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Activists dressed as debt collectors call for finance action during a demonstration outside the IMF-World Bank headquarters in Washington in October 2021.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2023

The World Bank reflects our ambition

In an environment of intertwined challenges, such as an existential climate crisis, pandemic recovery and a crippling European war, the World Bank has never been more relevant.
A major bonus of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme is the time it offers you to be able to plan for long-term goals. Writer Erik M. Jacobs was able to map out what he needed to pursue a career in U.S.-Japan relations, for example.
COMMUNITY / Issues / Learning Curve
Aug 8, 2023

Every situation is different on JET, but they're all similarly rewarding

As a new wave of JET Program participants arrives in the country, a program alumni shares tips on getting the most out of the experience.
Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on Friday. The Japanese yen is on a bumpy path toward strengthening after Friday's central bank policy change, threatening to upend the carry trade, one of this year's most popular strategies, as the currency inevitably becomes more expensive.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jul 29, 2023

Bank of Japan's opaque policy shift means stronger and wilder yen

The Japanese yen is on a bumpy path toward strengthening after Friday's central bank policy change, threatening to upend the carry trade.
Pan Gongsheng
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 29, 2023

China’s central bank chief is taskmaster Xi couldn’t let retire

Pan Gongsheng is expected to turn around growth slowdown for the world's second largest economy and safeguard the $60 trillion domestic financial system.
Yevgeny Prigozhin
WORLD
Jul 29, 2023

Wagner chief’s exile is anything but as he visits St. Petersburg

As Vladimir Putin was welcoming African heads of state to a summit in St. Petersburg, renegade warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin stole the limelight in the president’s home city.
A woman walks on the bottom of a dried pond on a hot day in Mauharia, India, in May 2022.
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 29, 2023

Warming world 'brutalizes' women as heat waves deepen gender divide

The impacts of rising heat are disproportionately dangerous and costly to women — be it at home or on the job — according to a new report.
A woman in Vatican City on July 19 during a heat wave. Projecting temperatures is inherently imprecise because modern humans have never experienced such extremes.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 29, 2023

An overheating planet requires extreme climate solutions

Projections say warming will only get worse, but humans exert control over planet-warming pollution and can change these models’ trajectories.
Paris' Japan Expo, a gathering for fans of Japanese pop culture, says it attracts 250,000 attendees per day.
CULTURE
Jul 30, 2023

In France, Japonisme has turned into Japanmania

Through architecture, fashion, culinary arts and even sports, aspects of Japanese culture are attracting a large portion of France’s population.
An American F-15 jet takes off from Anderson Air Force Base in Guam earlier this year. The U.S. is hunting for malicious computer code it believes China has hidden deep inside the networks controlling power grids, communications systems and water supplies that feed military bases in the United States and around the world.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 30, 2023

U.S. hunts Chinese malware amid military disruption fears

The U.S. believes the malware could give China the power to disrupt or slow military deployments or resupply operations.
Cranes in the port of Odesa, which has been regularly targeted since Russia terminated a deal allowing grain exports from Ukraine through the Black Sea, on Thursday
WORLD
Jul 30, 2023

Russia hits another grain terminal in campaign against Ukraine ports

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has vowed to enhance air defenses around the port and the coast, but Kyiv’s resources are stretched thin.
A firefighter walks among papers and broken glass Sunday outside a damaged office block of the Moscow International Business Center following a reported drone attack.
WORLD
Jul 30, 2023

Three Ukrainian drones downed over Moscow, Russia says

While one of the drones was shot down, two others were "suppressed by electronic warfare" and smashed into an office complex. No one was injured.
Thai firefighters put out embers around destroyed homes after an explosion ripped through a firework warehouse, killing nine people and injuring more than 100 in the Sungai Kolok district.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 30, 2023

At least nine killed in blast at Thai fireworks warehouse

The blast in the town of Sungai Kolok near Malaysia is thought to have been caused by welding during construction work on the building.
The Hamaoka nuclear power station in the city of Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, is one of the areas that could be at risk if there is a major earthquake in the Nankai Trough.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2023

Time for a Nankai Trough earthquake warning system

Edited A total of 707 municipal governments in 29 prefectures are considered at risk of major quakes in this region. The at-risk population is nearly 60 million.
A memorial for Brodee Champlain Kingman on the corner of El Camino Real and Santa Fe Drive in Encinitas, California, on Thursday. The e-bike industry is booming, but many vehicles are not legal for teenagers, and accidents are on the rise.
WORLD / Society
Jul 30, 2023

