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Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Jan 20, 2023

Kishida sells his international agenda to the world

Prime Minister Fumio Kisihida traveled to meet with global leaders, but his primary concern should be to convince Japan he is on the right track.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 19, 2023

Japan's myopic coverage of the Kishida-Biden summit

The foreign press provide more comprehensive reporting on the Kishida-Biden summit compared to Japan's own media outlets with their focus on domestic politics.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 18, 2023

How Japan and Canada can bridge their different priorities

Japan and Canada's differing geopolitical environments mean they have very different Indo-Pacific priorities despite their shared vision.
Dennis Kwok, then a pro-democracy lawmaker, answers questions from the media outside the High Court in Hong Kong on Oct. 31, 2019.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2023

Hong Kong police target more family members of wanted democracy activists

The pair, former lawmaker Dennis Kwok and unionist Mung Siu-tat, are among eight exiled activists sought by authorities for alleged violations of the National Security Law.
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.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2023

Japan top court sends back reemployment pay case

In the lawsuit, the male plaintiffs have demanded that their employer pay the difference between what they were paid before and after the retirement age.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 21, 2023

Crime ring suspect served fresh warrant over Chiba robbery

The case is part of a spate of robberies across Japan allegedly committed by a group whose ringleaders are believed to have recruited people through social media posts.
The community pool is a great place for exercise and meeting your neighbors.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 31, 2023

Figuring out the rules at a Japanese community pool can be an ongoing education

If you’re headed for the community pool, be prepared: Japanese pool rules are an ongoing education.
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.
Scientists handle a multiple-core sampling device for extracting sediments and sludge, in Beppu Bay, off Oita Prefecture, in June 2021. Beneath the seawater lie layers of seemingly unremarkable sediment and sludge that tell the story of how humans have fundamentally altered the world around them.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2023

Japanese sea sludge tells story of human impact on Earth

Beppu Bay is among areas being considered for designation as a "golden spike," a location that offers evidence of a new geological epoch defined by our species: the Anthropocene.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Jul 20, 2023

Soccer feeling the heat from Japan's scorching summer

Postponements of matches reflect the growing challenges facing amateur teams as they attempt to cope with Japan’s increasingly hostile summer months.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 19, 2023

CDP's Ichiro Ozawa bracing for 'final battle' in next election

The veteran politician still hopes the country will achieve a genuine two-party parliamentary democracy.
Support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet dropped to 30.8% in July, a survey shows.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 13, 2023

Poll shows Kishida Cabinet approval down to 30.8%

The slide in support may have reflected the string of problems related to My Number personal identification cards.
Members of the Kokugakuin University ōendan cheer group perform during a competition between university cheerleading squads in Tokyo on June 3.
SPORTS
Jul 23, 2023

Japan's macho cheerleaders fight to save a tradition

Dressed in old-fashioned, school-style uniforms, cheering squads are a mass of black at college baseball games as they shout out chants and bang taiko drums.
Nadine, a 43-year-old tourist from the U.S., wears a sumo wrestler costume and tries to spar against former sumo wrestler Towanoyama in the sumo ring at Yokozuna Tonkatsu Dosukoi Tanaka in Tokyo in June 30.
SUMO
Jul 23, 2023

Sumo retirees play for laughs from tourists flooding back to Japan

Themed restaurants, including those offering sumo performances, are part of a tourism ecosystem that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hopes will add ¥5 trillion a year to the nation's economy.
Investors have scooped up yen debt from issuers outside Japan, fueling the busiest July since 2018.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 24, 2023

Global yen bond market emerges as oasis amid Japan volatility

Investors have scooped up yen debt from issuers outside Japan, fueling the busiest July since 2018.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 24, 2023

Ministry panel starts talks to ease foreign care worker rules

The panel of experts will examine whether to allow foreign workers to engage in home-visit care services, currently not permitted partly due to concerns about language barriers.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2023

Pessimism over Osaka Expo opening grows after construction head criticizes organizers

There is growing pessimism about the fate of the expo, with speculation that postponing the starting date might now be necessary in order to get everything completed.
Professor Mutsuko Tendo (right) teaches a class in career development theory at Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 24, 2023

Women’s universities in Tohoku seeking to survive with distinctive education

Women's colleges had long been regarded as schools with a focus on home economics and liberal arts, but some are now reorganizing their programs in a bid to attract students.
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.
A man sits on his own at a taco stand on Kokusai Street in Naha.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Jul 2, 2023

Peacemaking of a different sort in Okinawa

Through therapy and community outreach, counseling service TELL draws on the personal experiences of its clinicians and support workers to help various communities in Okinawa.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 26, 2023

My Number woes put digital minister Taro Kono under pressure

Another misstep could deal a further blow to the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and jeopardize the political standing of Kono.
Veteran Japanese investors are split over whether to put their money into Chinese bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 27, 2023

Friends who help manage $640 billion clash on China bonds

While they’ve been friends for at least a decade, their take on trading China bonds couldn’t be more diametrically opposed.
Yoshiko Hara (left) plays basketball with members of her Fukushima Club basketball team.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jul 31, 2023

Pioneer in basketball for disabled people looks to inclusiveness

Through basketball, Yoshiko Hara aims to have players in her club acquire physical strength and stamina, as well as learn about group rules and manners.
Director Christopher Nolan (right) poses with "Oppenheimer" cast members (from left) Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt at the film's premiere in Paris earlier this month.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jul 27, 2023

Summer film releases in Japan and the 'Oppenheimer' problem

Moviegoers may not get their "Barbenheimer" moment, as Japan likes to keep things family friendly in summer.
Monex Group was sued on Thursday in what is believed to be the first lawsuit questioning the responsibility of a Japanese securities company over Credit Suisse AT1 bond losses.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 28, 2023

Japan’s Monex sued by client for Credit Suisse bond loss

The move marks a rare case of a financial institution being accused of responsibility for investor losses triggered by Switzerland’s move to wipe out the bonds.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 28, 2023

Japan’s average minimum wage set to top ¥1,000

With the government eager to create a healthy cycle of pay and price increases, the minimum wage panel suggested a record 4.3% hike from the current average of ¥961.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2023

Kansai Electric restarts 48-year-old Takahama reactor

It is the second time that a reactor over 40 years old has been reactivated, after the restart of the No. 3 reactor at Kansai Electric's Mihama plant, also in Fukui.
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.
Storage tanks for radioactive water at Tokyo Electric Power Co's tsunami-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2023

No change in plan to release treated water, minister says

Japan's industry minister says there is no change to plan to start releasing treated water from Fukushima nuclear plant this summer.

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