Search - 2022

 
 
Kenichi Takito (left) and Non play literary nemeses working in close quarters in Yukihiko Tsutsumi’s lukewarm comedy, “The Hotel of My Dream.”
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2024

‘The Hotel of My Dream’: A literary comedy that never really gels

Yukihiko Tsutsumi’s adaptation of Asako Yuzuki’s novel promises a festive treat, but casting and cadence prevent it from realizing its full potential.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe says athlete welfare is at the top of the organization's priority list.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Dec 19, 2024

World Athletics uses AI to protect 25 athletes targeted by cyberbullies

World Athletics recently unveiled findings of a four-year report analyzing online abuse in the sport.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers an address to the nation at the Presidential Office in Seoul on Dec. 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 19, 2024

Allies cheered Yoon's foreign policy despite domestic discord

Yoon's political implosion likely heralds the return of the political left, which is less inclined to be as unabashedly supportive of the U.S. and Japan.
A customer leaves a luxury eyewear shop in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 19, 2024

As bitcoin soars, luxury brands consider accepting crypto payments

Luxury labels have long sought to cater to affluent shoppers from the tech industry.
The average retail gasoline price is expected to rise by over ¥5 per liter as the government has announced that it will reduce subsidies to oil wholesalers.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 19, 2024

Gasoline prices rise as Japanese government cuts subsidies

Until now the industry ministry has subsidized 60% of gasoline costs over ¥168 and under ¥185, but from Thursday the subsidy dropped to 30% for prices in that range.
Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of semiconductor company Micron, addresses Semicon India 2023, India’s annual semiconductor conference, held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat state. India is trying to boost domestic chip production, a strategic move for its industrial growth and economic security.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2024

India’s budding chip industry: A cause for cautious optimism

Amid the global "chip war," India has entered the fray as it tries to become a semiconductor leader, a move welcomed by those diversifying supply chains away from China.
The streets of Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district in 2020. Consultations over matters relating to host clubs have been increasing every year at police stations nationwide, according to the National Police Agency.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 19, 2024

National Police Agency panel calls for stricter rules against host clubs

The expert panel recommends targeting malicious practices, rather than specific establishments, to cover more ground.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
CULTURE / Film / 2024 in Review
Dec 20, 2024

A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity

International collaborations and indie risk-takers steered the film industry in a fresh direction in 2024.
Supporters of then-President Donald Trump clash with police while storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Dec 29, 2024

Will the guardrails of U.S. democracy hold?

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump continues to express admiration for authoritarian leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual end-of-year news conference and phone-in, in Moscow, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 20, 2024

Putin offers Trump talks while defending his invasion of Ukraine

The order to invade Ukraine "should have been made earlier," and Russia should have prepared better, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington on Nov. 13.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Dec 31, 2024

Will the second Trump boom go bust?

Trump is inheriting a strong economy, but he faces a more challenging economic landscape than he did in his first term.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (right) and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo on Dec. 10 prior to talks on political, trade and economic relations
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2024

Finnish PM seeks boosted military tech ties with Japan

“Finland is keen to deepen bilateral relations, and Japan is an important strategic partner for Finland,” Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told The Japan Times.
One of two Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy Type 056 gray corvettes is seen docked at a pier at Cambodia's Ream Naval Base on Monday.
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2024

Cambodia to grant Japan visitation rights to China-linked naval base

Hun Sen, Cambodia's Senate president, announced the decision to grant U.S. ally Japan access during a visit by Takeo Akiba, its national security adviser.
People play pickleball in New York on Dec. 8.
TENNIS
Dec 21, 2024

Australian Open to provide platform for pickleball from 2025

Melbourne Park's Court 3 will transform into pickleball central from Jan. 24-26 next year, as an international field of players compete for top honors.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (third from right) and other officials visit the site Saturday of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany.
WORLD
Dec 22, 2024

Suspect in deadly Christmas market attack railed against Islam and Germany

The attack left five people dead — including a 9-year-old child — and wounded 205 others.
MLB Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before a game between the Mariners and the Athletics in Seattle on Sept. 29.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 22, 2024

Rickey Henderson, baseball’s flamboyant ‘Man of Steal,’ dies at 65

Henderson holds the MLB career record for stolen bases with 1,406 — a mark unlikely to be swiped from him anytime soon, or perhaps ever.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom stands with Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng at an event welcoming pandas to the San Diego Zoo on Aug. 8. American intelligence agencies have warned of influence operations targeting city halls and statehouses. But what's in it for Beijing?
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 22, 2024

As China seeks influence, it has a cuddly way into city hall: pandas

Records and interviews show that Beijing has used pandas as leverage to shape policy on Taiwan and to cultivate relationships with local U.S. politicians.
Steam rises from a geothermal plan in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture. Despite its long history and potential, geothermal provided just 0.3% of Japan's overall energy mix in the fiscal year from April 2023
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Dec 22, 2024

Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential?

Japan boasts the world’s third-largest potential supply of geothermal energy, but this renewable energy resource has mostly been untapped.
People gather to view a rocket launch test by AstroX in the city of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture on Nov. 9.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 22, 2024

Fukushima startup aiming to launch rocket from flying balloon

Since the method does not require large-scale ground facilities, the cost can be reduced to one-third of that on the ground, according to the company.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, casts his vote during an impeachment vote against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the National Assembly in Seoul  Dec.14.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 22, 2024

A race to the Blue House or the jail house

Since the end of martial law in 1987, there have been eight democratically elected presidents — and all but two of those have either been impeached or imprisoned.
People walk through Vilnius, Lithuania, on Dec. 17. Lithuania’s national opera house had stopped showing Tchaikovsky’s 1892 masterpiece in solidarity with Ukraine over the war with Russia.
WORLD / Society
Dec 22, 2024

A cultural casualty of the war in Ukraine: ‘The Nutcracker’

Many in the art world oppose banning works on the basis of their nationality, believing that culture has the power to unite and should not be contaminated by politics.
Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Dec 23, 2024

Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?

Inbound tourism to Japan reached a record high in 2024, but managing the crowds and ensuring sustainability remain a challenge.
Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko at the Akasaka Estate in Tokyo prior to the wake of Princess Yuriko on Nov. 24. The emperor emeritus was deeply sorrowful over the death of his aunt, aides said.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2024

Emperor Emeritus Akihito turns 91

The emperor emeritus spends his days caring for Empress Emerita Michiko who broke her right thigh bone in October.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts to a standing ovation from fans after hitting his 50th home run of the season, against the Marlins in Miami on Sept. 19.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 23, 2024

For baseball fans, 2024 brought The Summer of Shohei Ohtani

The superstar was the center of attention for almost a full calendar year during a season straight out of a Hollywood movie.
Some of the same mistakes made during COVID-19 can be seen in the U.S. government's response to H5N1, which started in poultry before a new variant began infecting the nation’s dairy cows.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2024

Another pandemic is inevitable, and the U.S. isn't ready

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s picks to lead the nation’s top public health agencies also don’t inspire confidence.
The Nagano District Court found Daisuke Maruyama guilty of killing his 47-year old wife, Nozomi, who was a company executive, in September 2021 at their home in the city of Shiojiri, Nagano.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 23, 2024

Ex-Nagano assembly member sentenced to 19 years in prison for killing wife

Prosecutors argued that Daisuke Maruyama, 50, was motivated to kill his wife because she would not agree to a divorce.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Jan 3, 2025

AI has not yet destroyed democracy

The worst predictions about AI disrupting the democratic process were not borne out in 2024.
Italy's Jannik Sinner in action during the Davis Cup Finals on Nov. 24. Sinner was cleared of wrongdoing in a doping case this year, but an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency means a potential ban of up to two years is still hanging over his head.
TENNIS
Dec 24, 2024

Players on edge after Sinner and Swiatek doping cases

Time out of the game to serve or fight a doping ban means a loss of income for players.
North Korea has sent thousands of troops to reinforce the Russian military in Ukraine.
WORLD
Dec 24, 2024

Over 1,000 North Koreans killed or wounded fighting for Russia, Seoul says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later gave a far higher estimate, saying the total killed and wounded in the Kursk region has already exceeded 3,000.
Indonesia takes on Saudi Arabia in a World Cup Asian qualifier match in Jakarta on Nov. 19.
SOCCER
Dec 24, 2024

Thohir determined to take 'sleeping giant' Indonesia back to World Cup

Thohir has overseen efforts to entice members of the Indonesian diaspora, mostly born in the Netherlands, to play for the land of their heritage.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake