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JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jun 27, 2022

Toyota to boost motorsports in Asia

Japanese cars already hold a high market share in Asia, so promoting car racing may be aimed at spreading an interest in the higher-performance models.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 27, 2022

Okinawa farmers, once finding wealth in pineapples, search for successors

Some people, including teachers, actually quit their jobs and started growing pineapples, such was the wealth to be gained from farming the crop.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 26, 2022

U.S. abortion reversal spurs online data fears

As states move to restrict abortions after the Supreme Court's landmark reversal, worries grow that social media posts or information on apps could be used by authorities to build cases.
BASKETBALL
Jun 21, 2022

Washington Mystics' Rui Machida learning ropes in debut WNBA season

Japan's standout at the Tokyo Olympics is adjusting to the challenges of professional ball in the United States after making the move from the Fujitsu RedWave earlier this spring.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Jun 21, 2022

Invasive rats spreading across Yamaguchi, damaging crops

The nutria, a kind of large rat native to South America, has expanded its habitat to almost all areas of the prefecture, with municipalities stepping up measures against the animal.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Jun 20, 2022

Improving the quality of life at Japan's disaster evacuation shelters

Sleeping in crowded conditions on the floor can cause a range of health issues such as insomnia, high blood pressure and disuse syndrome.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 17, 2022

Sony and Honda agree to joint venture to sell electric cars by 2025

Honda, like bigger rival Toyota Motor, has been slower to shift to electric vehicles than global automakers and is under pressure from investors to make cars that are carbon-free.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 17, 2022

NTT Data and Toyota to tap overseas startups for joint effort on connected cars

Japanese carmakers have been ramping up efforts to develop electric vehicles and connected cars, which can communicate with each other and outside networks to improve features.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 14, 2022

Climate change risks exacerbating security issues in Asia-Pacific

As sea levels continue to rise, small islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans as well as coastal megacities in China and South and Southeast Asia are already at risk.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 13, 2022

How fashion giants recast plastic as good for the planet

An explosion in the use of inexpensive, petroleum-based materials has transformed the fashion industry, aided by the successful rebranding of synthetic materials into hip alternatives.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jun 13, 2022

Breathalyzers in short supply in Japan amid stricter rules for work drivers

Although alcohol checks can be done visually for the time being, companies that use a certain number of noncommercial vehicles will be required to use breathalyzers starting in October.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 13, 2022

China alarms U.S. with private warnings to avoid Taiwan Strait

Chinese military officials in recent months have repeatedly asserted that the Taiwan Strait isn't international waters during meetings with U.S. counterparts.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jun 13, 2022

Shiseido joins wave of firms tapping Kyushu as Asia export gateway

Manufacturers' capital investment in the Kyushu and Okinawa regions in fiscal 2021 was up 25.3% from the previous year, much higher than the nationwide increase of 7.6%.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 12, 2022

Atsuki Kuroda's new house blends style and taste

'No genre!' says chef Atsuki Kuroda of the stunning, satisfying menu at AC House.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jun 11, 2022

Can unlikely friendships kickstart fashion’s lackluster recovery?

Breaking down brand barriers may be the only way forward for Tokyo's couturiers
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 10, 2022

Artizon Museum's Jam Session puts photography into perspective

This year's edition of the museum's annual series, which invites contemporary artists to play off canonical pieces, nudges viewers into rethinking the art of seeing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 9, 2022

'Emergent Tokyo' digs into an urban sprawl borne from chaos and order

Architect Jorge Almazan and Studiolab, his research laboratory at Keio University, take an innovative approach to exploring the historical conditions that shaped Tokyo's eclectic cityscape.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 9, 2022

Russian army base sees scramble for Ukraine war supplies, sources say

Previously unreported issues linked to the town of Valuyki provide a rare window into operations at a strategically important base as Russia scrambles to maintain its offensive in Ukraine.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 7, 2022

Three years out, the verdict is still out on ‘Peak Japan’

The real test is yet to come. In the most optimistic telling, Japan turns its liabilities — a declining population in particular — into assets.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jun 7, 2022

The (no longer) secret world of surf spots

Surfing has treated knowledge and waves, whether in San Diego or semirural Oregon, as things that are earned, not given — the way anglers hold dear the locations of secret fishing holes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jun 6, 2022

Schools in Japan struggle to serve affordable lunches as food prices surge

While schools are trying to curb costs by changing ingredients, it is not easy to do that and at the same time meet the required nutritional standards.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jun 6, 2022

Bento-maker sets example with language lessons for Vietnamese trainees

Asahikawa Ekitachiuri Shokai in Hokkaido says the classes make communication and work easier, and that trainees will have more job options after they return to Vietnam.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 6, 2022

Mini nuclear reactors have an outsized waste problem

Small-modular reactors, known as SMRs, could produce as much as two to 30-times more waste than conventional atomic power plants in operation today, according to scientists.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 4, 2022

'Tokyo Side A': Making sense of the 'pandemic Olympics'

Official Olympics documentaries can be as triumphant as a gold-medal performance or they can end up in infamy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 2, 2022

Mitoyo: Kagawa’s hidden gem tries to turn Instagram virality into a tourism economy

If the aging town of Mitoyo, Kagawa Pref., has one thing going for it, it would have to be its sunsets — the perfect draw for young tourists looking to spruce up their social media sites.

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40