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Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 17, 2022

No evidence of UFOs so far in Pentagon investigation

The Pentagon's recent push to investigate reports of UFOs has so far not yielded any evidence to suggest that aliens have visited Earth or crash-landed here, say senior defense staff.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 17, 2022

After poll, Elon Musk restores suspended Twitter accounts of journalists

Following a Twitter poll, Elon Musk tweeted that the journalists whose accounts had been temporarily disabled 'will have their suspension lifted now.”
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 17, 2022

In COVID-hit Beijing, funeral homes with sick workers struggle to keep up

China's health authority last reported COVID-19 deaths on Dec. 3. The Chinese capital last reported a fatality on Nov. 23.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / 2022 in Review
Dec 17, 2022

Art came alive in the great outdoors in 2022

Major art events returned to far-flung locales with tactile and communal experiences in nature.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / 2022 in Review
Dec 16, 2022

Marginalized voices in film spoke louder in 2022

While Ryusuke Hamaguchi's 'Drive My Car' and Chie Hayakawa's 'Plan 75' received wide acclaim at home and abroad, the Japanese film industry took stock of a sobering reality.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2022

Japan approves major defense overhaul in dramatic policy shift

The government passed revisions to three key security documents that outline a tough new stance on China and pave the way for Tokyo's acquisition of a 'counterstrike capability.'
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 16, 2022

Kishida punts on tax hikes for defense amid backlash from his own party

Kishida, who had been pushing for tax increases in stages, was forced to back off from a specific timetable as opponents press for alternate funding.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2022

We have to talk about Adolf Hitler

“Hitler Kitsch,” “Nazi Porn” and Godwin's Law have given us the frightening ignorance of people like Kanye West.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 16, 2022

North Korea tests high-thrust solid-fuel engine for apparent ICBM development

The country has been working to build more solid-fuel missiles, which are more stable and can be launched with almost no warning or preparation time.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 16, 2022

Japanese banks agree to back Toshiba’s preferred bidder, sources say

The four major banks are finalizing the details and could issue commitment letters as soon as the end of this month, the sources said.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2022

Record 1.37 million chickens to be culled at bird flu-hit Aomori farm

The Aomori Prefectural Government has started to cull all of some 1.37 million chickens raised at a poultry farm in the city of Misawa.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2022

Same levy, different name: Reconstruction tax to be shifted to defense spending

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's latest plan to fund a defense budget hike is to create a new defense tax.
A man in a jacket with a Wagner patch visits an impromptu memorial to Yevgeny Prigozhin and other Wagner "heroes,” near the mercenary group’s headquarters in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 30, 2023

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin buried quietly in St. Petersburg

The mercenary leader died two months to the day after he staged a brief mutiny against Russia's defense establishment.
An efficient, just-in-time strategy for manufacturing made Toyota’s production system famous.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 30, 2023

Toyota shuts factories, investors shrug. That’s resilience.

An efficient, just-in-time strategy for manufacturing made Toyota’s production system famous.
A sign reading "suspend the sale of all fish products imported from Japan" in an area of Japanese restaurants in Beijing
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2023

China’s actions on Japan and religion are cut from the same cloth

Beijing’s stoking of anti-Japanese sentiment based on unscientific accusations mirrors its suppression of religious freedom in Xinjiang.
Kotonowaka surely has his eyes on eventually emulating his grandfather, former grand champion Kotozakura.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 30, 2023

New sumo ranks highlight rise of next generation

Ahead of the autumn tournament in Tokyo, it's the up-and-coming wrestlers who are making waves.
Artificial intelligence may well enable the automation of many tasks and the replacement of some workers. But AI tools are still fallible and are unlikely to replace humans any time soon.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2023

AI and the productivity imperative

The global economic outlook for the next decade appears grim. But a surge in productivity — fueled by artificial intelligence — could change that picture.
The trend of people getting married later could be causing a vicious cycle of fewer children begetting fewer children, says Takuya Hoshino, senior economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 30, 2023

Third of Japan's 18-year-old women may never have children: study

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has promised to tackle the country's population crisis with "unprecedented" measures.
North Korean leader Kim Jong visits a command training center of the Korean People's Army General Staff at an undisclosed location in North Korea in this image released Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

North Korea holds 'nuclear strike drill' targeting South

The drills were intended to "send a message" to the North's enemies, as large-scale military exercises between Washington and Seoul were set to conclude.
Police and security personnel stand outside the entrance of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Tuesday. Japan said that harassment being faced by its citizens in China after the Fukushima water release was "extremely regrettable," confirming that a brick was thrown at the country's embassy in Beijing.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2023

Fukushima water release dampens chances of Japan-China detente

Japan is now bracing for a new period of wide-ranging tensions with its neighbor as the strained ties look likely to continue into the months ahead.
A customer browses iPhone cases at an Apple store in India.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023

Apple trials making devices with 3D printers

The move could reduce the time it takes to build devices while also helping the environment by using less material, according to the sources.
A Ukrainian serviceman walks near a destroyed Ukrainian tank, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the village of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on Friday.
WORLD
Aug 31, 2023

Ukraine says gains on southern front pave way to Crimea

Progress has been costly and staggered, but Ukrainian forces announced they had pushed through key Russian defensive lines this week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023

Hokuriku Shinkansen to link Kanazawa with Tsuruga from next March

The fastest travel time between Tokyo and Fukui will be two hours and 51 minutes — down 36 minutes from the time required on the current shortest route.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2023

Century since Kanto quake, expert warns of 'blind faith' in disaster resilience

For many, grasping the potential devastation of a future major quake remains as elusive as it was 100 years ago.
Veteran broadcaster and DJ Peter Barakan has been a fixture in Japanese music media for decades. He is now in his third year as curator and namesake of Peter Barakan’s Music Film Festival, which kicks off in Tokyo today.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 1, 2023

Peter Barakan's Music Film Festival celebrates cinema and song

The three-week event kicks off its third edition with 31 films including documentaries, concert films and narrative films centered on music.
Gigi Chao, vice chair of Cheuk Nang Holdings, in Hong Kong on July 19
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023

More LGBTQ rights could help Asian financial hubs draw global talent

In Japan, the only Group of Seven nation without legal protection for same-sex unions, corporations are seen as a key driver for change.
Investors in Japan have filed a lawsuit against Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s joint venture brokerage with Morgan Stanley, seeking to recover losses from Credit Suisse's riskiest debt.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 1, 2023

MUFG joint-venture brokerage sued over Credit Suisse AT1 sales

Investors are demanding ¥5.2 billion ($36 million) in compensation from Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2023

Tohoku University named as first recipient in state subsidy program

The education ministry says that a number of universities will be chosen for the program.

Longform

A mushroom cloud from the atomic bombing on Hiroshima taken from a U.S. military aircraft on Aug. 6, 1945. Copying the photo without permission is prohibited.
80 years on, a Japanese American hibakusha recalls the day the bomb dropped