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SOCCER / J. League
Nov 1, 2020

Japanese soccer legend Kengo Nakamura to retire

After his miraculous comeback from an ACL injury sustained last year, the former J. League MVP will hang up his boots at 40.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2020

Photo essay: This is Halloween ... in Tokyo 2020

Despite officials' pleas to stay home, crowds of revelers — with and without masks — converge for a costume street party in Shibuya.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 1, 2020

Europe’s pandemic woes multiply with leaders drifting to lockdowns

A one-month stay-at-home policy for all of England will take effect Thursday, with waivers for schools, universities and essential stores.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2020

How Japan’s subscription economy could redefine the way consumers and firms interact

Japan has lagged behind other nations in terms of subscription-based activities, but the model is finally catching on as consumers explore new ways of doing business.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 31, 2020

Calling out the U.S. military for ‘Poisoning the Pacific’

Journalist Jon Mitchell has spent 10 years probing the contamination of the Asia-Pacific region by the American and Japanese governments.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2020

The real winner of the work-from-home economy

South Korea has shown its resilience in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, and is seeing its economy return to positive territory.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 31, 2020

Britain may impose new national lockdown from Wednesday, report says

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is considering imposing new national lockdown measures next week, amid concerns that hospitals across the country are overwhelmed by a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, The Times newspaper reported on Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 30, 2020

Exhausted emergency fund may force Tokyo into debt and deep cuts

The metropolitan government has already begun to slash expenses, reroute money from other designated funds and borrow cash to alleviate the pressure.
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2020

Japan wants to take the heat off data centers with the help of snow

The energy used to run the servers and keep them from overheating is considerable.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 30, 2020

As the West stumbles, ‘helmsman’ Xi pushes an ambitious plan for China

A Communist Party conclave concluded Thursday with a rousing statement lauding Xi as the party's helmsman, affirming his broad mandate as leader.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Oct 30, 2020

Olympic men's champion Kohei Uchimura tests positive for coronavirus

Negative tests next week could allow the reigning Olympic champion to participate in a planned four-nation meet at Yoyogi National Gymnasium on Nov. 8.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Oct 29, 2020

Designing a vision for Japan's green recovery

The time has come for the nation to show a clear stance on nuclear energy while assessing its possible value.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2020

To retire rich, don’t leave too much to your kids

Don't be surprised if those retiring in 2035 need an extra five years or more of future income because of longevity alone.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2020

The world enters a new age of radical uncertainty

When it comes to the pandemic, or climate change, we may have to accept a certain amount of coexistence, even as we develop countermeasures.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 28, 2020

He was a rising jazz pianist from Tokyo. Then his NYC dreams were shattered.

He came to New York from Tokyo to make it as a jazz musician, and he did, landing gigs in several touring bands and leading a trio of his own. He was elegant but never flashy on the piano, always well prepared and on time.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2020

Banning glitter won’t save the oceans

Those sparkly bits of plastic that make ornaments twinkle, wrapping paper glimmer and wreaths shimmer are increasingly seen as an environmental hazard.
Filmmakers interview the general manager of a Bald Men's club for an upcoming Flix Oven documentary that will be available via the streaming platform Samansa.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Aug 14, 2025

Samansa bets on commuter cinema

As attention spans get shorter, a Japanese startup is banking on short films as easily digestible entertainment.
The Parque da Cidade, the main venue for the COP30 summit, under construction in Belem, Brazil, on May 5.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 14, 2025

Lula’s plan for COP30 in Amazon risks becoming a logistical mess

With fewer than 100 days to go, Brazil is under fire from countries concerned about a shortage of hotel rooms and soaring accommodation costs.
Police are looking for the whereabouts of cash taken from a pachinko parlor in Fukushima Prefecture where a robbery took place on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 14, 2025

Two men arrested for ¥28 million robbery at Fukushima pachinko parlor

Police believe that a 19-year-old brandished a fake gun to get the money while a 21-year-old drove the getaway car.
People walk past a time board at Hakata Station in Fukuoka. Luckily for those trying to catch a train, reading a clock is universal.
LIFE / Bilingual
Aug 15, 2025

Reading the Japanese clock: Are times a-changin'?

Learn how the Japanese tell time — from zero o’clock to 27 o’clock, and why 10 minutes "before" isn’t always clear.
GDP grew at an annualized pace of 1% in the three months through June from the prior period, surpassing economists’ forecast of a 0.4% gain, according to the Cabinet Office.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 15, 2025

Japan growth beats forecasts, boosting rate-hike case for BOJ

Better-than-expected economic growth has given Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba some good news as he fends off calls to resign after July's election setback.
Hong kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 15, 2025

Trump says he hopes to 'save' Hong Kong democrat Jimmy Lai

Trump has said he would raise Lai's case as part of negotiations with China over trade and tariffs.
Hiromi Kishi of the Japan Society on the History of Blind Education holds a vinyl record containing recordings of U.S. military aircraft sounds, which was used during World War II to train students of the school for the blind to recognize the approach of enemy planes, during an interview in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, in June.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2025

For the disabled, WWII was a terror of another level

Individuals with disabilities, many of whom struggled to escape from attacks, were also expected to contribute to the war effort.
Lawmakers from both chambers of Japan's parliament who are members of a league of parliamentarians promoting Yasukuni Shrine visits walk inside the shrine in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2025

Cabinet ministers Koizumi and Kato visit Yasukuni Shrine

The visits marked the sixth consecutive year a Cabinet minister has visited the war-related shrine on the anniversary.
The Japan Boxing Commission's safety protocols have been thrust into the spotlight following the deaths of Shigetoshi Kotari and Hiromasa Urakawa, who suffered fatal brain injuries while fighting on the same card on Aug. 2.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Aug 15, 2025

Recent deaths of Japanese boxers underline importance of emergency action plans

Such plans are crucial to minimize delays and increase a fighter’s chances of survival after sustaining a serious injury in the ring.
Athletes compete in the final of the women's 100 meter hurdles at the Paris Olympics in August last year.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Aug 16, 2025

New gene testing system in disarray ahead of world championships in Tokyo

With the world championships in Tokyo looming, athletics federations are struggling to comply with new rules concerning gene tests for female athletes.
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung makes a speech at a news conference for foreign media in Taipei in July last year.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 16, 2025

Taiwan foreign minister's visit puts damper on Japan-China relations

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung's latest trip has put a damper on bilateral ties, with Beijing canceling a meeting in Japan at the last minute.

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