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With COP28 taking place during a year set to be the hottest on record, the need for more progress has never been greater.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 29, 2023

Japan's relationship with coal likely to be in focus at COP28

With the climate talks taking place during a year set to be the hottest on record, the need for more progress has never been greater.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 30, 2023

Panel submits final report on Japan's foreign trainee program

After roughly a year of meetings, the cumulative report contains recommendations on a newly designed policy.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2023

Japan falls out of top 10 in digital government rankings

The result reflects a series of problems with the country's My Number social security and tax identification cards.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 1, 2023

Japan’s 2023 buzzword of the year is all about winning

A.R.E — based on the Japanese word “are” (“that”) — took the top spot, after the Hanshin Tigers popularized the term as an indirect reference to victory.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida prepares to speak at a COP28 session in Dubai on Friday.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2023

Japan pledges to end construction of new unabated coal plants

The pledge comes after some nations called on attendees at COP28 to agree to immediately end new unabated coal-fired power generation.
Areas highlighted in blue indicate regions where tsunami was forecast.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 3, 2023

Japan lifts tsunami warning after strong quake jolts Philippines

A powerful earthquake struck the southern Philippines late Saturday, followed by four major aftershocks that sent residents fleeing from coastal areas.
Yuuki Matsumoto, formerly Yuni, at his residence in Yokohama on Aug. 24. Japanese children with unconventional names can face societal and practical challenges unique to their country and its written language. Matsumoto, 24, was bullied over his name to the extent he dropped out of school, and had it legally  changed this year.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 3, 2023

Unusual names can complicate life in Japan. Now parents are being reined in.

As such names have increased, so has attention to cases of people unhappy with them. But critics say new rules may infringe on the right to be creative.
The INS Kadmatt makes a goodwill visit to a port near Manila in October 2017.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2023

Indian warship visits MSDF's Yokosuka base

Japan and India are working to strengthen their relations through "the Quad" framework, which also includes the United States and Australia.
The Principals’ Board for the Combined Space Operations initiative gather in Ottawa in February 2020 for its annual meeting to formally recognize the addition of France and Germany to the CSpO.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2023

Japan to attend meeting of multilateral space security initiative

Current member countries are slated to discuss Japan's bid to become an official CSpO member, among other topics.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 6, 2023

Biden ‘heartbroken’ as U.S. confirms eight dead in Osprey crash

The crash — the first fatal accident involving an Osprey in Japan and deadliest ever since it became operational — has rekindled concern over its safety.
A mosaic image of asteroid Bennu, composed of 12 PolyCam images collected by the Osiris-Rex spacecraft from a range of 24 kilometers
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2023

NASA asteroid sample being analyzed in Japan

The team is also analyzing a sample from asteroid Ryugu brought by the Hayabusa2 explorer of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
All Blacks captain Sam Cane following a news conference to announce his debut in Japan Rugby League One
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Dec 7, 2023

World Cup stars 'make some coin' as Japan rugby season kicks off

Seven All Blacks and six Springboks from the World Cup final are now in Japan Rugby League One as it looks to take its profile to a new level.
A radar facility set up for coastal surveillance by the Ground Self-Defense Force's Yonaguni base on Yonaguni island in Okinawa Prefecture.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Dec 14, 2023

Acquiring counterstrike capabilities is no simple matter for Japan

Under its defense and security strategies, deterrence by denial and deterrence by punishment are the essence of Japan’s deterrence capabilities.
Ground Self-Defense Force personnel take part in a military drill involving a V-22 Osprey aircraft in June 2022.
EDITORIALS
Dec 8, 2023

The Osprey crash has lessons for the U.S.-Japan alliance

The U.S. and Japan bungled the initial response to the crash of an Osprey aircraft in Japan. Both must learn to improve communication in the future.
Seihan Mori, chief priest of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, writes "zei" (taxes), which was chosen on Tuesday as the kanji of the year.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2023

Talk of taxes spurs choice for Japan’s kanji of the year

The choice came as tax hikes and cuts were heavily covered in the news and discussed among policymakers.
Japanese civil engineering group Infroneer said it would buy Japan Wind Development from Bain Capital for about $1.4 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 12, 2023

Japan's Infroneer to buy Japan Wind Development from Bain Capital

The $1.4 billion acquisition will expand the Japanese civil engineering group's renewable energy business.
Shingo Takashima, a 26-year-old doctor, killed himself three months into his specialty doctor training at a general hospital in Kobe.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Dec 13, 2023

Young doctor’s suicide highlights overwork culture at Japan hospitals

The issue is coming into sharper focus ahead of the April implementation of a legal cap on doctors’ overtime.
A story on the front page of The Japan Times on Jan. 4, 1924, focuses on a Tokyo attempting to recover from the Great Kanto Earthquake.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jan 1, 2024

The Japan Times 1924: Tokyo greets 1924 in hope of better things

After a year in which the capital and its surroundings experienced a catastrophic earthquake, an article highlights the resolve of the people.
A contingency in the event that China invades Taiwan is emerging as a key focus in Japan’s new defense policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 17, 2023

Will Japan intervene in a Taiwan contingency? It depends.

If Taiwan puts up a fight against a Chinese invasion, it would likely engender a U.S. intervention that would not be possible without Japan’s assistance.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2023

U.S. TV commercials to promote Japanese scallops

The move comes after demand from the Chinese market evaporated when China introduced a blanket ban on Japanese fishery products in August this year.
A mobile missile launcher awaits the order to fire a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile from an undisclosed location in North Korea in this undated picture released Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 19, 2023

Japan, South Korea, U.S. begin sharing real-time data on North Korean missiles

The data-sharing system was activated as Pyongyang confirmed that it tested a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile a day earlier.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg meet during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 19, 2023

NATO's delicate balancing act in the Indo-Pacific

Japan and NATO are already working together on new technologies and on efforts to safeguard the new domains of cyber, outer space and other vectors.
A U.S. Steel coke works in Clairton, Pennsylvania
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2023

A steel deal that’s good for Japan and the U.S.

Nippon Steel’s announcement that it plans to purchase U.S. Steel has triggered an uproar in the United States.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2023

In major shift, Japan eases rules on exporting defense gear

The policy change could see Japan make its first export of lethal military equipment as early as next year.
Self-Defense Forces soldiers take part in an evacuation drill on Yonaguni island in Okinawa Prefecture in November.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 22, 2023

Japan approves record ¥8 trillion defense budget

The defense budget announced Friday includes ¥370 billion to build two new warships that will utilize the U.S.-developed Aegis missile defense system.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in July.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 24, 2023

Japan is critical to linking the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East

As Japan enters the Year of the Dragon, it has an opportunity to link the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East in a way that benefits everyone.
Former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2023

Japan must further ease arms export rules, ex-defense chief says

Itsunori Onodera said he would press ahead with ruling coalition discussions on broadening the scope of allowable exports.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 26, 2023

Japan's SLIM precision moon lander enters lunar orbit, JAXA says

If successful, the touchdown would make Japan only the fifth country to have landed a probe on the moon, after the United States, Russia, China and India.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2023

Japan's Princess Kako turns 29

The princess attended more events in the past year than before, reflecting the removal of COVID-19 pandemic-linked restrictions.
Global Indian International School (GIIS) Tokyo opened in 2006 with 60 students and has now grown to over 1,300, the majority of whom are Japanese.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 28, 2023

How Japan's international school landscape is evolving

With lower tuition than legacy international schools, new affordable facilities are catering to the growing communities of non-Japanese Asian communities.

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