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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 21, 2022

Myanmar junta urges ASEAN envoy not to engage with coup opponents

Divisions have emerged over how to restore stability as the junta shows little sign of implementing a five-point peace plan agreed upon with ASEAN last year.
Supporters of former president Donald Trump pray during a benediction on the second day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 19, 2024

Unpacking America's puzzling election dynamics

If the Republican Party sacrifices the true interests of the U.S. and its allies in order to win the presidency, it will no longer be the Grand Old Party.
As childish as Ryokan may have been, human suffering wrung his heart. A portrait of the monk and calligraphy by him are shown here. (Ink on paper; early 19th century; replica before 1970)
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jul 21, 2024

Ryokan and us: 'How wide! How boundless!'

The Edo Period monk could see the world through a child's eyes, maybe even those of a child from our modern era.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the media after his meeting with President Droupadi Murmu, to stake claim to form the new government at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi on June 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 24, 2024

India's budget reflects new power realities of Modi's fickle coalition

Modi has been forced to rely on allies to run a government for the first time in his career.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 25, 2024

What the ‘extreme’ Project 2025 says and who wrote it

Recent polling shows there has been a dramatic uptick in awareness and negative views of Project 2025 since late June, when U.S. Democrats began emphasizing it.
Novak Djokovic embraces Rafael Nadal at the net following their men's singles match at the Paris Olympics on Monday.
OLYMPICS / Tennis
Jul 30, 2024

Djokovic hopes 'unique' rivalry with Nadal continues

Novak Djokovic said he hoped he would get more chances to play Rafael Nadal after beating his old rival in the second round of the Olympics on Monday.
Ukraine's Olga Kharlan celebrates on the podium after winning Olympic bronze in the women's sabre event at the Paris Games on Monday.
OLYMPICS / Fencing
Jul 30, 2024

Ukrainian fencer dedicates medal to countrymen killed in the war

The war has torn apart old alliances in fencing, and heightened the acrimony between Russia and Ukraine.
Spain's Rafael Nadal waves goodbye after he and Carlos Alcaraz lost their men's doubles match on Wednesday at the Paris Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Tennis
Aug 1, 2024

Nadal says he may not return to Roland Garros after Olympic exit

Rafael Nadal admitted he may have played at Roland Garros for the final time after he and Carlos Alcaraz were dumped out of the Olympics men's doubles on Wednesday.
Hideki Matsuyama in action during the first round of the Olympic men's golf tournament in Guyancourt, France, on Thursday.
OLYMPICS / Golf
Aug 2, 2024

Matsuyama leads Schauffele as golfers hail Olympic experience

Former Masters champion Matsuyama is looking to making the podium after missing out on a bronze medal in a playoff three years ago at the Tokyo Games.
Founded in the early 2000s, Ichiro's Malt has since become a third pole in Japan's whisky world dominated by beverage giants.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 4, 2024

In sleepy Chichibu, Japan's whisky landscape is quietly shifting

Ichiro’s signature flavor profile of rich, woodsy flavors complemented by a clear fruitiness owes in large part to the tempermental 'mizunara' Japanese oak.
Tigers players, including Ukyo Maegawa (center), celebrate their win over the Giants at Koshien Stadium on Thursday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Aug 2, 2024

Tigers celebrate Koshien's 100th with victory over rival Giants

"Everyone understood the importance of this three-game series," manager Akinobu Okada said. "It's great to win in such a memorable way on this special day."
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend the Japan-U.S. Extended Deterrence Dialogue in Tokyo on July 28.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 7, 2024

Japan-U.S. alliance transforms with concrete 'two-plus-two' talks

Despite the long and challenging history of Japan-U.S. two-plus-two meetings, this year's Tokyo meeting was truly groundbreaking.
Children attend a class at a Brazilian school in Seto, Aichi Prefecture, in April 2020.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 9, 2024

Over 8,500 foreign children in Japan may not be in school, ministry says

The number of such children grew by 418 from a year before, according to a ministry survey of education boards of 1,741 municipalities.
A monitor shows an increase in the 225-issue Nikkei average, in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 13, 2024

Nikkei surges 3.5% on return from holiday as weak yen supports

The Nikkei average ended the day at the session's peak of 36,232.51, trading higher in the last 40 minutes of trading.
After 80 years, Toshimizu Ishii is speaking out on his experience making balloon bombs during World War II.
JAPAN / History
Aug 14, 2024

96-year-old recounts WWII experience in Fukushima balloon bomb exhibit

"Back then, I didn’t think much about it," Toshimizu Ishii admitted. "But now, I see how senseless it all was."
Health minister Keizo Takemi fields questions from reporters in March after a Cabinet meeting to deal with health problems caused by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's beni kōji red yeast rice supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2024

Health Minister Keizo Takemi on how to improve Japan's health care system

Digitalization, hiring high-skilled foreign workers and increasing wages are among the steps that Japan could take.
The Shein logo adors the company's first pop-up store in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Aug. 2.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 15, 2024

Seoul authorities find toxic substances in Shein and Temu products

The explosive growth has led to increased scrutiny of their business practices and safety standards, including in the EU and South Korea.
Japan is divided into many different regions, sometimes distinguishing areas of the country by old borders or climate.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 16, 2024

When it comes to Japan, do you know your 'Kanto' from your 'Kanto-koshin'?