‘A dangerous combination’: Teens’ accidents expose e-bike risks

The e-bike industry is booming, but a spate of fatal accidents has raised questions about how safe e-bikes are, especially for teenagers.
Military personnel patrol a street outside a branch of Ukraine's Sense Bank in central Kyiv in June.
WORLD
Jul 30, 2023

Banks are untold story of Ukraine’s survival, even state banks

Oschadbank CEO says Ukrainian state should keep control of some banks after the war because they’ll be helpful if Russia attacks again
Officials closed the gates of the Forbidden City due to heavy rain in Beijing on Sunday.
WORLD
Jul 30, 2023

China upgrades flood alert for Beijing, other northern areas

China’s central government warned areas around Beijing and the north to be prepared to deal with floods brought on by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri.
As artificial intelligence grows more sophisticated, transparency has taken a back seat and could harm its quality and safety.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2023

Secretive chatbot developers are making a big mistake

Before we can ponder existential threats of the new technology, Silicon Valley must be forced to disclose more about how their tools are created.
An injured person is transported after a blast in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, at the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Sunday.
WORLD
Jul 31, 2023

Suicide bomb at political rally in Pakistan kills more than 40

Pakistan has seen a resurgence of attacks by militants since last year when a ceasefire between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Islamabad broke down.
Demonstrators gather in the capita Niamey, Niger, on Sunday. Signs read "long live CNSP," "down with France, ECOWAS."
WORLD
Jul 31, 2023

West Africa threatens force against Niger coup leaders

The response came as crowds in Niger's capital Niamey burned French flags and stoned the former colonial power's mission, drawing tear gas from police.
The batsman’s place can be a lonely one — in the center of the field, surrounded by the opposition — but you can always look back to your pavilion for support.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / Longform
Jul 31, 2023

Sweat, stumps and solidarity on the cricket pitch

It's a hot day and the Yokohama Alpha Quashers are about to take on the Chiba Sharks, fighting for a chance to move higher in the Japan Cricket League.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2023

Tokyo trials ferries to ease congestion on roads and rail

After conducting two pilot programs in recent years, the city's government aims to launch commuter ferry operations in the current fiscal year.
Chef and restaurant owner Rikuo Morimoto, who runs the restaurant Andante in Tokyo, on May 1. A 2019 government report estimated that about 1.27 million small business owners would be 70 or older by 2025 and have no successors.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 6, 2023

'Era of mass closures': The Japanese firms with no successors

A 2019 government report estimated that about 1.27 million small business owners would be 70 or older by 2025 and have no successors.
A man poses for pictures at a booth showing off a book by Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the China International Import Expo at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai in November 2018.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 31, 2023

Survey finds historically high negative views of China

In the survey, only about 28% of respondents had a favorable opinion of China despite Beijing’s diplomatic initiatives over the past year.
A Toyo Safety Industrial helmet with a built-in fan is showcased at Extreme Heat Countermeasures Exhibition in Tokyo in July.
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2023

Fan-cooled beds and baby carriers among new gadgets to beat heat

At Tokyo’s annual trade show last week the focus was on how to keep workers in high-temperature environments cool and reduce the risk of heatstroke.
Pedestrians outside a Seibu department store in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district in April
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 31, 2023

Seven & I struggles to sell slumping Sogo & Seibu department stores

The holdup is centered around the flagship Seibu department store in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district, with the local government expressing rare opposition.
Director Dean Johnson wanted to strip back the staging of “Once – In Concert” in a way that honored the film. The production had a limited run at the London Palladium earlier this year and Johnson notes the Tokyu Orb Theater has a similar set up.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 31, 2023

'Once' speaks the universal languages of music and love

Award-winning Irish theatrical production brings its dry wit and catchy songs to Tokyo for a midsummer musical experience.
Residents walk through misters during a heat wave in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 20.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 1, 2023

How urban heat islands add to the misery of heat waves

While grass or soil absorb less heat, asphalt and concrete can absorb as much as 95% of the sun's energy then send it back into the atmosphere.
Then-Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a news conference in Beijing on May 23.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 1, 2023

China's ex-foreign minister is gone but wait for explanation goes on

A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Thursday said Beijing will release information in a timely matter regarding Qin Gang and opposes "malicious hype."
An inside page of The Japan Times from 1973 carried a story about the discovery of some old Japanese chess pieces.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Aug 1, 2023

Japan Times 1973: 8 'oldest' shogi pieces found in castle's ruins

An ancient discovery and moments that mark the atomic bombings fill past August pages of Japan Times.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2023

Thousands urged to evacuate in southern Japan ahead of typhoon

Typhoon Khanun was packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 180 kilometers per hour as it crossed the Pacific Ocean toward Okinawa Prefecture.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years