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Nio workers inspect a vehicle on an assembly line at the automaker’s factory in Hefei, China. China misjudged the rapid expansion of its electric vehicle sector, leaving a shortfall of skilled technicians as young people shun manufacturing careers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 11, 2023

China’s electric car factories can’t hire fast enough

A frenzy of construction and expansion of factories has made electricians and robotics specialists a hot commodity.
Australia rugby union coach Eddie Jones poses with Rugby Australia Chairman Hamish McLennan and CEO Andy Marinos after his first news conference since his reappointment, in Sydney on Jan. 31. Jones left the Wallabies in October.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Dec 12, 2023

Australia to have strong Japan ties regardless of Jones: RA boss

Japanese media outlets have reported that Eddie Jones will be confirmed as head coach of the Brave Blossoms in the coming days.
An attendee plays Fortnite, made by Epic Games, during the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles in 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 12, 2023

Legal defeat for Google threatens $200 billion app store industry

Until now, Google and Apple have charged commissions of as much as 30% to software developers who typically have had few other options.
Chinese influencer Li Ying used social media to help tell the world about last year’s protests in China. Now in exile, he has been threatened and lost his livelihood for his defiance.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 12, 2023

‘I have no future’: China’s rebel influencer is still paying a price

To some Chinese, painter and art school graduate Li Ying is a superhero who stood up to their authoritarian government and leader.
COP28 President Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber gives a press conference at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai on Dec. 4.
COMMENTARY
Dec 8, 2023

Climate solutions are debatable, but science is inescapable

How we set environmental policies depends on how we interpret the facts.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng meet for talks in Beijing on Aug. 29.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 12, 2023

The Washington-Beijing tech war is just getting started

U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo emphasizes the need to prevent China from accessing cutting-edge technology, citing national defense concerns.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un waves as he takes poses for photos during the Fifth National Mothers' Convention in Pyongyang.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 13, 2023

Kim Jong Un admits rare weakness as North Korea population falls

The rare admission indicates Kim is just as worried about a demographic crunch as he is about the U.S. forces that he says want to end his regime.
An oil pump outside Saint-Fiacre, near Paris, in 2019
BUSINESS
Dec 13, 2023

Big Oil's bid to woo ESG investors fails to impress

A pledge by 50 of the biggest oil and gas companies at the U.N. climate talks in Dubai commits to reaching near-zero methane emissions by 2030.
Mena Kato, Microsoft's new director of Japan partnerships for Xbox, during an interview in Tokyo on Nov. 29
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 13, 2023

Microsoft taps PlayStation veteran to champion Xbox in Japan

Mena Kato is counting on her dealmaking skills, Microsoft’s global reach and local connections to make the Xbox a relevant player.
Sundar Pichai, Google's chief executive (right), arrives to testify at an antitrust case against Google in Washington on Oct. 30. A trio of antitrust cases on the docket threaten to reshape Google’s business and sap its profits.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 13, 2023

Google’s antitrust loss to Epic could preview its legal fate in 2024

The San Francisco case was the first test of how Google might fare in the antitrust gauntlet it faces in the United States — and the company was routed.
U.S. President Joe Biden greets his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Woodside, California, on Nov. 15 during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 19, 2023

Thaw in U.S.-China ties driven by domestic issues

There were no breakthroughs in Biden-Xi summit. But since then, there has been a lowering of tension and a rare sense of stability in the relationship.
The construction of TSMC’s new plant in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, has seen companies anticipating expanded collaborations with the semiconductor firm grow keen to establish footholds in the area.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 19, 2023

Semiconductor projects in Japan whip up local optimism

Companies anticipating expanded collaborations with TSMC are keen to establish footholds in the area around its new plant in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture.
Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League, at a meeting in Atlanta on Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Dec 14, 2023

NFL expands overseas games and books Brazil contest in 2024

NFL team owners voted Wednesday to stage a 2024 regular-season game in Brazil and approved an increase in the number of international contests from four to eight starting in 2025.
An undated file photo shows Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago and site of a major United States military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean, leased from Britain in 1966.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 14, 2023

Indian Ocean could become China's Achilles' heel in war on Taiwan

A struggle to protect energy lifelines even as demands increase could make a protracted war over Taiwan difficult for Beijing to sustain.
Climate activists protest against fossil fuels at the COP28 conference in Dubai on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 14, 2023

'Many will die': Climate scientists slam COP28's limited ambition

Last-minute compromises on wording described as 'devastating' and a 'death knell' for averting the worst impacts of long term planetary heating.
Prime Minster Fumio Kishida joins ASEAN leaders for a family photo before the start of the ASEAN-Japan summit in Jakarta in September.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 14, 2023

With eye on China, Japan and ASEAN to unveil ‘new vision’ for ties

The three-day summit will see the two sides launch a wide range of cooperation initiatives.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 14, 2023

Japan’s next-gen fighter project with U.K. and Italy hits milestone

The three countries agreed to establish an intergovernmental organization, divide up work share and set out the roles of each partner.
A story on the front page of The Japan Times on Jan. 4, 1924, focuses on a Tokyo attempting to recover from the Great Kanto Earthquake.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jan 1, 2024

The Japan Times 1924: Tokyo greets 1924 in hope of better things

After a year in which the capital and its surroundings experienced a catastrophic earthquake, an article highlights the resolve of the people.
Shohei Ohtani puts on a Dodgers cap and uniform during his introductory news conference at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 15, 2023

Shohei Ohtani says shared commitment to winning led him to Dodgers

The one-of-a-kind talent received a Hollywood intro Thursday as he began his new chapter with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While Hayao Miyazaki’s return to filmmaking, “The Boy and the Heron,” did not attain the ¥10 billion milestone that the beloved animator’s movies had once routinely surpassed, it debuted at the top of the North American box office and became the first original anime film to lead the box office in the United States and Canada.
CULTURE / Film / 2023 in Review
Dec 15, 2023

Japan’s auteurs and anime triumphed in 2023

From Hayao Miyazaki's “The Boy and the Heron” to Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Monster,” the box-office hits kept coming.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 15, 2023

Despite a taxing year, 2023's top kanji still draws questions

In a year of major crises around the world, Japanese voters pick the kanji for "zei," meaning "tax," based on a plan yet to be implemented.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda told lawmakers in parliament that his job was about to get even more "challenging” from the end of the year, adding to speculation of looming action by the central bank.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2023

BOJ set to stay outlier as 2024 hike seen in contrast to Fed

The Bank of Japan has become used to being a policy outlier over its decades-long quest to vanquish deflation. It’s likely to be no different in 2024.
An exhibition on marine life at COP28 in Dubai. The conversation around oceans and climate change was not the main focus of the conference, despite the key role oceans play in absorbing carbon.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2023

COP28, didn't the oceans deserve more attention?

Oceans are key to mitigating climate change and severely impacted by it. Yet they didn't take center stage at COP28 — though some progress was made.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the start of a bilateral meeting in Tokyo on Saturday
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 16, 2023

Japan-ASEAN summit aims to advance 'security cooperation'

Japan is also expected to use the summit to push energy cooperation as it seeks to export emissions-reducing tech that critics have questioned.
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a goal during a match in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in July.
SOCCER
Dec 16, 2023

Inter Miami adds Tokyo stop to Messi tour next February

The Argentine superstar will lead Inter Miami into a match against reigning champions Vissel Kobe at the 60,000-seat National Stadium on Feb. 7.
Tiger Woods laughs at a comment made by Justin Thomas (back) during the PNC Championship in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Dec 17, 2023

PGA Tour still aims to meet deadline for Saudi alliance, Woods says

The PGA Tour, scrambling to finalize its merger plans ahead of the deadline, has said it would proceed with talks with U.S.-based Strategic Sports Group.
A sign in Osaka's Dotonbori district advertises the 2025 World Expo.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2023

Japan eyes panel for Osaka Expo cost transparency

The government plans to set up a third-party panel as part of its plan to ensure transparency over the costs for the 2025 Osaka World Expo, it was learned Sunday.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton removes his helmet after the qualifying session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Nov. 25.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Dec 18, 2023

Button expects Hamilton to bounce back 'with the right car'

For the second year running, Mercedes driver Hamilton has failed to win a grand prix.
Tiger Woods walks onto the 18th green with his daughter Sam Woods during the PNC Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Dec 18, 2023

Woods optimistic following family weekend at PNC Championship

Woods said his surgically repaired right ankle continues to hold up well and that he recovered quickly after the Hero World Challenge earlier this month.
Researchers prepare to conduct a mapping survey of a reforested area on a hillside near Chiang Mai, Thailand.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 18, 2023

In Thailand, drones help solve forest carbon capture riddle

Drones are part of an increasingly sophisticated arsenal used by scientists to understand forests and their role in the battle against climate change.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go