Japanese people tend to travel to their hometowns around this time of year, and asking where they went is an easy conversation starter.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov in Moscow on July 30.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 21, 2024

In rare interview, key Putin ally says West risks global war over Ukraine

The head of the Rostec arms maker slams U.S. over moves to "provoke" the Ukraine conflict by allowing Kyiv to attack Russian territory.
Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of messaging app Telegram, has been arrested as part of an investigation of crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions on the platform.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 27, 2024

Telegram CEO arrested in probe into child porn, drug trafficking on app

The investigation over suspected complicity in various crimes includes the refusal to communicate information to authorities.
A Couche-Tard convenience store in Montreal. Canadian retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard has made a preliminary non-binding proposal to buy 7-Eleven owner Seven & I Holdings.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 27, 2024

Couche-Tard might finance Seven & I takeover with debt

A leveraged acquisition would be feasible because of the Japanese company's strong cash flow, people familiar with the Canadian retailer’s thinking said.
Founder and CEO of Telegram Pavel Durov delivers a keynote speech during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, in 2016.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2024

Telegram founder Durov charged and banned from leaving France

Pavel Durov was charged on several counts of failing to curb extremist and illegal content on Telegram, a popular messaging app.
Shohei Ohtani walks through the dugout with his dog Decoy before the Dodgers' game against the Orioles at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 29, 2024

Shohei Ohtani signs exclusive trading card deal with Topps

Ohtani has had a nonexclusive relationship with Topps since 2018.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton announced in February that he will race for Ferrari next season.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Aug 30, 2024

Lewis Hamilton preparing for final Italian Grand Prix before moving to Ferrari

Hamilton announced in February that he will leave Mercedes to race with the Italian team next season.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc takes a selfie after winning the Italian Formula One Grand Prix in Monza, Italy, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 3, 2024

Baku and Singapore could be good for Ferrari, says Leclerc

Leclerc won at Monza on Sunday with a bold one-stop tire strategy.
Seven & I Holdings, operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, said on Friday it has rejected Alimentation Couche-Tard's takeover bid as not being in the interest of shareholders.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2024

Seven & I pans value of offer as it rejects Canadian takeover bid

Seven & I said that Alimentation Couche-Tard had “grossly” undervalued the target company and that the takeover attempt was timed “opportunistically.”
Onosato will have his sights set on sumo's second-highest rank as the Autumn Basho gets underway Sunday.
SUMO
Sep 6, 2024

Onosato poised to shine at Autumn Basho with ozeki rank in sight

The fact that nine wins in Onosato's sekiwake debut in July was seen by some as disappointing tells you all you need to know about sumo’s hottest wrestler.
James Earl Jones in the Broadway revival of "Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater in New York in March 2012. Jones, once a stuttering farm child who became a voice of rolling thunder as one of America’s most versatile actors in a stage, film and television career that plumbed race relations, Shakespeare’s rhapsodic tragedies and the faceless menace of Darth Vader, died on Monday at his home in Dutchess County, New York. He was 93.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 10, 2024

James Earl Jones, actor whose voice could menace or melt, dies at 93

He gave life to characters like Darth Vader in “Star Wars” and Mufasa in “The Lion King,” and went on to collect Tonys, Golden Globes, Emmys and an honorary Oscar.
Russian-British political activist, journalist, author, filmmaker and former political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza poses during a photo session in Paris on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

Freed Kremlin opponent urges against 'face-saving exit' from Ukraine for Putin

In an interview in Paris, Vladimir Kara-Murza predicted that he would be able to return to his homeland as the Russian president's "regime" would not last.
The Tokyo Ballet’s 60th anniversary program includes Maurice Bejart’s famous shorts, such as “Bolero.”
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 13, 2024

The Tokyo Ballet marks year of rebirth with tributes to history and innovation

Long-time collaborator Bejart Ballet Lausanne brings masterworks to Japan for The Tokyo Ballet's 60th anniversary celebrations.

Longform

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