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Christopher Nolan's film about the creator of the atomic bomb, "Oppenheimer," was released in theaters worldwide this summer and received mostly strong reviews. However, distributors still have not announced whether the film will be shown in Japan's cinemas.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 28, 2023

Will Japan ever see 'Oppenheimer' screened in its cinemas?

Christopher Nolan’s film about the creator of the atomic bomb still doesn't have a Japan release date. There’s more than one possible reason for that.
Reporters take cover upon hearing sirens warning of an incoming rocket attack from Gaza, in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, on Oct. 23
WORLD / Politics
Oct 31, 2023

Media reporting on Israel-Hamas war face singular challenges

Lack of access to Gaza, with both the Israeli and Egyptian access points closed, is creating difficulties journalists say they have rarely seen before.
Motorists drive past a giant billboard depicting Muslim people walking with their national flags toward the Dome of the Rock shrine in Jerusalem, in central Tehran's Valiasr Square on Oct. 25.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 4, 2023

In a worldwide war of words, Russia, China and Iran back Hamas

Officials and researchers say the deluge of online propaganda and disinformation is larger than anything seen before.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida waves with Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim during his official visit to Malaysia, in Putrajaya, outside Kuala Lumpur, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 5, 2023

Japan turns to Southeast Asia to boost security network

The leader sought to strengthen Japan's security and defense ties with Malaysia and the Philippines, amid growing concerns over Chinese assertiveness.
Motosaburo Saito at the headquarters of Oji Holdings, a building that won the Wood Design Award
ESG CONSORTIUM
Nov 6, 2023

Old-growth paper company Oji renews forests, products, vision

Oji Holdings, Japan’s leading paper manufacturer, is also its largest corporate forest owner. It studies and develops paper products and related materials and is committed to the maintenance of healthy forests. In a recent interview with The Japan Times, the general manager of Oji’s department on...
Yogendra Puranik, the first person from India to win elected office in Japan, at the Indian cultural center he manages in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward in October 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 6, 2023

Japan needs Indian migrants. How can it attract them?

India can help fill the domestic labor gap, but for migrants to succeed, Japan must embrace a genuinely intercultural approach.
According to new analysis, 99% of the world’s population experienced above-average warmth in the past 12 months, making the period the hottest 12 months on record.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 10, 2023

‘No one is safe from climate change’ after hottest 12 months

Average temperatures between the start of November 2022 through October this year were 1.32 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
An agent inspects a tree extracted from the Amazon rainforest during an operation to combat deforestation in Para State, Brazil, on Jan. 20.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 14, 2023

Forests key to climate fight along with cutting fossil fuels: study

Restoring global forests could sequester 22 times as much carbon as the world emits in a year, meaning trees are a key tool in fighting climate change.
Armando Aroca, environmentalist, former guerrilla and current nursery manager of the Common Community Multi Active Cooperative (COMUCCOM) farm, points to a mural with the image of murdered environmentalist Jorge Santofimio in Puerto Guzman, Colombia, on June 27.
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 16, 2023

How the murders of activists hurt Colombian ecological preservation

Conservationists are targeted as their work poses a threat to illegal activities
Japan's culture of floor-sitting stretches back to ancient times. Only in the last 60 years has it faced off against a new lifestyle brought along by the rapid spread of chairs and other high furniture.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Nov 20, 2023

Has Japan mastered sitting?

Sitting is a deceptively simple act. But the story of sitting in Japan spans centuries of culture, politics and religion.
Yasuhide Uno, Usen-Next Holdings CEO, has transformed his father’s company into Netflix’s biggest competitor in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2023

Reluctant CEO becomes billionaire at Netflix rival in Japan

Initially wanting nothing to do with his father's cable music company, Yasuhide Uno's faith in video streaming helped him rebuild it for a new era.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addresses a news conference during an artificial intelligence safety summit in Milton Keynes, England, on Nov. 2.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2023

Foreign policy and defense concerns in the age of AI

Researchers warn of the potential 'signaling risks' artificial intelligence poses to global politics and military conflict.
A truck unloads tons of coal inside a warehouse in Tondo, Metro Manila, in 2016. Independent show ample potential for renewables in Japan and Southeast Asia.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Dec 3, 2023

How Japan's renewable underestimates are impacting Asia's energy transition

Contrary to Japan's stance, independent projections paint a picture in which renewables can power the fast developing region.
What’s worrying from the stock market’s perspective is that the Reserve Bank of India is taking more direct steps to rein in debt-fueled consumption.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 7, 2023

The world’s most-loved emerging market is feeling jittery

India's economic prosperity is primarily being attributed to a small elite class referred to as the "Octopus class."
Delegates arrive at Dubai's Expo City during COP28 on Saturday
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 9, 2023

Oil is everywhere at COP28, vexing those seeking its demise

To many of the activists in attendance, the prominence of the oil and gas industry is a travesty.
Janos Cegledy sits in a park in Tokyo's Nerima Ward. The pianist says Japan suits him, “There is a certain civility and politeness here which you don’t find anywhere else.”
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / Longform
Dec 11, 2023

The extraordinary life of a Holocaust survivor living in Japan

Janos Cegledy tours schools, telling his story. If the students ever meet a Holocaust denier, he says, they can reply, "I met someone who was there."
Today in Russia, a robust consumer world carries on, helping Russian President Vladimir Putin maintain a sense of normalcy despite a war that has proved longer, deadlier and costlier than he predicted.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 19, 2023

How Putin turned a Western boycott into a bonanza

If companies want to leave Russia, the president is setting the terms — in ways that benefit his government, his elites and his war.
Ride-sharing apps (clockwise from bottom) Uber, Grab, Didi and Ola Cabs are seen on a smartphone display.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 20, 2023

Japan to partially lift ban on ride-hailing services from April

Drivers will be allowed to operate in specific areas at certain times under the guidance of taxi companies when there is a lack of rides available.
Firefighters work to extinguish burning cars following what Russian authorities say was a Ukrainian military strike in Belgorod, Russia, on Saturday.
WORLD
Dec 31, 2023

Ukrainian missile attack on Russian city kills at least 20: officials

Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that Ukraine had hit Belgorod with two missiles and several rockets.
Though ChatGPT debuted in late 2022, it was really in 2023 that we started to get a sense of what large language models could do, including diagnosing complex medical issues.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2023

The 10 most intriguing science breakthroughs over the past year

As 2023 has drawn to a close, let’s look back on some of the astounding breakthroughs we’ve seen in the last 12 months.
Officials examine the burned wreckage of a Japan Airlines passenger plane on the tarmac at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2024

A collision, a jet on fire and a 'miracle' evacuation in Tokyo

Passengers and aviation experts are crediting the disciplined response of both staff and travelers for what’s being called a miracle evacuation.
Pedestrians walk past the Trump International Hotel in Washington. House Democrats have released evidence that the former president took in at least $7.8 million from foreign entities while in office, engaging in the kind of conduct House Republicans are grasping to pin on U.S. President Joe Biden.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 5, 2024

Trump received millions from foreign governments as president: report

The report describes how foreign governments and their controlled entities, including a top U.S. adversary, interacted with Trump businesses.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department in Washington on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 14, 2024

Kamikawa's star rising as potential candidate to replace Kishida

Since Kamikawa took office in September, her reputation has been gradually bolstered by her energetic diplomatic trips.
Taiwan's election results reflect the democratic aspirations of its citizens but is a cause for disappointment in Beijing.
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2024

The winner of Taiwan's election was democracy

The biggest disappointment was felt in Beijing, where inducements, threats and warnings failed to sway Taiwan’s voters.
China's Zheng Qinwen reacts after winning her third round match over compatriot Wang Yafan on Saturday at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
TENNIS
Jan 20, 2024

'Queen Wen' taking inspiration from Li Na at Australian Open

The 21-year-old, known to her fans as "Queen Wen," battled into the last 16 with a fighting 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8) victory over compatriot Wang Yafan.
This year was set to be a tumultuous one for global markets, with unpredictable swings as economic fortunes diverge and voters in more than 50 countries go to the polls. But there’s one unforeseen reversal already underway: a change in perception among investors about China and Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 26, 2024

As China’s markets stumble, Japan soars toward record highs

China has not struggled for economic growth like Japan, but a protracted property market collapse has shredded consumer and investor confidence.
International rules governing the ethical conduct of war prohibit the direct targeting of civilians but permit striking military targets, even when it is known that the strikes will kill some civilians.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2024

The killing of innocents in the Israel-Gaza conflict

Unmasking the true horrors in Hamas' raid into Southern Israel and the Israeli response in Gaza.
Mario Andretti is "devastated" that his team's bid to join Formula One was rejected on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 1, 2024

Formula One rejects Andretti's bid to join circuit

Racing legend Mario Andretti said he was devastated after learning his team's bid to join Formula One was rejected.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's core campaign team of a half-dozen aides is unswervingly loyal to their boss and chooses to stay mostly in the background.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 2, 2024

Inside Trump's election A-team: Lean, mean and largely unseen

A handful of distinctive figures have formed a tight, disciplined inner circle around the former U.S. president in his bid for the White House.
Driveline Pacific Rim director Frank Minamino (second from right) poses with Lions pitcher Kaito Yoza (left) Hawks pitcher Shuta Ishikawa (second from left) and the Lions' Kona Takahashi.
BASEBALL
Feb 2, 2024

NPB pitchers embracing Driveline Baseball method

NPB players are working with Driveline Baseball in greater numbers.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?