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Kumiko Shichijo provides tips on Japanese etiquette and manners on Instagram and says videos on gift-giving and hand towels have done particularly well.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 29, 2024

Kumiko Shichijo: ‘Living abroad helped me appreciate Japanese etiquette’

Worried about committing a social faux pas while in Japan? This manners expert hopes to help you be your most polite while out and about.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers his policy speech at the Lower House of parliament in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 29, 2024

Ishiba sticks to the basics in second policy speech

Rather than expand on his broader vision, Ishiba chose to focus on less-contentious individual policy matters.
Jean-Pierre Charriton
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Dec 2, 2024

President of L’Oreal Japan leverages innovation

Entered L’Oreal in 1991, in charge of the Biotherme products. After a career path in many countries, he arrived in Japan in 2021.
"No matter who takes the helm, Japan’s fiscal discipline will worsen in a situation like this," said Mana Nakazora, a credit analyst on an economic panel advising Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 3, 2024

Japan needs a wake-up call on debt, government advisor warns

The advisor criticized the government’s decision to resume subsidies for utilities as part of the stimulus package.
A line of police officers stand guard as protesters gather at the edge of Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on Wednesday after President Yoon Suk Yeol formally lifted martial law earlier, six hours after having declared it.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 4, 2024

Yoon fights for political life as martial law repercussions reverberate

A coalition of lawmakers from six opposition parties on Wednesday submitted a motion to impeach the South Korean president, with a vote set for Friday or Saturday.
Japanese creatives, athletes and activists saw their efforts recognized on the world stage in various ways this year. At the Oscars (left) Takashi Yamazaki and his team took a prize for “Godzilla Minus One,” while later in the year Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada (center) took Emmys for their work in “Shogun.” Shohei Ohtani (right) was arguably the biggest Japanese star of the year.
CULTURE / 2024 in Review
Dec 4, 2024

Japan's soft power soared to new heights in 2024

From Oscars and Emmys to a Nobel Peace Prize, it was a year of awards and triumphs in key cultural fields.
Sake bottles are displayed at the 19th World Cultural Heritage Conference, as sake was added to UNESCO'S Intangible Cultural Heritage list, in Asuncion, Paraguay on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 5, 2024

Japanese sake brewing added to UNESCO intangible heritage list

Traditional sake brewing marks the 23rd Japanese entry on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list, joining other culturally significant arts such as washoku and kabuki.
People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Dec 6, 2024

Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan — but do they work?

Japan’s suspect remedies make up 20% of the world’s market for hangover cures, but their success lies more in marketing than science.
Starbucks Coffee Japan will replace paper straws with plant-based biomass plastic straws from next month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 6, 2024

Starbucks in Japan to ditch paper straws for plant-based biomass plastic in 2025

The coffee company says the new straws are fully biodegradable in seawater and soil, and will not soften like paper ones.
Chugoku Electric Power Company's Shimane nuclear power plant
JAPAN
Dec 7, 2024

Chugoku Electric restarts Shimane reactor for first time in 13 years

The long-delayed restart of the reactor, which was shut down in January 2012, boosts the number of Japan's operational reactors to 14.
The government is preparing to set Japan’s new Nationally Determined Contribution, an emissions reduction commitment made by members of the United Nations climate framework's Paris Agreement.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Dec 10, 2024

As Japan nears new climate goal, criticism of policy process ramps up

Critics say the process is not intended to facilitate genuine debate, and that those who support the energy status quo are overrepresented on policy panels.
Optiver starts providing liquidity on options of 12 Japanese companies and exchange-traded funds in September.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 10, 2024

Options giant Optiver bets Japan’s market is about to boom

The firm is betting that a push by the Tokyo bourse for better corporate governance will lead to more stocks trading and increased usage of derivatives.
The U.S. decision to suspend the use of a firing range in the Senkakus has had lasting consequences, undermining Japan's claims to the islets and sending mixed signals about U.S. support for Japanese sovereignty over the area.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 10, 2024

A restart of Senkaku firing ranges is long overdue

The suspension also had strategic consequences, depriving both U.S. and Japanese forces of vital military training ranges.
Japan’s national sport made its second foray into Western Europe, and first to the U.K., with a five-day tournament at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall in October 1991.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 11, 2024

London calling: Sumo's U.K. trip brings back memories of 1991

Such was sumo’s popularity in the U.K. in the late '80s and early '90s that all five days at the 5,000-seat Royal Albert Hall sold out quickly.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers his speech declaring martial law in Seoul on Dec. 3.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 10, 2024

Impending fallout from Yoon's political problems

It is conceivable that a potential Lee administration, with its pro-Beijing positions, may annul Yoon’s positive contributions to stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
People are seen at one of Seven & I Holdings's 7-Eleven convenience stores in Tokyo in January 2017.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Dec 12, 2024

7-Eleven battle shows resilience of Japan Inc.'s family ties

Founding families are able to wield considerable power in Japanese companies despite holding small stakes.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s factory (left) in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Feb. 23, the day before it was officially opened
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 22, 2024

Chip cities rise in Japan’s fields of dreams

Injections of cash are transforming once-sleepy areas, lifting stagnant house prices and triggering construction booms.
Despite ongoing struggles, 2024 had plenty of bright spots for Japan's sake industry.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 15, 2024

Glass half full: Japan’s sake industry celebrates a brighter 2024

Despite a general decline in consumption, new openings and greater awareness gave Japan’s sake lovers reason to cheers this year.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meets with his Japanese counterpart, Gen Nakatani,  at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 13, 2024

The global spy alliance should let Japan join

Tokyo’s inclusion in the club is long overdue, especially as the region combats China’s growing assertiveness and the unpredictability of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers an address to the nation at his official residence in Seoul on Saturday after the National Assembly voted to impeach him earlier in the day.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 15, 2024

South Korean president impeached over martial law decree

The 204-85 vote means Yoon Suk Yeol's ultimate fate now rests with the Constitutional Court, which can either decide to formally oust him or return him to office.
Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Dec 16, 2024

The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition

A year after disaster devastated the region, brewers have turned to nationwide partnerships and new technologies to sustain their culture.
Lekh Juneja, chairman and CEO of Kameda Seika, at the company's headquarters in the city of Niigata in August
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 15, 2024

Indian-born CEO of Japanese company says nation needs immigration to thrive

Japan has very few foreign-born CEOs, and boardrooms are overwhelmingly male.
A Taiwan High Speed Rail bullet train arrives at Nangang Station in the city of Taipei.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2024

Taiwan’s bullet train a testament to shinkansen’s export potential

The line runs the length of Taiwan, over mountainous, unstable territory that makes the island a perfect test bed for the fast trains.
The flight deck of the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier during a stop at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in May 2019
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 17, 2024

With rare Asia carrier deployment, France seeks greater interoperability

“The Indo-Pacific is the world’s new center of gravity," Rear Adm. Guillaume Pinget told The Japan Times during a visit to Tokyo.
Japan wants renewable energy to account for around 40% to 50% of its electricity mix by fiscal year 2040 with nuclear power taking up another 20%, according to a new energy plan released Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 17, 2024

Japan aims to expand nuclear power in break from Fukushima era

The nation set out a proposed new energy strategy which urges both nuclear and renewables to be utilized to maintain growth and help curb emissions.
A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Mogami-class frigate, featuring stealth capability, is anchored at the Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture in September 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

Japan's security assistance does not match its ambitions

ODA remains central to Japan’s contribution to regional security, with a focus primarily on nonmilitary means, including providing nonlethal equipment to law enforcement.
Just over a year ago, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden celebrated their historic summit at Camp David, but Yoon's controversial policies and martial law attempt have undermined that progress.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

Yoon's impeachment widens East Asia fault lines

leadership changes in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington add to the instability, raising concerns about the future of this critical alliance.
Daishiro Yamagiwa, the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's group for semiconductors, says a project to develop a domestic manufacturer of next-generation semiconductors is a battle for the nation's survival.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2024

Japan to support Rapidus even if it delays goal, chip czar says

"We’ve carried out our semiconductor strategy with determination and the Rapidus project is a core part of the strategy,” Daishiro Yamagiwa said.
Protesters hold placards reading "Arrest Insurrectionist Yoon Suk Yeol!" during a demonstration near the presidential residence in Seoul on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2024

Yoon’s martial law order divides South Korea and may alter foreign policy direction

South Korea’s vibrant civil society also fuels a divided citizenry, evident in protests for and against Yoon’s declaration.
The entrance of the Sodegaura LNG Terminal, operated by Tokyo Gas, in Sodegaura, Chiba Prefecture
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Dec 18, 2024

Japan's draft climate strategy spurs calls for bolder cuts in carbon emissions

The government last month presented a draft plan to aim for a 60% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 from 2013 levels.

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