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May 21, 2024
 

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FOCUS

Cars pass Chinese flags on a highway ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit in Belgrade, Serbia, on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
May 6, 2024
China’s billions help Xi make useful friends in Eastern Europe
China's ties with Serbia and Hungary highlight how it's helping transform a corner of Europe when much of the continent views Beijing as a strategic rival.
The National Police Agency coined the term "tokuryū" to classify individuals involved in dark part time jobs and quasi-gangsters, using the words "tokumei" (anonymous) and "ryūdo" (fluid) to reflect their characteristics.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
May 6, 2024
Tokuryū, a new crime menace in Japan, emerges from the shadows
Unlike the yakuza, which have a hierarchical structure and strict codes of conduct, they lack a clear organizational structure and thrive on anonymity.
A Rapidus factory under construction in Chitose, Hokkaido on April 26. The Tokyo-based chipmaker was set up with the aim to realize domestic production of state-of-the-art semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 6, 2024
Rapidus gearing up for mass production of next-generation chips
About three years before the planned start of mass production, Rapidus faces a host of difficult challenges, especially over technology and profitability.
British opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and Labour's Claire Ward embrace after Ward was elected as East Midlands Mayor in Mansfield, England, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 5, 2024
Labour mayoral wins cap triumphant election run for U.K.'s Keir Starmer
The results dashed any hopes Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had of reassuring Tories anxious about the possibility of a general election wipe out.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara takes part in an arrival ceremony with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon in Washington last October.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 30, 2024
‘Collective capacity’ to top agenda at four-way defense talks in Hawaii
One thing will be on Defense Minister Minoru Kihara's mind: how to deepen military and security cooperation with allies to counter China.
Staff from ANA group pose during a Tokyo event in February to commemorate the launch of a comic featuring women in airport ground handling roles.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 30, 2024
Japan steps up drive to secure airport ground handling workers
The initiative seeks to ramp up interest in the workforce responsible for ensuring on-time airplane departures behind the scenes.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump announces Jerome Powell as his nominee to become chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington in November 2017.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 29, 2024
Trump’s economic confidants battle for sway on taxes and Fed policy
For months, the Trump campaign has been trying to rein in proposals from various factions with limited success.
A key aspect of AI technology that is often forgotten is that it requires an enormous amount of energy to develop and run. And that’s where utilities come in.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Apr 28, 2024
AI boom’s secret winners? The companies expected to power it
Across the U.S., utilities are preparing for historic increases in electricity demand led by data centers and AI.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki has reiterated the government's readiness to take an appropriate action as the yen continues to slide against the U.S. dollar.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Apr 28, 2024
When will Japan intervene to support the yen?
The yen hit a 34-year low past ¥158.40 per dollar in U.S. trading on Friday, after the BOJ announced a decision to keep its monetary policy unchanged.
Sakiyama elementary school in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, in March .Over the past decade, the government has directed efforts toward policies designed to give young people incentives to base themselves in rural areas.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Apr 27, 2024
In Japan, regional revitalization fails to halt population decline
Efforts to revitalize rural areas through various incentives has yielded limited results as people continue to gravitate toward urban centers.
Everywhere, U.S. allies are taking steps to defend or advance their interests in the event former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to power in November elections, an even chance based on recent opinion polls in swing states.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 25, 2024
How U.S. allies are preparing for a possible second Trump term
They want to avoid Trump's "America First" policies dealt them before, which included trade wars and a shakeup of security alliances.
Tests for patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. According to the Alzheimer's Association, the disease is estimated to affect more than 6 million Americans.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 24, 2024
Alzheimer's drug adoption in U.S. slowed by doctors' skepticism
There is an entrenched belief among some doctors that treating the memory-robbing disease is futile.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds a news conference at the end of a Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting on Capri Island, Italy, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 23, 2024
Top U.S. diplomat returns to China, but breakthroughs unlikely
From Ukraine and Taiwan to the South China Sea and the Middle East, the list of bilateral and global issues on the agenda will be long.
An employee prepares to place a mortar into a box at an arms production facility in an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Apr 23, 2024
Cash shortages and attacks take toll on Ukraine's growing arms sector
Firms are struggling to fund production and secure long-term deals, and all are concerned about being targeted in intensifying Russian missile strikes.
A young supporter of presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 2
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2024
In chance for Trump, youth at rally see him as answer to economic woes
If Trump, 77, stays close to Biden, 81, in this demographic all the way to Election Day on Nov. 5 it would be a major gain compared with 2020.
The Air Self-Defense Force's T-4 jet trainers are expected to be replaced with a new trainer co-developed by Japan and the United States.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2024
Japan-made jet trainer plans dim after Kishida-Biden summit
Some lawmakers in Japan's ruling bloc have questioned the idea of joint development
Ukrainian gunners from the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade fire at the enemy from a position near the town of Kupyansk, in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2024
U.S. aid gives Kyiv respite but battlefield shift remains far off
Much will depend on how quickly U.S. assistance can get to the front line.
U.S. President Joe Biden Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Summit in Nusa Dua, on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, in November 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2024
China braces for worst as it becomes punching bag in U.S. election
Chinese policymakers already battling a protracted property crisis and weak demand at home have scant incentive to escalate tensions.
Boxes of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 developed by Walvax Biotechnology and Abogen Biosciences
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 20, 2024
China's drugmakers can't sell mRNA shots but haven't quit yet
While Chinese firms are pursuing new targets for the novel messenger RNA technology, they face a tough path, crimped by a lack of revenue.
People walk past a mural depicting Iranian missiles in Tehran on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 20, 2024
Israel's Iran attack carefully calibrated after internal splits and U.S. pressure
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war Cabinet had initially approved plans for a strike on Monday night, but held back at the last-minute.
Rare sequel to 'My Neighbor Totoro' to play at Cannes
A screening of "Mei and the Baby Cat Bus," which is being billed as a "mini-sequel" to the Studio Ghibli classic "My Neighbor Totoro," is set to take place at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday.
America wasn’t made for walking, and it’s killing them
A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
Fuchu Prison adapting to foreign prisoners
From the outside, the light-brown complex that is Fuchu Prison in western Tokyo could easily be mistaken for a city hall.
Why half of Japan's cities are at risk of disappearing in 100 years
A couple looks out onto the Fukuoka nightscape. Due to its distance from Tokyo and its close proximity to South Korea and China, professor Tomoya Mori believes that Fukuoka is one of the few metropolitan regions of Japan that will see some form of growth in the decades to come.
Japan concerned over U.S. officials' remarks on atomic bombings
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to reporters during a news conference in Washington on Thursday.
Fuchu Prison adapting to foreign prisoners
From the outside, the light-brown complex that is Fuchu Prison in western Tokyo could easily be mistaken for a city hall.
The politicians moving Japan forward on climate
While not the most outspoken politician on the issue, digital minister Taro Kono has a track record of being serious in his commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
Seoul's eclectic Art OnO shines light on Japan's artists and galleries
Art OnO, which took place from April 19 to 21 in Seoul, featured a modest number of 36 participating galleries from 15 countries.
Want to be a voice actor? Stay 'true to the character'
SungWon Cho is a veteran with more than 10 years of experience portraying characters in anime, cartoons and video games.
Local theater in Japan is more than a hobby — it’s a community
Japan Times contributor Laura Pollacco (front right) was offered the role of one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet, in the Tokyo International Players’ production of “Pride and Prejudice.”

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan
By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there
Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

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