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December 22, 2024
 

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Sakura Murakami
Reuters
A tea field in Makinohara, the birthplace of Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, in August. The city in Shizuoka Prefecture, which once thrived on a now-declining tea industry, exemplifies disparities between Japan's struggling rural areas and its bustling megacities.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 4, 2024
In Bank of Japan chief's birthplace, Ueda's policy puzzle is laid bare
Makinohara's mayor says the Shizuoka Prefecture surf town is not keeping pace with Japan's broader recovery.
Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers participate in a seminar to prevent harassment at the GSDF's Camp Asaka in Tokyo on April 16.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 13, 2024
Japan's military needs more women. But it's still failing on harassment.
Nine months after the Defense Ministry pledged to take drastic measures, it has no plans to implement a national system for reviewing training standards.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa attend a working dinner during G7 ministerial meetings, in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 7, 2023
G7 support for Ukraine will not waver due to Gaza crisis, Japan says
The G7 nations, as well as the European Union, meet in Tokyo on Nov. 7 to 8 to discuss issues including the Ukraine war and the Israel-Gaza crisis.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 12, 2023
Japan elevates Taiwan security ties in move likely to rile China
The defense ministry said it would only pursue "nongovernmental" ties with Taipei.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel after eating fish during his visit to Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Thursday
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2023
U.S. ambassador to Japan visits Fukushima in show of support
Japan has sought an immediate end to the ban and threatened to resolve the matter through the WTO framework.
Protesters shout slogans and raise banners reading "Don't throw polluted water into the sea! Keep your promises" during a rally against Japan's plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima plant into the ocean, in front of the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 18, 2023
Fukushima water release poses test for Japan-South Korea unity
The dumping of radioactive water may happen days after a summit in which the U.S. wants Japan and South Korea to lock in friendly ties.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2023
Japan calls on China to approach Fukushima water release in 'scientific manner'
The issue of the water release took up a substantive amount of the hourlong talks between the nations' top diplomats, but the two did not come to a clear agreement on the matter.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 14, 2023
Japan calls on China to approach Fukushima water release in 'scientific manner'
The issue of the water release took up a substantive amount of the hourlong talks between the nations' top diplomats, but the two did not come to a clear agreement on the matter.
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2023
IAEA head meets with residents ahead of visit to wrecked Fukushima plant
Grossi will visit the wrecked plant, where he will inaugurate an IAEA office on site that will monitor the release of treated water, which is expected to take 30 to 40 years.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 7, 2023
Taiwanese presidential contender says he wouldn't meet Xi without agenda
Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je has risen in the polls in recent weeks.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 17, 2023
At Hiroshima G7, bomb survivors grapple with a disarmament dream deferred
They fear Hiroshima's legacy — its importance as the first city to be flattened by a nuclear weapon — may be reduced to a historical artifact rather than a call for change.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Feb 19, 2023
Families seek closure for mine disaster as Japan-South Korea relations thaw
136 Koreans and 47 Japanese were killed when the Chosei mine beneath the seabed on the Yamaguchi Prefecture coast collapsed and flooded in 1942.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2022
As Japanese manufacturing fades, a factory town fights to stay alive
Home to about 6,000 firms, Higashiosaka is emblematic of how a weak yen and rising costs are pushing Japan's small manufacturers toward a tipping point.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2022
As Fukushima memory fades, Japan's nuclear power proponents hope for reset
The growing calls from business leaders and lawmakers come amid persistent public opposition to nuclear power, muddying the outlook for energy policy.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 7, 2022
Miho Takagi takes silver in 1,500-meter speedskating
Speed skating great Ireen Wust swept around the Beijing oval in a time of 1 minute and 53.28 seconds to claim her sixth Olympic gold medal.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2021
Decade on from nuclear disaster, Fukushima farmers fear contaminated water could hurt business
Japan plans to release more than 1 million tons of contaminated water from the Fukushima No. 1 plant into the sea from 2023 as part of an effort to clean up the site.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2021
Kishida's nuclear push faces resistance ahead of election
Debate over whether to restart more reactors in Japan is highly charged, with 40% of the population opposing the move.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 28, 2021
LGBTQ groups hope LDP's leadership race may lead to same-sex marriage in Japan
Of the four candidates for the Liberal Democratic Party leadership, Taro Kono and Seiko Noda have supported gay marriage. Within Asia, same-sex marriage is currently only legal in Taiwan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2021
Renewable energy firms pin hopes on Taro Kono winning race for Japan PM
Kono has long championed renewables for Japan and has promised an economic stimulus package focused on them if he wins.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 6, 2021
Germany's Florian Wellbrock wins men's swimming marathon
Kristof Rasovszky of Hungary took silver and Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy claimed bronze.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
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.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.

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