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Smoke rises from Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, on March 17. Ending the wars in Gaza and Ukraine and deterring conflicts in the Indo-Pacific region is a key global goal.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 31, 2024

How should Japan deal with Ukraine, Gaza and the Indo-Pacific region?

The power, institutions and values that underpin the international security order are being compromised worldwide.
Some prominent private equity-related dealmakings in Japan in 2023 include the ¥2.1 trillion ($14 billion) takeover of Toshiba.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 25, 2024

Japan private equity deals jump in otherwise gloomy year for Asia

Japan’s momentum is expected to continue into 2024 as companies face pressure to improve shareholder value.
A volunteer sits near a Starlink terminal constructed for local residents at a street in Kherson, Ukraine, in November 2022.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 23, 2024

Starlink highlights economic security challenges facing democracies

The system has stirred a variety of debates over the issue of military application of civil technology.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he announces a preliminary agreement with Intel for a major CHIPS and Science Act award, during a visit to the Intel Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, Arizona, on March 20.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Apr 19, 2024

Latest Biden chip deal highlights U.S. semiconductor successes

Samsung is the latest beneficiary of Washington’s efforts to shore up precarious supply chains and protect its national security interests.
Art OnO, which took place from April 19 to 21 in Seoul, featured a modest number of 36 participating galleries from 15 countries.
CULTURE / Art
May 17, 2024

Seoul's eclectic Art OnO shines light on Japan's artists and galleries

Japanese contributions accounted for almost a third of the non-Seoul based booths at the art fair's inaugural event, which featured artists such as Yoshitomo Nara and Hisao Domoto.
A Bank of Japan survey on firms nationwide showed that many of them do not expect to be able to hire enough workers if they keep wage growth low, and see an economy where wages and inflation rise in tandem as more favorable.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 20, 2024

Japan's manufacturers want BOJ to keep yen stable, survey shows

The survey on roughly 2,500 firms underscores the importance they place on yen moves in assessing the impact of monetary policy.
While Japan is home to many jazz cafes, its summer festivals will let you listen to the music in the open air.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 9, 2024

Japan's summer offerings include jazz and classical music festivals

Not up for the rock and rap that's front and center of Japan's many summer concerts? Try a few jazz festivals instead.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, in November 2022. The plant was shuttered in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, and has sat idle since.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2024

World’s largest nuclear plant sits idle while energy needs soar

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant has the potential capacity to power more than 13 million households.
Kyosuke Matsuyama (right) competes against France's Erwann Le Pechoux during the men's team foil semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics in August 2021.
OLYMPICS
Jun 24, 2024

Japanese fencers heading to Paris Games with plenty of confidence

The men's national team is aiming to secure its first medal in three Olympics in the foil event, a category considered by many to be a Japanese specialty.
In the future, more tour operators and sites of interest may start marketing themselves based on travelers' preferences to set their own schedules.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 29, 2024

When Japan travels, it doesn’t mind going it alone

Regardless of the destination, more tour operators and regions are leaning on “travel as a form of self-care.”
Asuka was one of Japan's earliest imperial capitals before the court eventually decamped for other locales.
LIFE / Travel
Jul 6, 2024

Cycling through Asuka, the forgotten capital of ancient Japan

During the Yamato Period (300-710), this village was one of the earliest capitals of the nascent Yamato state, even meriting its own aptly named Asuka Period (552-645).
One analyst argues that the billions of dollars flowing from Japan to the likes of Apple, Amazon and Microsoft might be more a positive than a negative in that more companies and individuals are using digital services.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 7, 2024

Japan’s digital deficit might be a good thing

The digital deficit indicates that digitalization has accelerated in the country, says Mitsubishi Research Institute researcher Kengo Wataya.
Starbucks mobile app shows an error message on Friday. A botched software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike crashed countless Microsoft Windows computer systems globally.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2024

CrowdStrike meltdown and the price of real security

Catastrophic system failure isn’t part of the equation — until it happens. Which will be occurring with increasing frequency in our deeply interconnected world.
Button batteries of various sizes and some of the devices that use such batteries. The National Consumer Affairs Center has issued new guidance about the risks of children accidentally consuming such batteries following a series of recent reported incidents.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 19, 2024

Consumer watchdog urges caution against children swallowing batteries

Button batteries, commonly found in toys, remote controls and various household devices, can damage a child's digestive tract if swallowed.
Mylene de Joya Garcia-Albano
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Sep 4, 2024

Philippine envoy highlights climate and smart farms

A native of the Philippine city of Davao, Mylene de Joya Garcia-Albano arrived in Tokyo in December 2022 as ambassador of the Philippines to Japan.
Fireworks are fired on the Stade de France roof during the closing ceremony of the Paris Paralympics on Sunday.
PARALYMPICS
Sep 9, 2024

Paris Paralympics close with festive ceremony as France celebrates 'historic' summer

International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons said the Paris Paralympics had shown that "change starts with sport."
Urawa celebrates after winning the Asian Champions League final at Saitama Stadium on May 6, 2023.
SOCCER
Sep 15, 2024

New Asian Champions League format highlights quality over quantity

The tournament features a new format, trophy and logo as well as three times more cash for the new champion.
Hideko Hakamata (center) and lawyers representing her younger brother, Iwao Hakamata, pose with a banner that reads "Iwao Hakamata verdict not guilty" as they leave the Shizuoka District Court on Thursday after the ruling was delivered.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 26, 2024

In rare retrial, Shizuoka court rules ex-boxer not guilty of 1966 murders

Iwao Hakamata, the world’s longest-serving death row prisoner, has maintained his innocence for decades.
New Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (front center) and other Cabinet ministers pose for a commemorative photo after an appointment and certification ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 1, 2024

New Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba unveils Cabinet as LDP divide emerges

His Cabinet, made up of lawmakers largely untainted by an LDP political funds scandal, has appeared to open up a rift in the ruling party.
Japanese firms’ issuance of dollar bonds has surged 60% so far in the fiscal year that started in April, as they target a larger investor base away from the home market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 2, 2024

Japan firms rush past global peers in hunt for dollar funds

The rush highlights the changes issuers and investors face as the U.S. Federal Reserve eases rates while the Bank of Japan heads in the opposite direction.
Japanese film director Kiyoshi Kurosawa gestures as he poses for photos during a press conference at the 29th Busan International Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 5, 2024

Japan's 'master of horror' Kiyoshi Kurosawa highlights 'B-movie' appeal

The director, who received the Busan International Film Festival's Filmmaker of the Year Award on Wednesday, said he'd like to see more artists explore genre cinema.
A damaged road in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 6, after a major earthquake struck the area on New Year's Day
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / OUR PLANET
Oct 6, 2024

Important tool or alarmism? Japan experts split on megaquake advisories.

Supporters say the advisories are about reducing risk, but critics see a system that isn’t based on science and one in which the cons outweigh the pros.
Japan's has experienced a significant decline in global economic power, with its share of global gross domestic product dropping from 18% in the 1980s to an anticipated 3% by 2050.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 8, 2024

Japan needs more than mere economic strength

Japan, a country that has long relied on its economic prowess for international stature and standing, must change its perspective.
Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) leader Yoshihiko Noda speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 13, 2024

Amid skepticism, CDP faces once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Oct. 27 polls

The party can capitalize on dissatisfaction against the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over a recent scandal, but it must battle voters' deep-seated doubts against it.
At this week's Japan International Aerospace Exhibition in Tokyo, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries unveiled concepts of two drone systems that could potentially operate alongside the next-generation fighter aircraft that Japan is developing with Italy and Britain. The full-scale model on the left is of an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drone while the other is a 1:10 scale model of a tactical combat drone.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2024

MHI and BAE showcase drones for potential use with GCAP fighter

The artificial intelligence-enabled drones are being designed to not only support and escort combat aircraft but also perform their own missions.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 22, 2024

China tension highlights risk of Taiwan’s nuclear phase-out plan

Public opinion had turned sharply in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, prompting the government to halt construction on all projects.
Tokyo's Ginza shopping district. In its revised estimates, the Cabinet Office cut its inflation-adjusted GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal year ending in March 2025 to 0.7% from 0.9% projected in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 1, 2024

Japan cuts growth forecast again for current fiscal year on weak exports

In its revised estimates, the Cabinet Office cut its inflation-adjusted GDP growth forecast for the year ending in March 2025 to 0.7% from 0.9% projected in July.
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.
Public support for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet in November remained low at 28.7%, a Jiji survey shows.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2024

Ishiba Cabinet approval inches up to 28.7%, poll shows

The result highlights the persisting lack of voters' support for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's administration.
The facade of the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum graces the cover of Paul Tulett’s new book “Brutalist Japan: A Photographic Tour of Post-War Japanese Architecture.”
CULTURE / Books
Nov 16, 2024

Brutal beauty worth saving from the wrecking ball

Paul Tulett advocates for preserving concrete Brutalist architecture in his new book “Brutalist Japan.”

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