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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2022

The global struggle for democracy is in Ukraine

Let us hope that Putin's aggression persuades would-be autocrats in free societies that peace and security are well worth the price of admission into the democratic club.
A stone pillar at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, on which the word "toilet" was found spray-painted in May
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 10, 2024

Chinese man arrested over vandalism at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine

Police have also obtained arrest warrants for two other Chinese nationals, after an incident involving graffiti and urination was recorded as a video and posted online.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 10, 2024

Japan’s megabanks are said to seek deep cuts to BOJ bond buying

The bank’s ¥585 trillion bond stockpile exceeds the world’s fourth-largest economy, making bond players watchful for the BOJ’s next move.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (center-left) meets with Samoan Prime Minister Afioga Fiame Naomi Mata’afa (center-right) in Samoa in February. Like other Pacific island and Global South states, Samoa is caught in the crossfire of the U.S.-China rivalry.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 11, 2024

Japan can help Global South navigate U.S.-China clash

As Washington and Beijing adopt more inward-looking foreign policies, Japan can be a bridge to Global South countries, whose main concerns are security and growth.
Don't let anyone tell you that when it comes to legitimate Mexican food, Tokyo is a culinary desert.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Top 5
Jul 14, 2024

Tokyo’s top tacos dispel the ‘no good Mexican food’ myth

Whether a casual bite from a counter restaurant or a more elegant affair, Tokyo’s tacos do not skimp on variety.
Yuta Watanabe played in 34 NBA games this season, including five for the Grizzlies.
BASKETBALL / B. League
Jul 12, 2024

Jets signs former NBA player Yuta Watanabe for upcoming season

The 29-year-old forward and the team have a "basic agreement" on a contract for the 2024-25 season.
Members of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces take part in a military review at Camp Asaka in October 2018. The nation’s public is currently favorable to the SDF, but if scandals aren’t handled correctly, that opinion may change. 
EDITORIALS
Jul 12, 2024

A multitude of scandals threaten Japan’s national defense

Individually, recent scandals are troubling. Together they are reflective of a problematic culture within the defense forces and bureaucracy.
People on a train from India's northeastern states stretch out their hands to collect free food being distributed by an NGO at a railway station in Kolkata in 2012.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 12, 2024

Empty beds, lost jobs: The price of India's crackdown on NGO funds

Only 15,947 NGOs remain active in India, while 35,488 licenses have been cancelled or expired, according to the country's FCRA dashboard.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at Trump National Doral, his golf resort in Doral, Florida, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 13, 2024

Trump’s subtle shift in his vice president calculations

The former president appears to be giving more weight to political calculations in selecting a running mate, by picking someone who “helps you get elected.”
Sue Mi Terry, then director at Bower Group Asia, speaks on a panel at the Asia Society in New York in 2017.
WORLD
Jul 17, 2024

Former White House official accused of acting as South Korea agent

In exchange for gifts, a foreign policy specialist is accused of giving South Korea information on the United States government, among other things.
Protesters mark the eighth anniversary of the 2016 arbitration ruling over China's claims in the South China Sea, in Quezon City, Philippines, on Friday. Beijing still refuses to abide by the ruling.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 17, 2024

South China Sea ruling anniversary and the disregard for the rule of law

Last Friday marked the eighth anniversary of the Philippines-China South China Sea arbitral tribunal ruling. That decision was a win for Manila.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the Cook Islands' Prime Minister Mark Brown shake hands during 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting on Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 18, 2024

With eye on China, Japan deepens ties with Pacific islands at Tokyo summit

Collaborations have been agreed in seven fields, including technology and connectivity, climate change, people-centered development and security.
More Japanese firms have gone bankrupt in the first half of this year due to soaring costs, labor shortages and the end of pandemic-related support.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 18, 2024

Triple whammy takes Japan bankruptcies to decade high

Soaring costs, labor shortages and the end of pandemic-related financial support are taking a heavy toll on smaller businesses.
A loggerhead sea turtle hatches eggs on a beach in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, in May.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional voices: Chubu
Jul 29, 2024

Aichi sea turtle researchers assess risks of warmer nesting sites

The warmer the nest is, the more likely hatchlings will be female — that bodes ill for the survival of the marine species.
As childish as Ryokan may have been, human suffering wrung his heart. A portrait of the monk and calligraphy by him are shown here. (Ink on paper; early 19th century; replica before 1970)
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jul 21, 2024

Ryokan and us: 'How wide! How boundless!'

The Edo Period monk could see the world through a child's eyes, maybe even those of a child from our modern era.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump wears a flesh-colored bandage on his ear as he holds a campaign rally for the first time with his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 21, 2024

Bullet that hit Trump's ear left 2-cm wound, ex-White House doctor says

Former White House physician Ronny Jackson, now a hard-line right-wing lawmaker from Texas, offers one of the first detailed accounts of the Trump's injury.
Xander Schauffele of the U.S celebrates with the Claret Jug trophy after winning The 152nd British Open in Troon, Scotland, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jul 22, 2024

Schauffele finds inner calm to win British Open and collect second major

The 30-year-old Californian delivered a faultless, zen-like six-under-par final round.
Foreign exchange rates are shown in a shop window in Tehran. Iran's newly elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian, faces the tough challenge of reviving Iran's beleaguered, sanctions-hit economy.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2024

Iran’s economy needs a new deal with the West, badly

Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran's new president, inherits high inflation and deteriorating public services. His only way out is cutting a deal with the West to lift sanctions.
A lone tree stands near a water trough on the outskirts of Walgett, in New South Wales, Australia, in 2018. Energy analysts said high construction costs, plus Australia's lack of nuclear expertise and abundant land and sunshine, make nuclear a less logical choice in the country.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2024

Nuclear wildcard reignites Australia's climate wars

Ahead of expected polls, the country's federal opposition has unveiled plans to slow the roll-out of renewable energy and build a network for nuclear reactors.
As of Sunday, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical reported 279 deaths and 2,274 hospital visits due to health issues related to its beni kōji supplements, among which 461 required hospitalization.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 23, 2024

Kobayashi Pharma's president and chairperson resign over health scandal

For the first time in its history, someone outside of the Osaka-based drugmaker's founding family will become its president.
Starbucks mobile app shows an error message on Friday. A botched software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike crashed countless Microsoft Windows computer systems globally.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2024

CrowdStrike meltdown and the price of real security

Catastrophic system failure isn’t part of the equation — until it happens. Which will be occurring with increasing frequency in our deeply interconnected world.
Samsung Electronics' headquarters in Suwon, South Korea, on June 13, 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 24, 2024

Nvidia clears Samsung's HBM3 chips for use in China-market processor

Nvidia's approval of the chips comes amid soaring demand for sophisticated graphics processing units.
Gas and steam rise out of an oil refinery in the Siberian city of Omsk, Russia, on Feb.  8, 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 24, 2024

Russia 'killing' climate, say activists awaiting top rights court ruling

Despite signing the Paris Climate accord, Moscow's fossil fuel extraction and war in Ukraine have spiked its greenhouse gas emissions.
People walk along a flooded street in Manila on Wednesday amid heavy rainfall from Typhoon Gaemi.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 24, 2024

Deadly Typhoon Gaemi floods Philippines, shuts Taiwan

The Philippines is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to extreme weather events, which have cost the nation about $1.2 billion annually between 2000 and 2016.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (right) during a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 24, 2024

Why Japan's mysterious stash of classified funds escapes scrutiny

The funds can be used by the chief cabinet secretary with no explanation needed, fueling speculation of widespread misappropriation.
The number of residents in Tokyo as of Jan. 1 rose by 0.03% from a year before, data shows, marking a year-on-year increase for the first time in three years, while the country's other 46 prefectures saw their populations continue to decline.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 25, 2024

Japan's population continues to fall even as foreign resident count rises

The number of foreign residents in Japan rose by 329,535 from last year to 3,323,374.
U.S. rugby player Ilona Maher poses for a portrait during the Team USA media summit ahead of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, at an event in New York on April 15.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2024

Athlete influencers compete for likes as well as medals in Paris

In years past, athletes might have needed a manager to negotiate deals with brands. Now, a company will reach out directly to strike a deal.
A construction worker during a heat wave in Folsom, California.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 25, 2024

What the temperature doesn’t tell you about extreme heat’s hazards

After its nationwide rollout in April, the HeatRisk forecasting tool is getting a real-world test as deadly temperatures stress much of the U.S.
American musician and visual artist Kim Gordon released her second solo album, “The Collective,” earlier this year, and it’s a bona fide banger.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 25, 2024

Ahead of her Fuji Rock set, Kim Gordon weighs in on punk and U.S. politics

The former Sonic Youth bassist, guitarist and vocalist is in Japan for the first time in over 10 years to promote her latest album, "The Collective."
Torchbearers Teddy Riner and Marie-Jose Perec light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Paris Games on Friday.
OLYMPICS
Jul 28, 2024

Upset bishops and mixed reviews for Paris Olympics ceremony

The show's artistic director Thomas Jolly, who is gay, had pledged earlier this month that the ceremony would celebrate "diversity" and "otherness."

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear