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PRESS
Oct 23, 2023

The Japan Times wins two gold at WAN-IFRA Asia Media Awards 2023

The Japan Times, Ltd. (Chairperson, Publisher and President: Minako Suematsu) is a double Gold award winner (small-medium company category) in the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) Asia Media Awards 2023.
Samples of The Japan Times winning news coverage, recognized by the World Association of News Publishers Asian Media Awards.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Oct 23, 2023

The Japan Times wins two gold at WAN-IFRA Asia Media Awards 2023

The Japan Times, Ltd. (Chairperson, Publisher and President: Minako Suematsu) is a double Gold award winner (small-medium company category) in the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) Asia Media Awards 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 23, 2023

Race to develop new laundry detergent heats up in Japan

Manufacturers are racing to offer detergent products that come in single washing amounts and do not require measurement.
Nissan Motor Sakura electric vehicles (left and center), and a Mitsubishi Motors eK X electric vehicle on display during their release ceremony at the Mitsubishi Motors Mizushima plant in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, in May 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 24, 2023

Japan's bestselling EV isn’t a Tesla but a $13,000 minicar

A jointly developed minicar sold as the Nissan Motors Sakura and Mitsubishi Motors eK X accounts for roughly half of all EV sales in Japan.
A pedestrian walks past an electronic signboard showing data from the Tokyo Stock Exchange and on the Japanese yen after the currency rebounded slightly after hitting ¥150 to the U.S. dollar in overnight trading, along a street in central Tokyo on Oct. 4.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 24, 2023

Germany set to eclipse Japan as No. 3 economy in 2023, IMF says

The yen’s widely watched depreciation has played an outsized role in its projected slide in position.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida listens as Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan chief Kenta Izumi speaks in parliament in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 24, 2023

Tough questions for Kishida in parliament over spending plans

Japan’s main opposition party began its scrutiny of Kishida's economic stimulus package as the country struggles with inflation and stagnant wages.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 25, 2023

Total transplants from brain-dead donors near 1,000 after 26 years

Less than 3% of patients waiting for organ transplants have received transplants, as Japan still faces a serious shortage of organ donors.
Munakata Shiko's "Oshira-sama: The Flying Silkworm Deities" (1968)
CULTURE / Art
Oct 26, 2023

Major retrospective traces hero's journey of 'Japan's van Gogh'

An exhibition of Shiko Munakata's works shows evidence of a charismatic character and a career that reflects Japan's changing relationship with the West.
The simplest option for many Japanese industries facing labor shortages might be to do what the taxi sector is doing — keep people in the workforce longer.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 26, 2023

Octogenarian taxi drivers to the labor-crunch rescue

An option for many Japanese industries facing labor shortages might be to do what the taxi sector is doing — keep people in the workforce longer.
Plaintiffs, lawyers and supporters march to the Tokyo District Court on Nov. 30, the same day the court ruled that Japan’s lack of legal protections for same-sex couples is unconstitutional.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 27, 2023

Japan's 'failed' same-sex marriage lawsuits can still propel reform

Even unsuccessful cases challenging Japan’s failure to recognize same-sex marriage have gotten courts to acknowledge a constitutional problem.
Christopher Nolan's film about the creator of the atomic bomb, "Oppenheimer," was released in theaters worldwide this summer and received mostly strong reviews. However, distributors still have not announced whether the film will be shown in Japan's cinemas.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 28, 2023

Will Japan ever see 'Oppenheimer' screened in its cinemas?

Christopher Nolan’s film about the creator of the atomic bomb still doesn't have a Japan release date. There’s more than one possible reason for that.
Toyota’s gigacast rear component. The company plans to employ the gigacasting technology in making electric vehicles.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2023

Tesla’s latest disruption in carmaking draws followers in Japan

Carmakers in Japan are starting to embrace gigacasting as they seek to make up for lost ground in the shift to EVs.
Japan's industrial output increased a smaller-than-expected 0.2% in September.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2023

Japan's September industrial production growth misses consensus

Factory output increased 0.2% from a month earlier, missing economist expectations of a 2.5% gain.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 1, 2023

Japan ramps up yen intervention warning after BOJ-fueled sell-off

The broad decline toward ¥152 to the dollar has the currency around the threshold that a year ago drove Japanese authorities to swoop in to prop it up.
An assembly engineer works on a lithography system at chipmaker ASML in Veldhoven, Netherlands, on June 16.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 2, 2023

How can the EU strengthen its strategic autonomy regarding chips?

The bloc has felt a sense of crisis over the fact that its growth strategy has been largely dependent on third countries.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 1, 2023

How Yuki Udagawa’s steely nerves quieted Koshien’s raucous crowd

Instead of being rattled, Yuki Udagawa fed off the electric energy pulsating through the stadium as he protected a one-run lead in a 5-4 win.
Economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura (center) is right to insist that economic security is linked to national power and determines the fate of the nation. REUTERS
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2023

Economic security demands attention and defies simple explanation

A global challenge: Resilience and innovation are key strategies in the pursuit of economic security.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda in a news conference on Tuesday, when the central bank adjusted its cap on bond yields.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 2, 2023

Japan's yen and bond priorities at odds as market pressure grows

Unscheduled bond purchases by the Bank of Japan Wednesday worked directly against Finance Ministry efforts to support the yen.
"The Ones Left Behind" documents the successes and struggles of single mothers in Japan.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 2, 2023

Why single mothers in Japan have been left behind

Filmmaker Rionne McAvoy joins us to discuss the hidden poverty present in one of the world’s richest nations.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 3, 2023

Could the Tigers' curse be over, once and for all?

A win against the Buffaloes on Saturday would see the Tigers victorious in this year's Japan Series.
A stock board in Beijing last month. China’s benchmark CSI 300 has slumped 7.4% as a faltering economy dashed optimism over the nation’s reopening from COVID-19 restrictions.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 4, 2023

Japan’s fading rally drives some investors to cheap China shares

Japanese stocks have trounced their Chinese peers this year, but some investors are betting the tide is about to turn.
In some cases, it's up to individual foreign residents to understand the unique tax implications of their home countries and Japan in order to avoid a penny-pinching retirement.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / Age Wise
Nov 5, 2023

Retiring in Japan? Be prepared to foot your own bills.

“In an ideal world, everyone should have retirement planning on their radar as soon as possible when working life begins.”
Blackstone's headquarters in New York
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2023

Blackstone sees most Asia deal activity in Japan and India in 2024

The world’s largest alternative asset manager expects India and Japan to be its most active markets in Asia next year based on capital allocation.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 6, 2023

Sheldon Neuse and the catch that ended the Tigers' 38-year drought

For the American, a win in the Japan Series was a perfect ending to a year that did not go the way he had hoped during the regular season.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 6, 2023

Israel-Hamas conflict to dominate Tokyo summit of top G7 diplomats

Japan will be looking to further align the bloc’s responses to the war amid growing calls for a humanitarian pause in the fighting.
Zero carbon energy accounts for 28% of Japan's grid, falling short of countries like Germany, whose share of clean energy generation reached 58% last year.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 6, 2023

How Japan became the land the energy transition forgot

Its symbol may be the rising sun, but a wholesale adoption of renewables by Japan is light years away, mired in bureaucratic and technical hurdles.
Tomihiro Tanaka, president of the Japan branch of the Unification Church also known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, bows his head in apology during a news conference on Tuesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 7, 2023

Unification Church ready to set aside ¥10 billion fund for victims

The announcement was made as lawmakers contemplate measures to secure the church’s assets if the court decides to strip the group of its special status.
A structure of the Arctic LNG 2 joint venture is seen under construction near the settlement of Belokamenka, Murmansk region, Russia, in July last year
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2023

U.S. sanctions on Russia LNG won't harm supplies, minister says

The industry minister said that Japan will ensure its energy supplies are not affected by U.S. sanctions on a Russian project in which it has a stake.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa speak as they wait for a group photo session during the Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 8, 2023

G7 top diplomats call for ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Israel-Hamas war

The statement didn’t mention a cease-fire, only noting the necessity of humanitarian action.
Port Plus is a training and education facility in Yokohama built by and for general contractor Obayashi, a storied Japanese builder that traces its roots back to 1892.
BUSINESS
Nov 16, 2023

Wooden high-rise in Yokohama grows Japan’s timber ambitions

Port Plus, which was finished last year, is composed mainly of 540 wooden rigid cross-joints.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo