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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2021

Will Moon Jae-in's appeasement policy work this time?

History may eventually show that Mr. Moon's fanciful but unrealistic appeasement policy vis-a-vis North Korea between 2017 and 2022 failed to work.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 13, 2021

WHO urged to reform after panel finds failures worsened pandemic

The international system remains unfit to avoid another disease spiraling into one that matches COVID-19, an independent review has found.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
May 12, 2021

Travel restrictions hurt India thrower's Olympic preparation

Neeraj Chopra has been training hard for this year's Olympic Games but India's top javelin thrower fears that not being able to compete internationally might compromise his bid for a medal in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 12, 2021

Tokyo 2020 sponsor Toyota 'conflicted' over pandemic Olympics

'To be honest, we are conflicted every day over what the best course of action is,' said Jun Nagata, the automaker's operating officer.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 12, 2021

How domestic clinical trials slow Japan's vaccine approval process

To achieve greater efficiency and flexibility, some have argued that Japan should institute its own version of the emergency use authorization framework seen in the U.S.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
May 12, 2021

Taiwan stocks sink most in 14 months on virus woes and tech rout

Investors have become wary as authorities continue to battle a widening coronavirus outbreak that threatens Taiwan's status as one of the safest places to ride out the pandemic.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2021

France’s culture war intensifies

Few in France are happy with the country's political leaders, which is why successive presidents have failed to win reelection.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
May 12, 2021

Hideki Matsuyama says Japan quarantine allowed Masters win to sink in

Hideki Matsuyama said on Tuesday that the two-week COVID-19 quarantine he underwent upon his return to Japan after his Masters triumph last month allowed him a chance to absorb the magnitude of his momentous victory.
Japan Times
TENNIS
May 12, 2021

Hesitant Rafael Nadal casts doubts over Olympic participation

Rafael Nadal has raised doubts about his participation in this year's Tokyo Olympics amid the COVID-19 pandemic, saying on Tuesday that he has to be flexible and cannot give a clear answer until he organizes his schedule for the year.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 11, 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot cleared for adolescents in U.S.

The move comes ahead of the summer camp season and before the start of the new school year in September.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 11, 2021

Biden reportedly set to tap Rahm Emanuel as U.S. ambassador to Japan

The decision to nominate the former Chicago mayor, known more for his sharp tongue than his foreign policy chops, is expected to be formally announced later this month.
JAPAN
May 11, 2021

Referendum bill spotlights Japan's powerful constitutional committee

Revision is likely to be a major campaign issue in the next Lower House poll, but any changes presented to the public would have to be agreed to by the Commission on the Constitution.
Motoaki Tanigo, whom fans affectionately refer to as “Yagoo,” is the CEO and founder of tech company Cover Corporation, which runs Hololive, an industry-leading virtual YouTuber talent agency.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 21, 2025

Virtual idols, real fans: Hololive’s bet on the future of pop

Hololive CEO Motoaki Tanigo, whom fans affectionately refer to as “Yagoo,” has global ambitions for his virtual YouTuber sensations.
A worker arranges cases of avocados at a packaging facility in Mexico on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will follow through next month on twice-delayed plans to impose 25% levies on goods from Mexico as well as Canada.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2025

Trump trade upheaval leaves foreign central banks guessing

The stagflationary direction noted of the U.S. outlook has central banks across the globe parsing what the fallout may mean for them.
The AI management shift has been months in the making and predates Apple announcing the Siri delays.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 21, 2025

Apple shuffles AI executive ranks in bid to turn around Siri

The company is undergoing a rare shake-up of its executive ranks, aiming to get its artificial intelligence efforts back on track.
Ice is seen on the Pastoruri glacier in the Peruvian Andes, Peru, in May 2024.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 21, 2025

World's glaciers are losing record ice as global temperatures climb, U.N. says

Glaciers are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record.
While headline inflation cooled in February, underlying price pressure remains steady, raising concerns for households as real wages remain stagnant.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2025

Japan’s inflation slows less than expected, backing BOJ hikes

Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.0% from a year ago in February, decelerating from a 3.2% pace in January.
It has become the government's urgent priority to address the issue of an acute labor shortage in the Self-Defense Forces, as recruitment has consistently fallen short of targets.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 21, 2025

Higher pay and career support planned to help boost Japan's SDF ranks

Recruitment for the Self-Defense Forces has consistently fallen short of targets, with only about 10,000 personnel hired in fiscal 2023 — half of the quota of about 20,000.
Israeli soldiers work by military vehicles, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, near the border with Gaza, in Israel, on Feb. 15.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 21, 2025

In Israel, reservist burnout and little public appetite for more war in Gaza

A full-scale ground war against Hamas could prove more complicated amid waning public support, exhausted military reservists and political challenges.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 21, 2025

Pentagon eyeing plan to halt U.S. Forces Japan upgrade, reports say

The move could create “political risk” for Washington with Tokyo and reduce the scope of command and control in the Indo-Pacific region as the U.S.-China rivalry heats up.
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown celebrates with the Larry O’Brien Trophy after Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 17, 2024.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Mar 21, 2025

Reigning NBA champion Celtics agree to record-breaking $6.1 billion sale

The sale, which is still pending approval from the NBA Board of Governors, would break the record for most expensive sports team purchase in North America.
Orix Buffaloes pitcher Taisuke Yamaoka speaks to reporters in the city of Osaka on Friday for the first time since he was reported to have participated in a poker tournament run by a foreign casino website.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2025

Cabinet approves strategy to battle illegal online casinos

A National Policy Agency survey released earlier this month showed that nearly 3.37 million Japanese are estimated to have used overseas online casinos to illegally gamble.
A Self-Defense Forces officer speaks during a news conference Friday at the Tokyo District Court over a power harassment lawsuit he filed against the state earlier in the day.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2025

SDF officer sues the state over alleged power harassment

The officer is seeking more than ¥14 million in damages after being transferred to a post completely different from his field of expertise, which led to mental illness.
Firefighters douse the flames of a fire that broke out at a substation supplying power to Heathrow Airport in Hayes, England, on Friday.
WORLD
Mar 21, 2025

Heathrow closed after huge fire at power station, disrupting global flights

Travel experts say the disruption would extend far beyond Heathrow, the world's fifth-busiest airport.
Shinobu Yamagishi, the former president of Osaka-based real estate company Pressance, speaks during a news conference on Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2025

Osaka court rejects damages suit over coercive interrogations

Shinobu Yamagishi, 62, the former president of Osaka-based real estate company Pressance, was seeking about ¥700 million in damages.
A sign at Tokyo's Haneda Airport shows users the way to the monorail in four different languages.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 22, 2025

Can we make it official? Language in the age of Trump.

The United States made English its main language, but in Japan things seem to be heading in a different way.
Protesters outside a Tesla showroom in West Bloomfield, Michigan, on March 20.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 22, 2025

Tesla vandalism sparked by fury against Musk draws GOP ire

Caught in the middle are millions of customers whose electric vehicles increasingly are viewed as political symbols.

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