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A statue of the founder of the International Olympic Committee, Pierre de Coubertin, at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland
OLYMPICS
Feb 5, 2025

The closed-door battle to lead the Olympics

For such a consequential election, much of it is taking place in the dark, away from any form of public or private debate.
The bestselling Switch has a confirmed successor, but what little we know about the Switch 2 console so far raises some concerns about its longterm viability in a crowded gaming market.
LIFE / Digital
Feb 6, 2025

Making sense of Nintendo’s tight-lipped Switch 2 reveal

Nintendo will remain mum on details until April, but questions on how its new console fits into the modern gaming landscape abound.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and U.S. President Donald Trump. Microsoft and Nvidia are quietly engaging with the Trump administration on policies affecting AI, chip exports and data centers
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2025

Tech giants Microsoft and Nvidia taking a quieter approach to Trump

Under Biden, the United States curbed the sale of Nvidia chips to China and capped the sales of its AI chips to more than 100 other countries
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint news conference with the President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Kyiv on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2025

Zelenskyy offers land swaps as Russia heartens Trump with prisoner release

The Ukrainian president said he was ready to trade land in Russia's Kursk region which Ukraine seized in a surprise offensive last year.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shows a picture of him with U.S. President Donald Trump during a joint news conference at the White House on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 12, 2025

Ishiba navigates the low expectations for Japan’s foreign policy

The summit proceeded well enough, but some will argue that this is only because Ishiba had a low bar for his engagement.
Japanese companies face mounting pressure as U.S.-China tensions grow, forcing them to navigate security concerns, economic dependencies and shifting trade policies.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 12, 2025

For Japanese firms, the China dilemma is set to intensify

“America First” and “Make America Great Again” are simple slogans that can be fitted to any outcome. All that ultimately matters is the final say of the president.
A hapless rakugo comic storyteller, Tamon Saito (Tomizo Nobe, left), strikes up an unlikely relationship with a young comedian (Nagiko Tsuji) who wants to rip off his routine in “Laugh, Everyone!”
CULTURE / Film
Feb 13, 2025

'Laugh, Everyone!’: A wonky but endearing double act

Taichi Suzuki’s comedian buddy movie walks a fine line between funny and bleak.
By cancer type, the 10-year survival rate was 57.9% for stomach cancer, the most common cancer among the patients surveyed.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 13, 2025

Japan's 10-year cancer survival rate stands at 54% in latest survey

The rate was 57.9% for stomach cancer, the most common cancer among patients surveyed.
Data show that the policies of Japan’s last decade or so have served the rich better than the vast majority of the country’s households.
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2025

Assets of Japan’s wealthiest jump to a record $3 trillion

Between 2011 and 2023, the wealth of Japan’s rich more than doubled and super rich tripled.
The 50th ASEAN-Japan commemorative summit was held in Tokyo in December 2023. Japan has strong relations with ASEAN member countries and should continue leveraging this position to pursue its Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 14, 2025

Why ASEAN is crucial to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific

Tokyo understands ASEAN's centrality to the Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision better than Washington does and should continue leading in defending this regional order.
China frequently shifts between warming and freezing relations with Japan, driven by its domestic issues, often using softer rhetoric while masking aggressive actions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 14, 2025

Are China-Japan relations truly 'warming,' or is this just fool’s gold again?

As the trade war between the U.S. and China heats up, Beijing is turning to its familiar playbook, using softer language to court American allies and partners while offering things like greater cooperation and more dialogue — part of its ongoing divide-and-conquer strategy.
The Seattle Mariners Ichiro Suzuki watches the ball in the top of the third inning against Oakland Athletics during their baseball game at the Major League Baseball Japan Opening Series in Tokyo in March 2019.
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 15, 2025

Ichiro to donate personal collection to Hall of Fame

Suzuki wants "to follow in the footsteps of Hank Aaron and Tom Seaver," two players who pledged their entire collections to Cooperstown, said a former Hall of Fame official.
Celtic's Daizen Maeda scored a late goal against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League match in Glasgow on Feb. 12.
SOCCER
Feb 17, 2025

Brendan Rodgers urges underdog Celtic to be bold against Bayern Munich

Bayern is in the driver's seat for a spot in the last 16 after a 2-1 win at Celtic Park on Wednesday.
Ravens kicker Justin Tucker has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple massage therapists in Baltimore.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Feb 17, 2025

Seven more women accuse Ravens kicker Justin Tucker of sexual misconduct

Tucker has strongly denied wrongdoing both in a post on X and in a formal statement via his attorneys.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance delivers a blunt speech before the 61st Munich Security Conference on Friday, sending shockwaves through Europe's halls of government.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2025

The patterns and philosophy underpinning Trump’s dizzying diplomacy

With the start of his second term, Trump's actions appear to be chaotic, both to friend and foe alike. But is this chaos intentional?
Serbian demonstrators block the main boulevard in the central Serbian city of Kragujevac on Saturday, continuing months long calls for government accountability and reforms.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2025

The new face of global protests

Young Serbs understand that neither justice nor democracy is possible until the tables have been cleared.
Rebel fighters with the Rwanda-backed M23 militia secure Congolese soldiers who had surrendered in Goma, Congo, on Jan. 30.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2025

Sanctions on Rwanda alone won't stop war in DRC

Past peace efforts collapsed as Rwanda accused the DRC of sheltering the FDLR, a Hutu militia tied to the 1994 Tutsi genocide.
Swallows mascot Tsubakuro performs during a game at Jingu Stadium in June 2023.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 21, 2025

Swallows employee who portrayed popular mascot Tsubakuro dies

Tsubakuro became a ubiquitous presence at Jingu Stadium after his debut in 1994.
The building of new high-rise residential buildings has some alarmed that they could empty and fall into disrepair as Japan's population shrinks.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 24, 2025

The high cost of letting Japan's condos crumble

With rising repair costs, dwindling reserve funds and an aging population of owners, thousands of buildings are at risk of falling into disrepair.
A Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy helicopter is seen from aboard a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aircraft in the skies above Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Feb. 18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 26, 2025

Standoff in the skies: Witnessing an unsafe intercept over the South China Sea

A Chinese military helicopter edged dangerously close to a Philippine plane on patrol over the flash point Scarborough Shoal, an incident witnessed by The Japan Times.
Both Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre have called for placing levies on the U.S. that are similar to those the U.S. places on Canada.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 26, 2025

Something is rotten in Canada

So while Trump is right to say Canada’s trade surplus with the U.S. has grown, he’s wrong about why it has expanded.
Nauru is selling citizenship to fund its retreat from rising seas as other climate finance runs dry.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 28, 2025

Nauru sells citizenship to fund climate change mitigation

The island nation of around 13,000 residents is planning a mass inland relocation as creeping seas start to eat away at its fertile coastal fringe.
Ravens kicker Justin Tucker has been accused of sexually inappropriate behavior at massage parlors and spas.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 28, 2025

Ravens' Justin Tucker issues another denial of sexual misconduct allegations

The 35-year-old Super Bowl-winner has been accused of repeatedly exposing his genitals and brushing some of the therapists' thighs with his fingers.
Boris Spassky (left) and Bobby Fischer compete during a match in September 1992.
MORE SPORTS / Chess
Feb 28, 2025

Russian chess grandmaster Boris Spassky dies at age 88

Spassky, who took French nationality in 1978, was the 10th World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972.
Nadeshiko Japan celebrates after winning the SheBelieves Cup in San Diego on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Feb 28, 2025

Nils Nielsen's vision for Nadeshiko Japan comes to life at SheBelieves Cup

The remarkable achievement has brought about a renewed optimism among the fanbase, as Japan seems ready to turn the page after years of perceived underperformance.
Yuji Iwasawa is the second Japanese to assume the ICJ's presidency, behind Hisashi Owada, the father of Empress Masako.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 4, 2025

Japan's Iwasawa elected as head of International Court of Justice

He is the second Japanese to assume the ICJ's presidency, behind Hisashi Owada, the father of Empress Masako.
Former Executive Vice President Ichiro Takekuro enters the Tokyo High Court for the appellate court ruling in January 2023 in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2025

Acquittal of two former Tepco executives to be finalized

The Supreme Court supported the lower courts' decisions that the accident was unpredictable and decided to dismiss an appeal by lawyers acting as prosecutors.
South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun speaks during an interview on Feb. 27 in Seoul.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 11, 2025

South Korean lawmakers to visit Osaka Expo

Lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun said he will encourage South Koreans to visit Japan for the expo.
A tank holds untreated waste from plutonium production at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, a site that was integral to the nation’s nuclear arsenal after World War II, north of Richland, Washington, in March 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Mar 11, 2025

Most contaminated U.S. nuclear site is set to be the largest solar farm

Plans to transform Hanford had just begun inching forward when U.S. President Donald Trump started his second term.
A handout image received from Manchester United on March 11, 2025, shows Foster + Partners' illustration of a proposed new 100,000-seat stadium, unveiled as part of the regeneration of the Old Trafford area.
SOCCER
Mar 12, 2025

Manchester United to leave Old Trafford for new 100,000-seat stadium

The stadium, which will be built on land surrounding Old Trafford, will cost around $2.6 billion and the timescale for the project is five years.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’