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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 11, 2021

Diversity is key to Japan’s relations with the U.S.

In the words of a recent study by the Brookings Institution, “the Biden team is on track to assemble the most diverse set of Senate-confirmed appointees in American history.”
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jan 21, 2021

Asia wonders: Can a Biden-led U.S. return to form?

The newly minted U.S. leader is looking to reassure a world wary of capricious American foreign policy during the Trump administration.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 20, 2021

How to decarbonize Japan

Climate change is a marathon, not a sprint: Japan will make greater progress if these issues are not politicized and all major parties agree on emissions reduction as a common goal.
An employee of Kyowa Industrial walks next to the company's factory in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2025

Tariff crossfire hits Toyota, Nissan and Ford suppliers in Japan

Thousands of small and midsize makers of auto parts in Japan, including suppliers for Toyota and Nissan, are facing a crisis as U.S. tariffs threaten their bottom lines.
Family members, friends and Minneapolis residents pay their respects at the memorial site where George Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020, by police officer Derek Chauvin, ahead of the fifth anniversary of Floyd’s death on Friday.
WORLD / Society
May 25, 2025

Did George Floyd protesters miss their moment for change?

Despite widespread revulsion at racism and police brutality, many turned away when BLM activists broadened their message to calling for the defunding of law enforcement.
This satellite image taken Friday shows a new North Korean warship lying in the harbor after its failed launch in the port city of Chongjin.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 25, 2025

Three detained and blamed for North Korean warship accident

The ultimate fate of the three remains unclear, but leader Kim Jong Un has a history of making examples out of those who embarrass him.
Vietnam Communist Party General Secretary To Lam (right), his wife Ngo Phong Ly (left), French President Emmanuel Macron (second from right) and his wife Brigitte Macron pose for a picture with traditional dance performers during a luncheon at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2025

France and Vietnam sign Airbus deals as Macron visits Hanoi

The French president's visit is aimed at boosting his country's influence in its former colony, which is grappling with threats of crippling U.S. tariffs.
An election poster board set up in Tokyo's Suginami Ward on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
May 28, 2025

Tokyo installs extra-large campaign boards ahead of metropolitan assembly vote

In some areas, boards with up to 70 slots are being installed, a move also intended to prepare for the Upper House election that will follow shortly after.
Workers ride motorbikes into Weda Bay Industrial Park (WBIP), a major nickel processing and smelting hub, in Lelilef Sawai, Central Halmahera, North Maluku, Indonesia, on April 18.
ENVIRONMENT
May 28, 2025

Nickel rush for stainless steel guts Indonesia tribe's forest home

The plight of the Indigenous people there started gaining attention last year after a video online showed emaciated members emerging from their homes to beg for food.
AI hallucinations — when generative models fabricate information — are becoming more frequent, harder to detect and increasingly dangerous as we embed the technology deeper into society.
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2025

AI hallucinations? What could go wrong?

The notion that we can’t ensure that AI will produce accurate information is, uh, “disturbing” if we intend to integrate that product so deeply into our daily lives.
The Chinese Communist Party has significantly expanded its global influence operations by using tactics like election interference, disinformation, elite capture and pressure on the diaspora to sway politics and policies in democracies worldwide.
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2025

Is Beijing engineering election wins for 'soft on China' politicians?

Beijing legally requires all citizens to support Communist Party policies and views ethnic Chinese everywhere as instruments for advancing its global goals.
The Environment Ministry is offering ¥60 billion ($415 million) of support for the commercialization of homegrown climate and environmental technology through the Japan Green Investment Corp. for Carbon Neutrality, a government-backed fund that invests in ventures to reduce emissions.
JAPAN
May 29, 2025

Japan bets on homegrown startups to adapt to a hotter world

The Environment Ministry is offering ¥60 billion of support through the Japan Green Investment Corp. for Carbon Neutrality.
Eiichi Minagawa, the representative of a victim group of Niigata Minamata disease, speaks during a ceremony on Saturday to mark the 60th anniversary of the official recognition the disease.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2025

Ceremony marks 60 years since Niigata Minamata disease recognition

At the ceremony, about 300 people observed a moment of silence for the victims.
Philippines Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 2, 2025

Philippines vague on U.S. missile deployments, but clear on one thing

Manila has already secured the funds to buy its own midrange missiles, according to Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro.
Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's  candidate in South Korea's presidential election, speaks during his final campaign event in Seoul on Monday night ahead of Tuesday's vote.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 3, 2025

Lee Jae-myung projected to win South Korean presidential election

Lee, the front-runner in the race since campaigning began, secured 51.7% of the vote — a 12.4 percentage point lead over conservative rival Kim Moon-soo — according to exit polls.
Shigeo Nagashima (left), then the manager of the Tokyo Giants, waves to fans with players and coaches during a victory parade in central Tokyo in 2000. Nagashima died at the age of 89 on Tuesday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 3, 2025

Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima dies at 89

Long before the rise of Shohei Ohtani and Ichiro Suzuki, Nagashima was arguably the most famous player in Japanese baseball history.
Trump hopes increased levies on aluminum and steel will protect margins for domestic mills and spur investment in new production capacity.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 3, 2025

U.S. aluminum and steel prices surge as Trump doubles tariffs

U.S. buyers could end up paying about 50% more than international competitors to get hold of aluminum.
Lee Sang-il’s “Kokuho,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year, follows the life of an "onnagata," a male kabuki actor who plays female roles, from his childhood as the son of a yakuza boss in 1960s Nagasaki to his official designation as a living national treasure.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2025

'Kokuho' illuminates the high price of becoming a national treasure

Director Lee Sang-il turns a long-held vision into reality with his sumptuously shot film that reveals the dedication, sacrifice — and loneliness — behind kabuki greatness.
The Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture. Under an amended law, nuclear plants' operating period may be extended beyond 60 years to compensate for stoppages caused by "unforeseeable circumstances."
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2025

Japan law comes into force to extend nuclear plant lifespans

Under the amended law, nuclear plants' operating period may be extended beyond 60 years to compensate for stoppages caused by "unforeseeable circumstances."
Students make a speech during a memorial service to mark the 24th anniversary of the deadly knife attack at Ikeda Elementary School in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 8, 2025

Memorial held for victims of school stabbing 24 years ago

In the years since the incident, many local governments across the country have recruited former police officers to help keep students safe near school property.
A hydroelectric dam near Shannan in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in March 2025
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 10, 2025

Catastrophe on the roof of the world

As the source of 10 major rivers that sustain nearly 20% of the world’s population, the Plateau’s degradation threatens regional water security, food systems and biodiversity.
World Bank President Ajay Banga at the Milken Institute Global Conference in California on May 5
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2025

World Bank to end ban on nuclear energy projects, but undecided on upstream gas

The global development bank, which lends at low rates to help countries build everything from flood barriers to railroads, decided in 2013 to stop funding nuclear power projects.
“Junk World” is Takahide Hori’s second entry in his stop-motion “Junk” series, which is populated by cyborgs, monsters and artificial lifeforms called “Mulligans.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 13, 2025

Stop-motion sci-fi saga ‘Junk World’ expands its bizarre universe

The monsters are cute, the war is weird and interior designer turned director Takahide Hori’s creativity stretches far beyond his budget.
Japan has a deep rogues' gallery of age-old "yōkai" (spirits), but a museum on the island of Shodoshima has released a new book collecting yōkai that reflect the uncertainties of the modern world.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 14, 2025

'Rice swindler,' 'Face thief': Worried citizens invent new monsters

A decade-old contest for original "yōkai" art reflects what keeps people up at night in Japan.
The public breakdown between U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk highlights a familiar pattern among authoritarian leaders: They elevate allies only to discard them when their loyalty falters or their influence threatens the throne.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2025

No loyalty lasts: Why authoritarians always betray their allies

The very public and acrimonious split between U.S. President Donald Trump and his once-favorite aide, Elon Musk, would be amusing if it were not so terrifying. Their puerile public feud demonstrated just how insecure — even unhinged — the world’s most powerful person and its wealthiest really are....
Motorists ride along a street in front of Cambodia's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications in Phnom Penh on Friday. Cambodia ordered its troops to stay on "full alert" June 13 in its ongoing border spat with Thailand, as it ordered television stations and cinemas to stop showing Thai dramas.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 13, 2025

Cambodia orders troops on 'alert' in Thai border spat

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet posted on Facebook late Thursday that the country was disconnecting all internet bandwidth from Thailand.
Sam Burns prepares to putt on the 16th green during the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jun 15, 2025

U.S. Open leader Burns eyes first major title at historic Oakmont

The 28-year-old American will carry a one-stroke lead into Sunday's final round after firing a 1-under-par 69 on Saturday.
Rio Takeda banked roughly ¥265.7 million during the 2024 season in prize money on the back of a tour-high eight wins.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jun 15, 2025

What gender pay gap? In Japanese golf, women are on par with men

Fan and sponsorship growth has players in the JLPGA making just as much as their male counterparts, a rarity in the male-dominated world of sports.
After a flare-up on May 28, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet posted on social media that in asking the court for help, "Cambodia chooses a peaceful resolution" for the border dispute with Thailand.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 16, 2025

Cambodia turns to World Court over Thailand border disputes

Bangkok has previously said it has never recognized the court's jurisdiction and prefers to settle the disputes through bilateral mechanisms.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear