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Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 8, 2021

White House considering nearly doubling Obama’s climate pledge

Targets under discussion for the U.S. pledge include a range of 48% to 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030, according to a source.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 24, 2021

Beat Generation beacon Lawrence Ferlinghetti dies at age 101

Poet and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti, whose City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco became a West Coast literary haven for Beat Generation writers like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, has died at the age of 101.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Nov 23, 2019

Akira Isogawa: Australia's darling of fashion

'I understand how such rules are necessary and help Japan to function as efficiently as it does. But I'm a rule breaker, and that's permitted here in Australia. It's a real relief.' — Akira Isogawa, fashion designer
Carlos Alcaraz speaks to the media during a news conference in Indian Wells, California, on Tuesday.
TENNIS
Mar 5, 2025

Alcaraz chases third straight Indian Wells title

Carlos Alcaraz, coming off a quarterfinal defeat in the Qatar Open, is seeded second behind Germany's Alexander Zverev.
The Capitals' Alex Ovechkin takes a shot during the third period against the Flames in Washington on Feb. 25.
MORE SPORTS / Ice Hockey
Mar 6, 2025

Record-chasing Alex Ovechkin to donate to cancer research with each goal

He will donate an amount equal to his career total for every goal he tallies for the rest of his career.
"It is an expanding field. We need more people,” said Kaoru Onishi, head of the global product division at Nissay Asset Management.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2025

Nissay Asset ramps up hiring as alternative investment booms

Japanese asset managers are trying to boost returns at a time when policymakers are encouraging households to shift their savings to investments.
Seven & I named Stephen Hayes Dacus as its first foreign chief executive on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2025

Seven & I announces measures to fend off Couche-Tard takeover

The announcements are the latest twist in a saga that began last year when Seven & I rebuffed a takeover offer from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard.
Excavators to be used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to remove debris from homes destroyed by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / FOCUS
Mar 10, 2025

Cascading extreme weather events unleash billions in damages globally

Compound weather, when two or more concurrent events that collectively yield a result worse than if each had occurred on its own, are occurring more frequently.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds up a piece of paper with information about tariff rates at the White House on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2025

The U.S. says Japan has a 700% tariff on American rice. Is that the case?

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's accusation describes only a small portion of U.S. rice imported by Japan.
Some 8.06 million tickets for the Osaka Expo, to be held on the artificial island of Yumeshima for 184 days from April 13, had been sold as of March 5, less than 60% of the target.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2025

Advance ticket sales target for Osaka Expo likely out of reach

As of March 5, some 8.06 million advance tickets had been sold — less than 60% of the target.
Both priest and participant bow in recognition and readiness for the practice of zazen.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 25, 2025

The art of taking a pause: Discover the 1,000-year-old meditation technique of zazen in Tokyo's temples

Thousands of years later, in Japan the practice continues under the name "zazen."
The Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art is just one of many hidden art and architectural gems across the Kagawa coast.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 15, 2025

‘Resorts for the spirit’: Touring Kagawa’s art and architecture

The seaside cities of Takamatsu and Marugame are home to a heritage of beauty, from the monolithic to the modern.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's reversal over medical co-payments late last week and the revelation he gave gift vouchers to lawmakers have weakened his political standing.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 14, 2025

Ishiba on shaky ground over budget and gift vouchers

Recent fumbles have given Ishiba's opponents within the LDP a golden opportunity to attack him.
Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Mar 17, 2025

The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo

Thirty years after Aum Shinrikyo attacked Tokyo’s subways, the nation continues to prepare for the unthinkable.
Johan Leutwiler checks a sword he made at his workshop studio in the Kui district of Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 24, 2025

Japan's first foreign swordsmith opens workshop in Hiroshima Prefecture

Johan Leutwiler hopes to promote the charm of Japanese swords following the completion of his five-year apprenticeship.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions at a session of the Upper House Budget Committee in Tokyo. Approval ratings for Ishiba's government have dropped sharply, polls showed Monday, as the leader faces a backlash for distributing gift vouchers to rookie lawmakers in his ruling party.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 17, 2025

Approval rates for Ishiba's Cabinet plunge amid gift voucher snafu

Polls conducted by several newspapers over the weekend show public support tumbling to record lows.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits for a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee to begin in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Explainer
Mar 19, 2025

What's the fuss over Ishiba's gift vouchers?

The prime minister's standing has worsened following reports that he handed out gift vouchers worth ¥100,000 ($668) each to rookie lawmakers from his party.
A flooded road in the Philippines following heavy rain in July 2024
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 19, 2025

Extreme weather in 2024 forced most people to flee in 16 years

The climate damages also exacerbated a food crisis in more than a dozen countries, according to a report.
Artifacts that will be part of the Yakyu Baseball / The Transpacific Exchange of the Game exhibition at the Baseball Hall of Fame are displayed at Tokyo Dome on Sunday.
BASEBALL
Mar 19, 2025

New Japanese baseball exhibit to open at Baseball Hall of Fame in July

Ichiro, who has visited the Hall of Fame eight times, expressed his support for the project.
Eddie Jordan at the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest in August 2000.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 20, 2025

Former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan dies of cancer at 76

Jordan, who later became a television pundit, entered Formula One with his eponymous Silverstone-based team in 1991 and ran it until 2005.
Eddie Jordan sits on the pitwall of the Montmelo circuit near Barcelona, Spain, during a practice on April 26, 2002.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 21, 2025

Eddie Jordan was Formula One's 'rock 'n' roll' extrovert

The charismatic boss died of cancer on Thursday at the age of 76
Former World heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman poses during a media conference in Johannesburg in April 2001.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 22, 2025

George Foreman, ageless heavyweight champion, dies at 76

Foreman claimed a world title in his 20s and again in his 40s, and then made millions selling grills.
Shoko Kanazawa, a renowned Japanese calligrapher with Down syndrome, serving a customer at Atelier Shoko Cafe in Tokyo's Ota Ward on Feb. 28. The artist aims to “bring energy and happiness to the community” in her new role as a waitress at the cafe.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 24, 2025

From brush to barista: Artist with Down syndrome shares warmth through cafe

Renowned calligrapher Shoko Kanazawa hopes to "bring energy and happiness to the community" through her new cafe in Tokyo.
A Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry government building in Kasumigaseki, an area of Tokyo where the central government ministries are clustered
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2025

Japan should look at larger companies to set public servant pay: panel

Until 2005, the government looked at companies with at least 100 employees to decide their workers' salaries.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding global trade, there are some bright spots — namely, the booming trade in services, where the United States is leading the way.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2025

America’s big trade win

American workers are reaping the rewards. Services exports directly generated 4.1 million jobs in America in 2022, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration.
An advertisement featuring Shohei Ohtani in Tokyo.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 26, 2025

Tokyo Series proves to be big business for MLB — and Japanese companies

The weeklong festival of all things baseball highlights how Shohei Ohtani has created myriad business opportunities on both sides of the Pacific.
Hisashi Hieda, a 41-year veteran of Fuji TV’s board of directors and dubbed the broadcaster’s “emperor,” has stepped down.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2025

In the wake of several scandals, Fuji TV ‘emperor’ Hieda steps down

Hieda, a 41-year veteran of Fuji TV’s board of directors, also plans to step down as chairman of the Fujisankei Communications Group, of which the broadcaster's parent is a part.
A pagoda that was damaged after a strong earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 30, 2025

A question in quake-wracked Myanmar: Does this augur the end of the junta?

The earthquake, known to have killed at least 1,000 and probably many more than that, struck a day after Myanmar’s military regime celebrated the country’s 80th Armed Forces Day.
Palestinians take part in an anti-Hamas protest calling for an end to the war with Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. 
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2025

Israel must not ignore the anti-Hamas protests in Gaza

Though still relatively small in scale, the anti-Hamas demonstrations in Gaza clearly indicate a shift in opinion.
Israeli soldiers conduct operations in Gaza on Wednesday.
WORLD
Apr 3, 2025

Israel ‘carving’ new corridor in south Gaza, Netanyahu says

As mediators try to cobble together another ceasefire and hostage-release deal, Israel has been carrying out attacks with a new threat to seize land.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan