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Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 21, 2022

Culture in 2022: Good books, outdoor art and 'Tokyo Vice'

Culture editor Alyssa I. Smith talks to culture critic Thu-Huong Ha about the books they read, the festivals they went to and how Japanese stories are currently capturing Hollywood's attention.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 20, 2022

Putin says situation extremely difficult in several Ukrainian regions

In comments made on Security Services Day, Putin also ordered the strengthening of Russia's borders and instructed special services to keep greater control of society.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2022

The unmasking of Xi

COVID-19 rules apply to China's masses but evidently not to so much to the country's powerful and elite.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 13, 2022

Sanae Takaichi stands by criticism of plan to hike taxes for defense budget

The criticism came after Kishida on Thursday instructed the ruling parties to consider tax hikes to secure some u00a51 trillion to partially cover higher defense spending.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 7, 2022

Russia looks to private militia to secure a victory in eastern Ukraine

Wagner Group forces launched attacks from several directions on the city of Bakhmut, though analysts said seizing it would yield little strategic value.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2022

Powell delivers masterful performance at a difficult time

The Federal Reserve chair needed to prepare markets for a coming slowdown in rate increases without loosening financial conditions. He pulled it off.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 2, 2022

North Korea fires off at least 23 missiles, including one landing near South Korean waters

The South's military announced later in the day that its fighter jets had responded by firing three missiles into waters north of the de facto marine border between the two nations.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 11, 2022

Bernanke and two academics win Nobel in economics for work on banks’ role in crises

Former Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke and economists Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig were awarded for their influential work on the relationship between banks and economic turmoil.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 10, 2022

Ukrainians fear Russian reprisals for Crimea bridge attack

Although Russian officials made a show of reopening the bridge to some automobile and train traffic, the extent of the damage remains unclear.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 6, 2022

French author Annie Ernaux wins Nobel Prize in literature

The Swedish Academy lauded 'the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory.'
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 5, 2022

Elon Musk revives $44 billion Twitter bid, aiming to avoid trial

For Twitter, proceeding with Musk's plan augurs a future under a mercurial billionaire who has spent months publicly criticizing its management.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Sep 28, 2022

Gaffe or insight? Deciphering Biden's unguarded answers

The U.S. president's remarks often aren't quite blunders — they betray deeper truths about his thinking and occasionally offer the public a better window into his administration's approach.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 24, 2022

Ukraine war comes home to Russians as Putin imposes draft

A day after Putin announced a call-up that could sweep 300,000 civilians into military service, the Russian leader's escalation of the war effort was reverberating across the country.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2022

Former members of Unification Church rail at politicians who embraced it

The assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July has opened a debate over the church and has shone a spotlight on its close ties with the ruling LDP.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (left) meets with Masanobu Sakamoto (right), head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, and other representatives at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 21, 2023

Japan's release of Fukushima treated water could start Thursday

The government is set to announce Tuesday when the release of tritium-laced water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will begin.
Then Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and U.S. President Donald Trump meet during their final debate ahead of the 2020 election, in Nashville, Tennessee, in October of that year.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2023

Trump vs. Biden: Do American voters want either?

Confidence among the American public in their leaders and in their political system continues to erode.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pose for a photo during their meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, in April 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 5, 2023

U.S. says North Korea's Kim expects to meet Putin for arms deal

The two pariah states are reportedly looking to reach a deal on weapons in exchange for food and satellite and submarine technological support.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida leaves his office residence in formal attire to attend an attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace with his reshuffled Cabinet in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 13, 2023

Kishida replaces top diplomat and boosts women in Cabinet reshuffle

Among the more stunning moves was the prime minister’s decision to have former Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa replace Yoshimasa Hayashi as top diplomat.
Philippine journalist and Nobel laureate Maria Ressa speaks during an interview in Manila on Tuesday
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 15, 2023

'It's up to us': Philippines' Maria Ressa fights for press freedom

Ressa and Rappler had faced five charges of tax evasion — they were acquitted of four in January and were cleared of the final charge on Tuesday.
A specialist removes a Kirin 9000s chip fabricated in China by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. from a Huawei Mate X5 foldable smartphone in Ottawa on Sept. 19.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 5, 2023

Taiwan to probe suppliers helping Huawei with China chip plants

A news report this week identified four firms working on chip plants backed by Huawei in China.
A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 20, 2023

Table for one? What depopulation in Japan means for dinner.

As Japan’s population ages and more people find themselves isolated, solving their dietary needs is shaping the way the country feeds itself.
A banner at the entrance to Shibuya’s Center Street makes it clear this is no place for a party.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 26, 2023

The specter of Itaewon has Shibuya spooked

One year on, Elizabeth Beattie joins us to discuss where Itaewon stands after its Halloween disaster, and what its legacy means for celebrations in Japan.
Matthew Perry at the premiere of "The Kennedys After Camelot" in Beverly Hills, California, in 2017
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 29, 2023

'Friends' actor Matthew Perry dies at age 54

Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that Perry was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 9, 2023

Japan’s 'four-eyed tax hiker' and the curse of Colonel Sanders

Baseball writer Jason Coskrey and editor Joel Tansey discuss the Hanshin Tigers’ Japan Series victory; Gabriele Ninivaggi explains how the prime minister hopes to get a home run with his tax plan.
Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, arrives for a bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Insight Forum for all U.S. senators hosted by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at the U.S. Capitol in Washington in September.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Nov 18, 2023

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's ouster followed debate with board

The CEO's firing came after disagreements with his board — in particular Ilya Sutskever, an OpenAI co-founder and the company’s chief scientist.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un chats with senior officials during a banquet to celebrate the launch of a reconnaissance satellite, at the Mulan Pavilion in Pyongyang, in this image released Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 28, 2023

North Korea says satellite took photos of White House and Pentagon

The assertions by the nuclear-armed country were the latest about its new spy satellite's capabilities — though it has yet to release any images.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 1, 2023

Seiji Maehara's new party seen as move to join Nippon Ishin

The prominent lawmaker aims to achieve a change in government through a coalition of lawmakers other than those from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Actress Midori Suiren (center), filmmaker Kenzo Kaga (right) and cinematographer Shin Hayasaka attend a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 7, 2023

Actors say sexual abuse is a structural problem in Japan’s film industry

Despite the revelation of Johnny Kitagawa’s sexual abuse, the actors say their claims are being trivialized as personal relationship issues.
Chinese influencer Li Ying used social media to help tell the world about last year’s protests in China. Now in exile, he has been threatened and lost his livelihood for his defiance.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 12, 2023

‘I have no future’: China’s rebel influencer is still paying a price

To some Chinese, painter and art school graduate Li Ying is a superhero who stood up to their authoritarian government and leader.
Unlike his immediate predecessor, new Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi has chosen to speak in words of his own for some matters.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 24, 2023

Hayashi maneuvers through his new Cabinet position carefully

Hayashi has served in many Cabinet posts in the past, including defense minister, agriculture minister and education minister.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji