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Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 25, 2021

Tokyo Games showcase the changing face of sports in Japan

From Naomi Osaka to Rui Hachimura, a generation of biracial athletes in the Olympics are helping shift perceptions of what it means to be 'Japanese.'
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 25, 2021

IOC would back schedule changes at Tokyo Games if needed due to heat

High humidity has added to discomfort, and athletes have failed to find much relief from ice bags and hoses blowing cool air.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2021

Tokyo 2020 organizers add to speculation over comeback for scandal-hit Yoshiro Mori

A return by Mori could erode the goodwill earned by organizers with their choice of tennis superstar Naomi Osaka to light the Olympic cauldron on Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2021

Tokyo Olympics see 17 more COVID-19 cases amid concerns over anti-virus measures

Infections have continued to trickle in daily amid concerns over whether anti-virus measures are being properly followed, including athletes who went maskless at the opening ceremony.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 24, 2021

German cyclist, Dutch rower out of Olympics after positive COVID-19 test

German cyclist Simon Geschke has withdrawn from Saturday's Tokyo Olympics road race after testing positive for COVID-19, his team said Friday.
OLYMPICS / Faces of Tokyo 2020
Jul 24, 2021

Who to watch in three sports making their Olympic debut

A primer on the faces to keep an eye out for in skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 23, 2021

Naomi Osaka returns to the spotlight on Sunday

Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 2, has not played a competitive match since pulling out of the French Open.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 23, 2021

As Olympics tout greater gender equality, some remain more equal than others

Of the nearly 11,000 athletes arriving in Tokyo, almost 49% will be women, according to the International Olympic Committee.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2021

The fight for open societies begins again

Freedom House reports that less than 20% of the world's population now live in what it categorizes as fully free societies, the lowest share in more than a quarter century.
OLYMPICS / Faces of Tokyo 2020
Jul 23, 2021

Japanese athletes who have overcome adversity to be at the Tokyo Games

The miraculous return of Rikako Ikee might grab headlines, but the country's swimming star isn't the only athlete who needed to battle tough times to qualify for the Games.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he attends the Commander in Chief Ball in honor of his inauguration in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 22, 2025

Aiming to weaken U.S. foes, Trump faces an 'unholy alliance'

Russia, China, North Korea and Iran have drawn closer following Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi announced his resignation on Tuesday to take responsibility for the security lapse that allowed Palestinian militant group Hamas to launch a cross-border attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 22, 2025

Israeli army chief to resign over security breach in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack

Herzi Halevi said on Tuesday he would resign on March 6 to take responsibility for the massive security lapse.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone shake hands in the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2025

Japan and Laos agree to arrange vice ministerial security talks

The two countries also issued a joint statement calling for upgrading their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
In 2024, child mortality for children before the age of 5 reached a record low of 3.6%, down from over 25% in 1950. For most of history, about half of all newborns died as children.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2025

Even this year is the best time ever to be alive

Another way of looking at it: Every day over the past couple of years, roughly 30,000 people moved out of extreme poverty worldwide.
Sakie Yokota speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Jan. 10 after meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2025

Abductee families seek pressure on North Korea as Trump returns

A leader of a group of North Korean abductee families called on the government to deepen the bond between their leaders.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on Stargate, as Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman look on in the Roosevelt room at the White House.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 22, 2025

SoftBank to help fund and lead Trump-backed Stargate AI project, a $500 billion venture

The president said it will be the largest AI infrastructure ever built and that it will help counter technology threats from China and other countries.
Naoya Inoue at a news conference in Yokohama on Wednesday ahead of his world super bantamweight title bout against Kim Ye-joon, scheduled for Friday in Tokyo.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Jan 22, 2025

Inoue believes unusual leadup to Kim fight could be 'big plus'

Inoue was supposed to face Sam Goodman last month. Instead, he will defend his belts on Friday against Kim Ye-joon, who stepped in after Goodman was injured in training.
Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki speaks during his introductory news conference with the team in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 23, 2025

Dodgers introduce Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki

A frenzied sweepstakes among MLB clubs officially came to an end with Sasaki's decision to join Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in LA.
Emergency vehicles on the side of the road as flames race up a hill in Castaic, a northwestern neighborhood of Los Angeles, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jan 23, 2025

Fast-growing wildfire breaks out north of Los Angeles, forcing evacuations

The Hughes Fire in the Castaic Lake area of Los Angeles County forced evacuations with warnings of "immediate threat to life."
Workers unload equipment to set up a temporary shelter to receive migrants deported by the United States, in the El Punto area of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Society
Jan 23, 2025

Mexico builds temporary shelters to prepare for deportations from U.S.

The shelters in Ciudad Juarez will have the capacity to house thousands of people, a municipal official has said.
Ryohei Iwatani, secretary-general of Nippon Ishin no Kai, holds a news conference on Wednesday in the National Diet Building.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 23, 2025

Nippon Ishin proposes primaries to unify opposition candidates

The proposal calls for conducting online public opinion polls in constituencies where multiple opposition parties plan to field candidates.
Explosions rock the shore of Iwo Jima during a pre-landing bombardment on Feb. 19, 1945, as seen from a USS Sanborn (APA-193) landing craft.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2025

Imperial couple considering visit to Iwo Jima

The Imperial Household Agency is considering a visit by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to the island of Iwo Jima in April to pay respects to soldiers killed in World War II.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, sentenced to 14 years for corruption, reflects the country's recurring cycle of leaders rising with military backing and then falling out of favor.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2025

Jailing Imran Khan won’t fix Pakistan’s problems

Pakistan’s economic recovery hinges on reforms, stability and military backing.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade at Capitol One Arena in Washington on Monday.
WORLD
Jan 23, 2025

Musk calls for defunding of Wikipedia over description of gesture

A recent war of words pits the two tech giants against each other and highlights the starkly different ethos behind Musk's X and Wikipedia.
National Police Agency Commissioner-General Yasuhiro Tsuyuki speaks during a news conference on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 23, 2025

Japan police agency sets rules for fake IDs in undercover yami baito probes

Investigations involving the use of fake IDs will target crimes such as robbery, special fraud, investment fraud and romance fraud.
"We will demand more than in the previous year to fulfill our role as a leading industry in Japan," Masashi Jinbo, head of the union, said in a news conference in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 23, 2025

Japan's electronics unions to seek ¥17,000 pay hike

"We will demand more than in the previous year to fulfill our role as a leading industry in Japan," union group head Masashi Jinbo told a news conference.
Shipping containers at an industrial port in the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki. Japanese businesses see a larger role for Japan if global trade breaks down and multilateral trade institutions become less effective without U.S. participation.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2025

Japan contemplates global free-trade leadership as U.S. goes protectionist

Tokyo could find opportunity in the turmoil while avoiding direct confrontation with Washington.
Japanese Communist Party leader Tomoko Tamura speaks at a Lower House session in Tokyo in December 2024.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 23, 2025

Japanese Communist Party's Tomoko Tamura faces leadership questions ahead of polls

Tamura is aiming for 6.5 million proportional representation votes, but experts say that's unrealistic.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past