Search - japan

 
 
The building of new high-rise residential buildings has some alarmed that they could empty and fall into disrepair as Japan's population shrinks.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 24, 2025

The high cost of letting Japan's condos crumble

With rising repair costs, dwindling reserve funds and an aging population of owners, thousands of buildings are at risk of falling into disrepair.
Terumi Tanaka, co-chair of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize-winning Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, urged the country to take the lead in preventing nuclear weapons from being used for a third time.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2025

Hidankyo leader regrets Japan's dodging of upcoming nuclear ban meet

The meeting of signatories to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is set to be held in New York in March.
Nadeshiko Japan's Momoko Tanikawa controls the ball as Colombia's Marcela Restreop defends during their match at the SheBelieves Cup in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday.
SOCCER
Feb 24, 2025

Nadeshiko Japan and U.S. each win to set up clash for SheBelieves Cup title

Japan thumped Colombia 4-1 and the United States beat Australia 2-1 on Sunday to set up a SheBelieves Cup tournament decider between the two favorites.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sign a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement at a meeting in Pyongyang in June 2024.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 24, 2025

Japan wary of North Korea's practical combat experience in Ukraine war

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi underlines concern over how Pyongyang's participation in the conflict might affect Japan's security environment.
A liquefied natural gas plant operated by Sakhalin Energy is seen at Prigorodnoye on the Pacific island of Sakhalin, Russia, in July 2021.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 24, 2025

Three years into Ukraine war, Japan struggles to ensure steady LNG supply

Fierce global competition for liquefied natural gas has led to spikes in electricity and gas bills, which heavily weigh on the finances of Japanese households.
Visitors line up to take photos in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji in the background at the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Jan. 29.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 25, 2025

Japan’s ‘hidden gems’ overwhelmed as social media drives influx of tourists

Local stakeholders struggle to cope with the surge in visitor numbers whenever a location suddenly goes viral.
Japan Rugby Football Union Chairman Kensuke Iwabuchi, seen at a news conference in June 2019, has been suspended from his role as vice president with Asia Rugby pending an investigation into a potential code of conduct breach.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 25, 2025

Japan seeks answers after Asia Rugby suspends vice president

Asia Rugby said Kensuke Iwabuchi had been suspended "in line with Asia Rugby principles of equality, transparency and accountability."
The weak yen is often cited as one reason why many Japanese don't go abroad.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 25, 2025

Only 17% of Japanese people own passports, Foreign Ministry says

Around 3.7 million passports were issued domestically in 2024, a 8.8% increase from the year before but down 15.2% from prepandemic numbers in 2019.
The People's Liberation Army Navy's Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, part of a flotilla sailing inside Australia's exclusive economic zone on Wednesday, is seen at an undisclosed location in this image taken on Feb. 11.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 26, 2025

'Provocative' Chinese warship near Australia puts Japan on notice

Canberra surmised that China's military moves were intended to “shape the responses of those in the region and observe and learn from our reactions.”
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' announcement is believed to be part of a push by Japan as it vies with Germany for a lucrative contract to build new Mogami-class frigates for Australia.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2025

MHI to ramp up Australian business activities with eye on frigate contract

The expansion is seen as a push by Japan to improve its chances of securing a winning bid over Germany to supply the Australian Navy with seven to 11 warships.
The number of newborns in 2024 fell 5% from the previous year to 720,988, extending a nine-year streak of declines, according to preliminary population data released Thursday by the health ministry.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2025

Japan records fewest births on record, deepening demographic crisis

The number of newborns in 2024 fell 5% from the previous year to 720,988, extending a nine-year streak of declines.
Nadeshiko Japan captain Saki Kumagai celebrates after a goal against the United States during the SheBelieves Cup final in San Diego on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Feb 27, 2025

Nadeshiko Japan defeats United States to capture first SheBelieves Cup title

Japan won the title for the first time after goals by Toko Koga and Yuka Momiki.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s populism and polarization will challenge American democracy, but constitutional limits, congressional dynamics and enduring pluralism will sustain it.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 27, 2025

American democracy will weather the Trumpist storm

Despite Trump’s authoritarian tendencies, his populist nature makes constitutional collapse unlikely so long as pluralism in society endures.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has urged U.S. partners and allied nations to follow his country's example and increase military expenditure and preparedness.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2025

Poland’s top diplomat calls on U.S. allies to spend more on defense

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski touts the example of Warsaw whose defense spending is set to rise to 4.7% of gross domestic product this year.
Japan Post Holdings plans to sell a stake in Japan Post Bank that could raise ¥630 billion ($4.2 billion).
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2025

Japan Post plans sale of $4.2 billion stake in banking unit

The company will sell as many as 416.1 million shares at a discount of 2% to 4% of the stock’s market price.
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, at a news conference on Friday, said the Cabinet has approved a bill to revise relevant laws to digitalize criminal procedures in the country.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 28, 2025

Japan's Cabinet approves bill to digitalize criminal procedures

Once passed, existing laws will be amended to allow greater use of technologies by law enforcers and the judiciary.
On March 21, 1925, a front page headline announced that the Tokyo Radio Broadcasting Bureau, the precursor to NHK, had begun operations with a communications range of 50 kilometers.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Mar 1, 2025

Japan Times 1925: Government sanctions official broadcasting station, the precursor to NHK

Japan’s first official broadcasting station began operating 100 years ago, setting a new precedent for the speed of communication and news.
Nadeshiko Japan celebrates after winning the SheBelieves Cup in San Diego on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Feb 28, 2025

Nils Nielsen's vision for Nadeshiko Japan comes to life at SheBelieves Cup

The remarkable achievement has brought about a renewed optimism among the fanbase, as Japan seems ready to turn the page after years of perceived underperformance.
AIREC, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven humanoid robot, demonstrates a maneuver for changing diapers or preventing bedsores in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 1, 2025

AI robots may hold key to nursing Japan's aging population

Japan is the world's most advanced aging society with a falling birth rate, dwindling working-age population and restrictive immigration policies.
Smoke rises from a forest fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Feb. 28
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2025

Japan battles biggest wildfire in decades

Flames are estimated to have spread over about 1,200 hectares in the forest of Ofunato in the northern region of Iwate since fire broke out on Wednesday.
Smoke is seen rising from the mountains of the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Friday. Authorities said the wildfire kept spreading, burning 1,800 hectares by Sunday morning.
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2025

Thousands flee after Japan's biggest wildfire in decades

There were about 1,300 wildfires across Japan in 2023, concentrated in the February to April period when the air dries out and winds pick up.
Pedestrians commute through Shibuya Station in central Tokyo, an area that is almost never devoid of people.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Mar 3, 2025

As the rest of Japan shrinks, Tokyo grows

Women and young people are leading a migratory wave that the government is struggling to halt.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 3, 2025

Japan unlikely to attend future meetings for nuke ban treaty

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi indicates that Tokyo's absence from this week's meeting is due to the treaty being incompatible with U.S. nuclear deterrence.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's destroyer Akizuki (far left) leads the MSDF fleet during a naval review in Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo, in October 2012.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2025

Japanese destroyer passes through Taiwan Strait for just second time

The solo passage last month by the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Akizuki comes amid warming ties with Beijing, but also follows ramped-up military pressure by China.
Natsumi Sakai, a Lower House member of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, during an interview in parliament last month
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 4, 2025

Gender equality in politics remains elusive in Japan

Japan has a long way to go before fully achieving gender equality in politics.
Ground Self-Defense Force helicopters return after dropping water as they fight a wildfire around Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Sunday. Firefighters were still battling Japan's biggest forest fire in half a century on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2025

Japan's worst wildfire in half a century spreads

White smoke billowed from a forested area around the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, six days after the blaze began amid record low rainfall.
According to the Cultural Affairs Agency, shodō is defined as the act of writing kanji and kana characters using traditional brushstrokes and techniques.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2025

Japan to again propose calligraphy for UNESCO heritage list

The government is expected to submit the fresh proposal to UNESCO by the end of the month.
A stick-sized container containing an egg and a tank used to freeze eggs
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Mar 5, 2025

More women in Japan turn to egg freezing amid increase in financial support

Although the practice is emerging as a new option for women, experts are urging individuals to carefully weigh its benefits and drawbacks.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline along the Dalton Highway in Stevens Village, Alaska, on Sep. 19, 2024
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 5, 2025

Trump says Japan and South Korea want to partner in Alaska pipeline

Japan, South Korea and other countries want to partner with the United States in a "gigantic" natural gas pipeline in Alaska, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, claiming they would invest "trillions of dollars each."
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani arrives at the Naval Station Ernesto Ogbinar, previously known as Wallace Air Station, in San Fernando City, La Union province, Philippines, on Feb. 23. Japan and the Philippines have entered into a reciprocal access agreement that is pending approval by the Lower House.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2025

LDP panels approve implementation bill for defense pacts

The bill will streamline laws associated with such agreements, for instance, when a member of a foreign military deployed to Japan commits a crime.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear