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A reporter raises their hand during a Johnny & Associates news conference on Monday. Journalists were limited to a “one question per company” at the event.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 4, 2023

Johnny’s news conference had journalist ‘blacklist,' reports say

Johnny & Associates has said it never made a request that specific journalists be passed over for questions.
This year's Tokyo Game Show attendance came up just shy of 2019's draw — an encouraging sign for the event's future.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Oct 7, 2023

A dark fantasy spin on ‘Pinocchio’ may put FromSoftware under pressure

It wasn’t the biggest TGS ever, but it's hard to imagine anyone behind the scenes at TGS headquarters pulling their hair out over 2023’s return to form.
Children jump rope in a park. Young people with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) can have difficulties in jumping rope, throwing a ball or doing other common physical activities.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional voices: Chubu
Oct 16, 2023

Better understanding of developmental coordination disorder needed

DCD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that makes it hard for children to control their bodily movements to perform daily activities.
A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Oct 9, 2023

Downsizing dinner: Aging Japan is eating less

As older citizens' shrinking appetites lead to less on the plate, businesses are having to adjust to a new market.
Afghans clear debris from a damaged house after an earthquake in Sarbuland, Herat province, on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 8, 2023

Afghanistan earthquakes kill 2,053, Taliban says, as death toll spikes

Amid the confusion, the death toll from Saturday's quakes spiked from the 500 reported on Sunday morning.
Rafael Nadal last competed in January at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
TENNIS
Oct 11, 2023

Tournament director says Rafael Nadal to play at Australian Open

The Spaniard, who has won 22 Grand Slam titles, has been out of action since January after hurting his hip flexor in a second-round defeat in Melbourne.
U.S. wrestlers (from left) Christina Griffin, Madison Guinn, Etan Perez and Kellyann Ball celebrate after winning bronze in the women's team competition at the Sumo World Championships in the western Tokyo city of Tachikawa on Sunday.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Oct 11, 2023

American women make history at Sumo World Championships in Tokyo

The achievement by the U.S. team, two of whom are new to the sport, ended a 22-year wait for American women to reach the podium at the worlds.
OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman speaks during a forum in Taipei on Sept. 25.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 12, 2023

OpenAI plans major updates to lure developers with lower costs

The new features mark the company's ambition to expand beyond a consumer sensation into one also offering a hit developer platform.
The senior leadership of the Taliban government arrives at an inauguration event for a canal project in Hairatan, Afghanistan, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 15, 2023

Taliban to join China's Belt and Road forum, elevating ties

The Taliban's participation underscores Beijing's growing official ties with the group, despite its lack of recognition by any government.
Funding for AI companies has outpaced every other category of tech.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 18, 2023

AI funding soars to $17.9 billion while rest of tech slumps

Multibillion-dollar investments in artificial intelligence startups have become almost commonplace in Silicon Valley.
Labyrinth organizer Russell Moench sparked controversy with transphobic tweets, leading booked artists to pull out of the highly regarded electronic music festival’s 2023 edition.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 20, 2023

Art and politics clash at Labyrinth 2023

A controversy surrounding the prestige electronic music festival sparks an old debate over separating art and the artist.
Air conditioners on display during an event in Guangzhou
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 20, 2023

Countries asked to slash cooling emissions by 68% by 2050

The Global Cooling Pledge represents a tough request given the cooling industry is only expected to grow.
Ashleigh Surma (second from right) assists Elva Case (left), Linda Lupe (second from left) and Joycelene Johnson in recording indigenous languages during the ICILDER 2023 Conference in Bloomington, Indiana
WORLD / Society
Oct 20, 2023

Tech breathes new life into endangered Native American languages

Of the more than 6,000 Indigenous languages recognized globally, nearly half of them are at risk of disappearing.
Military vehicles carrying DF-5B intercontinental ballistic missiles in Beijing in 2019
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 20, 2023

Pentagon says China set to have over 1,000 nukes by 2030

The report adds that China has "probably completed" 300 intercontinental ballistic missile silos as it expands its launch facilities.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 20, 2023

Former finance minister elected as Lower House speaker

The 79-year-old Fukushiro Nukaga, a 13-term Diet member and former finance minister, was chosen, replacing Hiroyuki Hosoda.
Samples of The Japan Times winning news coverage, recognized by the World Association of News Publishers Asian Media Awards.
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2023

Japan Times wins awards for breaking news and feature reporting

The Japan Times receives gold awards for breaking news coverage and feature writing at the World Association of News Publishers Asian Media Awards.
Speech-generating AI works by sifting through reams of data, categorizing how people speak then using an algorithm, to replicate human vocal patterns and speech characteristics.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Oct 23, 2023

Whose voice is it anyway? Actors take on AI copycats

Artists around the world are joining forces to protect their jobs, and their souls, from the ramifications of AI that sounds just like them.
English and Italian footballers observe a minute of silence for the victims of a deadly shooting in Brussels and of the devastating events in Israel and Palestine, at Wembley Stadium in London on Oct. 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 24, 2023

Qatar-owned network altered broadcasts to avoid war references

Instead of tributes and moments of silence at recent games, beIN broadcasts aired extended studio discussions that hewed solely toward soccer.
Munakata Shiko's "Oshira-sama: The Flying Silkworm Deities" (1968)
CULTURE / Art
Oct 26, 2023

Major retrospective traces hero's journey of 'Japan's van Gogh'

An exhibition of Shiko Munakata's works shows evidence of a charismatic character and a career that reflects Japan's changing relationship with the West.
Palestinians react at the site of Israeli strikes on houses, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues in the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2023

Japan urges Israel to pause assault on Gaza

The Japanese government is repotedly making final arrangements to send Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa to Israel and Jordan on Nov. 2-5.
A health care worker administers the COVID-19 vaccine to a child in Rio de Janeiro in January 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2023

How we got COVID’s risk right but the response wrong

It was not the initial consensus on the fatality rate that drove the response but rather the way the risks of COVID-19 were balanced with the costs.
Trendy buzzwords tend to be most at risk of dying out as they often reflect ideas and trends that are fleeting.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 31, 2023

A foray into the realm of Japanese ‘dead words’

Old slang and problematic terms are prime candidates when it comes to slipping out of usage and disappearing from the Japanese lexicon.
Former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court in New York in January.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Nov 4, 2023

Swift FTX case vindicates prosecution ‘need for speed’

ON Thursday, the jury took only a few hours to convict Sam Bankman-Fried of treating FTX as his personal piggy bank.
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...
Group photo after an NTT smart city was certified Level 4
ESG CONSORTIUM
Nov 6, 2023

NTT sustainable smart city effort is developing tools for well-being

As envisioned in its new fundamental principle, “Innovating a sustainable future for people and planet,” the NTT group has been contributing its strength as Japan’s leading telecommunications company to the realization of new values and a sustainable society using the power of data and technology....
Meta has said it will bar political advertisers from using Facebook's generative AI tools.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 7, 2023

Meta to restrict use of generative AI tools in political adverts

The move may limit campaigns' access to tools lawmakers have warned could turbocharge the spread of election misinformation.
An Israeli military unit fires from an undisclosed location near the Gaza Strip border on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 7, 2023

Israel vows to take 'security responsibility' of Gaza after war

The remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came as the Hamas-run health ministry said the death toll in Gaza had surged past 10,000.
By the finale, I had completely bought into Samurai Restaurant Time's spectacle — a neon-lit festival with chants and cheers.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 12, 2023

Samurai Restaurant Time gives kitschy thrills fit for Kabukicho

To replace the defunct Robot Restaurant, the neon-soaked streets of Kabukicho are serving up a kitschy second course.
Humane has officially launched its long-awaited Ai Pin. The device will be available to order starting Nov. 16.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 10, 2023

Humane's Ai Pin launches its campaign to replace phones

The device can magnetically clip onto clothing and will cost $699 with a $24-a-month subscription — which will come with unlimited data and phone calls.
The word Wagner is carved into the wall of a Ukrainian school previously occupied by Russian soldiers. A force led by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s former bodyguard is trying to recruit veterans of the paramilitary force, which mutinied against Moscow and whose leader was killed in a plane crash.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 13, 2023

Russia steps up efforts to lure Wagner veterans back to Ukraine war

Four former Russian inmates who fought with Wagner in eastern Ukraine said they had received calls and messages offering new military contracts.

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