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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 18, 2021

Lim Kah Wai creates an intricate mosaic of Osakans in ‘Come and Go’

Director Lim Kah Wai's final installment of his Osaka trilogy is a compelling ensemble drama that reflects the diversity of nationalities and lifestyles that coexist in the city.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Nov 17, 2021

Naomi Osaka concerned over Peng Shuai's whereabouts after allegations

The Japanese star added her voice to the tennis community's growing calls for assurances of Peng's safety by Chinese officials.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Nov 4, 2021

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai says former vice premier forced her into sex

Former world No.1 tennis doubles player Peng Shuai, one of China's biggest sports stars, has publicly accused a former Chinese vice premier of forcing her into sex several years ago in a social media post that was later deleted.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Oct 27, 2021

Xi’s toughest ‘common prosperity’ test is raising China’s taxes

Hiking taxes wouldn't seem difficult in the one-party state. But the Communist Party is sensitive to public opinion, and taxes are as politically fraught in China as anywhere else.
With projections indicating a population drop in Japan from around 125 million to 63 million by 2100, traditional solutions like immigration and labor reforms are unlikely to be effective in time.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 15, 2024

Japan should master, not resist, its demographic destiny

Japan needs a strategic reorientation toward accepting and mastering its demographic changes rather than resisting them.
Masakaki tree offerings made by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and health minister Takamaro Fukuoka are seen at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2024

Ishiba sends offering to war-linked Yasukuni Shrine

The prime minister is unlikely to visit the Shinto shrine during its fall festival, however.
Violin, a day care center for the elderly, is housed in a building that used be an office of the Kudokai crime syndicate in the city of Kitakyushu. It retains the original look of the Kudokai facility, with its thick steel-plated front door, glittering chandelier and marble floor.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Oct 28, 2024

Former yakuza office repurposed to become elderly care facility

The building that houses Violin, a day care center for the elderly, was once one of the main facilities for the Kudokai syndicate.
Koichi Hagiuda, former economy minister, shakes hands with his supporters in Hachioji, Tokyo, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 18, 2024

In western Tokyo, national scandals rub up against local politics

In the Tokyo No. 24 district, the LDP is grappling with a backlash, but the opposition is struggling to capitalize on the public’s lingering dissatisfaction.
The Goi thermal power station in Chiba Prefecture
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Oct 18, 2024

Japanese youth sue utilities over climate impact

The plaintiffs, all in their teens and 20s, say it is the first such case brought by young people in Japan.
A Tokyo Electric Power Co. employee opens a watertight door inside the Unit 7 reactor building at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, on Aug. 6.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Oct 19, 2024

Japan shifting back to nuclear to ditch coal and power AI

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, the world's biggest nuclear plant, could help Japan cut carbon emissions while also powering artificial intelligence.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a BRICS business forum in Moscow on Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2024

The rise of BRICS and the emerging multipolar world

The diversity among BRICS members presents challenges in forming a unified agenda, especially given differing political systems and goals.
China's strategic government support has enabled it to lead in the production and supply chains for renewable technologies, including wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 22, 2024

What happens when China becomes the green tech superpower?

What should be of more concern is the “soft power” that Beijing will acquire by mastering the green tech sector.
Kazuya Shiraishi's "11 Rebels," a period actioner based on a long-forgotten script by Kazuo Kasahara, will open this year's Tokyo International Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 24, 2024

Tokyo International Film Festival boasts strong line-up of Japanese fare

An excellent chance to see films from Japan, Asia and around the world, the annual event will kick off with Kazuya Shiraishi's gritty action feature "11 Rebels."
Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI employee, in San Francisco on Oct. 3. Balaji helped gather and organize the enormous amounts of internet data used to train the startup’s ChatGPT chatbot.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 24, 2024

Former OpenAI researcher says the company broke copyright law

Suchi Balaji is among the first employees to leave a major AI company and speak out against the way these companies use copyrighted data to create their technologies.
Amit Chhetri opened Yeti Roastery Coffee in Tokyo's Todoroki neighborhood in 2020 as a way to promote Nepalese coffee in Japan.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 27, 2024

Yeti Roastery Coffee is elevating Nepalese java in Japan

“Nepal has rich soil and a huge potential for growing coffee in its mountains, which are also unbelievably gorgeous,” says Yeti Coffee Roastery's Amit Chhetri.
Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui hits a solo home run off Pedro Martinez of the Phillies in Game 2 of the World Series on Oct. 29, 2009.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 25, 2024

From Shinjo to 'Godzilla': The Japanese players who have made their mark on the Fall Classic

Tsuyoshi Shinjo got the ball rolling for Japanese stars in MLB’s Fall Classic in 2002, and stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are set to join the growing club.
Studio Ghibli’s “Kiki’s Delivery Service” draws inspiration from Sweden’s medieval town of Visby as well as Stockholm for its vibrant setting of Koriko, a fictional city where the film’s titular character decides to use her powers as a witch to benefit the inhabitants of her new home.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 27, 2024

The Swedish heart of Hayao Miyazaki's ‘Kiki's Delivery Service’

Inspiration for the 1989 Studio Ghibli classic is still very evident in Visby, a picturesque town that captivated the animator on his first trip abroad in 1971.
A Nvidia chip during the Taipei Computex expo in Taipei on May 29, 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 28, 2024

How a Mumbai drugmaker is helping Putin get Nvidia AI chips

An inconspicuous pharmaceutical company exported 1,111 units of Dell Technologies' most-advanced servers to Russia in April-August of this year.
Then-manager Erik ten Hag celebrates with the trophy after Manchester United won the FA Cup on May 25.
SOCCER
Oct 29, 2024

Manchester United sack Erik ten Hag after woeful start to the season

United assistant coach and ex-striker Ruud van Nistelrooy will take over on an interim basis.
Japan's jobless rate decreased to 2.4% in September, falling to its lowest level since January.
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2024

Job market tightened in September, supporting wage gains and BOJ policy goals

Higher demand for workers is expected to pressure companies to raise salaries to retain them, potentially feeding into a virtuous cycle between prices and wages.
Today's religious thinkers face the challenge of demonstrating that faith offers deeper meaning and understanding in an increasingly secular world.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2024

Is the world ready for a religious comeback?

Individuals are seeking meaning through alternative avenues, suggesting a readiness for religious discourse.
Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley leaves after attending a press conference hosted by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to release its first annual report, at the Vatican on Tuesday.
WORLD / Society
Oct 30, 2024

Church must act faster against abusive priests, papal commission says

The detailed global report from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was the first since the body was set up by Pope Francis in 2014.
While Donald Trump is typically seen as the instigator of the slide in America’s standing and credibility as a global leader, in truth, questions about U.S. commitment and resolve have persisted long before his administration. 
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 29, 2024

This election won’t — can’t — solve U.S. foreign policy woes

While Trump is typically seen as the instigator of this slide, in truth, questions about U.S. commitment and resolve predate his administration.
Suzumi Suzuki’s “Gifted,” translated by Allison Markin Powell, centers on a hostess working in Kabukicho. Rather than focusing on the protagonist’s occupation, the story plunges the reader into her strained relationship with her dying mother.  
CULTURE / Books
Nov 3, 2024

A nuanced glimpse into the cloistered world of Kabukicho

Drawing on her own experience working in adult entertainment, Suzumi Suzuki crafts a fresh, visceral work for her debut novel, "Gifted"
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole pitches against the Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series on Oct. 25.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 3, 2024

Yankees' Gerrit Cole opts out of contract

Cole, 34, opted out less than a week after losing the World Series-clinching Game 5 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Tokyo Hydrogen Museum in the capital's Koto Ward on Thursday. The capital is targeting the “full use” of hydrogen produced using renewable energy “in all fields” by 2050 as part of its decarbonization drive.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Nov 3, 2024

Tokyo's climate goals rely on a fuel that is falling out of favor

The metropolitan government is targeting the widespread use of hydrogen, but strong competition and its physical properties are limiting its applications.
While NATO membership is unlikely until the war concludes, some NATO members are open to allowing Ukraine to strike deep into Russia, though U.S. President Joe Biden remains hesitant.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 4, 2024

Biden has a crucial decision to make on Ukraine

Biden may not be the U.S. president to make the congratulatory call to Ukraine's leader when peace is declared, but he can help keep him in the fight until it happens.
Men's winner Abdi Nageeye and women's winner Sheila Chepkirui celebrate after the New York City Marathon on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 4, 2024

Abdi Nageeye holds off Evans Chebet to win New York City Marathon

Sheila Chepkirui led a Kenyan sweep of the women's podium.
Quincy Jones attends a reception in his honor at the Residence de France in Los Angeles on April 25, 2017.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 4, 2024

Quincy Jones, renaissance man of American music, dies at 91

Jones died at his home in Los Angeles, surrounded by his family, according to a statement from his publicist.
Aryna Sabalenka reacts during her WTA Finals singles group stage match against Jasmine Paolini in Riyadh on Monday.
TENNIS
Nov 5, 2024

Sabalenka advances to WTA Finals last four as Zheng ousts Rybakina

The Belarusian top seed is also just one victory away from locking down the year-end number one ranking.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell