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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Oct 25, 2022

Booked, cooked and shook: My experience getting LASIK in Japan

Writer Kat Joplin provides a first-hand account of getting LASIK at a medical center in Japan, and reveals whether it was worth it in the end.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 24, 2022

U.K.'s Rishi Sunak to become PM after rivals quit leadership race

Just weeks after failing in a first attempt to lead the ruling Tories, Sunak has capped a stunning reversal in fortunes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Oct 24, 2022

Second generation of Unification Church followers begin to speak out

Growing up constrained by the church's doctrine and expected to act as role models for believers, some children suffer when trying to seek their own religious freedom.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 24, 2022

Korean border tensions heat up with warning shots near disputed sea border

Seoul fired warning shots after a North Korean vessel violated the western sea border, with Pyongyang responding with 10 artillery shells fired toward a South Korean ship in the area.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 24, 2022

Japan’s banks break with Wall Street by embracing hybrid work

The nation's three largest lenders said they are allowing more flexibility, eschewing a minimum number of office days per week, as experienced elsewhere.
JAPAN / Explainer
Oct 23, 2022

The government wants you to get a My Number card. Should you?

The cards offer more convenient access to government services, but many people have been hesitant to get them due to concerns over data leaks.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 23, 2022

Boris Johnson battling for comeback bid as Rishi Sunak enters U.K. PM race

Johnson was fighting for support to make a shock return as Britain's prime minister after prominent Tory right-wing figures coalesced around former finance chief Sunak.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 23, 2022

Technology-sharing a sticking point as Renault, Nissan hash out reset, sources say

Renault and Nissan said this month they were in talks about the future of their alliance, including Nissan potentially investing in an electric vehicle business being spun out of Renault.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 23, 2022

Ill health or power play? Hu Jintao's congress exit sparks speculation storm

While Chinese state media said Hu was escorted out by security due to ill health, he appeared reluctant to leave his seat — leading to speculation his departure was a political power play.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 23, 2022

Xi Jinping secures unprecedented third term as China leader

Xi was picked as the party's general-secretary for another five-year term in a closed-door vote, meaning he is almost certain to be elected president next year.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 23, 2022

Who's on the Chinese Communist Party's new Politburo Standing Committee?

The new seven-member body headed by leader Xi Jinping represents the apex of political power in China. Here are the men who will rule Beijing for the next five years, in order of seniority.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 23, 2022

Using adoptions, Moscow turns Ukrainian children into spoils of war

Soldiers took children from orphanages and group homes to be adopted in Russia — but they also took children whose relatives or guardians want them back.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 23, 2022

U.S. midterms and the 'election deniers' threatening democracy

Two weeks ahead of the midterm elections, Republicans up and down the ballot are embracing Trump's false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen and that voter fraud is rife.
Buildings in Pudong's Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai. China's yuan weakened past the closely watched 7.2-per-dollar level as investor sentiment soured on a lack of aggressive stimulus and Beijing signaled a level of comfort about the declines.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 9, 2023

China is struggling woo back foreign investors

The lack of investment among global firms in China may have far reaching effects on the world’s second-largest economy.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 9, 2023

Troubled 2025 Osaka Expo could see further cost increases

Amid numerous challenges, Osaka officials hope no further discussions on increasing the budget of the troubled event will be needed.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 9, 2023

Kishida rules out snap election amid record low popularity

The prime minister has once again ruled out a snap election as he faces record low popularity ratings and growing criticism from within his own party.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin at the Thailand Economic Outlook conference in Bangkok in October
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 9, 2023

Thailand’s 'salesman' PM travels the world to court investments

Srettha Thavisin is acting as Thailand’s chief salesman, enticing tourists, investors and anything or anyone that can support the nation’s growth.
Palestinian families fleeing Gaza City and other parts of northern Gaza toward southern areas, walk along a highway on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2023

Israel commits to more limited pauses in Gaza Strip fighting

Israel will enact "tactical local pauses for humanitarian aid, which are limited in time and area,” an Israeli army spokesperson said.
Naomi Osaka, seen during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, will make her return to the WTA Tour at the Brisbane International.
TENNIS
Nov 10, 2023

Naomi Osaka to make return at Brisbane International

The four-time Grand Slam winner made her last appearance in a WTA tournament at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in late September 2022.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 10, 2023

Cabinet approves ¥13.1 trillion extra budget to finance fresh stimulus

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida appears to be eager to regain popularity with the relief package, but voters aren't convinced.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2023

Japan opposition CDP vows to provide tax cuts and benefits

The proposal did not include a goal of lowering the consumption tax rate from 10% to 5% temporarily, which was a campaign pledge of the CDP.
An assembly line at Honda Motor's  Performance Manufacturing Center in Marysville, Ohio, in November 2016
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 11, 2023

Honda will give autoworkers 11% raise after UAW’s big wins

While nonunion automakers race to boost pay and keep the union out of its gates, the UAW is trying to organize foreign-owned factories in the U.S.
A screen displays the amount of time Israeli hostages have been held by Hamas militants since they were abducted on Oct. 7, at an event marking the Jewish Sabbath held for families, friends and supporters, in Tel Aviv on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 11, 2023

Israel eyeing deal for Hamas to release all civilian hostages in Gaza

The two sides are negotiating two proposals, one involving a small number of people and one that could involve 100 or more civilians.
A man walks past a giant piece of driftwood on the shoreline of Tepuka, in the Funafuti atoll, in Tuvalu.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 11, 2023

Australia signs security and migration pact with Pacific's Tuvalu

Canberra's security guarantee will allow it to respond to military aggression, protect the nation from climate change and boost migration.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher speaks as she is flanked by Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's executive director and chief negotiator, during a news conference following the end of the Screen Actors Guild strike in Los Angeles on Friday.
BUSINESS
Nov 11, 2023

Actors union explains AI guardrails in strike deal

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) reached a deal with studios like Disney and Netflix this week to end its nearly four-month strike.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference in San Francisco on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 11, 2023

U.S. Treasury chief to 'intensify communication' with top Chinese official

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that she agreed with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to "intensify communication" on economic issues.
Toshihiro Mibe, president and chief executive officer of Honda at the Japan Mobility Show, in Tokyo in October
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 12, 2023

Booming profits bolster Japan automakers’ cautious EV shift

The Japanese auto sector is on track this year to exceed its peak operating profit of around ¥5.4 trillion in fiscal 2015.
If you spot a wild animal in the city, it's likely lost. Still, alert authorities immediately to prevent any unpleasantness.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Longform
Nov 13, 2023

The concrete forest: Bears, boars and more head to the cities

Warmer winters, less food and an aging society all play a part in why wild animals are increasingly venturing into human-populated areas.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person