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Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa meets with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan on April 29.
JAPAN / Politics
May 7, 2024

Kamikawa supporting struggling Kishida government on diplomatic front

Some in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are hoping she will become a candidate for the party presidency and lead it through the next general election.
Masato Kanda, vice minister of finance for international affairs, reiterated the currency authorities' readiness to step into the market for speculative-driven foreign exchange moves.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 7, 2024

Japan warns of action over rapid currency moves

Comments by the government's top currency diplomat, Masato Kanda, reinforced Tokyo's readiness to intervene again to support a fragile yen.
Tourists pose in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji on Friday in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture. Local residents are upset over littering, overcrowding and the inconvenience caused by the visitors.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 7, 2024

Thanks, tourists. Views of Mount Fuji are now blocked.

Japan needs better long-term strategies to manage tourism sustainably.
Despite Shinzo Abe's numerous achievements as prime minister, including job creation and efforts to promote workforce gender equality, recent controversies surrounding his tenure, including ties to controversial groups and scandals within his political faction, have tarnished his image.
COMMENTARY
May 7, 2024

The economic legacy of Japan's longest-serving prime minister

Under Abenomics and the BOJ's monetary policy, employment rose more than under any other Japanese government in the 21st century.
Economic security has evolved to include offensive measures, such as industrial policy. Countries like Japan are increasingly on-shoring strategic industries such as semiconductors, regardless of the cost.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 7, 2024

The shift from economic security to geoeconomics

Economic security started out as a defensive concept, but it has now been weaponized to include an offensive element, morphing into a geoeconomic tool.
SoftBank is in talks with South Korea's Naver over control of LY, which operates the popular messaging app Line, the telecommunications firm's CEO has said.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2024

SoftBank in talks with Naver over control of Line operator LY

LY is majority owned by a joint venture between SoftBank and Naver.
Japan Post CEO Tetsuya Senda (right) and his Seino Transportation counterpart Satoshi Takahashi announce their companies' agreement on joint long-haul truck operations, in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 10, 2024

Japan's logistics firms seek partnerships to cope with driver shortage

Japan Post and Seino Transportation have reached a basic agreement to work together on joint long-haul truck operations.
Philippine and U.S. Marines watch as a projectile hits a target at sea during a live-fire exercise against an imaginary "invasion" force as part of the annual joint military drills, on a strip of sand dunes in Laoag on Luzon island's northwest coast, on May 6.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 11, 2024

U.S. builds web of arms, ships and bases in the Pacific to deter China

With missiles, submarines and alliances, the Biden administration has built a presence in the region to rein in Beijing’s expansionist goals.
George Guttridge-Smith brews tea at Kyoto Obubu Tea Farm in Wazuka, Kyoto Prefecture, where he serves as head of international development.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 13, 2024

Is black the new green for Japan’s flagging tea farmers?

With coffee and bottled tea cutting into their potential profits, harvesters in Japan are dabbling in the less-regulated production of black tea.
PRESS
May 17, 2024

New Japan Times Archive release: Early Showa Era publication “The Japan Times Weekly” now available

The Japan Times (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Chairperson, Publisher and President: Minako Suematsu) has now digitized the archival publication "The Japan Times Weekly" and made it available via "Japan Times Book Viewer," a platform that allows users to search and browse the newspaper’s archives...
Katsunobu Kato, former chief Cabinet secretary and a ruling party veteran, says the Bank of Japan must keep a close eye on economic conditions and coordinate carefully with the government in working out when to raise rates.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2024

Japan on track to normalize monetary policy, says ruling party heavyweight

The weak yen has inflated import costs, hurting consumption and creating headaches for policymakers looking to shore up a fragile economic recovery.
Japan’s custody system may soon change with the introduction of joint custody, though issues like a lack of protection against domestic violence and abuse must also be tackled.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 10, 2024

Joint custody alone won’t fix Japan’s flawed system

Japan could be on the verge of adopting joint custody. While to some this is a step in the right direction, it may not be enough to protect families.
Pending the offer’s success, I’rom Group will be delisted and Blackstone will own 55% of the company.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2024

Blackstone to take Japan drug trial firm private in management buyout

A tender offer will be made to acquire I’rom Group shares at ¥2,800 per share — a roughly 50% premium to Monday’s closing price of ¥1,873.
Gloomy economic conditions, especially weak consumption, raise questions over whether the Bank of Japan will be able to take further steps toward policy normalization.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 15, 2024

Japan GDP data expected to show contraction for first quarter

The preliminary data is expected to show that spending by consumers and companies fell, while net exports dragged on growth for the first time in a year.
Japan's gross domestic product shrank at an annualized pace of 2% in the three months through March.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 16, 2024

Japan’s economy contracts as consumers and firms cut spending

Gross domestic product contracted at an annualized pace of 2% in the three months through March.
Entrepreneurs Yusaku Maezawa (second from right) and Takafumi Horie (third from right) attend a study session on fake social media ads and investment scams at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on April 10.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 16, 2024

Japanese billionaire sues Meta over investment scams using his image

Yusaku Maezawa is suing Meta for its negligence in regulating the use of his name and image in investment scams on its social media platforms.
In 2023, Bryan Eastlake (left) began a three-year contract with the local Takahama tourism association to write, post photos and otherwise promote the small town in northern Kyoto Prefecture to a wider audience.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
May 20, 2024

The new vanguard of rural revitalization efforts in Japan

Currently, the Regional Revitalization Corps has around 200 foreign residents working in different industries around the country.
Rapidus Chairman Tetsuro Higashi speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 17, 2024

Rapidus 'last opportunity' to put Japan back on global chip map

Rapidus' chairman says "Japan is more than a decade behind others" in digital technology, adding that "it will require enormous money just to catch up."
Japan Times contributor Laura Pollacco (front right) was offered the role of one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet, in the Tokyo International Players’ production of “Pride and Prejudice.”
CULTURE / Stage
May 18, 2024

Local theater in Japan is more than a hobby — it’s a community

For contributor Laura Pollacco, companies such as Tokyo International Players and Sheepdog Theatre offer a home away from home.
From the outside, the light-brown complex that is Fuchu Prison in western Tokyo could easily be mistaken for a city hall.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
May 19, 2024

Fuchu Prison adapting to foreign prisoners

The penitentiary houses the biggest population of foreign prisoners in Japan, and as such is taking measures to accommodate them in terms of language, culture, food and lifestyle.
While not the most outspoken politician on the issue, digital minister Taro Kono has a track record of being serious in his commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
May 19, 2024

The politicians moving Japan forward on climate

In the halls of power, climate-friendly voices may be few and far between, but some in politics are pushing for more aggressive action on decarbonization.
New Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (right) waves alongside outgoing leader Tsai Ing-wen during the presidential inauguration ceremony at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 20, 2024

‘Cease the intimidation,’ Taiwan’s new president tells China in inaugural speech

New leader Lai Ching-te used his inauguration speech to deliver a clear message to Beijing: Taiwan will not be subordinate to China.
Japan's digital trade deficit in 2023 was up about 2.6 times over nine years since 2014, as smartphones have become ubiquitous tools and the digital services sector is dominated by U.S. information technology giants.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 20, 2024

Japan's digital trade deficit continues to expand

The deficit in Japan's balance of payments in digital services continues to expand steadily.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
May 20, 2024

Japan’s 10-year bond yield hits decade high amid BOJ policy bets

The yield on 10-year government debt rose to a level last seen when the then newly appointed Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda was starting his radical monetary easing.
At the factory of 4R Energy Corp. in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, a lithium-ion electric vehicle battery is disassembled to be reused. Batteries and EVs are among the strategic industries governments around the world aim to support through their industrial policies.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 20, 2024

Grasping industrial policy in the age of economic security

A new era of industrial policies is structured around three P's: promoting strategic industries, protecting emerging technologies and partnering with like-minded countries.
A scene following an Israeli strike on Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 22. Israel has carpet-bombed Gaza, obliterating neighborhoods and targeting hospitals, mosques, schools and camps for displaced people, according to a U.N. report.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 20, 2024

Impunity in Gaza is a threat to the international order

Israel's disregard for human rights and international law in Gaza, and the lack of consequences for such actions, are eroding the liberal international order that Japan relies on.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (left) and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim wave to a crowd following his swearing-in at the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 21, 2024

As new Taiwan leader takes office, a fragile status quo and power struggle at home await

New Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has pledged to build on the legacy of his predecessor.
The modernization of Japan's defense strategy is not just about military capabilities, it is also about building consensus and fostering public understanding.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 21, 2024

The winding road to Japan's defense modernization

The government's efforts to engage the public on defense issues are crucial for building consensus and ensuring the sustainability of defense reforms.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 21, 2024

Carlyle raises $2.8 billion for largest Japan buyout fund

It’s the largest Japan-focused buyout fund ever raised, according to Carlyle, and about 70% bigger than the previous one it pulled together in 2021.
Japan swung to a trade deficit of ¥462.5 billion in April due to higher crude oil prices and a weak yen.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 22, 2024

Japan trade deficit shows weak yen is weighing on economy

The trade balance in April registered a ¥462.5 billion deficit, flipping from a ¥387 billion surplus.

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