Special Supplements

Emperor Naruhito, the eldest son of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko, celebrated his 65th birthday on Sunday. He is known as the first emperor to have studied abroad. After making his first overseas trip to Australia at the age of 14 in 1974, ...

Is Japan on the right track toward decarbonization?  What are the obstacles to accelerating its efforts? In a recent interview with The Japan Times, University of Tokyo Vice President and economics professor Hiroshi Ohashi offered his views on these questions. Vice President and economics professor ...

As of April 2024, 146 countries accounting for over 90% of the world’s gross domestic product have committed to carbon neutrality, making decarbonization a global movement. In October 2020, Japan declared that it aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. We have entered an era ...

To promote the use of renewable energy in Japan, it is essential to ensure a balance between supply and demand, according to Soma Ito, director of the Renewable Energy Division at FPS Inc., which specializes in supplying renewable energy and providing clean energy solutions. FPS ...

Kaneka Corp. is a chemical manufacturing company established in 1949 that provides solutions in the fields of chemicals, functional polymers, electronics, synthetic fibers, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, supplements and foods. Shunsuke Sato is the leader of Kaneka Corp.’s CO2 Innovation Laboratory. | KANEKA CORP. One of the ...

Precious metals represent a key facet of the hydrogen society to come. Platinum-based catalysts, for example, are essential to building fuel cells — a core hydrogen technology. Tokyo-based Tanaka Precious Metal Technologies Co. has been developing fuel cell catalysts since the 1980s and is ...

Yanmar was established in 1912 by Magokichi Yamaoka, who was driven by a mission to ease the burdens faced by farmers. At a time when the rising demand for food was making manual labor increasingly challenging for the agriculture industry, Yamaoka was determined to ...

On the northeastern tip of the island of Shikoku is Japan’s tiniest prefecture, Kagawa. It might be small, but only big adventures await travelers. Some of these include spectacular temples and shrines, interesting museums, fascinating interactions with nature and quaint train rides. Since Kagawa ...

In December 2024, a surge of joy ran through Japan’s sake industry. The process of making Japanese alcoholic products — including rice wine itself, shōchū (a distilled liquor similar to whisky) and mirin (a sweet cooking wine) — was registered as a UNESCO Intangible ...