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Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 19, 2021

'The Taliban are knocking:' Afghan allies of U.S. fear the worst

Joe Biden's rapid pullout left thousands of Afghans who worked for the U.S. military in a desperate race to escape.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 14, 2021

Olympian tattoos fail to leave their mark on the Japanese press

After Tokyo was awarded the Olympics in 2013, many thought tattoos would be a major issue during the Games. In the end, they barely scratched the surface of public attention.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2021

U.S.-China talks: Salvaging a relationship

The slogan when U.S.-China relations were first restored was “Friendship first, competition second.” Now, no one speaks about friendship. It is competition first, last and in between.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Aug 2, 2021

Hiroshima doctor advocates for dual surname system

Unmarried couples face legal restrictions such as an inability to inherit property when a partner dies.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 29, 2021

Medals on, masks off

The pandemic has changed the way Olympians receive their medals. But in the rush of elation, coronavirus rules and social distancing policies are routinely forgotten.
Japan Times
LIFE / Longform
Jul 8, 2021

In search of Japan's lost wolves: Zoological mystery

The true identity of the Japanese wolf has attracted much research, and yet the elusive carnivore remains one of Japan's greatest zoological mysteries.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 25, 2021

What else has Hong Kong lost, readers ask, as a paper is silenced

To many, Apple Daily was a symbol of the civil liberties that have been lost as Beijing has tightened its grip over the city.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jun 16, 2021

‘Deeply disturbing’ Toshiba report points to powerful figures

It's a rare public account of how Japan's bureaucrats allegedly coordinated with a private company to exert control over foreign shareholders.
A full house at Dolphins Arena takes in a bout featuring Takarafuji during the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament in July.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 25, 2024

New Nagoya arena won't ease sumo's ticket crunch

A shiny new arena in Nagoya will seat 17,000 but capacity won't be nearly that high for sumo, meaning there's no relief on the horizon for ticket-hungry fans.
A poster depicting the characters of "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" in Tokyo's Shibuya Station in 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 28, 2024

Sony's Crunchyroll finds its early lead in anime under attack

Netflix, Walt Disney and Amazon are all digging into their deep pockets to license shows, making it more expensive for anime-steaming site to compete.
The wreckage of the Jeju Air aircraft that went off the runway and crashed at Muan International Airport lies near a concrete structure it crashed into, in Muan, South Korea, on Dec. 30.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 2, 2025

South Korea to send Jeju Air crash black box to U.S.

The damaged flight data recorder has been deemed unrecoverable for data extraction domestically.
U.S. President Joe Biden decided Friday to block the proposed $14.9 billion purchase of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, with the firms blasting the decision, calling it a "clear violation of due process" and a political move, and vowing to "take all appropriate action" to protect their legal rights.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 4, 2025

Biden blocks Nippon Steel’s $14.1 billion takeover of U.S. Steel

The two firms blasted the decision, calling it a "clear violation of due process" and a political move, and saying they would "take all appropriate action" in response.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Nov. 13. Trump’s presidency is expected to disrupt U.S. energy transition efforts through weakened policies and heightened trade tensions.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2025

Can Biden’s green boom survive Trump’s wrecking ball?

The incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump promises to undo at least some of the progress made on decarbonization under President Joe Biden.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday to announce his resignation.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 7, 2025

Canada's Trudeau resigns after nine years in power as Liberals force him out

Trudeau, 53, currently the longest-serving leader of any Group of Seven country, bowed to sagging approval numbers and a rebellion within his political party.
Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano in Seoul in October
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 10, 2025

Japan announces new national security adviser

Masataka Okano is a 60-year-old career diplomat with experience in both Washington and Beijing and a former chief of the Foreign Ministry’s Russia division.
Pete Hegseth, U.S. secretary of defense nominee for President-elect Donald Trump, arrives for a meeting with Sen. Chuck Grassley, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 11, 2025

