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Many U.S. lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties and the Biden administration say TikTok poses national security risks because China could compel the company to share the data of its 170 million U.S. users.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 22, 2024

TikTok braces for U.S. divest-or-ban law — and a fresh legal fight

The legislation has been fast-tracked and tied to a crucial aid package for Ukraine and Israel, which the Senate is set to vote on in the coming days.
Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
CULTURE / Books / Longform
Apr 22, 2024

The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

Shops without staff, shelves for rent, cafes and meetups are some of the ways the country's dwindling bookstores are trying to survive.
A crew member walks past an SH-60K helicopter on the deck of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hyuga-class Ise helicopter carrier during a joint exercise between the U.S. and Japan in the Philippine Sea on Jan. 31.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2024

U.S. military and MSDF ocean observation ship to join hunt for crashed helicopters

The search effort is ramping up as officials work to narrow down the cause of the deadly crash.
A monument for the Great Kanto Earthquake on the premises of the education ministry in Tokyo
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2024

Use of disaster monument symbols expanding five years after launch

As of March, the number of these symbols put on maps maintained by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan has surpassed 2,000 nationwide.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the Manhattan Supreme Court on the sixth day of the hush-money trial against him on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 24, 2024

Ex-tabloid CEO says he bought and killed stories about Trump affairs

The National Enquirer's ex-CEO said he deliberately didn't publish stories about Donald Trump's affairs to help the former president's 2016 election.
Making things work as a foreign, single mother in Japan isn't easy, but these tips and tricks can help you through the hardest parts.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Apr 28, 2024

Raising kids in Japan as a single parent? It takes a village.

As with for any single parent, life can present challenges. For those times, you'll need to learn resilience, perseverance and attention to detail.
Masashi Okada (right), project manager of the H3 rocket for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Mayuki Niitsu, Mitsubishi Heavy industries' H3 rocket project manager, in front of a rocket core at a Mitsubishi plant in Tobishima, Aichi Prefecture, on March 21
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024

Japan’s space agency sets June 30 as third launch date for H3 rocket

The rocket will carry the Daichi-4 satellite, which is designed for high-resolution Earth observation.
When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Apr 29, 2024

Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

Among official records in Japan, the "koseki" is key to discovering where you came from. However, it's not without controversy.
The trial hearing of Masumi Hayashi, who denied killing four people and poisoning 63 at a festival by lacing a pot of curry with arsenic, was the focus of The Japan Times’ front page of May 14, 1999.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
May 1, 2024

Japan Times 1999: Hayashi admits fraud, denies curry murders

The disturbing case of the Wakayama curry killer would continue for years, resulting in the eventual execution of the woman convicted of the crime.
Birdhead members Ji Weiyu (left) and Song Tao, who are exhibiting “The Matrix” facing the “chikuin no ma” garden at Kondaya Genbei as part of Kyotographie 2024.
CULTURE / Art
May 3, 2024

Shanghai duo Birdhead flips photography

Artists Ji Weiyu and Song Tao play with randomness and control in their Kyotographie exhibition, "Welcome to Birdhead World Again, Kyoto 2024."
Optica headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 3, 2024

Huawei secretly backs U.S. research, awarding millions in prizes

Huawei Technologies is the sole funder of a research competition that has awarded millions of dollars since its inception in 2022.
A group of fishing boats sit next to the Mekong river in Phnom Penh in 2021.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2024

Cambodia to cut shipping through Vietnam with China-funded canal

Cambodia's deputy prime minister downplayed environmental concerns about the new canal and dismissed speculation Chinese warships could use it.
China is likely around two years behind the United States in developing its own AI software.
WORLD / Politics
May 9, 2024

U.S. eyes curbs on China's access to AI software behind apps like ChatGPT

Preliminary plans the Biden administration has include placing guardrails around the most advanced AI Models, the core software of AI systems like ChatGPT.
A view of Matazo Kayama’s folding screen paintings reproduced on ceramic panels by Otsuka Ohmi Ceramics, displayed at Simose Art Museum.
CULTURE / Art
May 11, 2024

Art and architecture come together at Simose Art Museum

Tradition and innovation converge at Shimose Art Museum. For it first anniversary, the venue is spotlighting trailblazer nihonga artist Matazo Kayama.
Former U.S. Marines Corp pilot Daniel Duggan, who is facing extradition to the United States for allegedly breaking U.S. arms control law after he trained Chinese pilots, poses for a picture in this undated handout picture.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 13, 2024

Former U.S. Marine pilot held in Australia 'worked with Chinese hacker'

But the hacking case had nothing to do with him and there is no evidence that the pilots he trained in China were members of the military, his lawyer says.
Natural gas burns on a domestic kitchen stove in London.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2024

As war stems Russian gas, Norway's Equinor gains outsized market impact

Norway now supplies 30% of Europe's gas, and roughly two-thirds of Norway's exports last year were sold by Equinor.
North Korea's Ambassador to the United Nations Kim Song speaks during a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York on June 8, 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
May 15, 2024

U.N. experts: North Korea laundered $147.5 million in stolen crypto

The money was stolen from the HTX cryptocurrency exchange before being laundered in March this year, the experts said.
A demonstrator holds a music score while singing the “Glory to Hong Kong” protest song during a flash mob protest in Hong Kong in September 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 15, 2024

Videos of Hong Kong protest song blocked on YouTube after court order

The Court of Appeal granted an injunction that holds platforms responsible for hosting the song, exposing global internet companies to new legal risks.
Patty Ortega, widow of slain Philippine environmental activist and radio host Gerry Ortega, points to old photographs of her late husband at their home in Puerto Princesa in Palawan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
May 15, 2024

A 13-year fight for justice in Philippine activist's murder

Environmental activist and radio host Gerry Ortega was shot in a clothes shop along a busy road in the Palawan capital of Puerto Princesa in 2011.
Wind turbines stand next to solar panels at a solar plant in Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture. Japan's energy plan under a review is expected to call for raising the renewable energy sources in the power mix.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
May 16, 2024

Japan begins review of basic energy plan amid spread of AI

Power demand could expand further if growth in the amount of information processed by advanced AI accelerates.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a tactical missile weapons system facility at an unknown location on Tuesday. North Korea has turned to deploying IT workers overseas for government revenue, in addition to relying on cyberattacks and other online crimes.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 17, 2024

North Koreans worked remotely for U.S. firms to fund missiles

A U.S. national helped three North Korean IT workers obtain "illicit telework employment” with hundreds of firms using the identities of U.S. citizens.
Meta's board of experts is seeking public comments regarding a post criticizing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on its Threads text messaging app.
JAPAN / Society
May 17, 2024

Meta seeks public opinion on Threads post criticizing Japan's PM

This is the first time the board has examined a case related to Threads.
People talk as smoke billows from a nearby strike on industrial buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Friday.
WORLD
May 18, 2024

Ukraine asks U.S. to provide more intelligence on targets in Russia

American officials say they do not want U.S. weapons used in cross-border attacks or intelligence reports used to strike inside Russia.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) speaks to reporters with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel at the ambassador's official residence in Tokyo last month. An officer to monitor problematic behavior from China will be stationed at the embassy in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
May 19, 2024

U.S. Embassy in Tokyo to have officer for China affairs

Nearly 20 such officers have been dispatched to U.S. embassies abroad, according to data from the department.
Japan's digital trade deficit in 2023 was up about 2.6 times over nine years since 2014, as smartphones have become ubiquitous tools and the digital services sector is dominated by U.S. information technology giants.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 20, 2024

Japan's digital trade deficit continues to expand

The deficit in Japan's balance of payments in digital services continues to expand steadily.
Legislation was enacted Friday to offer more support to workers raising young children.
JAPAN
May 24, 2024

Japan passes law on flexible work for parents with young children

Firms will be obliged to allow employees with preschoolers age 3 and older to choose from at least two working options, such as remote work or shorter hours.
In the digital age, it will get harder for institutions such a the British Museum to keep looted cultural possessions as communities in Africa and elsewhere learn about what was taken from them.
COMMENTARY / World
May 24, 2024

How are museums still justifying keeping stolen artifacts?

As much as 90% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s cultural artifacts are outside of the continent, according to a 2018 report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Mourners attend the state funeral for President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and others in Tehran on Wedneday.
WORLD / Politics
May 26, 2024

Calls, search parties, drones: 17 hours to find Iran’s president

As a frenzied quest began for the fallen helicopter of President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran moved to control possible threats from abroad and unrest at home.
A member of a Ukrainian artillery crew stores munitions at a firing position near the town of Vovchansk, in the northern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, on May 19. Two classified Ukrainian reports show that some U.S. precision-guided weapons are vulnerable to electronic warfare, an element in Ukraine's recent battlefield setbacks.
WORLD
May 26, 2024

Some U.S. weapons stymied by Russian jamming in Ukraine

Two classified Ukrainian reports show that some U.S. precision-guided weapons are vulnerable to electronic warfare, an element in Ukraine’s recent battlefield setbacks.
Royalty took the top image spots on the June 3, 1924, edition of The Japan Times. In addition to Japan's imperial celebrations, the paper nodded to the birthday of Britain's King George V.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jun 1, 2024

Japan Times 1924: Tokyo gaily makes merry

After having suffered from a devastating earthquake the previous year, a royal wedding brings back a celebratory mood to the capital.

Longform

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?