Search - 2012

 
 
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2023

Why America doesn’t know how to stop school shootings

After a ban of more than two decades, the U.S. government is finally funding studies on how to prevent death and injury from firearms.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 7, 2023

Is today’s China yesterday’s Soviet Union?

When Soviet-style totalitarianism ultimately collapsed under the weight of its economic failures, China decided to stay the course. But can China's totalitarian experiment last?
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 30, 2022

Vivienne Westwood, icon of provocative fashion, dead at 81

Vivienne Westwood was synonymous with 1970s punk rock, a rebelliousness that remained the hallmark of one of British fashion's biggest names.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 25, 2022

Putin wants fealty, and he’s found it in Africa

With his invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin of Russia unleashed a new disorder on the world. And in the Central African Republic, Moscow already has its way.
Brooklyn Kura's Catskills, a "junmai daiginjō" (sake with rice polished down to at least 50%), is made with water from the New York region of the same name.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 28, 2025

New York's Brooklyn Kura becomes first U.S. sake exporter to Japan

The brewer’s initial exports are “relatively small,” but it hopes drinkers in Japan are "open to trying" American-made sake.
Yuki Tejima, who runs the Instagram account booknerdtokyo, hesitated to try her hand at literary translation until she won an award at the International Translation Contest.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 29, 2025

Yuki Tejima's metamorphosis from bookworm to literary translator

An Instagram “bookfluencer” and professional translator for over 10 years, Tejima’s love of books was, strangely enough, a hurdle to working in literary translation.
A Chinese H-6 bomber flies east of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 29, 2025

Satellite images show fresh Chinese bomber deployment in South China Sea

The move was Beijing's latest to assert sovereignty over the hotly disputed atoll in the South China Sea.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2025

Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs

The meeting came ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s expected announcement of a new round of tariffs on Wednesday.
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2025

Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says

A tsunami of over 20 meters would likely be observed in a total of 23 municipalities in Tokyo and seven other prefectures.
A clean-shaven Trey Cabbage poses during his introductory news conference with the Giants on Jan. 30 in Kawasaki.
BASEBALL / Sac Bunts
Mar 31, 2025

Giants' new players make strong first impression on opening weekend

A group of new faces helped the Kyojin sweep their season-opening series for the first time since 2012.
All eyes will be on Yuki Tsunoda as he makes his Red Bull debut at the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 1, 2025

No longer a 'bridesmaid': Yuki Tsunoda prepares for the Red Bull pressure cooker

New Red Bull driver Tsunoda tells The Japan Times he started to believe that a promotion to the senior team might never come — until it did.
Marine Le Pen’s embezzlement conviction and election ban intensify France’s political divide, challenge French President Emmanuel Macron’s government and set the stage for a far-right succession battle.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2025

Le Pen’s MAGA-style martyrdom is new risk in France

One big factor could complicate Le Pen’s pivot to MAGA martyrdom, however: The antics of Trump himself.
Declining birth rates in China are driven by a myriad of causes, such as a shrinking childbearing-age population, lifestyle changes, the one-child policy’s lasting effects, an oversupply of men and high youth unemployment.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2025

Why China’s marriage crisis matters

According to China’s 2020 census, 61% of babies are born to women aged 20 to 30. But the number of women in this cohort dropped from 111 million in 2012 to 73 million in 2024.
Yuki Tsunoda wears his special kabuki-themed helmet on Thursday ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 3, 2025

Five drivers to watch at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix

From Lewis Hamilton to Yuki Tsunoda, here are five of the drivers to keep an extra close eye at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 6, 2025

Clinical Verstappen caps final home race for Red Bull-Honda with a win

The victory was the Dutch star’s fourth straight at Suzuka Circuit, while Red Bull debutant Yuki Tsunoda finished back in 12th.
Noriko Shakti has been living in Goa, India, since 2020 and specializes in the tabla, a traditional hand drum from the Indian subcontinent.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Apr 12, 2025

Noriko Shakti: ‘Music reflects my journey and learnings’

The India-based DJ and producer talks about bridging Indian and Japanese traditions in electronic music and advocating for women’s representation in the industry.
After focusing on cabernet sauvignon in Napa Valley, winemaker Eiji Daniel Akaboshi moved to make pinot noir at the renowned Freeman Vineyard & Winery in Sonoma County.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 13, 2025

In California, a Nikkei vintner finds his heritage and purpose

The discovery of a distant relative's wine legacy in California led winemaker Eiji Daniel Akaboshi to look at his vocation in a new light.
At many prominent Chinese universities, there are more graduate than undergraduate students. While a high level of educational attainment is seen as a measure to contrast youth unemployment, it may be compounding the problem instead.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 11, 2025

Is China overproducing highly qualified talent?

