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May 04, 2025
 

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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (front right) bows as the fiscal 2024 supplementary budget bill is passed in parliament on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 13, 2024

Ishiba makes concessions to opposition to maintain power

The prime minister's minority government has endorsed opposition policies on tax and education to win their support for a supplementary budget.
Yutaka Mataebara (second from left) dines with his managerial colleagues at an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of The Japan Times.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 13, 2024

Here's to Yutaka Mataebara, the 'iron man' of The Japan Times

Mataebara was a pillar of the JT: During his 44 years at the paper until he retired in 2006, he worked in a variety of departments, including as the editor in chief.
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou speaks to press in Paris on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 16, 2024

Macron has a new prime minister but the same old problems

73-year-old Francis Bayrou was the torch-bearer of centrism until Macron reshaped the political landscape in 2017.
Efforts to reduce methane emissions from dairy cows in the U.K. using the feed additive Bovaer, proven safe and effective, have sparked public backlash fueled by misinformation and conspiracy theories.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2024

No, sanitizing cow burps won’t sour your milk or contaminate your cheese

The problem the project addresses is real enough. Beef and dairy products are extremely carbon-intensive food items.
Houthi supporters hold a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday. A coordinated international military effort is needed to exploit Iran's weakened influence and neutralize the Houthi threat in Yemen.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2024

The next Iranian proxy to target is the Houthis

A coordinated international military effort is needed to neutralize the Houthi threat in Yemen, which disrupts global shipping and exploits Iran's weakened influence.
A date night on Christmas Eve typically starts with a romantic dinner at a restaurant often with a great view or a private space.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 18, 2024

Silent night? Not if you want to impress your Christmas Eve date.

In Japan, a date night on Christmas Eve typically starts with a romantic dinner at a restaurant often with a great view or a private space.
Just over a year ago, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden celebrated their historic summit at Camp David, but Yoon's controversial policies and martial law attempt have undermined that progress.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

Yoon's impeachment widens East Asia fault lines

leadership changes in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington add to the instability, raising concerns about the future of this critical alliance.
Latin America has seen a rise of sophisticated, transnational organized crime driving violence, human trafficking and corruption.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

Cartels are conglomerating. Governments must too.

Latin America has seen a rise of sophisticated, transnational organized crime driving violence, human trafficking and corruption.
The U.S.-China relationship will be better served by collaboration, not acrimony. The moment for better ties could come next year when President-elect Donald Trump assumes office.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

The Trump-Xi bromance has a chance in 2025

It was a smart move by the U.S. president-elect to invite Xi to his inauguration, but future attempts need to be more than just empty gestures to make a real difference.
A Ukrainian tank is stationed near a sign that reads, "Pokrovsk," in the country's Donetsk region, on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2024

Europe needs to swiftly fulfill its aid pledges to Ukraine

Europe has committed significant aid to Ukraine, but delays in delivery, especially in military support, are hindering Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
Nissan and Honda may be nearing a merger to address Nissan's struggles, forming a second major hub in Japan's auto industry to rival Toyota.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 19, 2024

A Honda-Nissan merger is a slow-moving savior

Nissan is struggling — burning through cash and with billions of dollars of debt due in a little over a year.
While ByteDance faces a possible TikTok ban in the U.S. and China targets Nvidia, tensions escalate, posing risks for global tech companies caught in the conflict.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2024

From TikTok to Nvidia, the tech war is getting uglier

While ByteDance faces a possible TikTok ban in the U.S. and China targets Nvidia, tensions escalate, posing risks for global tech companies caught in the conflict.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship, despite its likely legal failure, could still serve as a political strategy to appear tough on immigration while highlighting systemic obstacles to comprehensive reform.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2024

Why Trump can’t just end birthright citizenship

Donald Trump’s proposal to end birthright citizenship faces major legal obstacles, as the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to everyone born on U.S. soil.
China’s solar industry is seeking to emulate OPEC’s cartel model, but differences in technological innovation, market dynamics and centralized control by Beijing complicate such efforts.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2024

An OPEC for solar power isn’t going to work

Geological advantages are perpetual, but technological advantages can quickly become obsolete.
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2024

Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds

The poll found that people worry most about their own health, plans for life after retirement, and the outlook for future income and assets.
Emergency personnel work at a Christmas market after a car drove into a group of people in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday, killing at least two.
WORLD
Dec 21, 2024

Death toll from German Christmas market car-ramming reportedly rises to four

The attacker was described as a 50-year-old male doctor from Saudi Arabia with permanent residency in Germany, where he had lived for almost two decades.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a Cabinet swearing-in ceremony on Friday in Ottawa
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2024

Trudeau does major Cabinet reshuffle amid party pressure and Trump taunts

The reshuffle came at the end of a chaotic week in Ottawa spurred by the surprise resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Elbridge Colby (center) speaks at the Threat and the Strategy panel during the Air Force Association Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, in September 2019.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 23, 2024

Trump's Pentagon policy pick pushed for Japan to spend 3% of GDP on defense

Elbridge Colby said in an interview earlier this year that Japan is moving at a leisurely pace on defense despite being under threat from China and North Korea.
Here we go again, a Christmas marked by legal battles, evolving traditions, commercial influence, and debates over greetings.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2024

There is no war on Christmas. There are many.

As usual, our holiday cornucopia overfloweth with litigation.
People look at flowers and candles left as a tribute for the victims of the "Alter Markt" Christmas market on Monday, after a man drove a car into the crowd through an emergency exit route on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 24, 2024

Germany probing possible security lapses after Christmas market attack

Saudi Arabia had given Germany warnings about the suspect as far back as 2023, which German authorities investigated but found vague.
Minutes from the Bank of Japan's October policy meeting highlight how overseas economic risks, particularly those surrounding the new U.S. administration's policies, will be key to how soon the BOJ will hike rates.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 24, 2024

BOJ debated need for caution in raising rates, meeting minutes show

Contrary to its concern over external risks, the BOJ board was mostly optimistic on domestic economic conditions.
A North Korean soldier watches his South Korean counterparts at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone. South Korea's political crisis, with President Yoon's impeachment, threatens U.S. influence while boosting opportunities for China and North Korea to expand their influence.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2024

Beijing and Pyongyang will exploit South Korea's turmoil

The geopolitical landscape in the region may soon become less friendly to the U.S.
David Nemecek
BUSINESS
Dec 25, 2024

The star dealmakers remaking the rules of corporate debt

The world of liability management is a small, aggressive and, thus far, male-dominated corner of corporate finance.
Doubts about the strength of the conclusions drawn from China’s research add to the mounting questions about how the positive tests were investigated and adjudicated by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
OLYMPICS
Dec 25, 2024

Questions emerge about data used by China to defend against doping allegations

The finding raises more questions about explanations from China and WADA as to why elite Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance.
Google new quantum computing chip Willow. Though the technology isn’t yet ready for widespread use, the competition to build error-free quantum computers is heating up, promising significant breakthroughs in the near future.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2024

Google is pushing quantum computing closer to reality

The Willow chip should focus investor attention on an industry that has been quietly making great strides toward developing quantum machines with practical uses.
The danger of overreaction and misinformation in the digital age is real, and authorities must provide clear explanations to prevent tragedies while also addressing legitimate concerns about drones.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 25, 2024

How to make America's drone panic so very much worse

The weak and ineffective response of government authorities should serve as a lesson in exactly how not to handle such incidents in the digital age.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Nov. 15 during their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 26, 2024

Japan and China to continue delicate diplomatic dance in 2025

While Tokyo and Beijing have touted the importance of thawing ties, experts say a number of issues are likely to mean continued hedging by both sides.
The hands of dyeing craftsman Yoshiharu Okamoto are stained a deep blue by his work with indigo.
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 26, 2024

True blue tradition: How Japan's coveted jeans are made

Craftspeople in Okayama Prefecture are carrying on a centuries-old tradition of indigo dyeing that contrasts with contemporary fast fashion.
Han Duck-soo, South Korea's prime minister and acting president, speaks during a news conference after lawmakers passed a motion to impeach South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea, on Dec. 14.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 27, 2024

Impeachment looms for South Korea's acting president

The Constitutional Court meets Friday for its first hearing on suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law.
The next 12 months will be more challenging, with some countries pursuing quick interest-rate cuts while others will proceed cautiously.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2024

A view to 2025: Enough with the central bank hawks and doves

Interest-rate cuts will be a feature, including at institutions that resisted easing in 2024. But mind the nuances.
Britain responds after Expo 2025 afternoon tea brews outrage
The café space at the Osaka Expo's British pavilion
Woman says archbishop of Tokyo ignored her pleas after priest allegedly raped her
In a news conference in Tokyo on Friday, Tokie Tanaka, 64, details her allegations of sexual abuse against a Catholic priest.
Israel protests after Kyoto inn seeks war crime declaration from tourist
A street in Kyoto in March 2023. An Israeli tourist was asked to sign a document stating that he had not committed war crimes when he checked in at a Kyoto guesthouse in April, prompting a response from Israel's ambassador.
Second round of U.S.-Japan tariff talks ends inconclusively in Washington
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (far left), U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) and Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator. The second round of tariff negotiations between Japan and the United States were held on Thursday in Washington.
Inflation and high hotel prices curtail Golden Week travels
Travelers in front of a flight information panel in a departure hall at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on April 26
'Ukiyo-e in Play' showcases traditional art carved anew
The Adachi Institute has been working on creating brand new ukiyo-e prints in collaboration with contemporary artists such as Yayoi Kusama, whose “Mt. Fuji in Seven Colours: When life boundlessly flares up to the universe” (2014) can be seen on display at “Ukiyo-e in Play.”
Want to see the future at Expo Osaka? Get in line.
“‘Future of life,’ by Ishiguro,” the World Expo pavilion by roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro, displays humanlike androids.
Ishiba hears advice from across the aisle on how Japan should handle Trump
Prime Minister Shigaru Ishiba and CDP head Yoshihiko Noda at a parliamentary session in Tokyo on April 23.
Don't send in the clones: AI event nixed as Alt accounts get reality check
A screenshot from the website for Alt's AI conference, which was canceled after the company disclosed an investigation into its sales figures.
CDP submits bill proposal on separate surnames, but challenges remain
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers speak to reporters in parliament on Wednesday after submitting a bill in the Lower House to allow married couples to retain different surnames.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
By Alex K.T. Martin

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