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Shinichiro Kashima
ESG CONSORTIUM
May 22, 2024

Nippon Life engages to encourage green transition

Engaging with high-emitting companies to spur transformation of their business rather than divesting from them is becoming increasingly important to combat climate change, said an executive officer of Japan’s biggest insurance company. “Thinking about society as a whole, it is important that we asset...
Japanese Paralympic Committee Chairman Junichi Kawai says this summer's Paris Games offer an opportunity to pass on the legacy of the Tokyo Paralympics.
OLYMPICS
May 22, 2024

Paris Games a chance to pass on Tokyo's legacy: Paralympics head

Japanese Paralympic Committee chairman says increasing the number of medalists is more important than the number of medals.
Japan's Ayumi Fukushima competes in the women's Breaking B-Girls semifinal during an Olympic Qualifier Series ahead of the 2024 Paris Games, in Shanghai on Sunday.
OLYMPICS / Breakdancing
May 22, 2024

Japanese break dancer on cusp of fulfilling Olympic dream

Ayumi Fukushima, 40, has been busting moves for longer than some of her rivals have been alive.
The entrance to Maruyama Park, one of Sapporo's most popular parks for summer recreation. The Maruyama Park area is part of a designated region where Sapporo plans tougher bear countermeasures, including the possible use of bear traps.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
May 27, 2024

From coexistence to separation: Sapporo's battle with bears

An increasing number of bears in Hokkaido is forcing the prefectural capital to change its strategy for dealing with the animals.
Displaced Palestinian children wait to collect free food at a street kitchen in a camp in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on May 17.
WORLD
May 22, 2024

Crowds intercept almost all aid sent over U.S.-built pier in Gaza

While 10 aid trucks were able to take goods from a pier to a storage area on Friday, only five of 16 trucks that departed the dock on Saturday made it to the warehouse.
Kiichi Morita addresses a gathering commemorating the 70th anniversary of the U.S. hydrogen bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, held in Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, on April 27.
JAPAN / Society
May 22, 2024

70 years after U.S. nuclear tests in Bikini Atoll, Japan port recalls legacy

The first 1954 hydrogen bomb test at the atoll was one of six, with nearly 1,000 Japanese ships confirmed to have been exposed to radiation by the end of the year.
An Israeli tank near the Israel-Gaza border on Tuesday
WORLD
May 22, 2024

Israeli forces raze parts of Gaza's Jabalia and hit Rafah with airstrikes

Simultaneous Israeli assaults on the northern and southern edges of the Gaza Strip have sharply restricted the flow of aid, raising the risk of famine.
New Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te speaks on stage during his inauguration ceremony outside the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 22, 2024

Japan protests Chinese envoy's 'inappropriate remarks' over Taiwan

Ambassador Wu Jianghao appeared to insinuate that the Japanese people would be “brought into the fire” of conflict over support for self-ruled Taiwan.
Rohingya refugees cross a bamboo bridge in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on May 2.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 22, 2024

Rohingya activists say Myanmar armed group has displaced thousands

Clashes have rocked Rakhine since the Arakan Army attacked junta forces in November, ending a cease-fire that had largely held since a military coup in 2021.
Lee Dong-hyun and her son, 19-month-old Choi Hee-woo, pose at a playground on May 17, ahead of the final public hearing at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday of a climate lawsuit against the South Korean government, for which Hee-woo is the youngest plaintiff.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
May 22, 2024

Embryo activist: Baby's lawsuit takes on South Korea climate inaction

South Korea is the G20's second-highest carbon emitter per capita.
Shigeru Omi, then-Japan's top COVID-19 advisor, speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office in April 2022. A study published this month has shown that many experts who spoke to the media about COVID-19 in Japan were harassed by the public.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 22, 2024

Many COVID experts in Japan harassed after speaking to media, survey shows

The research conducted by a professor at Waseda University is Japan’s first comprehensive survey on threats targeting COVID-19 experts.
Palestinian kids stand in a house an Israeli strike destroyed, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday.
WORLD
May 23, 2024

Israeli forces move deeper into Rafah in night of heavy fighting

Israel's assault on the city has set hundreds of thousands of people fleeing in what had been a refuge for half of the enclave's 2.3 million people.
Health officials are increasingly on guard for cases of H5N1, a bird virus that’s known to jump between species and can sometimes cause severe cases in people.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 23, 2024

Second U.S. human bird flu infection reported in Michigan

A farmworker in the state experienced mild symptoms in the eye after coming into contact with an infected cow and has since recovered.
Fever guard Caitlin Clark tries to drive past Liberty forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton during their game in New York on May 18.
BASKETBALL / NBA
May 23, 2024

LeBron James gives advice to WNBA star Caitlin Clark

James knows what it is like to deal with great expectations at the beginning of a career.
Akira Miyagi (center) and other members of Japanese-Brazilians with ties to Okinawa Prefecture hold a news conference in Sao Paulo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 23, 2024

Brazil to mull apology for persecution of Japanese immigrants

If the federal government apologizes, it will be its first over the country's treatment of Japanese immigrants.
Maximilian Krah from German's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024

Europe’s far right in disarray two weeks ahead of elections

Far-right groups hoped to form a large enough bloc in next month’s European elections to weaken climate regulations and propose tougher immigration measures.
The latest findings by University of Tokyo researchers raise hopes that the disease may be treated if doctors can identify people who will develop Alzheimer’s before its onset.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 23, 2024

Japanese researchers confirm blood test predicts risk of Alzheimer's

The latest study raises hopes that if doctors can identify who might be at risk of developing Alzheimer’s beforehand, it could be treated early.
Komeito head Natsuo Yamaguchi said in a video posted on TikTok in December that the party did not want to be seen as part of the same group as the LDP.
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2024

Challenges mount for Komeito amid rift with LDP

As the junior partner in the ruling coalition approaches its 60th anniversary, an existential crisis looms over it.
Joe Biden’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other imports are more than symbolic — they are a signal that the U.S. won’t accept a surge of imports that could undermine crucial parts of his administration’s agenda.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2024

The U.S. is preparing for a second 'China shock'

The immediate impact of these tariffs will be small, because the United States currently imports very few of the affected goods from China.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will hold talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Seoul on Sunday and Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 23, 2024

Japan, South Korea and China to hold first summit in four years

A schedule of regular summits had been disrupted by bilateral feuds and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.
PODCAST / deep dive
May 23, 2024

What does climate change sound like in Okinawa?

This week, Japan Times climate editor Chris Russell joins us to discuss what researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology are listening to.
Aliou Diack’s “Anastomosis” paintings were created at Yoshino Cedar House, Space Un’s residency in Yoshino, Nara Prefecture.
CULTURE / Art
May 24, 2024

Contemporary Afro-Japanese shows broaden Tokyo's art scene

Three ongoing exhibitions showcasing work by Theaster Gates, Aliou Diack and Serge Mouangue highlight commonality between Japanese, African American and African aesthetics.
People carry their belongings as they leave a makeshift migrant camp near the banks of the Grand Canal, west of Dublin on Tuesday. Asylum seekers sleeping rough in tents in Dublin say life under a tarpaulin cover is better than facing the risk of the U.K. deporting them to Rwanda.
WORLD / Politics
May 24, 2024

U.K.'s Rwanda migrant plan may never get off ground

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's message seems to be that only by reelecting him in July would the Rwanda deportation plan get up and running.
A passenger who was on board Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 arrives at Changi Airport in Singapore on Wednesday. The flight had experienced severe turbulence, resulting in the death of a British man and multiple injuries.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2024

Fliers concerned about safety after airline mishaps

But despite this year's spate of high-profile airline accidents, statistics show that flying is still safer than the drive to the airport.
Traffic violations related to electric scooters in Japan have increased along with the popularity of e-scooter rental services.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 24, 2024

Police officer given ticket after riding e-scooter while drunk

The prefectural police department in Kyoto plans to refer the assistant inspector in his 40s to public prosecutors.
South Korean leader Yoon Suk-yeol (left), U.S. President Joe Biden (center) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walk during the Camp David summit on the outskirts of Washington last August. South Korea and Japan will be going into the summit with China more aligned than before following the Camp David meeting.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 24, 2024

At Japan-South Korea-China trilateral summit, a chance to manage tensions

Just holding the summit is an accomplishment amid the considerable issues that divide the three countries.
Yasuke, a historical Black samurai, will star in the newly announced Assassin's Creed Shadows — a choice that has riled some critics online.
LIFE / Digital
May 25, 2024

Gaming's latest culture war targets Yasuke, Japan's Black samurai

For a vocal minority of gamers, a Black protagonist of a game set in feudal Japan was a call to war.
In about a year, Wormann has taken four Tokyo "akiya" (abandoned homes) under his wing — three in Sangenjaya and the most recent in Shin-Nakano.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 27, 2024

The Swede bringing ‘Japandi’ style to Tokyo’s abandoned homes

The 86-year-old building Wormann acquired in Sengenjaya came with not only a degraded structure but also termite damage throughout.
The Japanese government updated its English education guidelines in 2017 to emphasize communication over grammar and memorization. Public school teachers are incredibly busy, however, which means schools haven’t been able to implement changes uniformly. Private and alternative schools are attempting to remedy this.
LIFE / Language / Longform
May 27, 2024

The language of opportunity: Bilingual education is on the rise in Japan

Stuck with a reputation for poor English, Japan is pushing its next generation to be bilingual. Privately run schools are seeing the benefits.
In the digital age, it will get harder for institutions such a the British Museum to keep looted cultural possessions as communities in Africa and elsewhere learn about what was taken from them.
COMMENTARY / World
May 24, 2024

How are museums still justifying keeping stolen artifacts?

As much as 90% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s cultural artifacts are outside of the continent, according to a 2018 report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron.

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