Chinese universities are investing heavily in graduate education, but burgeoning ranks of highly qualified job seekers are struggling to find work and increasingly looking abroad.
Tony Blanco played in Japan for eight seasons and hit 181 home runs in NPB. The Dominican slugger was among more than 200 killed when the roof of a popular nightclub collapsed on Tuesday in the Dominican Republic.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 12, 2025

Tony Blanco remembered in Japan and Dominican Republic after nightclub tragedy

Blanco, who spent eight seasons in Japan with three NPB clubs, is remembered as a 'great guy' with a tremendous sense of humor.
The Bank of Japan will likely postpone raising interest rates due to uncertainties stemming from U.S. tariff measures that could deal a blow to Japan’s economy, a former executive director said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2025

BOJ will likely put rate hike aside for now, ex-official says

"They will be in a wait-and-see mode for a while,” said Kenzo Yamamoto, a former executive at the Bank of Japan.
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, well regarded in Tokyo as a leading voice in the promotion of U.S.-Japan ties, has died at the age of 79.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 15, 2025

Richard Armitage, ex-U.S. diplomat known for boosting Japan ties, dies at 79

He was a leading voice in the promotion of U.S.-Japan relations even after leaving government service.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Japanese Trade Union Confederation chief Tomoko Yoshino in a meeting Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 15, 2025

Why Ishiba became the first prime minister to hold talks with Rengo in 16 years

The last time an official meeting was held between a prime minister and Rengo to discuss labor policies was in 2009.
U.S. soldiers take part in a live-fire exercise as part of the Balikatan drills with Philippine troops, at Laoag, Ilocos Norte, Philippines, in May 2024.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2025

In a first, Japan will join major Philippine-U.S. drills as participant

The Self-Defense Forces will dispatch about 150 personnel and a warship to the multidomain Balikatan exercises, which begin next week.
Chinese H-6 bombers (top right) are seen flying near the eastern edge of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on March 24.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 21, 2025

Chinese Navy says Philippine warship 'illegally entered' Scarborough Shoal waters

Sunday's incident was a rare instance involving the militaries of both countries, and came amid fears that a clash or accident could erupt into a full-blown conflict.
Arunima Mazumdar, a New Delhi-based communications professional, began sharing her love of Japanese literature online in 2022. The platform has grown into a robust community known as Dokusha Book Club.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Apr 26, 2025

Arunima Mazumdar: ‘Japanese literature has a niche but deeply engaged readership in India’

The founder of Dokusha Book Club talks about why Indian readers love Japanese books and the community that she’s forged, online and offline.
Al-Nassr players celebrate after scoring the first goal of the club's Asian Champions League quarterfinal against Marinos on Saturday.
SOCCER
Apr 27, 2025

Duran double and Ronaldo goal sink Marinos in Asian Champions League semis

The win sees Al-Nassr join compatriots Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal in the last four in what's been a dominate showing by Saudi clubs.
A company linked to the son of former Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Makoto Koga is at the center of an income concealment case involving about ¥100 million tied to massage chair operations at Haneda Airport.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 27, 2025

Haneda terminal operator unit underreports income by ¥100 million

The subsidiary, Big Wing, was found to have concealed the income in connection with the business of installing massage chairs.
A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / Longform
Apr 28, 2025

If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami

Last year the government issued its first "megaquake" advisory. Ever since, those living in the areas it's expected to hit have been preparing for the worst.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan head Yoshihiko Noda speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 28, 2025

CDP's about-face piles pressure on LDP to cut consumption tax on food

Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan chief Yoshihiko Noda pledged that the party will abolish the consumption tax on food products for a year.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami