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Although Japan's rate of cashless transactions remains relatively low compared with those of other countries, the share of such payments in personal consumption has surpassed 40% for the first time.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 21, 2025

Cashless payments top 40% of consumer spending in Japan

The country's cashless payment penetration remains low globally, with the risk of fraud and service interruptions due to natural disasters presenting hurdles to growth.
A partially submerged car is seen in the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis, in Nagano Prefecture in October 2019. The Weather Attribution Center Japan, which was founded Tuesday, aims to publicize the results of its climate attribution assessment within days of a typhoon, torrential rain or extreme heat.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
May 21, 2025

When extreme weather hits, Japan scientists will have faster answers on climate links

The Weather Attribution Center will aim to publish concrete links between global warming and extreme weather events within days, rather than months.
Lists containing the names and details of members of biological warfare units that the former Imperial Japanese Army had stationed in China
JAPAN
May 21, 2025

Name lists of former Imperial Japanese Army biowarfare units released

The National Archives has disclosed details of the members of two units based in China to researchers looking to uncover the mysteries surrounding them.
Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Seiji Maehara speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 21, 2025

Nippon Ishin grapples with poor governance ahead of Upper House election

Scandals, resignations and local election losses have left it far short of becoming Japan’s largest opposition force or a ruling party.
A CATL recruitment advertisement in Germany
BUSINESS / Tech
May 21, 2025

CATL's $2 billion German plant boosts China’s invest-abroad bet

"I see ourselves as a blueprint for Chinese companies who are looking to expand in Europe,” said Matthias Zentgraf, the battery giant’s European president.
Elon Musk boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on March 21
BUSINESS / Tech
May 21, 2025

Musk commits to Tesla CEO role and plans political pullback

"If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it,” Musk said. "I do not currently see a reason.”
Britain's King Charles inspects a guard of honor in Edinburgh, Scotland, last July. The rising cost of the British monarchy, marked by increased taxpayer funding and limited transparency, is prompting questions about whether the public is getting fair value for supporting the royals.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2025

A king’s ransom: The eye-watering cost of Charles III

Brits should be told how much their royals’ extravagant lifestyles are costing them.
China’s prolonged real estate slump has pushed housing construction back to early 2000s levels, sharply cutting cement production and offering a rare climate reprieve from one of the world’s biggest sources of carbon emissions.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2025

China’s building crash is rewinding 22 years of growth

The real estate slump may be bad for the economy, but it’s good for the planet — cement is one of the most polluting substances on Earth.
A crowd of tourists walk on the street near Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. There has been growing pushback from residents in the tradition-steeped city as visitor numbers continue to rise.
JAPAN / Society
May 21, 2025

Japan's tourist arrivals soared 28.5% in April to hit record 3.9 million

For the first four months of the year, foreign visitor arrivals totaled 14.4 million, a 24.5% increase.
Author Kazuo Ishiguro (left) and director Kei Ishikawa pose during a photocall for the film “Toi Yamanamino Hikari” ("A Pale View of Hills") at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2025

Adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's first novel premieres at Cannes

The author says that adapting the novel — which he wrote when he was 25 — was different from bringing his other books to the big screen.
Tottenham celebrates after defeating Manchester United in the Europa League final in Bilbao, Spain, on Wednesday.
SOCCER
May 22, 2025

Spurs beat Manchester United in Europa League final to end trophy drought

Spurs had not won European silverware since 1984.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. waves during a campaign rally ahead of midterm elections, in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, on May 9.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 22, 2025

Philippines' Marcos asks Cabinet secretaries to resign in government reset

The sweeping directive comes just over a week after a disappointing midterm election for the administration, widely seen as a referendum on Marcos' leadership.
Pakistan's army chief Gen. Asim Munir salutes after laying wreath on the martyrs' monument during a guard of honor ceremony at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 22, 2025

Support for Pakistan army chief surges after India conflict

A survey conducted after the conflict by a local pollster found that 93% of respondents felt their opinion of the military had improved.
Afghans carry water canisters on the outskirts of Kabul on April 27.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
May 22, 2025

'Serious problem': Afghan capital losing race against water shortages

Kabul's crisis, driven by unruly and rapid urbanization, mismanagement over years of conflict, and climate change, forces residents to choose between food and water.
Tokyo police have arrested a postal worker on suspicion of making a threatening call to a woman using personal information found on her mail.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 22, 2025

Postal worker accused of making threatening call to woman using delivery info

Suspect Yoichi Nose allegedly called the woman using a phone number found on her mail and threatened her by referencing voyeuristic videos he claimed to have had of her.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba talks during a meeting with business leaders about his Regional Revitalization 2.0 initiative.
JAPAN
May 22, 2025

