Search - international-report

 
 
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Nov 10, 2021

India’s battle against heat shows stakes of COP26 climate talks

It will take decades for COP26 measures to have a tangible impact on temperatures. In the meantime, countries like India have to learn to deal with heat that's already baked in.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2021

Trash and burn: Big brands' new plastic waste plan faces skepticism

Experts say that burning plastic in cement kilns, a practice firms are promoting, emits harmful emissions and amounts to swapping one dirty fuel for another.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2021

The right war for the U.S. and China

Unlike the U.S., China is not initiating futile arms races, which will increase environmental damage and divert funding away from climate change mitigation efforts.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2021

A crippling blow to the global 'war on terror'

The U.S. has come full circle by ceding control of Afghanistan to the same organization that gave Osama bin Laden the base from which to plot the 9/11 attacks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2021

Japan needs a lot more tech workers. Can it find a place for women?

The country is pushing to digitally modernize itself, but one of the developed world's starkest gender gaps is holding it back.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 14, 2021

Were the Olympics sustainable? Reports of waste suggest it's not easy being green

Stories of uneaten bento boxes and the plight of air conditioners used in the athlete residences suggest that the Olympics are having trouble meeting their sustainability goals.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 14, 2021

Data gaps hinder European efforts to assess Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine

Approval delays could allow rival vaccine-makers to sew up key markets.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2021

Banks and their role in the green transition

The increased frequency and severity of weather-related disasters will gradually come to be reflected in insurance coverage and costs, affecting profitability and the default rates of loan portfolios in the banking sector.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2021

It’s official (for now): 10,000 fans to be allowed at Olympic events

If an emergency is declared in the capital or anywhere venues are located after July 12, organizers said restrictions will be brought in line with whatever measures are put in place.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Jun 11, 2021

World’s richest face tax squeeze after 40% boost to fortunes

The proposals form part of a global revival of initiatives to target the rich, including new taxes on capital gains, inheritances and wealth.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jun 11, 2021

Robust vaccine supply chain is key to ending the pandemic

Japan has a part to play in preventing the spread of infections and stopping the coronavirus from mutating.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 2021

Wuhan lab dispute obscures a more pressing problem

Senior Chinese officials acknowledge their country's “clear shortcomings” in its high-level biosafety labs in comparison with the U.S. and warned of insufficient operating funds.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2021

Lessons from the pandemic

Most countries are lagging far behind and new, concerted and more generous efforts by the richest nations are needed to control the pandemic at a global level.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2021

Did China avoid blame for causing the pandemic?

The WHO first learned of the COVID-19 outbreak from Taiwan, news articles, a public bulletin and from an automated alert system that scans the internet for mentions of unexplained pneumonia.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
May 29, 2021

If not now, when? COVID-19 spurs global push to tackle wealth gap.

Governments worldwide, facing strong evidence that fallout from COVID-19 has widened wealth gaps as well as wrecking economies, have expanded social safety nets.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 20, 2021

At a Malaysian company's dorm, an audit gave the all-clear. Others alleged slavery.

These contrasting conclusions highlight little-known flaws in global efforts to monitor labor conditions.
The health ministry’s report shows that the number of elementary, junior high and high school students who took their own lives in 2023 stood at 513, one fewer than last year's record of 514.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 29, 2024

Japan’s struggle with youth suicide sparks government initiatives

The health ministry’s report shows that the number of elementary, junior high and high school students who took their own lives remained alarmingly high.
Soldiers patrol as people flee armed gang violence in Yajalon, Chiapas state, Mexico, on June 9.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 12, 2024

Crime costs Latin America and Caribbean almost what region spends on education

Beyond the human toll, the cost of crime amounts to almost 80% of the region's public budgets for education.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (right) welcomes International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi during a meeting in Tehran last Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 20, 2024

Iran offers to cap sensitive uranium stock as IAEA resolution looms

Western diplomats dismissed Iran's overture as yet another last-minute attempt to avoid censure, much like its pledge of deeper cooperation that never materialized.
Not one country is on track for a 1.5 C future based on 2030 national pledges for cutting emissions, according to ASCOR.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 26, 2024

Rich countries provide no haven from climate doom, study finds

The review of 70 countries’ emissions and policies shows "no overwhelming trend" that wealthier countries are doing a better job of tackling climate change.
Factory workers make jeans in Dhaka in March 2023.
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2024

Extreme heat puts garment factory workers at risk, study shows

New European Union regulations make retailers selling in the bloc legally liable for conditions at their suppliers.
Japan, which relied on coal and natural gas for more than 60% of electricity generation last year, has been slow to shift to lower-emission energy sources.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2024

Japan aims for 60% emissions cut by 2035 in target seen as lax

The target was proposed last month, and was criticized by experts who said the plans don’t align with international ambitions to curb global warming.
Doubts about the strength of the conclusions drawn from China’s research add to the mounting questions about how the positive tests were investigated and adjudicated by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
OLYMPICS
Dec 25, 2024

Questions emerge about data used by China to defend against doping allegations

The finding raises more questions about explanations from China and WADA as to why elite Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance.
Scheduled to welcome its first guests in early 2025, the Waldorf Astoria Osaka is just one of many luxury hotel openings Japan has seen in recent months.
LIFE / Travel
Jan 4, 2025

Japan’s ‘quiet revolution’ of luxury travel nears fruition

“The Japanese luxury travel scene has undergone quite the metamorphosis over the past decade,” says one industry insider.
A portable charger containing a lithium-ion battery that overheated in an accident during a reenactment experiment in December at the Consumer Affairs Agency
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2025

Consumer Affairs Agency warns of risks from battery-powered heated devices

Injury reports linked to lithium-ion battery-powered heating gear have surged over the last 10 years.
Young Tibetan monks sit on a scooter as they arrive to take part in a protest march held to mark the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, in the northern hill town of Dharamsala, India, on March 10, 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 14, 2025

How China is erasing Tibetan culture, one child at a time

Education, especially in minority areas, is a politically sensitive topic. Tibetans who oppose the boarding schools risk imprisonment if they protest.
A Japanese class at a job placement company in Hanoi in 2022. The number of foreign workers in Japan hit a record high in 2024.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2025

Japan’s foreign workforce hits fresh record as labor crisis deepens

Japan had a record 2.3 million foreign workers as of October 2024, marking a 12.4% increase from the previous year.
While the ruling minority government’s weakened position has emboldened opposition parties to push for more spending across multiple policy fronts, the International Monetary Fund has warned there is limited space today in Japan to address the risks of natural disasters and mounting social security costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 7, 2025

Japan needs immediate deficit cut to fix fiscal path, IMF warns

The government needs to prepare now to avoid negative surprises four or five years down the road, the IMF’s Japan mission chief says.
A suspected victim of modern slavery who was initially denied state support after Britain introduced a tougher immigration policy, in London on Sept. 19
WORLD / Politics
Feb 11, 2025

U.K.'s tougher immigration policy risks trapping victims in modern slavery

The protections created under Britain's Modern Slavery Act have been eroded by rules introduced in 2023 to curb illegal migration.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba with parliamentary vice ministers at the Prime Minister's Office in November. The share of women among Japan's lawmakers was 15.7% as of last December.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 7, 2025

Japan's share of female lawmakers lowest among G7 members

While the global average was 27.2%, the figure in Japan stood at 15.7% as of last December.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes