Search - time

 
 
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a Democratic Party for the People convention in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, on Feb. 11.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Apr 6, 2025

Breaking with tradition: From the shop floor to fighting for millions

Tomoko Yoshino has rubbed shoulders with political heavyweights and business leaders as the first female leader of Rengo.
Alysa Liu competes in the women’s short program during the World Figure Skating Championships at TD Garden in Boston on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Mar 27, 2025

Women's skating favorites falter as Liu leads at worlds

Three-time defending champion Kaori Sakamoto, trying to become the first woman in 65 years to capture four consecutive world crowns, was a disappointing fifth.
Osamu Murata (left), the acting chairman of nonprofit Ashinaga, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Wednesday. Ashinaga, which provides financial aid to children, conducted a survey among parents and guardians of recipients to determine the challenges they face.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 27, 2025

Japan’s single parents struggle to raise children, survey finds

Such households grapple with economic hardship, "time poverty" and social isolation, according to a nonprofit that provides financial aid to children.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2024.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Mar 31, 2025

Steelers keeping QB options open after meeting with Aaron Rodgers

Head coach Mike Tomlin is not ruling out Mason Rudolph as the team's potential starting quarterback.
High school student Soa Ono, 17, assists an elderly woman during a recreational activity at a nursing care facility in Nagoya in late February.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 7, 2025

Caregiver apprenticeship for high school students expanding in Aichi

The program allows apprentices to earn an income while acquiring knowledge and skills through hands-on experience.
All eyes will be on Yuki Tsunoda as he makes his Red Bull debut at the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 1, 2025

No longer a 'bridesmaid': Yuki Tsunoda prepares for the Red Bull pressure cooker

New Red Bull driver Tsunoda tells The Japan Times he started to believe that a promotion to the senior team might never come — until it did.
Nottingham Forest midfielder Anthony Elanga (right) runs to score the opening goal during an English Premier League match against Manchester United in Nottingham, England, on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Apr 2, 2025

Elanga wonder-goal sinks Man Utd as Forest eye Champions League berth

Forest are within touching distance of reaching the Champions League for the first time since 1980-81.
Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, speaks to reporters after surpassing the record for the longest Senate speech at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD
Apr 2, 2025

Cory Booker condemns Trump’s policies in longest senate speech on record

Cheers broke out in the chamber when the senator passed Strom Thurmond's record for longest speech.
Brooks Koepka is a five-time major winner who will be seeking his first Masters title next week.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Apr 3, 2025

LIV Golf stars look ahead to Masters

"It's almost a religious experience every time you set foot on Augusta National," said Phil Mickelson.
Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda speaks during a news conference for the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 3, 2025

Yuki Tsunoda feeling relaxed ahead of blockbuster Red Bull debut 

The veteran of 89 Formula One races appeared at ease in his new colors, exuding the quiet confidence that he’s had since making his debut in the series in 2021.
A child welfare center in Naha in May 1966
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Apr 14, 2025

In Okinawa, war trauma carried by orphans still lingers

“War orphans were pushed to the margins of society after the war," says one academic.
Since April marks the start of a new fiscal period in Japan, there is a good chance you’ll be meeting new colleagues this month.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 5, 2025

Meeting new colleagues and introducing yourself in Japanese

Get off on the right foot at work or school with a few set phrases that are easy to memorize.
Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin during the third period of Washington's game against Chicago on Friday. Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record with his 894th career marker.
MORE SPORTS / Ice Hockey
Apr 6, 2025

Ice legends: Alex Ovechkin and Wayne Gretzky had different paths to 894

Gretzky became the NHL's all-time goals leader while also serving as the league's premier playmaker, while Ovechkin has been known for his goal scoring since his rookie year.
An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Longform
Apr 7, 2025

Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it

Outdated government policy, changing diets and even an earthquake scare have had an impact on the national food staple.
In a reflection of persistent price pressure, real wages declined for a second straight month in February, falling 1.2% from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 7, 2025

Japan’s nominal wages rise in bright spot as outlook darkens

Nominal cash earnings for workers climbed 3.1% in February from a year earlier, with the pace accelerating from a revised 1.8% in January, the labor ministry said Monday.
A vehicle carries the coffin of a commander from Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah armed group during a funeral in Baghdad on Sept. 22, 2024.
WORLD
Apr 7, 2025

Iran-backed militias in Iraq ready to disarm to avert Trump wrath

The move to defuse tensions follows repeated warnings issued privately by U.S. officials to the Iraqi government since Trump took power in January.
Caddie Carl Jackson carries the bag of former champion Ben Crenshaw during the first round of the 2011 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Apr 10, 2025

Augusta National celebrates legacy of Black caddies at Masters

Until 1982, every golfer playing in the Masters had to use an Augusta National caddie.
Margot Magniere and Theo Poyer returned to Japan after pandemic-era restrictions were lifted and decided to stay for a while.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2025

The band that turned a pandemic lockdown into a Tokyo dream

On “Grand Voyage,” French pop act Tapeworms tap into Japanese cultural nostalgia and picopop.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Argentinian President Javier Milei talk pose for a photo during a Group of Seven summit in Borgo Egnazia, Italy, last June.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 12, 2025

Argentina lands $20 billion IMF agreement and eases FX rules

Negotiations dragged on for months as stakes remain high for a successful program after the past two went off the rails in the crisis-prone nation.
Tony Blanco played in Japan for eight seasons and hit 181 home runs in NPB. The Dominican slugger was among more than 200 killed when the roof of a popular nightclub collapsed on Tuesday in the Dominican Republic.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 12, 2025

Tony Blanco remembered in Japan and Dominican Republic after nightclub tragedy

Blanco, who spent eight seasons in Japan with three NPB clubs, is remembered as a 'great guy' with a tremendous sense of humor.
Ronnie Quintarelli speaks to Nissan fans at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture last year after announcing his retirement from racing.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 13, 2025

How Italian driver Ronnie Quintarelli endeared himself to Japan's rabid racing fans

Much of the driver's appeal has to do with the unique circumstances by which he came to Japan.
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the Group of 20 leaders summit in Osaka in June 2019.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 14, 2025

How China went from courting Trump to ‘never yield’ tariff defiance

Beijing has put civilian government officials on a "wartime footing” and ordered a diplomatic charm offensive aimed at encouraging other countries to push back.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy receives his green jacket from 2024 winner Scottie Scheffler after the final round at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Apr 14, 2025

Rory McIlroy wins Masters in dramatic fashion to complete career Grand Slam

It marked the fifth major championship for McIlroy, and his first since capturing the PGA Championship for the second time in 2014.
Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers (right) battles Paris Saint-Germain's Vitinha (left) during their Champions League match on Tuesday in Birmingham, England.
SOCCER
Apr 16, 2025

PSG survives Aston Villa scare to reach Champions League semis

Paris Saint-Germain survived a second half onslaught to beat Aston Villa 5-4 on aggregate and reach the Champions League semifinals despite a 3-2 defeat on Tuesday.
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg departs after attending a Federal Trade Commission trial at a U.S. District Court in Washington on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 16, 2025

Zuckerberg defends strategy behind Instagram, WhatsApp deals

The Federal Trade Commission alleges the acquisitions of the two apps give Meta Platforms a social media monopoly, and is fighting to break up the company.
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta, departs federal court in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 17, 2025

Meta saw TikTok as ‘highly urgent’ threat, Zuckerberg says at trial

Zuckerberg was composed, but occasionally evasive, when challenged to explain past messages indicating a concerted effort to muscle out competitors.
While taking refuge on Mount Kasagi from the shogunate’s forces, Emperor Go-Daigo had a prophetic dream that eventually led him to secure the support of military strategist Kusunoki Masashige.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Apr 19, 2025

‘I scud before the autumn wind’: Emperor Go-Daigo’s fall from grace

The “Masukagami,” a 14th-century historical chronicle, offers a wrenching account of the emperor’s struggle for power — and eventual downfall.
Takaaki Nezu, executive director of Maruto Group Holdings, says it is the company’s social responsibility to help tackle the falling birth rate.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
May 5, 2025

Fukushima firms seek ways to encourage marriages

One supermarket chain has said such moves reflect a corporate responsibility to tackle the nation’s chronically low birth rate.
More than half of Japan's population may suffer from pollen allergies, with hay fever dubbed the nation’s "national disease" and blamed for being a drag on the economy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 21, 2025

Did I fall victim to Japan’s stealth productivity killer?

Hay fever has been dubbed Japan’s "national disease” and blamed as a major drag on productivity.
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows' Munetaka Murakami bats during spring camp on March 14 in the city of Urasoe, Okinawa. Murakami returned from a spring injury on Thursday but was taken off the roster again the next day.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Apr 21, 2025

Munetaka Murakami's return cut short as Swallows’ struggles deepen

The Tokyo team’s star slugger returned on Thursday but was taken off the roster again the next day.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building