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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.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 13, 2021

U.S. calls Xinjiang an 'open-air prison,' as it slams religious persecution by China

Also on Wednesday, the U.S., Germany and Britain clashed with China at the United Nations over the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
May 10, 2021

Ethiopia’s crackdown on ethnic Tigrayans snares thousands

Tigray is the most dramatic example of ethnic and regional tensions that are surfacing across Ethiopia, imperiling the multiethnic democracy of Africa's second-most populous nation.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 4, 2021

Europe recalibrates on China as Merkel's term nears end and trans-Atlantic tensions ease

A major investment deal reached in December between the EU and Beijing may end up being the high-water mark for ties.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2021

What will the new normal look like for China?

In the short term, the successful COVID-19 response by China will allow it to temporarily strengthen its position. But in the long term, its problems aren't going anywhere.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 25, 2021

Your questions for how to socialize safely this Golden Week, answered

Now a year out from the pandemic, The Japan Times asked some experts to help us get to grips with the latest health guidance and to offer advice about how (or if) it's safe to socialize.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2021

In break from official line, LDP No. 2 floats Tokyo Games cancellation

'What is the point of the Olympics if it helps spread the virus further?' said LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai on a television program.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2021

Chaos is opportunity for Myanmar’s drug trafficking syndicates

Over the past two decades, meth production has jumped up in Myanmar, displacing the opium and heroin production that once made the Golden Triangle a byword for the international drug trade.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 30, 2021

National consensus needed on the role of Self-Defense Forces in emergencies

While the SDF provide invaluable assistance in times of natural disaster, their potential role in large-scale international crises still needs to be examined.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Mar 21, 2021

Contentious hunt for COVID-19’s origin points to China animal trade

Findings from experts convened by the World Health Organization and the Chinese government are expected to show parallels to the spawning in 2002 of SARS.
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.
People protest as the USAID building sits closed to employees after a memo was issued advising agency personnel to work remotely, in Washington on Feb. 3.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 19, 2025

Powerful Asian countries will struggle to fill aid gap left by U.S.

China may be reluctant to fully fill the void, while South Korea and Japan could struggle to give enough.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervises the test of suicide drones with artificial intelligence technology, according to local media, at an unknown location in this photo released on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 27, 2025

North Korea's Kim supervises test of AI suicide drones

Kim said unmanned control and AI capability must be the top priorities in modern arms development, state media reported.
The Tokyo Detention Center in the capital's Katsushika Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 13, 2025

Death penalty under renewed scrutiny in Japan

The punishment has broad public support in Japan, despite international criticism over how it is carried out.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister and top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to the press upon his arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 20, 2025

Japan mulls reviewing car safety rules to strike deal with Trump

The report comes after Japan’s chief negotiator Ryosei Akazawa kicked off tariff discussions with U.S. counterparts in Washington last week.
The Bank of Japan has been signaling caution in the face of uncertainty.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 1, 2025

Bank of Japan holds rates as expected but surprises with growth forecast cut

The policy board made no adjustment to the short-term policy rate, currently 0.5%, at a two-day meeting that concluded Thursday.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and French President Emmanuel Macron at the AI Action Summit in Paris in February. The mood at the event was largely optimistic despite growing evidence that chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT are being used by malicious actors.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2025

How much will we risk in the name of AI?

AI safety breaches are a very present danger. Evidence shows that leading chatbots are perpetuating Kremlin talking points, while many leaders tout optimism rather than concern.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (second from left) chairs a meeting of the government's cybersecurity strategy panel in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 29, 2025

Government to formulate new cybersecurity strategy amid rising threats

The new strategy includes a change in cryptography systems to better protect the government's internal communications against cyberattacks from quantum computers.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’