Search - 2021

 
 
U.S. President Joe Biden touts the economic benefits of semiconductor investment at Intel’s Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, Arizona, on March 20.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 13, 2024

Global chips battle intensifies with $81 billion subsidy surge

The rush of funding has hardened battle lines in the U.S.-China trade war, including in nations like Japan.
Urawa's Kiko Seike (right) celebrates with Yu Endo during the AFC Women’s Championship Cup at Urawa Komaba Stadium in Saitama on Friday.
SOCCER
May 13, 2024

Kiko Seike shines as Urawa Reds Ladies add two titles to collection over weekend

Urawa won the AFC Women’s Championship Cup on Friday and clinched the WE League title on Sunday.
The widespread adoption of renewable energy sources and implementation of energy efficiency are key to reducing emissions and, in turn, fueling economic growth.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2024

We need economic growth to avert a climate catastrophe

The degrowth movement doesn't offer solutions to tackle global warming. Not only are its proposals unrealistic, but they may not even be effective.
Lawrence Wong will become Singapore's fourth prime minister on Wednesday. He will be tasked with steering the city-state into new territory as its economy slows down and its population ages rapidly.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2024

New Singaporean PM faces some economic headwinds

Lawrence Wong will be sworn in as the city-state's fourth prime minister on Wednesday. Despite Singapore's strong economy, new challenges lie ahead.
Japan’s custody system may soon change with the introduction of joint custody, though issues like a lack of protection against domestic violence and abuse must also be tackled.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 10, 2024

Joint custody alone won’t fix Japan’s flawed system

Japan could be on the verge of adopting joint custody. While to some this is a step in the right direction, it may not be enough to protect families.
Spectators gather on South Padre Island to watch the planned launch of SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft from the company's Boca Chica launchpad, near Brownsville, Texas, on March 14.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2024

Musk's SpaceX is quick to build in Texas, slow to pay its bills

Unpaid bills and finger-pointing among contractors have led many construction-industry businesses to file liens against SpaceX properties.
Natural gas burns on a domestic kitchen stove in London.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2024

As war stems Russian gas, Norway's Equinor gains outsized market impact

Norway now supplies 30% of Europe's gas, and roughly two-thirds of Norway's exports last year were sold by Equinor.
Scottie Scheffler makes his final putt during the final round of the RBC Heritage golf tournament in Hilton Head, South Carolina, on April 22.
MORE SPORTS
May 14, 2024

Golf's No.1 Scottie Scheffler arrives at Valhalla for PGA Championship

The 27-year-old American, who captured his second Masters title last month, has won four of his past five starts.
Soldiers and police stand guard outside a South Korean Army boot camp in Yeoncheon county before the arrival of K-pop's BTS band member Jin, in December 2022. South Korea's economic success is often  overshadowed by its cultural exports.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2024

A surprise South Korean boom is going unnoticed

Despite its robust economic performance, South Korea often takes a backseat to neighboring giants like Japan and China.
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani, leaves federal court in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 15, 2024

Ohtani interpreter appears in court over $17 million fraud

A lawyer for Ippei Mizuhara said the 39-year-old has reached a deal with prosecutors over his charges.
Judo champions and siblings Hifumi Abe and Uta Abe show off their gold medals at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo in July 2021, during the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Judo
May 15, 2024

Brother-and-sister act eye more Olympic judo golds

The siblings both won individual golds within an hour of each other at the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Lawrence Wong, Singapore's next prime minister
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 15, 2024

Singapore's next prime minister is guitar-wielding Lawrence Wong

Lawrence Wong, the first leader to have been born after Singapore's independence in 1965, is set to succeed Lee Hsien Loong as prime minister on Wednesday.
Gamers play the "Minecraft" game at E3 2017, one of the biggest events in the gaming industry calendar, in Los Angeles. Since the first version of Minecraft was released to the public 15 years ago, the block-based world-building game has become a global phenomenon. Players of all ages and backgrounds have used the game for everything from educational projects and architecture to building communities and creating artworks.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2024

Sweden's small game studios punching above their weight

In 2022, the country's game developers had a combined revenue of 32.5 billion kronor ($3 billion).
A former employee of Bandai Namco Entertainment was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly embezzling ¥54 million by selling company-owned mobile phones and other items meant for game development.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 15, 2024

Ex-employee of Bandai Namco unit arrested over ¥54 million embezzlement

The man, 59, allegedly sold about 500 company-owned smartphones and other items without permission to a Tokyo-based secondhand store.
Iran's urban development minister and India's ports and shipping minister signed the contract in the town of Chabahar, in a ceremony broadcast live on state media.
WORLD / Politics
May 15, 2024

India and Iran sign 10-year agreement to develop port project

The contract will see India Ports Global invest $370 million into "providing strategic equipment" and "developing transport infrastructure."
A gawky high school senior (Hsu Kuang-han, right) falls for an older colleague (Kaya Kiyohara) who gives him life advice in “18×2 Beyond Youthful Days.”
CULTURE / Film
May 16, 2024

‘18×2 Beyond Youthful Days’: Formulaic tearjerker hits the road for true love

Though the leads lack chemistry, they nonetheless earn kudos for their performances in Michihito Fujii’s Japan-Taiwan co-production.
Attendees watch a broadcast of the swearing-in ceremony of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 16, 2024

Singapore’s PM Wong takes office warning of ‘more violent’ world

Lawrence Wong takes office with rising concerns over the cost of living, strained U.S.-China ties and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Singapore's new prime minister, Lawrence Wong (left), shakes hands with his predecessor, Lee Hsien Loong, during the swearing-in ceremony at the Istana in Singapore on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 16, 2024

Singapore’s riches grew under its leader. So did discontent.

On Wednesday, the Southeast Asian country’s third prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, handed the reins to his deputy, the first leadership change in nearly 20 years.
Vendors protect themselves from the scorching heat and sun by using big shades and umbrellas in the Kalighat Temple area of Kolkata, India. The city is facing multiple extreme heat days this summer and citizens are trying to find ways to cope with the weather.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 16, 2024

Heat waves are testing India's ability to protect 1.4 billion people

Attempts to improve resilience to extreme heat have often been ill-conceived.
Zhang Yufei was among the 23 Chinese swimmer who tested positive for a banned substance months before the Tokyo Olympics.
OLYMPICS
May 16, 2024

World Anti-Doping Agency combating trust issues ahead of Paris Olympics

WADA is facing a allegations it helped cover up the positive tests of elite Chinese swimmers before the Tokyo Olympics.
Entrepreneurs Yusaku Maezawa (second from right) and Takafumi Horie (third from right) attend a study session on fake social media ads and investment scams at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on April 10.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 16, 2024

Japanese billionaire sues Meta over investment scams using his image

Yusaku Maezawa is suing Meta for its negligence in regulating the use of his name and image in investment scams on its social media platforms.
Over 70% of respondents in a survey do not support Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's handling of the high-profile slush fund scandal involving factions of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN / Politics
May 16, 2024

Kishida Cabinet's support rate edges up, poll shows

The poll found that 72.9% of respondents do not support Kishida's handling of a high-profile slush fund scandal.
Mystik Dan (right) wins the Kentucky Derby in a photo finish at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 4.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
May 17, 2024

Mystik Dan to vie for second leg of Triple Crown in Preakness Stakes

Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan will vie for the second jewel of U.S. flat racing's Triple Crown when he runs in the Preakness Stakes on Saturday.
A plant set up at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Sewerage's Sunamachi Water Reclamation Center in Koto Ward to recover phosphorus from sewage sludge
JAPAN / Society
May 17, 2024

Tokyo to recycle phosphorus from sewage sludge for farm fertilizer

Phosphorus, along with nitrogen and potassium, is a crucial component of fertilizers.
The Tokyo court's ruling comes amid ongoing debates on how to regulate generative AI and is part of a transnational class action lawsuit.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 17, 2024

Can AI-generated inventions be patented? A Tokyo court says no.

The ruling comes amid ongoing debates on how to regulate generative AI and is part of a transnational class action lawsuit.
Japan Times contributor Laura Pollacco (front right) was offered the role of one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet, in the Tokyo International Players’ production of “Pride and Prejudice.”
CULTURE / Stage
May 18, 2024

Local theater in Japan is more than a hobby — it’s a community

For contributor Laura Pollacco, companies such as Tokyo International Players and Sheepdog Theatre offer a home away from home.
Electronic boards display the exchange rate for the yen against the U.S. dollar and the closing numbers of Tokyo Stock Exchange share price in Tokyo on May 1.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
May 19, 2024

From Tokyo to New York, stock markets are on a record-hitting spree around the world

Of the world’s 20 largest stock markets, 14 have hit all-time highs recently.
A worker unloads packages from a shinkansen at JR Tokyo Station on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 19, 2024

JR firms expanding cargo transport using shinkansen trains

Such services are set to expand as Japan facing disruptions to logistics services stemming from an overtime cap for truck drivers.
While not the most outspoken politician on the issue, digital minister Taro Kono has a track record of being serious in his commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
May 19, 2024

The politicians moving Japan forward on climate

In the halls of power, climate-friendly voices may be few and far between, but some in politics are pushing for more aggressive action on decarbonization.
Donald Trump's courtroom drama reflects a broader battle over power in America, from legal allegations to political allegiances.
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2024

King Trump's trial and the fight for America’s future

If Donald Trump’s allies are signaling loyalty by attending his trial, it seems reasonable to question what exactly they are demonstrating loyalty to.

Longform

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