Search - 2018

 
 
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jan 17, 2023

Olympics to screen on free-to-air TV in Europe from 2026 to 2032

The European Broadcasting Union and Warner Bros. Discovery presented a joint bid to acquire all media rights across 48 countries in Europe, as well as Israel.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / Longform
Jan 16, 2023

The race to save the Japanese giant salamander

River infrastructure is causing the salamander's decline. To stop Japan from losing this rare species, conservationists are calling for an alternative vision of rural development.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2023

Jobs vs. membership: Making sense of Japan's system of employment

A family-based 'membership-type' system of work underpins Japanese society, but the conditions and traditions attached to it aren't always favorable — or easy to understand.
Evgeniya Mayboroda sits in the defendant's dock during the announcement of the verdict in her case at the municipal court of Shakhty, Rostov Oblast, Russia, on Jan. 29, 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 8, 2025

The strange case of Evgeniya Mayboroda, Russia's rebel retiree

The 72-year-old's transformation from fan to critic says much about the state of today's Russia under Vladimir Putin.
Since the Sino-U.S. trade conflict began in 2018, China has used it to strengthen self-reliance, sharpen its strategies and turn Donald Trump’s tariffs into fuel for its long-term global resilience. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2025

China is winning Donald Trump’s trade war

While China does not want a trade war or to decouple, it is willing to risk a trade war that the United States may lose — and it would rather decouple than kowtow to Trump.
A coral reef in Okinawa in July 2022. Some jurisdictions around the world have moved to ban certain sunscreens in a bid to protect coral reefs, but some say the impact on reefs is far from clear.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Jul 20, 2025

Japan’s top brands get tied up in the great sunscreen debate

The debate over the damage sunscreens cause to the marine environment is heating up as some regions ban certain chemical ingredients.
"My heart and soul are in Deir el-Zor. No money, no homes or luxury in the world can compensate for what I’ve lost there," said Ehab Mzeal, a 41-year-old Syrian. However, he is grateful for his life in Europe, "I like Germany for one reason: it stood by us."
WORLD / Society / FOCUS
Aug 8, 2025

A journey to belong: Migrants describe 10 years in Europe

Migrants from around the world discuss the rewards and challenges of their new lives in Europe.
T-shirts with images of Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump are displayed for sale at a gift shop in central Moscow, Russia on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 14, 2025

Trump and Putin: A strained relationship

The upcoming meeting between the two leaders in Alaska comes amid tensions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and fruitless talks to end the conflict.
Musical act Petalhead, comprised of Jaime Alise (left) and Riku Ogura, performs at More Than Music’s beachside event in Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Aug 25, 2025

More Than Music makes space for creative communion

Since 2018, Tokyo-based duo Justin Sachs and Atsuko Sunaga have been organizing live shows and curating a community with shared passions.
At Kuro Mame, baristas customize the coffee according to the guest's preferences.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 29, 2025

Sip a bespoke coffee for ¥4,000 at Kuro Mame

Always wanted to have a barista customize your brew? Make a beeline for this premium cafe.
Redevelopment plans for Kawayu Onsen have hit some snags — an example of how bringing tourists back to declining rural communities is far from easy work.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 6, 2025

In rural Hokkaido, the stops and starts of tourism revival on full display

A new luxury resort might halt the decline of Kawayu, but only if locals and businesses can agree on how to move forward.
Japan head coach Eddie Jones during a training session in November last year.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 21, 2025

Fiji beats Japan in Pacific Nations Cup rugby final

Fiji seized a 33-10 lead on Nasova's try early in the second half and then held off a furious Japan rally over the final minutes in a rematch of last year's final.
Paulina “Jedda” Puruntatameri with Antonia Burke and Tiwi fisher Clinton offshore of Melville Island, one of the Tiwi Islands, in Australia's Northern Territory. Together with other Tiwi, Jedda has been campaigning for years to stop Australian company Santos and its backers, including Japanese investors, from drilling for natural gas at the Barossa gas field.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Sep 21, 2025

As Japan keeps buying gas, Aboriginal Australians pay the price

Japan is Australia’s second-largest export market for energy and natural resources, giving Tokyo a certain political weight when it comes to Australian energy matters.
Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Aitana Bonmati (left) and Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Ousmane Dembele after receiving Ballon d'Or awards at a ceremony in Paris on Monday
SOCCER
Sep 23, 2025

Dembele beats Yamal to Ballon d'Or as Bonmati retains women's award

Dembele, 28, edged out Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal to succeed Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri.
Chef Shota Itoi’s innovative take on modern French cuisine at Auberge Eaufeu elevates the produce of rural Ishikawa Prefecture.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Sep 26, 2025

Auberge Eaufeu brings French flair to a quiet village in Ishikawa

Housed in a former elementary school, the restaurant is a brilliant showcase of the creative mind of chef Shota Itoi.
Kim Son Gyong, North Korea's vice minister for foreign affairs, speaks during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 30, 2025

With U.N. speech and China visit, North Korea ramps up diplomatic moves

Pyongyang sent a senior official to the U.N. on Monday for a speech for the first time since 2018, while its foreign minister was in China for talks with top officials.
Employees select sheets of Green Virginia tobacco leaves for processing at a Japan Tobacco cigarette plant in Senta, Serbia. While rivals have set ambitious targets for "smoke-free” products, Japan Tobacco has focused more on conventional combustible tobacco products.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 4, 2025

Japan Tobacco is doubling down on cheap cigarettes

While rivals have set ambitious targets for "smoke-free” products, Japan Tobacco has focused more on conventional combustible tobacco products.
Takashi “Waka” Wakasugi stopped by the Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya Ward last month following his stint at Edinburgh Festival Fringe performing his show “Comedy Samurai.”
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 9, 2025

A Japanese comedian walks into an Aussie bar … and stays there

Melbourne-based comedian Takashi “Waka” Wakasugi, who has only ever done stand-up in his second language, is fast becoming Australia’s favorite Japanese comedian.
Actress Diane Keaton speaks during the handprints and footprints ceremony to celebrate "Mack & Rita" at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, in August 2022. Keaton, known for her Oscar-winning performance in 1977's "Annie Hall" and her role in "The Godfather" films, has died at age 79.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 12, 2025

Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton dead at 79

Keaton was a frequent collaborator of director Woody Allen, portraying the titular character in "Annie Hall," the charming girlfriend of Allen's comic Alvy Singer.
Jin Mingri, the head pastor of the Zion Church in Beijing, has been detained by Chinese authorities on "suspicion of the illegal use of information networks."
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 14, 2025

China detains prominent underground pastor in crackdown

Jin Mingri, who founded the unregistered Zion Church, has been detained on "suspicion of the illegal use of information networks."
An electronic board displaying currency exchange rates in Ferdowsi Square in Tehran on Sept. 28. The rial has shriveled to 1,115,000 per dollar from 920,000 in August, stoking inflation to at least 40% and gutting purchasing power.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2025

Iran risks severe economic downturn and unrest as renewed U.N. sanctions bite

Economic disparities between ordinary Iranians and a privileged clerical and security elite, economic mismanagement, inflation and state corruption have fanned discontent.
New York state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and the front-runner in the New York City mayoral race, greets supporters as his campaign hosts a soccer tournament designed to call attention to the high cost of living in New York, in Brooklyn on Oct. 19.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 26, 2025

Long-shot socialist Zohran Mamdani in striking distance of becoming New York mayor

The 34-year-old election front-runner was born in Uganda to a family of Indian origin and has lived in the United States since he was seven.
Care worker and bodybuilder Hokuto Tatsumi helps a woman train at a care home for people with disabilities operated by Visionary in Aichi prefecture.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 28, 2025

Bodybuilders find new calling in Japan’s struggling care industry

A Nagoya firm is tackling Japan’s caregiver shortage by recruiting bodybuilders — offering gym perks, protein subsidies and purpose.
Kim Yong Nam, then-chairman of North Korea's Presidium of the country's Supreme People’s Assembly, arrives at Miraflores Palace in Caracas for a meeting with Venezuela's leader in November 2018.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 4, 2025

North Korea says former ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam has died

Kim, the face of Pyongyang's diplomacy for decades and the only person outside of the ruling family dynasty to serve as North Korea's nominal head of state, was 97.
U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Nov 8, 2025

Did Trump’s Supreme Court tariffs brief include a strategic blunder?

The justices are generally reluctant to take account of a president’s public statements. But extensive quotes from Trump in a key filing may change the legal calculus.
The U.S. Capitol Building in Washington
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2025

U.S. shutdown nears end as Senate Democrats agree to funding deal

"It looks like we’re getting closer to the shutdown ending,” U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday evening as he returned to the White House.
Mobile Suica is being improved so that it is more useful in an increasingly cashless society.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 12, 2025

Penguin-less Suica to take on PayPay in payments with QR codes and higher limits

Balance limits will go from ¥20,000 on the current e-money system to ¥300,000.
Tigers starter Tarik Skubal pitches against the Guardians at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sept. 18.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 13, 2025

Tarik Skubal wins second straight AL Cy Young as Paul Skenes takes NL honor

Skubal is the 12th pitcher — and fifth in the American League — to win in back- to-back years.
The Swallows' Munetaka Murakami has 246 career home runs in eight NPB seasons.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 20, 2025

Munetaka Murakami headlines quartet looking to move to MLB via posting system

Tokyo Yakult Swallows’ elite power hitter will be only 26 when he celebrates his next birthday on Feb. 2.

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40