With hearings imminent, partisan fight escalates over Trump Cabinet

Democrats are demanding that Republicans slow consideration of picks for the new administration until they can review background checks.
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has expressed ambitions to build an "everything app," and adding TikTok to X, formerly Twitter, could bring him closer to that vision.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2025

Elon Musk won’t save TikTok

A Musk takeover of TikTok remains far from a done deal. It would require a wildly complex spinoff and it’s not immediately clear how he would fund a purchase.
U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington in August 2022, after returning from a trip to Kentucky.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 18, 2025

How Biden’s inner circle protected a faltering president

“Your biggest issue is the perception of age,” Mike Donilon, the president’s longtime strategist, told him in 2022, according to people who heard him.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew (center) and Donald Trump's nominee to be the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard (right), attend the presidential inauguration in Washington on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2025

How Trump's TikTok ban reprieve could work

While a U.S. president can't legally suspend a law aimed at banning TikTok, Trump can use prosecutorial discretion, following a long line of past executives.
U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One upon departure from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 26, 2025

Trump's firing of independent watchdog officials draws criticism

Donald Trump's late-night firing of inspectors general was called illegal by Democrats and others and drew concern from at least one fellow Republican.
Tomin First no Kai adviser Hirotada Ototake speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 26, 2025

Tomin First adviser Hirotada Ototake keen to use social media

"Through social media outreach, we want to become an option for unaffiliated voters who have not decided for whom to vote" in the June 22 race, said Ototake.
Sanjay in front of his home in Texas
WORLD / Politics
Jan 28, 2025

Trump’s birthright citizenship rattles H-1B visa workers expecting a baby

The U.S. is fairly unique in offering unconditional birthright citizenship, creating a special enticement for foreign workers.
Rock patterns formed by crystalized minerals along the Dead Sea shore near Kibbutz Ein Gedi in eastern Israel on Dec. 30. The Dead Sea, nestled where Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian territory meet, has famously been dying for years.
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 29, 2025

Dead Sea an 'ecological disaster,' but no one can agree how to fix it

Tackling cross-border environmental issues is no longer a priority for governments in the region.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and members of the Liberal Democratic Party take a group photo at the party's headquarters in Tokyo during the Oct. 27 Lower House elections.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 30, 2025

Adjusting to the new normal in Japanese politics

The upheaval of the past year has forced a fundamental rethinking of how political watchers must observe things in Tokyo
The front page of The Japan Times on Feb. 21, 1925, carried news of clashes in the streets over the debate of extending voting rights to Japanese males over the age of 25.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Feb 1, 2025

Japan Times 1925: Tokyo factions ready to fight over manhood suffrage bill in Diet

Objections from the country's 1% came as Japan debated extending voting rights to all men over the age of 25.
Despite numerous past meetings between U.S. and Japanese leaders, Shigeru Ishiba's relationship with Donald Trump is expected to be awkward, lacking the rapport the U.S. president had with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 4, 2025

Ishiba will finally meet Trump, but expectations need to be kept low

His long-time rival Shinzo Abe's relationship with Trump is the ideal but an unfair comparison.
The Tesla gigafactory in Austin, Texas. Nothing in Texas law would stop Tesla from launching a robotaxi service.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 11, 2025

Tesla robotaxis by June? Musk turns to Texas for hands-off regulation

Nothing in Texas law would stop Tesla from launching a robotaxi service.
Howard Lutnick (right), chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald and U.S. commerce secretary nominee for U.S. President Donald Trump, watches as Trump displays a signed executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 14, 2025

Trump moves to impose reciprocal tariffs as soon as April

Fresh import taxes would be customized for each country, meant to offset not just their own levies on U.S. goods, but also other factors that act to limit U.S. trade.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) is pictured during his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 17, 2025

Israel and U.S. vow to counter Iran's nuclear ambitions in Jerusalem talks

Speaking after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Rubio in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Netanyahu said they discussed a number of issues, "none more important than Iran."

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell