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Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 24, 2022

‘Now there is no one’: The lament of one of the last Christians in a Syrian city

Communities across the Middle East and North Africa — some of which trace their roots to Christianity's early days — have been struggling for decades with wars, poverty and persecution.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / Longform,Longform
Jan 24, 2022

With international tourists still absent, Japan’s ski resorts dig deep

The ongoing pandemic could be the final blow for operators as memories of the ski boom — and bust — of the 1980s still linger.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 16, 2022

The decades of discoveries before the ‘miraculous’ sprint to a vaccine

The breakthroughs behind the vaccines unfolded over decades, little by little, as scientists across the world pursued research in disparate areas.
New gene-edited crops could address climate change and agricultural challenges; however, high regulatory barriers and safety concerns limit innovation.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 18, 2024

It’s time to embrace a new era of gene-edited food

New crops may improve our health or help us mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Bangladesh's instability adds to the existing regional tensions in South Asia, which is already grappling with violence in Myanmar, terrorism in the Pakistan-Afghanistan area and political turmoil in the Maldives and Nepal.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2024

South Asia’s deepening political turmoil

The ouster of Bangladeshi's government is the latest example of political volatility in South Asia — a region struggling to achieve stability, let alone democratization.
Shigeki Maruyama drives fellow players in a golf cart during the first practice round for the 2013 Presidents Cup golf tournament in Dublin, Ohio, in October 2013.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Aug 21, 2024

Maruyama named International team's final assistant for Presidents Cup

"His record in this event speaks for itself," said International team captain Mike Weir on Wednesday.
Keiichi Tanaami
CULTURE / Art
Aug 21, 2024

Keiichi Tanaami, pioneering Pop Art visionary, dies at 88

Known for his vivid kaleidoscopic visuals, which blended traditional Japanese motifs with Western pop culture, Tanaami was a pivotal figure in postwar Japanese art.
The integration of large language models into war-game simulations and planning promises faster scenario analysis, but recent research highlights significant issues, including a risk of escalation.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024

Resist the seductive power of AI in military decision-making

The maturation of AI and the creation of large learning models have driven the war-gaming industry — and it is an industry — to new heights of fever and frenzy.
A banner is displayed by Northern Ireland fans in protest against the redevelopment of Casement Park for use in Euro 2028, at Windsor Park in Belfast last October.
SOCCER
Aug 24, 2024

Derelict stadium for Euro 2028 highlights Belfast’s bitter divide

The issue is stirring up old divisions and proving to be an early headache for the Labour government.
Demonstrators with a stylized painting depicting Telegram's founder, Pavel Durov, protest against the blocking of the popular messaging app in Russia, during a May Day rally in Saint Petersburg on in May 2018.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 25, 2024

Telegram messaging app CEO Durov arrested in France, reports say

Pavel Durov, the Russian-French billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at Bourget Airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, TF1 TV and BFM TV said, citing unidentified sources.
Giant figures depicting Russian authors Anton Chekhov, Alexander Pushkin, Daniil Kharms and Fyodor Dostoyevsky are paraded through a carnival in central Moscow in September 2015.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2024

When art is all that remains

Looking at the Kremlin today, one wonders, “Do they really now know how this story ends?” Art will always have the last word.
Akira Ishiwatari (right), a Nuclear Regulation Authority commissioner, inspects a trench dug on the grounds of the Tsuruga nuclear power plant's No. 2 reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, in June.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 28, 2024

Tsuruga nuclear reactor found noncompliant with safety standards

The Nuclear Regulation Authority will decide whether to formally adopt the report after collecting public comments on it for about a month.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda "predictably unpredictable" actions and policy shifts highlight the need for improved communication, reflecting modern central banking practices.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 28, 2024

How long can the BOJ get away with rate shocks?

The BOJ’s shifting policies and Kazuo Ueda’s unpredictable approach reflect the need for better alignment with modern central banking practices.
There is a significant divide between security experts, who emphasize the unquantifiable risks of geopolitical instability, and economists, who focus on the measurable costs of restructuring supply chains.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2024

Traditional economics fail the geopolitical test

The seemingly yawning gap between the views of the security specialists and the business and economics types is striking.
Helmut Engwer and Gerhard Iffert pose for a photo during a Buendnis Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance election campaign rally in Eisenach, Germany, on Aug. 19.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 28, 2024

Eastern Germany's economic success leaves voters cold

Half of east Germans are convinced their region is economically stagnating, a study has shown.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks as she holds up a copy of electoral records during a protest against the election results announced by President Nicolas Maduro's government after he was declared winner of the July election, in Caracas on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2024

Rallies and arrests mark one month since disputed Venezuela election

Protests since the vote have led to at least 27 deaths.
Pope Francis arrives at the weekly general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 29, 2024

Pope Francis takes climate message to Southeast Asia on 12-day trip

It will be the longest trip yet by Pope Francis, who now regularly uses a wheelchair due to knee and back pain.
Big Blue head coach Mike Phair (front, right) participates in the X League 2024 Season Kickoff news conference.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Aug 30, 2024

Japan ties guide veteran NFL coach Mike Phair to Big Blue in X League

The Arizona native had long been thinking about rekindling his involvement with Japanese football.
Blue Jackets left-winger Johnny Gaudreau skates with the puck during a game against the Canadiens in Montreal in March.
MORE SPORTS / Hockey
Aug 31, 2024

NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother killed in New Jersey crash

Johnny Gaudreau played 11 NHL seasons with the Flames and Blue Jackets and took part in seven All-Star games.
NPB Commissioner Sadayuki Sakakibara (left) Samurai Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata (second from left) and WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari pose for photos during a news conference on Friday.
BASEBALL
Sep 1, 2024

Hirokazu Ibata looking to keep Japan on top of baseball world by winning Premier12

Japan will enter the Premier12 as the defending champion.
American Taylor Fritz celebrates after defeating Germany's Alexander Zverev in the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Tuesday.
TENNIS
Sep 4, 2024

Tiafoe, Fritz and Navarro boost American hopes of U.S. Open title sweep

The 12th-seeded Fritz won a big-hitting battle against fourth-seeded 2020 runner-up Alexander Zverev of Germany 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan greet the press before welcoming leaders from African countries in Beijing on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 5, 2024

Debt woes and funding needs in focus as China hosts African leaders

Africa and its ample mineral and oil resources have become the focus of intense geopolitical competition in recent years.
One problem with Japan’s investments in African infrastructure compared to other countries is that its projects often lack long-term sustainability and alignment with local development plans, limiting their impact. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 5, 2024

Is Japan’s involvement in Africa’s development outdated?

Japan's traditional aid approach is seen as too transactional and insufficiently addressing Africa's broader development challenges.
Bangladeshi military personnel stand guard at an empty police station in Dhaka on Aug. 9. The U.S. and Western nations have sacrificed democracy for geopolitics, evident in Bangladesh’s chaos and violence after the prime minister was recently forced from power.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2024

The Western world's stealthy assault on democracy

Elections alone — even if competitive — do not guarantee popular empowerment or adherence to constitutional rules, especially when the military holds decisive power.
Former Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's remarks on Friday suggest the central bank has a long way to go since its latest rate hike took the key rate to just 0.25%.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 6, 2024

Kuroda indicates that BOJ is still a long way from neutral rate

A nominal neutral rate could be less than 2%, the former central bank governor told the Bund Summit in Shanghai via video link.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi declares his candidacy in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 6, 2024

Shinjiro Koizumi promises immediate snap election if elected LDP president

The former environment minister said he will turn to the electorate to allow voters to judge his plan to transform Japan.
Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia arrives in Barlovento Town, Venezuela, on June 26 to meet with supporters.
WORLD
Sep 8, 2024

Venezuelan presidential opposition candidate heads for Spanish exile

Madrid's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on X that Gonzalez Urrutia "at his request" had departed on a Spanish military plane.
The Tokyo leg of Magical Mirai 2024, a gathering centered on a concert starring the aqua-haired Hatsune Miku and other avatars created by Sapporo-based company Crypton Future Media, kicked off on Aug. 30.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 9, 2024

Magical Mirai 2024 shows that the future is bright for Hatsune Miku

Thousands of visitors helped kick off the Tokyo leg of the gathering, which offers an immersive dive into every part of the aqua-haired anime avatar's world.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike poses with Liberal Democratic Party members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on July 8, following her win for a third term in the gubernatorial election the previous day.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 10, 2024

After Tokyo governor poll, eyes turn to 2025 assembly election

Both the Liberal Democratic Party and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan are under pressure to regroup ahead of the quadrennial metropolitan assembly election.
While there are similarities between the geopolitical competition involving the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, such as global rivalry and ideological divisions, key differences suggest the situation with China does not constitute a new Cold War.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2024

A new ‘Cold War’ with China might be the best hope for the future

The current situation is often described as "a new great game," a world in which our time and challenges result from the stirring of old empires.

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