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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 6, 2023

‘Sakura’ musician Masa Takumi wins Grammy for best global music album

The 44-year-old creator, who won for his fifth full-length solo album, is the first Japanese artist to ever win the category.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 1, 2023

U.S. Navy struggling to counter China's rise as warship repairs limit time at sea

The problems included increased delays in depot maintenance and 'growing numbers of cannibalizations,” according to a congressional assessment.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Explainer
Jan 29, 2023

What will change when Japan reclassifies COVID-19?

Japan is planning to downgrade the categorization of COVID-19 on May 8. How will that impact residents?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 6, 2023

Big tech companies want AI regulation — but on their own terms

The rules governing tech vary dramatically on opposing sides of the Atlantic.
Japan Times
PODCAST /
Jan 18, 2023

Clutter, trash and hoarding disorder in Japan

Alex K.T. Martin looks at what form compulsive hoarding disorder takes in Japan and how it manifests when combined with other aspects of life here.
The Sumida River Fireworks Festival is one of the biggest such events in the capital.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2023

Safety in focus as summer events see return of crowds and foreign tourists

Nearly 11 million people visited Japan in the first half of the year, about 64% of the pre-pandemic level in 2019, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.
The expansionist era is over for Taiwan's life insurance industry.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2023

U.S. interest rate hikes haunt Taiwan’s $1 trillion life insurance industry

Over the past year, local regulators have repeatedly loosened operating rules after a cocktail of unrealized investment losses.
Staff at Youits by My Gakuya, a shop selling gender-free cosmetics that opened in Nagoya’s Sakae shopping district in April
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jul 31, 2023

Cosmetics stores in Nagoya expand sales of gender-free makeup

Move reflects the recent trend of men becoming more conscious about grooming and the popularity of male K-pop idols wearing makeup.
The Azabudai Hills development in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 8, 2023

Mori Building to open Azabudai Hills complex in Tokyo in November

The company hopes the project will boost the capital’s competitive edge over metropolises overseas.
From hidden street art to this two-story-tall Pikachu balloon, Yokohama will be blanketed in Pokemon paraphernalia
through Aug. 14.
LIFE / Digital
Aug 10, 2023

Pokemon comes home for the 2023 world championships in Yokohama

For the first time in the Pokemon franchise’s history, its world championships get underway in Japan.
Seattle Kraken center Alex Wennberg recently spoke out about "vile comments" he and his wife were receiving from fans on social media.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 11, 2023

Tensions build after collision of hockey, TikTok and romance novels

BookTok has brought new fans to hockey, but some wonder if fans are crossing the line with explicit comments.
A burned palm tree droops in Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii, on Friday, two days after the historic town was devastated by wildfire.
WORLD / Society
Aug 14, 2023

How climate change turned lush Hawaii into a tinderbox

The devastation on Maui happened in a state defined by its lush vegetation, a far cry from the dry landscape normally associated with fire threats.
Chinese national flags fly over Tiananmen Square along with other red flags ahead of the fifth plenary session of the First Session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 12.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 16, 2023

China is hiding more and more data from the rest of the world

China’s abrupt decision to pause releasing data on its soaring youth jobless rate this week was the latest sign the Asian giant is increasingly restricting sensitive information - especially when it’s unflattering to the nation’s faltering economy.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 17, 2023

Superbike rider Haruki Noguchi dies after crash in Indonesia

Noguchi broke into the motorcycling scene with his 2021 win in the Superstock 600 category at the All Japan Road Racing Championships.
Japan's core consumer inflation slowed in July but remained above the Bank of Japan's price target for the 16th straight month.
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2023

Japan’s 'sticky' inflation trend may keep BOJ on edge over prices

Prices excluding energy and fresh food increased 4.3% from the previous year, matching the record set in May, which was the fastest since 1981.
Members of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, commonly known as Rengo, raise their fists as they cheer during their annual May Day rally to demand higher pay and better working conditions, in Tokyo, in  April.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 19, 2023

Japan eyes expanding tax breaks for firms raising wages

The industry ministry will include plans to expand the program in its tax system reform proposal for fiscal 2024, which starts next April.
The port in Ensenada as Tropical Storm Hilary hits Baja California state, Mexico, on Sunday.
WORLD / Society
Aug 21, 2023

Storm Hilary puts California at risk of catastrophic flooding

A state of emergency was declared for much of Southern California, with flash flood warnings throughout a region more accustomed to drought.
People look at job listings. A U.N. study has found that artificial intelligence is likely to change the intensity of work and the degree of worker autonomy than destroy jobs.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 22, 2023

AI more likely to change work than destroy jobs: U.N. study

The study found that 5.5% of employment in high-income countries was potentially exposed to impacts from generative AI, more than in low-income countries.
Cloning a person’s voice is increasingly easy. Once a scammer downloads a short sample from an audio clip they can use AI voice-synthesizing tools to create the content they need.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 22, 2023

Powered by technology, imposter scams drive new wave of fraud

Scammers methods sound like the stuff of science fiction, but advanced techniques are already available to criminals preying on everyday consumers.
Nihon University's American football team restarts training on Aug. 11 in Tokyo after it was suspended.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 23, 2023

Nihon University scandal puts focus on 'collective responsibility'

Critics of the approach of punishing an entire team for wrongdoing by some say it can unfairly affect athletes that weren't involved.
People attend a job fair in China's southwestern city of Chongqing on April 11. China on Aug. 15 said it would suspend the release of youth unemployment data, fueling data transparency concerns and heightening worries about the country’s economic slowdown.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Aug 25, 2023

China braces for wider youth unemployment problems

Last week, Beijing decided to halt the release of urban youth unemployment data, which has been soaring in recent years.
A health ministry panel of experts discuss their approval for an RSV vaccine during their meeting on Monday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 29, 2023

Panel OKs first RSV vaccine in Japan

People age 60 or older will be eligible to receive the vaccine.
Officers of Chiba Prefectural Police department and child consultation center workers use a model house to conduct joint training in the city of Kimitsu in Chiba Prefecture last November.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2023

Record 219,000 cases of child abuse logged in Japan in fiscal '22

Over half of the total cases were reported to child consultation centers by police.
Cuban American soprano Lisette Oropesa stars as Violetta in a restaging of Giuseppe Verdi’s “La Traviata” directed by Sofia Coppola in her opera directing debut in 2016
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 8, 2023

Rome Opera's tragic heroes resonate in modern times

For its Japan tour, the company will perform lavish productions of "La Traviata," directed by Sofia Coppola, and "Tosca," by Franco Zeffirelli.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto's second career no-hitter was also the 100th such game in Japanese professional baseball history.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Sep 10, 2023

Yama-no-no: Orix ace puts world on notice with second no-hitter

The right-hander's superb form for the PL-leading Buffaloes is expected to bring him more awards this offeseason — as well as a bidding war by MLB clubs.
Bottles of whisky sit on display behind the bar at the Door XXV private club in the Golden Equator Group office in Singapore.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2023

Asia takes over the world’s whisky market

Yearslong efforts by Pernod, Diageo and other major whiskey producers to get Asian drinkers to spend more on their premium spirits are finally paying off.
Yoji Yamada cast familiar faces in his latest heartwarming family drama “Mom, Is That You?!” including veteran Sayuri Yoshinaga (right), who has appeared in three other Yamada films. Yoshinaga plays the mother of a stressed salaryman (Yo Oizumi, left) in the new film.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 15, 2023

Film veteran Yoji Yamada warms the soul with 'Mom, Is That You?!'

Even after 60 years in the industry, the director continues to make hits. His latest offers a hearty helping of deeply felt human truths.
The unusual timing and resurgence of the flu have been attributed to a decline in immunity during the COVID-19 pandemic and a loosening of disease prevention restrictions.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 15, 2023

Flu season already in full swing in Japan

The season has begun earlier than usual, with a number of schools either suspending individual classes or closing entirely.
Many of the wealthy in Japan are becoming more keen to park their cash in private assets like equity, credit and real estate that aren't traded in public markets.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2023

Brokers tap demand for private assets among Japan's wealthy

Private assets are booming globally after decades-high inflation and rapid interest-rate hikes weighed on both shares and bonds.
Kamila Valieva's doping case has divided the figure skating community since it first came to light during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Sep 26, 2023

Top sports court to hear Russian skater Kamila Valieva's doping case

Tuesday's hearing follows Valieva's exoneration by Russia's anti-doping agency, which ruled that she bore "no fault or negligence" for the positive test.

Longform

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