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A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2024

America wasn’t made for walking, and it’s killing them

A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
Japan Times contributor Laura Pollacco (front right) was offered the role of one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet, in the Tokyo International Players’ production of “Pride and Prejudice.”
CULTURE / Stage
May 18, 2024

Local theater in Japan is more than a hobby — it’s a community

For contributor Laura Pollacco, companies such as Tokyo International Players and Sheepdog Theatre offer a home away from home.
A demonstration condemning the killing of three Chinese teachers from the University of Karachi's Confucius Institute in April 2022. Terrorist groups in Pakistan are targeting Chinese nationals and threatening Beijing's Belt and Road initiative projects in the country.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2024

Should we stay or should we go? China's dilemma in Pakistan

Beijing is pouring billions into Pakistan to complete a key Belt and Road initiative artery. But this is threatened by terrorist groups targeting Chinese nationals and interests.
David DePape (left) assaults Paul Pelosi, husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at their San Francisco home on Oct. 28, 2022 in still screen shot from a police bodycam. DePape, convicted in 2023 of breaking into the couple's San Francisco home and bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer, was jailed Friday for 30 years.
WORLD / Politics
May 18, 2024

Nancy Pelosi's husband's attacker jailed for 30 years

Jurors in his trial heard how David DePape — a Canadian former nudist activist who supported himself with occasional carpentry work — had initially planned to target Nancy Pelosi.
Ships are seen near a temporary floating pier built to receive humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip in Gaza Beach in this image release on Saturday.
WORLD
May 18, 2024

Fierce fighting in northern Gaza as aid starts to roll off U.S.-built pier

As the fighting raged, the U.S. military said trucks started moving aid ashore from a temporary pier, the first to reach the besieged enclave by sea in weeks.
Nippon Steel, Japan’s top steelmaker, is sending Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President Takahiro Mori to Pittsburgh next week where he’ll meet with local staff and elected officials.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 18, 2024

Nippon Steel boosts efforts to woo U.S. Steel workers and politicians

Japan’s top steelmaker is sending Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President Takahiro Mori to Pittsburgh, where he’ll meet with local staff and elected officials.
Supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump, including Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (center), Republican Florida Rep. Cory Mills (center right) and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (second from right), listen as Trump speaks after court proceedings ended for the day in his trial at Manhattan criminal court, on Tuesday in New York.
WORLD / Politics
May 18, 2024

Rule No. 1 to be Trump’s running mate: Defend him, but don’t steal the show

Donald Trump’s search is still in its early stages, but he is said to be leaning toward more experienced options who can help the ticket without seizing his precious spotlight.
The Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, glow on the horizon as seen from Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, on May 10.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
May 18, 2024

'Danger behind the beauty': More solar storms could be heading our way

For those charged with protecting Earth from powerful solar storms such as the one that caused the recent auroras, a threat lurks beneath the stunning colors.
People shop at a local traditional market in the early morning in Kinmen, Taiwan, on Saturday.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2024

For Taiwan shoppers, China's malls only a ferry ride away

More than 700,000 people made the journey between Kinmen and China by ferry last year, the vast majority of them Taiwanese.
Ukrainian servicemen of the 148th Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, fire a M777 howitzer toward Russian troops near a front line, in Ukraine's Donetsk region on May 1.
WORLD / FOCUS
May 19, 2024

Ukraine struggles to hold eastern front as Russians advance on cities

The drive has marked an inflection point in the conflict spawned by Russia's full-scale invasion more than two years ago.
Seize The Grey wins the Preakness Stakes as jockey Jamie Torres celebrates at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
May 19, 2024

Seize the Grey wins Preakness Stakes to deny Triple Crown hopeful Mystik Dan

Mystik Dan failed in its bid to become the 14th horse to complete U.S. flat racing's coveted Triple Crown.
Israeli war Cabinet member Benny Gantz arrives to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department in Washington in March.
WORLD / Politics
May 19, 2024

Israel's Benny Gantz says he’ll quit unless Netanyahu moves to new war plan

Gantz’s departure would greatly increase already mounting pressure on Netanyahu seven months after a Hamas attack devastated Israel.
Hikaru Sasaki was rearrested in Tokyo on Sunday on suspicion of murder over the case of the burned bodies of a couple found in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, last month.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 19, 2024

Second suspect hit with murder charge over bodies found in Tochigi

Police served the fresh arrest warrant to Hikaru Sasaki, one of six people held over the case of a Tokyo businessman and his wife whose bodies were burned.
South Korea, with the world’s lowest total fertility rate, is is pondering a radical solution to fix the probelm — offering a baby bonus that is about twice the nation’s annual per-capita income.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2024

Could a $70,000 baby bonus solve South Korea's fertility crisis?

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to say how much impact the South Korean baby subsidies would have, as there is no precedent.
Donald Trump's courtroom drama reflects a broader battle over power in America, from legal allegations to political allegiances.
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2024

King Trump's trial and the fight for America’s future

If Donald Trump’s allies are signaling loyalty by attending his trial, it seems reasonable to question what exactly they are demonstrating loyalty to.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk and Indonesia's health minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, inaugurate the launch of the Starlink internet service in Bali's capital of Denpasar on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 19, 2024

Tycoon Musk launches Starlink in Indonesia

Millions of people in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, are not currently hooked up to reliable internet services.
A couple looks out onto the Fukuoka nightscape. Due to its distance from Tokyo and its close proximity to South Korea and China, professor Tomoya Mori believes that Fukuoka is one of the few metropolitan regions of Japan that will see some form of growth in the decades to come.
JAPAN / Society / Perspectives
May 20, 2024

Why half of Japan's cities are at risk of disappearing in 100 years

Professor Tomoya Mori believes depopulation will alter the urban landscape of Japan in an unexpected way.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
WORLD / Politics
May 20, 2024

Israel’s war Cabinet in turmoil, but Netanyahu seen as secure

Two of the three members of Israel's war Cabinet have now spoken out against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policies.
New Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (right) waves alongside outgoing leader Tsai Ing-wen during the presidential inauguration ceremony at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 20, 2024

‘Cease the intimidation,’ Taiwan’s new president tells China in inaugural speech

New leader Lai Ching-te used his inauguration speech to deliver a clear message to Beijing: Taiwan will not be subordinate to China.
Mrauk U, in Myanmar's Rakhine state, in June 2019. Clashes have rocked Rakhine since the Arakan Army attacked security forces in November.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 20, 2024

U.N. warns of further 'atrocities' in Myanmar

Clashes have rocked Rakhine state since the Arakan Army attacked security forces in November.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp gives a speech after his final match in charge at Anfield in Liverpool, England, on Sunday, the final day of the Premier League season.
SOCCER
May 20, 2024

Jurgen Klopp encourages Liverpool fans to keep believing during emotional farewell

The beloved German encouraged the Anfield faithful to celebrate the moment, but embrace the future.
People who have experienced becoming lay judges take part in a meeting to exchange views at the Tokyo District Court on March 6. Japan's lay judge system marks its 15th year on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 20, 2024

Number of lay judges falls as Japan marks system's 15th year

While there were more than 10,000 lay judges in the system's first few years, their numbers have fallen to around 6,000 in recent years.
A scene following an Israeli strike on Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 22. Israel has carpet-bombed Gaza, obliterating neighborhoods and targeting hospitals, mosques, schools and camps for displaced people, according to a U.N. report.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 20, 2024

Impunity in Gaza is a threat to the international order

Israel's disregard for human rights and international law in Gaza, and the lack of consequences for such actions, are eroding the liberal international order that Japan relies on.
Iranians gather to mourn the death of Ebrahim Raisi and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Tehran on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2024

Iran president’s death and Saudi king’s health spur succession bets

Focusing on transition in Iran and Saudi Arabia adds another layer of uncertainty, and potential instability, to months of regional turmoil triggered by the Israel-Hamas war.
Volunteers move furniture out of a house damaged by the Noto Peninsula earthquake in Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, in April.
JAPAN
May 21, 2024

Ishikawa Prefecture unveils Noto quake reconstruction plan

Covering the nine years through fiscal 2032, Ishikawa Prefecture's plan features efforts to create disaster-resistant communities.
India, Asia’s third largest economy, will need to generate 16.5 million jobs each year, up from 12.4 million annually in the last decade.
BUSINESS
May 21, 2024

India needs to create 115 million jobs by 2030, research shows

About 10.4 million jobs will need to be from the formal sector
Despite the proximity of Pingtan island to Taiwan, many there were unaware of Lai's inauguration on Monday — or even sure who the man Beijing has described as a "dangerous separatist" was.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 21, 2024

Taiwan inauguration barely makes ripples across strait in China

Many were unaware about the events taking place in Taipei, and some didn't even know who Lai Ching-te, the island's new president, was.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during an interview with Reuters in Kyiv on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2024

Ukraine's Zelenskyy wants allies to step up aid and war involvement

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation on the battlefield was "one of the most difficult" he had known since the start of Russia's invasion.
A worker installs a mesh barrier to block the view of Mount Fuji emerging from behind a convenience store in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Tuesday. The measure follows complaints of bad behaviors by tourists seeking the perfect photo at the location.
JAPAN / Society
May 21, 2024

Weary of overtourism, Japan town blocks one popular view of Mount Fuji

The large mesh barrier was put up at the popular photo-taking spot in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, in response to misbehaving tourists.
Palestinians gather in the hope of obtaining aid delivered into Gaza through a U.S.-built pier, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from central Gaza Strip on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2024

Gaza aid piles up in Egypt while U.S. pier delivery falters

A senior U.N. aid official said there were insufficient supplies and fuel to provide any meaningful level of support to the people of Gaza caught between the Israel-Hamas war.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?