Government to set numerical goals for regional revitalization

The targets will be set for 10 items, including the rate of young people relocating to regional areas.
A cargo ship bound for China during a ceremony at a port in the northern Taiwan city of Keelung. Skittish foreign investors have pulled nearly $11 billion out of Taiwan stocks this year.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 22, 2025

No place to hide from any China-Taiwan conflict, investors say

For investors, the options are to stay out of Taiwan completely or stay invested and hope for the best.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev poses after winning the men's 50-meter freestyle final at the European championships in Belgrade on June 23, 2024.
MORE SPORTS
May 22, 2025

Enhanced Games, where athletes can use banned substances, to start in 2026

The Enhanced Games operate under the principle that banning performance-enhancing drugs in major competition does not protect athletes but rather stifles their performance.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet saw its approval rate rewriting the lowest level in May since he took office last October last year.
JAPAN / Politics
May 22, 2025

Ishiba Cabinet approval falls to 20.9% in new poll

The Cabinet's disapproval rating rose 1.7 points to 52.9%.
A city government official airs out the register of people who died as a result of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Thursday for its upkeep in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
JAPAN / History
May 22, 2025

Hiroshima opens up stone chamber containing register of A-bomb victims

The register, which contains the names of 344,306 people who died on or before Aug. 5 last year, was given an airing to remove moisture and inspected for damage.
Lakshmi Kumari Patel (left) teaches students at a primary school at Nichla Fala village in India's Rajasthan state.
WORLD / Society
May 22, 2025

India's mother-tongue teaching spells reading success

Primary school teaching in India is often in a language the children do not understand.
U.S. President Donald Trump shows a copy of an article he said is about white South Africans who had been killed, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD
May 23, 2025

Trump's image of dead 'white farmers' did not come from footage of South Africa

The image U.S. President Donald Trump used was pulled from footage shot following deadly battles with Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Hokkaido East Trail links some of the northern prefecture's most striking national parks and landscapes.
LIFE / Travel
May 24, 2025

In search of untouched Japan? Meet Hokkaido’s newest hiking trail.

The 410-kilometer Hokkaido East Trail links three national parks as it winds through marshland, calderas and more.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2025

Netanyahu links embassy shootings to hostility over Gaza

Netanyahu has vowed to press on with the war and there was no sign that the Washington killings would affect the conduct of Israel's military operation.
Imperial family members attend a spring garden party at the Akasaka Palace imperial garden in Tokyo on April 22.
JAPAN
May 23, 2025

Support for female imperial family members keeping status at 64.9%: poll

While many respondents backed the idea, 10.7% opposed it and a total of 24.3% had no opinion or were not sure.
Paraguayan President Santiago Pena speaks during an interview with The Japan Times in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2025

As Taiwan looks to boost ‘unofficial ties,’ Paraguay’s leader offers facilitator role

Paraguayan President Santiago Pena stressed his government is “more than willing to support and be a strong ally” to Taiwan.
After last year’s controversy over using AI to write about 5% of her novel, Rie Qudan was asked by an advertising magazine to write a short story where she uses AI for 95% of it. The resulting short story, “Kage no ame” (“Rain Shadow”), was published March 25.  
CULTURE / Books
May 24, 2025

AI fiction is already here. Are humans ready?

Last year, Rie Qudan faced controversy after admitting that chatGPT wrote 5% of her novel. Now she’s published a story she only wrote 5% herself, leaving 95% to AI.
An employee of Kyowa Industrial walks next to the company's factory in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2025

Tariff crossfire hits Toyota, Nissan and Ford suppliers in Japan

Thousands of small and midsize makers of auto parts in Japan, including suppliers for Toyota and Nissan, are facing a crisis as U.S. tariffs threaten their bottom lines.
NTT's drone — aimed at triggering, then redirecting lightning — is described as a "flying lightning rod."
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 23, 2025

NTT develops world's first 'flying lightning rod' using drones

NTT said it hopes its flying lightning rods will one day shield cities and digital infrastructure from strikes.
Mixue, a Chinese bubble tea chain, has become the world’s largest food and beverage chain, with tens of thousands of stores all over Asia. The company is just one example of the increasing reach and popularity of Chinese cultural exports across the globe.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 23, 2025

How China’s soft power is rewriting Asian culture

Chinese cultural exports are becoming increasingly popular across the world and especially Asia. Do they promote cross-border understanding or are they tools for propaganda?

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan