Search - 2013

 
 
Pedestrians look at an electronic board displaying the Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on a street in the Japanese capital on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 24, 2024

Record-high Nikkei’s rise just getting started on foreign demand

Investors and strategists are also watching for a broadening of equities gains that may take the wider Topix index to an all-time high this year.
When Fighters interpreter Shinju Sakuma set her mind on becoming a language liaison in sports, she picked a sport she enjoyed watching and an employer who thinks outside the box.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 26, 2024

Rookie female interpreter provides voice for foreign baseball stars in Japan

Shinju Sakuma, who will graduate from Rikkyo University in Tokyo this spring, is believed to be the first female interpreter in NPB history.
France's Matthis Lebel carries the ball against Italy during their Six Nations match in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Feb 26, 2024

France coach Fabien Galthie denies talk of crisis after close call against Italy

Galthie's side was hammered by Ireland in the tournament opener before edging Scotland earlier this month.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 27, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2024

Mark Zuckerberg’s Asia tour to focus on AI

The Meta Platforms’ CEO is in Japan with his family on a ski trip, and is set to meet with his developers in Tokyo to discuss virtual-reality and AI.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Oct. 17, 2023
WORLD / Politics
Feb 28, 2024

Serbian leader says ‘Taiwan is China’ as Xi plans Balkan trip

The Serbian leader’s wading into rising tensions over the Taiwan Strait sends a signal of allegiance to Beijing.
Warriors guard Stephen Curry drives to the basket during a game against the Wizards on Tuesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Feb 28, 2024

Stephen Curry is battling the clock to win over sneaker fans

Curry, 35, is still a commanding presence in the NBA, but he has work to do when it comes to winning over "sneakerheads."
Takuya Usami, the curator at Mantenboshi, a stargazing observatory in Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, said that a survey by the Environment Ministry had ranked the Noto region as among the best places in Japan for stargazing.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 29, 2024

Stargazing observatory in quake-hit Noto looks forward to reopening

“I want to show everyone little by little the beauty of the starry sky, one of Noto’s attractions," a curator at the observatory said.
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 29, 2024

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani announces marriage

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani announced his marriage via Instagram on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2024

NTT West president to resign over customer information theft

NTT West has been slapped with administrative guidance by the communications ministry for insufficient supervising.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 1, 2024

More than decade after 2011 quake, Japan still slow to compile evacuation plans

The nation has failed to make progress in crafting plans to help evacuate elderly people and people with disabilities in the event of natural disasters.
A housing development next to the Sasol’s petrochemicals plant in Sasolburg, South Africa.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 2, 2024

What it's like to live in the most polluted place on Earth

Coal and steel plants offer steady work for residents in South Africa's Vaal Triangle, yet they’re also pumping out harmful emissions.
Australia forward Sam Kerr celebrates scoring her team's first goal during the 2023 Women's World Cup semifinal soccer match between Australia and England in Sydney on Aug. 16.
SOCCER
Mar 5, 2024

Soccer star Kerr charged with 'racially aggravated offense'

The charges and an injury cast a shadow over Kerr's hopes of playing for Australia at the Paris Olympics
Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia rides during preseason testing at Lusail International Circuit near Doha on Feb. 20.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 6, 2024

'Elegant' Bagnaia on quest for third title as MotoGP turns 75

Unlike Formula One, there are multiple contenders for the title as MotoGP opens its season in Qatar.
A man (Pierre Taki) who gives sea burials to cremated remains finds himself in hot water after a customer asks him to scatter the ashes of a murderer in “Horizon.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 7, 2024

‘Horizon’: Ethical dilemma makes for muted drama

Katsuya Kobayashi gives his cast space to wade through murky moral decisions in his directorial debut, “Horizon.”
Managing Director of Cornerstone Recruitment Japan Director Matt Nicholls says a good recruiter has tenacity, drive and can handle the ups and downs of the job.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 9, 2024

Matt Nicholls: ‘People like having control over their earning potential’

A seasoned recruiter tells us why he's spent the last decade doing business in Japan and what he's learned from growing and leading multinational firms.
Chef Harutomo Hagi's self-named restaurant in Iwaki was selected as the 2023 Japan Times Destination Restaurant of the Year.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Mar 10, 2024

Hagi: French restaurant leads Fukushima revival

The Japan Times’ 2023 Restaurant of the Year is a sterling example of Fukushima’s slow and steady post-disaster revival.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 8, 2024

Group files lawsuit over Japan law that mandates couples share a surname

Similar lawsuits have been filed before, but public opinion appears to be shifting in favor of allowing couples to have separate surnames.
Lion Air’s safety record has been in the spotlight over the years. The privately held carrier has suffered several hull losses, the industry term for aircraft damaged beyond repair.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 10, 2024

Two Indonesian pilots suspended after falling asleep in cockpit

Flight 6723 was on its way to Jakarta from Sulawesi on Jan. 25 when neither the pilot or co-pilot responded to communications.
Masaki Takahashi, Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya and Tatsuji Nojima celebrated winning the Oscar for best visual effects on the Dolby Theatre stage in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 11, 2024

Oscars 2024: A night to remember for Japanese cinema

Filmmaking peers in Hollywood honor the excellence of two Japanese titans: Studio Ghibli and Godzilla
Alexei Navalny looks out of the window of his cell in a detention center in Moscow on Dec. 8, 2011.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 12, 2024

Putin's opposition: Dead, jailed or exiled

Putin's staunchest critic of the last decade, Alexei Navalny, died last month in a prison colony. Dozens of others remain behind bars.
Veteran peace activist Setsuko Yamazato warns of the gathering “clouds of war” in Chie Mikami’s eight-year chronicle of the militarization of Okinawa.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2024

‘Clouds of War’: The real story of Okinawa is its people

“Clouds of War” is an unwieldy but heartfelt portrait of citizens fighting back against militarization in Okinawa.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani(left) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto pose for a portrait on media day at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 21.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 14, 2024

See-through baseball pants become eye-opening controversy for MLB

The league's new uniforms have dominated the conversation during spring training.
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus One,” which won an Academy Award for best visual effects earlier this week, was made for a reported $15 million — a small fraction of the budgets used by its Hollywood competitors.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2024

'Godzilla Minus One' fought the odds and won big at the Oscars

Once mocked, the long-running monster franchise took on Hollywood's behemoths — and won.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 14, 2024

Upper House Abe faction members deny involvement in slush fund scandal

Opposition lawmakers targeted the lack of clarity over the decision to continue a kickback scheme after Abe’s death in 2022.
Satoshi Fujii (second from right), head of a subcommittee of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, speaks at a news conference on Thursday about the potential costs of an inland quake hitting the Tokyo region.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2024

Economic losses from massive Tokyo-area quake estimated to top ¥1 quadrillion

Engineers predict that indirect losses, including suspended production activities due to broken roads and bridges, will reach ¥954 trillion.
Mourners at the grave of Alexei Navalny in Moscow on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Mar 18, 2024

'Not alone': Navalny supporters find solace in election gatherings

The death of Putin's top critic, Alexei Navalny — which allies have blamed on the Kremlin — triggered outrage both abroad and at home.
The Bank of Japan will decide whether to end its negative interest rate policy at its policy board meeting, which ends on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2024

BOJ’s Ueda faces decision time on rate hike

With the end of Japan's negative rate being a near certainty, the only question that remains is whether it comes on Tuesday or at the end of April.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter visit the Gangdong Comprehensive Greenhouse in Pyongyang.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 18, 2024

Daughter of North Korea's Kim might be heir apparent, Seoul says

Seoul's Unification Ministry said it has not "ruled out" that his daughter could be next in line to lead North Korea.
Yuji Takahashi says there is a culture of passing down good furniture for generations in places like northern Europe. He wants such practice to be the norm in Japan as well.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 25, 2024

Craftsman’s works spreads nationwide through furniture with no nails

Yuji Takahashi uses a traditional technique called "sashimono," by which grooves are carved and joints fitted together.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after a policy meeting at the bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2024

BOJ introduces first rate hike in 17 years following pay gains

The negative rates policy, the last one in the world, had been a symbol of the Bank of Japan's ultraloose monetary stimulus lasting over a decade.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.