Broadcasting Bureau, the precursor to NHK, had begun operations with a communications range of 50 kilometers.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Mar 1, 2025

Japan Times 1925: Government sanctions official broadcasting station, the precursor to NHK

Japan’s first official broadcasting station began operating 100 years ago, setting a new precedent for the speed of communication and news.
Taiwanese comic artist Rishiazao and interpreter Yun-wen Huang greet an attendee at the 2025 Angouleme International Comics Festival in France.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 1, 2025

Taiwan comics on the rise: Local storytellers, global aspirations

A supportive ecosystem and eager audiences — both domestic and global — are boosting the soft power of illustrated narratives from Taiwan.
Australia’s new International Gender Equality Strategy aims to improve the situation of women and girls, but its success may depend on addressing male resentment by providing men with a sense of purpose and social achievement.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2025

What’s missing from Australia's gender equality strategy?

It’s necessary to recognize that the male backlash to female empowerment is a locally and globally destabilizing force.
AIREC, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven humanoid robot, demonstrates a maneuver for changing diapers or preventing bedsores in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 1, 2025

AI robots may hold key to nursing Japan's aging population

Japan is the world's most advanced aging society with a falling birth rate, dwindling working-age population and restrictive immigration policies.
The roll-out of accent translation is part of a bigger push by Teleperformance to invest up to €100 million ($104 million) in AI partnerships this year.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 1, 2025

Teleperformance uses AI to ‘neutralize’ Indian accents among staff

The roll-out of accent translation is part of a bigger push by Teleperformance to invest up to €100 million ($104 million) in AI partnerships this year.
Chinese President Xi Jinping
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025

Xi prepares to unveil China stimulus plan as trade war heats up

AI breakthroughs and Xi’s recent embrace of private entrepreneurs have driven a rally ahead of the National People’s Congress.
Pedestrians commute through Shibuya Station in central Tokyo, an area that is almost never devoid of people.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Mar 3, 2025

As the rest of Japan shrinks, Tokyo grows

Women and young people are leading a migratory wave that the government is struggling to halt.
Maersk shipping containers are stored aboard the ‘Albert Maersk’ in Navi Mumbai, India, on Feb. 28.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025

U.S. tariffs and easing of Middle East tensions threaten reversal of shipping boom

Global liner rates fell 5.9% sequentially in the week ended Feb. 27, after earlier breaking below $3,000 per 12-meter container for the first time since early May
The entrance to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, in the city of Hiroshima, on Feb. 22
JAPAN / Society
Mar 3, 2025

Annual visitors to Hiroshima museum top 2 million for the first time

The total number of visitors since the museum's opening is expected to surpass 80 million by the end of this month.
Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates after winning the Dubai Championships on Saturday.
TENNIS
Mar 3, 2025

Stefanos Tsitsipas finds comfort zone after winning with 'mystery' racket

The 26-year-old's first tour title since Monte Carlo last April ended his long drought in ATP 500 tournaments and vaulted him back into the top 10 of the world rankings.
Kumamon, the official mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture, poses in front of a sign of Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., at TSMC's then new factory in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, in February 2024.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 3, 2025

In chip renaissance, Japan is learning from past mistakes

In the 1980s, Japan dominated semiconductor production. Fast-forward to today and the country is trying to recapture its past glory, this time with a more outward-looking strategy.
U.S. President Donald Trump, and C.C. Wei, chief executive officer of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., announce investments in the United States, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 4, 2025

TSMC announces $100 billion investment in new U.S. chip plants

The announcement comes amid concerns Taiwan could lose its "silicon shield" against a Chinese invasion if its companies build too many factories overseas.
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in action during his Qatar Open round of 16 match against Italy's Luca Nardi in Doha, Qatar, on Feb. 19
TENNIS
Mar 4, 2025

Alcaraz guns for Indian Wells three-peat as Sinner serves ban

Poland's Iga Swiatek, meanwhile, will look to become the only woman to win the tournament three times.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets with Russia's President Vladimir Putin after the Group of 20 Summit in Osaka in June 2019. Putin managed to pocket every concession made by Abe over the years and demanded more.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 4, 2025

Abe’s Russia outreach flopped — Trump should take note

Supporters of Trump’s policy argue that China is the bigger threat and the U.S. should steer Moscow away from Beijing.
TikTok has complained to Australia’s government for excluding YouTube from a nationwide move to curb social media.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 5, 2025

TikTok blasts Australia for YouTube carve-out in social media ban

The Chinese-owned short-form video platform described the move as a "sweetheart deal” that’s "illogical, anti-competitive and short sighted.”

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji