Search - people

 
 
Berlin's growing military engagement with Indo-Pacific allies and partners is meant to signal that Germany "stands firmly at the side of those countries that are committed to complying with international law and do not accept it being called into  question," German Navy chief Vice Adm. Kaack told The Japan Times.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024

Sea lane fears drive German military's Asian engagement, navy chief says

Developments in the Indo-Pacific, both economic and geopolitical, have direct implications for the security and prosperity of Germany, Vice Adm. Jan Christian Kaack says.
By enabling a few wealthy individuals to wield disproportionate influence, today’s global economy increasingly marginalizes and disenfranchises much of the world’s population.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2024

To preserve democracy, tax the rich

What the world needs are progressive tax systems that redistribute income from the rich to the poor without weakening socially beneficial incentives.
Tourists enjoy the beach in Malaga, Spain, on Aug. 14.
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2024

Package deals make comeback in Europe among budget-conscious sun seekers

The combination of a cost-of-living crisis and disruption from strikes and glitches has added to the appeal of a fixed-price package without unexpected add-on costs.
Climbers converge in front of Mount Fuji's 5th Station, which leads to the popular Yoshida trail, in Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 11.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2024

Mount Fuji’s new measures bear fruit in tackling dangerous 'bullet climbing'

Restrictions implemented on the popular Yoshida trail have significantly reduced the number of "bullet climbers" and reduced bad behavior associated with the practice.
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui offers flowers for the victims of the massive landslides on the 10th anniversary of the disaster during a ceremony in Hiroshima on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024

Victims of Hiroshima landslides remembered 10 years on

The landslides, which occurred in the early hours of Aug. 20, 2014, claimed the lives of 77 people and completely or partially destroyed 396 houses.
Xander Schauffele hits from the sand on the 18th fairway during the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship golf tournament at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Aug 21, 2024

Xander Schauffele: No. 1 ranking is motivator, not inflated purses

Schauffele said that there's a different motivating factor on his mind at this stage of his career — turning that No. 2 into a No. 1.
A recruiter holding a placard advertising jobs talks to young men at an unofficial job market in the suburbs of Beijing.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Aug 21, 2024

China's rising youth unemployment breeds new working class

Millions of graduates are being pushed into a tough bargain, with some forced to accept low-paying work or even subsist on their parents' pensions.
Ahmad Bin Quasem, an opposition activist and lawyer who was recently released after the expulsion of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, speaks during an interview in Dhaka earlier this month.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 21, 2024

Disappeared Bangladeshi lawyer recounts Hasina's secret jail

Throughout his long incarceration, Quasem was shackled around the clock in windowless solitary confinement.
In a news conference Wednesday, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's former chief, Yukio Edano, expressed his resolve to build a party that can challenge the dominance of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in national politics.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 21, 2024

CDP's Edano takes another shot at party leadership after 2021 polls failure

After a poor showing three years ago, Edano is seeking to return to lead Japan's largest opposition party ahead of upcoming polls.
The Italian Navy's aircraft carrier ITS Cavour at the Yokosuka naval base on Thursday. The 244-meter, 27,100-ton Italian flagship arrived at the base in Kanagawa Prefecture Thursday morning for a port call.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 22, 2024

Italy-Japan ties enter ‘new era’ amid deepening alignment, top envoy to Tokyo says

Underscoring this rapidly expanding partnership was the 244-meter, 27,100-ton flagship's visit to the Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture.
European Union member flags are hoisted in front of the European Parliament building in Luxembourg. The country hosts key EU institutions and has recently concluded a working holiday visa program with Japan.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 22, 2024

Luxembourg opens door for Japanese working holiday visitors

The working holiday program is available to Japanese nationals between the ages of 18 and 30.
An influencer uses a phone at the United Center, ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), in Chicago on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 22, 2024

At DNC, influencers battle journalists for space and access

The Democratic National Convention has credentialed more than 200 "content creators" to cover the four-day event.
A ship transports passengers to Honiara Port in the Solomon Islands. The region’s maritime location between Asia, North America and Australia is set to keep it at the forefront of major powers’ defense strategies.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 22, 2024

New ‘great game’ in Pacific between U.S. and China puts development at risk

Great power attention in the Pacific could cause local needs like poverty reduction, education, health and other key areas to be neglected in favor of strategic projects.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent candidate for president, at Nassau County State Supreme Court in Mineola, New York, on Wednesday
WORLD / Politics
Aug 22, 2024

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to end his presidential campaign

Kennedy’s departure from the race would be the end of one of the more bizarre and surprisingly durable third-party presidential bids in modern American history.
The introduction of a two-tier pricing system which charges foreign tourists more than local residents is being considered at Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024

More Japan tourist hot spots consider two-tier pricing system

However, experts have warned that the system may lead to discrimination if it is not carefully thought out.
Shoppers outside a Sephora store in Vancouver on Aug. 15
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 22, 2024

LVMH’s Sephora cuts around 10% of staff in China as its woes deepen

While Sephora has expanded to some 300 stores since entering China in 2005, the country is increasingly difficult for higher-end retailers to navigate.
In an image provided by federal agencies, a colorized electron microscope image shows avian influenza grown in cultured cells. The virus is poised to become a permanent presence in cattle, raising the odds of an eventual outbreak among people.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 22, 2024

How U.S. farms could start a bird flu pandemic

The longer the virus circulates in cattle, the more chances it has to acquire the mutations necessary to set off an influenza pandemic.
A supermarket worker puts up a sign asking purchasers to buy only one bag per person, in Tokyo on July 25.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024

Why it's hard to find rice at Japan's supermarkets right now

In recent weeks, store shelves have often been barren, with many shops displaying signs asking purchasers to stick to one bag per person.
British hard rock outfit Bring Me the Horizon delivered a dramatic set that featured a surprise appearance from local metal-meets-idol group Babymetal.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 23, 2024

Summer Sonic: The heat doesn’t matter when the lineup works

Where would you see a bill with Maneskin, Gen Hoshino, Christina Aguilera and Bring Me the Horizon in the prime slots? At a sold-out music festival, that’s where.
Currently, the frequency of medical visits is checked using receipts of medical fees issued by medical institutions and pharmacies to health insurance program operators.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024

Ministry to identify and support those who make frequent medical visits

The health ministry plans to carry out a model project for swiftly identifying welfare recipients who frequently visit the same medical institutions.
Hisako Tokuda left her office job to follow a passion for working with “bekko” (tortoiseshell) and says that even though it has been hard, she doesn’t regret it. 
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 23, 2024

Hisako Tokuda: ‘I believe making things is what makes us human’

After taking an interest in tortoiseshell works, Hisako Tokuda left her office job and pursued her passion as an artisan.
Relatives, friends and fellow soldiers mourn at the funeral of six Ukrainian servicemen who were killed since Ukraine launched its offensive at the Russian border region of Kursk, in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, on Aug. 15.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 23, 2024

A divide opens in Ukraine over giving up land for peace

Across the precarious front lines, some say they are ready to live under the Russian flag, but analysts warn that would not necessarily halt the war.
Eiffel Tower Stadium, which was used for beach volleyball during the Olympics, will host blind football during the 2024 Paralympics.
PARALYMPICS
Aug 23, 2024

Paralympians prepare to take center stage in Paris

Eighteen of the 35 Olympic venues will be used for the Paralympics.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te pays respects at a ceremony commemorating the war against Chinese forces on the front-line island in Kinmen, Taiwan, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 23, 2024

On front-line island, Taiwan president rejects China's rule for freedom

On his first trip to Kinmen since assuming office in May, Lai Ching-te laid a wreath at a memorial park for the 66th anniversary of a clash with Chinese forces.
The opposite of diversity isn’t meritocracy, but homogeneity. And in organizations where everyone looks the same, standards tend to be lower.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2024

‘DEI hires’ don’t lower the bar. They raise it.

Race and gender are not superficial characteristics that can or should be stripped away in order to prove someone’s merit.
Inside the mouth of a mouse whose teeth were missing due to congenital anodontia (left) and the inside of the mouth after teeth were grown after taking medicine.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 23, 2024

Clinical trial set to begin in Japan for medicine to help grow teeth

The researchers will conduct trials for teething medicine, aimed at treating people with congenital anodontia who are born with few teeth.
Attendees wave the U.S. flag after Vice President Kamala Harris spoke on the last day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 23, 2024

Democrats taste victory in November. But are they too confident?

In a series of speeches during the party's convention, several people issued stern warnings for anyone believing the happy talk that November's election will be easy.
U.S. Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her husband, second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, wave from the stage on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 24, 2024

Harris faces challenge of translating convention joy to fall momentum

Trump is no pushover, and history is littered with presidential candidates who roused their partisans at conventions only to fall short come November.
Emergency responders assist a man who collapsed during lengthy heat wave in Phoenix in July last year.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 24, 2024

Heat kills thousands in the U.S. every year. Why are the deaths so hard to track?

As heat waves become more frequent and intense, researchers and activists say the lack of effective tracking is leading to needless deaths.
Forensic police inspect the scene of stabbings in Solingen, Germany, on Saturday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 24, 2024

Three dead in knife attack on German festival

Police closed off the center of Solingen, while victims and witnesses were being questioned about the attack on Friday night.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan