Tag - focus

 
Menu
Search
 
May 08, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

FOCUS

Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal meets with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as a part of the Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Feb 20, 2024
Private sector vital in pacifist Japan's support for Ukraine
With Japan unable to provide military assistance under its pacifist Constitution, private investment plays a vital role in showing commitment to Ukraine.
An advertisement for the Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA) at a Mizuho Bank branch, a unit of Mizuho Financial Group, in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Feb 19, 2024
Turning the tide? Japan warms up to becoming an asset management hub.
The beefing-up of the NISA program alongside a new policy plan by the government shows its commitment toward getting households to invest.
French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a news conference at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris on Friday after signing a bilateral security agreement.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 17, 2024
Bilateral accords offer Ukraine a way to shore up security
New agreements with Germany and France deal with both current military support for Ukraine and its future defense against Russia.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from launchpad SLC-40 at the Kennedy Space Center on NASA's PACE mission in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Feb. 8.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Feb 13, 2024
Apollo to Artemis: Why America is betting big on private space
While it has seen some successes, the move could put the U.S. at risk of falling behind its principal space rival, China, in achieving major milestones.
People walk past a billboard promoting Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia's defense minister and a presidential candidate, and his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who is the eldest son of Indonesian President Joko Widodo and current Surakarta's mayor, in Jakarta on Jan. 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 8, 2024
Generative AI faces major test as Indonesia holds election
Front-runner Prabowo Subianto is using AI tools to create campaign art, track social media sentiment, build interactive chatbots and target voters.
Many young people who feel neglected at home flock to the Toyoko area to find a community where they can fit in.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Feb 5, 2024
Toyoko Kids: The lonely street children of Tokyo
Bound together by shared neglect and marginalization, the group have formed a distinct, social media-linked youth subculture on the streets of Shinjuku.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi (from left), Vice President Taro Aso and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend a party meeting on Jan. 26.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 4, 2024
Turmoil ahead for two LDP factions continuing activities
Factions led by Taro Aso and Toshimitsu Motegi continue to face calls to disband from their own members.
Ground Self-Defense Force members land using an amphibious vehicle on the shore of Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture as part of large-scale joint drills with the U.S. Marine Corps in March 2023.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 2, 2024
Japan starts 2024 with flurry of security deals
In January alone, Tokyo signed cooperation deals with at least four countries, strengthening and expanding its network of like-minded partners.
Tourists board a ferry to Iriomote Island, Okinawa Prefecture, from Ishigaki, another island in the prefecture. The local government of the town of Taketomi, which includes Iriomote Island, is planning to introduce a visitor's tax to fund environmental protection measures in the face of rising tourist numbers.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 30, 2024
Local governments in Japan battle overtourism challenges
Officials are seeking ways to solve problems that emerge from higher tourist numbers, such as a shortage of taxis and the accumulation of garbage.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s new factory in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, in May 2023
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jan 29, 2024
Can Japan again master semiconductors to relive its glory days?
Competition in the sector is fierce, with many countries pushing to develop their own capabilities and insulate supply chains from geopolitical tensions.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures to his supporters, as he departs for his second civil trial after E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her decades ago, outside Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York City on Friday.
WORLD / FOCUS
Jan 27, 2024
Big money fails to stop Trump, again, prompting a donor reckoning
Donors have learned a hard lesson: Big money cannot win the GOP presidential nomination, at least not against Trump.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Jan. 4.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 20, 2024
Kishida takes risky gamble by dissolving LDP faction
Members of the factions led by LDP Vice President Taro Aso and Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi have resisted following suit, potentially endangering the PM.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an economic event at Abbotts Creek Community Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 20, 2024
Biden the 'anti-Trump': winning strategy or no strategy at all?
Some Democrats are concerned that Biden's campaign has no strong message about what he'd do with four more years.
Tokyu Bus Corp. President Takashi Furukawa wants to set a precedent for fellow bus operators that are in desperate need of drivers, drawing on his experience working in Vietnam, where he once helped introduce Japanese know-how in running transportation services.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 20, 2024
Tokyo bus operator banks on foreign drivers as shortage looms
Tokyu Bus Corp. President Takashi Furukawa wants to set a precedent for fellow bus operators that are in desperate need of drivers.
Keiji Furuya (left), head of a Japanese group of lawmakers promoting Japan-Taiwan relations, meets with Taiwanese President-elect Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party in Taipei on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 15, 2024
Japan finds ally in new Taiwan president-elect amid fears of war
Lai Ching-te signaled he will deepen cooperation with Japan by meeting with Tokyo’s de facto ambassador and a Japanese lawmaker just a day after the election.
A picture of Lai Ching-te, Taiwan's vice president and the the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's then-presidential candidate, is seen on a large screen as he attends a rally ahead of the elections, in New Taipei City on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 14, 2024
The coal miner's son wins power in Taiwan
Pugnacious, stubborn and a "pragmatic worker for Taiwan's independence," the island's new president-elect, Lai Ching-te, will have his work cut out for him.
Whereas obtaining a test was often difficult in early 2020, now the abundance of cheaper rapid kits in grocery stores and home medicine cabinets has led to a new concern — they don’t seem to work.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Jan 13, 2024
Our bodies are responding differently to COVID. Testing for it needs to catch up.
The abundance of cheaper rapid kits in grocery stores and home medicine cabinets has led to a new concern — they don’t seem to work.
A Post Office sign at a branch in a local convenience store near Ascot, England, on Friday. The Post Office scandal, where some 980 U.K. Post Office workers were wrongfully convicted of theft and false accounting, was triggered by faults in a Fujitsu computer system called Horizon that was used by U.K. Post Offices and inaccurately reported shortfalls in their accounts, resulting in private prosecutions of innocent branch managers for theft.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jan 13, 2024
It took a TV show to bring justice in U.K.’s Post Office scandal
After a two-decade struggle, it was a TV drama that finally prompted the government to promise a swift end to the saga in favor of the victims.
Lai Ching-te, the presidential candidate of ruling Democratic Progressive Party, waves to supporters while riding in the back of a vehicle during a campaign event ahead of the elections in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 12, 2024
Candidates make final pitches before voters head to polls in Taiwan
Many view the upcoming vote as one with potentially significant geopolitical consequences for both Taiwan and the region.
People take part in a first aid and emergency training course by the Taiwanese civil defense group the Forward Alliance.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / FOCUS
Jan 12, 2024
Taiwan civil defense groups push for more resilience as China threat grows
The organizations offer training courses in first aid, media literacy, disaster response as well as in understanding the different layers of modern warfare.
Tokuryū, a new crime menace in Japan, emerges from the shadows
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.
Is Modi’s party heading for a stunning election loss?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign tactics have escalated, including anti-Muslim rhetoric and fearmongering, reflecting his ruling party's desperation.
Japan's labor crunch persists despite slight improvement
Over 300 companies went out of business in fiscal 2023 due to labor shortages, according to Teikoku Databank.
Excitement returns to tourist spots in Japan one year on
On May 2, the streets of Arashiyama, a well-known tourist destination in Kyoto, were filled with tourists, including many from abroad, ahead of the four-day weekend.
After blockbuster boxing victory, what next for ‘Monster’ Inoue?
Naoya Inoue celebrates his victory over Luis Nery in their IBF-WBA-WBC-WBO super bantamweight title boxing match at Tokyo Dome on Monday.
How a Japanese scientist is turning the climate crisis into music
A screencap of a performance of Hiroto Nagai's “String Quartet No. 1 ‘Polar Energy Budget’” by the PRT Quartet
Japan’s tween skateboarders get head start on preparations for 2028 Olympics
Ibuki Matsumoto competes at an event in Osaka on April 21.
Pentagon reveals drone types for Replicator program to counter China
A U.S. Naval Special Warfare Operator fires a Switchblade 300 loitering munition during training exercises in Fallon, Nevada, last July. The U.S. Defense Department plans to use small drones — known in the Pentagon as “all-domain attritable autonomous systems” — to help counter Chinese military systems and tactics.
As visitors surge, Japan seeks ways to make tourism eco-friendly
Much like other hot spots across Okinawa, Onna has diligently strived to captivate both domestic and international tourists, while at the same time grappling with the environmental strain induced by the influx of visitors.
Kishida talks up bolstered Latin American ties as China cements position
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds a news conference in Sao Paulo on Saturday.

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

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Cultural properties:A Fujiya Hotel insider’s view
Cultural properties:A Fujiya Hotel insider’s view

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER