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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2022

The invasion of Ukraine tests international institutions

The Ukraine war has been a test for international institutions. Many have been found wanting. Fortunately, several have risen to the moment and we should learn from their successes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Nov 17, 2021

The state of play for the LDP's factions after October's Lower House election

The big winner appeared to be the party's largest faction, now headed by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while the one led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also strengthened its presence.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks to the media outside of the West Wing of the White House in Washington on Monday following a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 18, 2024

NATO chief says more members to hit 2% of GDP defense spending target

With Russia making gains in Ukraine and tensions between China and the West escalating, a record 23 NATO member states will hit the target this year.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 19, 2024

BOJ’s minutes show debate on rate hikes with close eyes on yen

The minutes signal the potential for a BOJ rate hike as early as July even as market speculation for such a move has cooled somewhat.
In his 14 years as prime minister, Viktor Orban has become expert in playing hardball with Brussels and has repeatedly wielded his veto to get more EU funds.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

Will Hungary hijack the EU during its presidency?

Officials and diplomats fret that one major victim of Hungary's six months in charge will be EU support for Ukraine as it battles Russia's invading forces.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has not yet formally announced whether he will seek another three-year term as party president.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2024

Pressure mounting on Kishida within LDP to give up on reelection

Veterans fear the LDP — under Kishida — will lose control of the government in a general election, while younger members don't want an unpopular president leading them.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida listens during a news conference in Tokyo on June 2.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2024

Kishida marks 1,000 days in office — but how much longer can he hold on?

With the milestone, Kishida became the country's eighth PM to reach the mark since the end of World War II.
Economic security minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a panel meeting on economic security information at the Prime Minister's Office last week.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 2, 2024

Takaichi gearing up for LDP presidential election this autumn

The economic security minister is set to deliver a speech in Tokyo on July 16, followed by ones in Miyagi on July 21, Okinawa on July 28 and in Hyogo on Aug. 3.
An interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, on June 6
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2024

Interim storage facility for nuclear fuel nears completion in Aomori

The site is expected to play a key role in Japan's efforts to establish a nuclear fuel cycle, but residents are concerned the temporary facility will become permanent.
International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview at The Hague, in the Netherlands, in February.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 6, 2024

ICC prosecutor opted for warrants over visit to Gaza

The sudden cancellation of a planned visit to the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem and Ramallah has angered Washington and London.
Brazilian Economy Minister Fernando Haddad arrives for a news conference during a break at the Group of 20 finance chiefs' meeting session in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 27, 2024

G20 pledges to work together to tax ultrarich

The topic of tackling tax-dodging billionaires dominated the two-day meeting in the Brazilian city, which will host the next G20 summit in November.
The United Nations headquarters building is pictured though a window with the U.N. logo in the foreground in New York in 2014.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 29, 2024

U.N. cybercrime treaty faces new scrutiny

After seven negotiating sessions to date, criticism of the text has increased.
Takayuki Kobayashi has been elected to the Lower House four times and served in Cabinet posts, including as the country's first economic security minister.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 4, 2024

Some in LDP pushing Takayuki Kobayashi, 49, to enter leadership race

Could the youthful former economic security minister help convince voters that the party is making efforts to reform itself following a high-profile scandal?
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (second right) takes part in the inauguration ceremony for the Deep Tech Lab - Quantum in Copenhagen on Sept. 29.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2024

The growing strategic race in emerging technologies

Japan’s security and trading partners are increasingly serious about developing quantum capabilities. Japan has to do more to both keep pace.
JPMorgan Asset Management (Japan) President Shoichi Okoshi speaks during an interview in Tokyo in July.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 14, 2024

JPMorgan wants a 30% female exec ratio in Japan

The Japanese affiliate of U.S. financial giant JPMorgan Chase plans to adopt the threshold within several years
Masako Egawa forged a successful career in business and academia in the United States and Japan.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Sep 1, 2024

A quiet triumph of excellence in the worlds of banking and academia

Masako Egawa navigated a changing business world with her arms open to any opportunities that came along.
Yukio Edano, a former leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, speaks to reporters on Aug. 9 to express his intention to run in the party's leadership race.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2024

CDP faced with division as it heads into leadership race

The next CDP leader will be expected to unify the different groups within the party and cooperate with other opposition parties to increase its seats during polls.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi holds a news conference Tuesday. The party has decided to hold its leadership election on Sept. 27.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 20, 2024

Is factional support still key for aspiring LDP presidential candidates?

Despite persistent claims the groups won't play any role in the September vote, factional ties remain strong to this day.
Ukrainian soldiers drive in an undisclosed area of the eastern Donetsk region on Aug. 5.
WORLD
Aug 24, 2024

Ukraine jittery over funding delays from frozen Russian assets

The financing would provide badly needed support for Ukraine as it battles Russia on two different fronts.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 25, 2024

Once allies, Ishiba, Kono and Koizumi set to battle for LDP president votes

The three, dubbed the "Koishikawa coalition" after kanji characters from each of their last names, will jostle for party member support in the Sept. 27 election.
Digital minister Taro Kono speaks during a news conference to announce his candidacy in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 26, 2024

Taro Kono joins contest for LDP presidency

Touting his international credentials, the digital minister put economic reform at the top of his agenda, pledging to cut publicly funded projects that are ineffective.
Remnants of the first Moji station complex are located near the current Mojiko Station in the city of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 27, 2024

Kitakyushu clashes with academics over Meiji Era remains

The city wants to proceed with plans to build a five-story complex to house several aging public facilities on the site of the original Moji railway station.
Vladimir Putin arrives at Buyant-Ukhaa International Airport in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 3, 2024

Putin set to meet Mongolian president despite international arrest warrant

The visit is the first by Putin to a member state of the International Criminal Court since the warrant was issued over the abduction of children from Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh attend an official welcoming ceremony in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

Putin gets lavish welcome in Mongolia despite ICC warrant

An ICC arrest warrant against Putin obliges the court's 124 member states to arrest Putin and transfer him to the Hague if he sets foot on their territory.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike poses with Liberal Democratic Party members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on July 8, following her win for a third term in the gubernatorial election the previous day.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 10, 2024

After Tokyo governor poll, eyes turn to 2025 assembly election

Both the Liberal Democratic Party and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan are under pressure to regroup ahead of the quadrennial metropolitan assembly election.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa announces her candidacy in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 11, 2024

Yoko Kamikawa banks on overseas experience in LDP leadership race

Her candidacy could increase attention on foreign policy questions in a race so far dominated by party reform and domestic economic issues.
Toshiko Hamanaka (left), the assistant secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo, and the organization's co-chair, Terumi Tanaka, during a news conference in Tokyo on Saturday, the day after the group was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2024

Nihon Hidankyo members hope surprise Nobel win cements nuclear taboo

Senior members of the group noted that the Nobel committee chose Nihon Hidankyo at a time when the threat of nuclear war is becoming more intense.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends the East Asian Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 15, 2024

Ishiba openness to nuke ban treaty involvement puts pact in spotlight

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said his government will “seriously consider” participating as an observer in a conference of signatories to the U.N. treaty.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a press conference at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 25, 2024

Spurred by shared grievances, BRICS group gathers pace

BRICS' first summit, with its new batch of members, showed clear signs of the group's growing weight.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, also president of the Liberal Democratic Party, places a paper rose on an LDP candidate's name to indicate their a victory in the Lower House election, with LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 30, 2024

Signs of revolt against Ishiba emerging within LDP

The ruling camp of the LDP and Komeito fell short of a majority in the House of Representatives in Sunday's election.

Longform

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