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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 6, 2021

Nearly half of Hong Kong’s reporters are considering leaving, survey finds

The survey underscores the wider crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong, which enshrines freedom of speech in its mini constitution, the Basic Law.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Nov 5, 2021

Fighters will be anything but boring with 'Big Boss' Tsuyoshi Shinjo in dugout

Big Boss has taken charge in Sapporo for what promises to be an entertaining ride.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 3, 2021

ByteDance founder exits board as challenges mount

The world's most valuable startup is making a bigger push into enterprise software after Beijing's yearlong crackdown on the consumer internet.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 31, 2021

Printing coupons and eating swans typify North Korea's economic and food woes

North Korea has long suffered from food insecurity, with observers saying that mismanagement of the economy is exacerbated by international sanctions over its nuclear weapons.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2021

The world’s oldest monarchy is running out of royals

There were 67 members of Japan's royal family after World War II. After Princess Mako leaves, there will be just 17, and only three heirs to the throne among them.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 21, 2021

Top ByteDance investor to weigh $500 million stake sale

The future of the world's most valuable startup is unclear as Beijing's scrutiny over the Chinese tech giants intensifies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Oct 20, 2021

North Korea's new SLBM prompts Japan to consider seeking strike capability

Pyongyang's recent spate of weapons tests have triggered concern in Tokyo, with top officials openly suggesting the possibility of Japan acquiring the ability to attack enemy bases.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 12, 2021

Europe’s region of rogues looks to be on more shaky ground

Central Europe has seen the abrupt resignation of one leader, a shock election defeat for another and tens of thousands of anti-government protesters flocking to the streets.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 7, 2021

Will mixed expectations on Kishida affect economic security?

Kishida's approval ratings seem to reflect the current mood of the nation's pandemic-frustrated public.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2021

China’s record-setting incursions into Taiwan’s ADIZ

Incursions into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) by Chinese military aircraft have broken consecutive records in the past week, with 154 warplanes dispatched to Taiwan’s ADIZ over the past five days.
BUSINESS
Oct 5, 2021

Japan's new economic security minister sets out agenda amid global supply chain woes

One of the major tasks for Takayuki Kobayashi, a Finance Ministry bureaucrat-turned-politician, is to create a new legal framework to support the implementation of related policies.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 3, 2021

Daughter of Philippines' Duterte to run for president in 2022, report says

Sara Duterte-Carpio, currently mayor of Davao, the Philippines' third-largest city, could take up the mantle of her father, who announced Saturday that he is retiring from politics.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Perspectives
Oct 2, 2021

Has Japan’s COVID-19 response really been that bad?

Mainstream media has painted a bleak narrative about how Japan has handled the pandemic, but comparative data shows it has, for the most part, responded much better than its G7 peers.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference a day after the Lower House election, at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 28, 2024

Questions swirl over Ishiba’s future after torrid first month as PM

Ishiba’s gamble on calling an early snap election has exacerbated his already precarious standing within the LDP.
Seven & I Holdings' 46% stake in Seven Bank could raise around ¥30 billion by the end of the current fiscal year in February.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2024

Seven & I is said to plan reducing stake in banking unit to 38%

The retailer’s 46% stake in Seven Bank could raise around ¥30 billion by the end of the current fiscal year in February.
PRESS
Nov 7, 2024

The Japan Times wins Gold at WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards 2024

The Japan Times, Ltd. (Chairperson, Publisher and President: Minako Suematsu) won the inaugural award, Gold Winner, for Best in Healthcare Reporting at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards on November 6 for a story on the systemic issue of overwork among doctors in Japan written by Tomoko Otake.
The outcome of the U.S. election may mark the beginning of the end of the era of “American exceptionalism” and should concern its allies such as Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 7, 2024

What does Trump's victory mean for Japan?

The outcome of the U.S. presidential race is a reflection of the democratic will of the American people and the countries allies must adapt to this new reality.
Masayoshi Son (front, center) poses with the members of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks after the team won the Pacific League championship at Kyocera Dome Osaka on Sept. 23.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Nov 18, 2024

Masayoshi Son’s aim for SoftBank Hawks remains, 20 years after buyout

This year, the team became Pacific League champions for the first time in four years. But its owner has loftier goals.
Matt Groening (right), creator of the show "The Simpsons," attends the premiere of the "The Simpsons Movie" along with characters from the series in Springfield, Vermont, in July 2007.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 2024

‘The Simpsons’ has become a parody of itself. That’s a good thing.

With the "The Simpsons" viewership down to just 10% of its peak, the show is often in the news for controversies rather than content.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba appears to doze off as Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (center) looks on before the first round of a parliamentary vote to nominate a prime minister following the Oct. 27 general election, during a special session of parliament in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 12, 2024

Ishiba’s apparent dozing in parliament due to cold, top spokesman says

Video showing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba appearing to doze off during a key session of parliament went viral on social media.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) meets with President of Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in Moscow on Nov. 2.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 13, 2024

Russian sends 200 military instructors to Equatorial Guinea in West Africa push

The deployment fits into a wider pattern of waning Western influence in the region while offering Moscow funding opportunities.
Digital minister Masaaki Taira, who has jurisdiction over a bill to introduce an “active cyberdefense” system, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 13, 2024

Government set to postpone submission of cyberdefense bill to next year

The delay in the bill to introduce an "active cyberdefense" system follows the ruling bloc's election drubbing, which drained the prime minister's political capital.
Troops from the Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade take part in a marine landing drill as a part of the country's nationwide 05JX military exercises in Kagoshima Prefecture in November of last year.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2024

Elite GSDF troops to regularly deploy for drills in Australia

Tokyo will begin the deployments of the GSDF’s elite Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade to the city of Darwin starting next year.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump greet each other at a campaign event in Duluth, Georgia, in October.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 23, 2024

Gaetz exit puts spotlight on other Trump nominees accused of sexual misconduct

Trump’s willingness to choose cabinet members with histories of alleged sexual misconduct threw his transition plans off course this week.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addresses a meeting at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters on Thursday to discuss political reform.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 25, 2024

Corporate donations remain sticky point in political reform talks

The opposition wants such donations banned but the ruling coalition maintains that a ban would curtail the political freedom of the private sector.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun attends the opening ceremony of the Xiangshan Forum at the Beijing International Convention Center on Sept. 13. Dong is the third consecutive incumbent or former defense chief to be probed over alleged corruption.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 27, 2024

China defense minister being investigated for corruption, report says

The probe could undermine efforts to maintain military-to-military communications just months before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te speaks during the annual Taiwan-EU investment forum in Taipei on Nov. 18.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 28, 2024

Taiwan president's plan to stop over in Hawaii and Guam angers Beijing

Lai Ching-te will depart Saturday for a visit to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau — the only Pacific island nations among Taiwan's 12 remaining allies.
Pete Hegseth, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of defense, speaks to reporters at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington on Nov. 21.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 30, 2024

Pete Hegseth’s mother accused her son of mistreating women for years

She said on Friday that she regretted the 2018 email and had apologized to him.

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