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Despite Shinzo Abe's numerous achievements as prime minister, including job creation and efforts to promote workforce gender equality, recent controversies surrounding his tenure, including ties to controversial groups and scandals within his political faction, have tarnished his image.
COMMENTARY
May 7, 2024

The economic legacy of Japan's longest-serving prime minister

Under Abenomics and the BOJ's monetary policy, employment rose more than under any other Japanese government in the 21st century.
Economic security has evolved to include offensive measures, such as industrial policy. Countries like Japan are increasingly on-shoring strategic industries such as semiconductors, regardless of the cost.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 7, 2024

The shift from economic security to geoeconomics

Economic security started out as a defensive concept, but it has now been weaponized to include an offensive element, morphing into a geoeconomic tool.
Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on April 30.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2024

Japan’s reserves tally likely too early to reflect intervention

Officials continue to conceal whether they have taken action, forcing investors to make educated guesses about the market moves.
Former Shizuoka Vice Gov. Shinichi Omura announces he is running for the gubernatorial election, on April 12.
JAPAN / Politics
May 9, 2024

Campaigning for Shizuoka's next governor kicks off with all eyes on maglev line

A record six candidates are running for the post after the previous governor resigned over controversial remarks.
Cars are pictured with Mount Fuji from a secondhand car dealer in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN
May 9, 2024

Barrier to block view of Mount Fuji delayed

Fujikawaguchiko town is building the screen to deter people from taking pictures of the landmark.
SoftBank is in talks with South Korea's Naver over control of LY, which operates the popular messaging app Line, the telecommunications firm's CEO has said.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2024

SoftBank in talks with Naver over control of Line operator LY

LY is majority owned by a joint venture between SoftBank and Naver.
Ryo Wakabayashi, a distal myopathy patient, lives alone in the city of Fukushima.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Tohoku
May 20, 2024

Persistence pays off with approval of distal myopathy drug

The disease is estimated to affect only 300 to 400 people in Japan.
People in a shopping district in Tokyo in March
BUSINESS / Economy
May 10, 2024

Japan’s households cut outlays as inflation remains sticky

Real outlays decreased 1.2% in March from a year before, falling for the 13th consecutive month.
Photographer Toko Jinno is passionate about documenting the lives of Japan’s fishermen.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 11, 2024

Toko Jinno: 'Eating fish is common in Japan, but the lives of fishers are not so well-known'

Photographer goes behind-the-scenes of the fishing industry in hopes to inspire and educate people to support its workers.
Japan Post CEO Tetsuya Senda (right) and his Seino Transportation counterpart Satoshi Takahashi announce their companies' agreement on joint long-haul truck operations, in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 10, 2024

Japan's logistics firms seek partnerships to cope with driver shortage

Japan Post and Seino Transportation have reached a basic agreement to work together on joint long-haul truck operations.
If Donald Trump returns to the White House, will his foreign policy be as erratic as it was the first time? Would that help or hinder the U.S.? Leaders all over the world are asking themselves these questions.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2024

Would Trump 2.0 rekindle the merits of volatility?

Was Trump's erratic foreign policy an asset or a liability for the U.S.? In capitals all over the world, leaders are weighing the prospect of his return.
LY said in November that there had been unauthorized access of its systems by a third party via Naver's cloud system, causing the leak of the personal data records of more than 300,000 Line users and others.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 10, 2024

Naver exploring options including stake sale in Line operator

Naver apologized for a recent security breach that led the Japanese government to issue administrative guidance.
For the first time in four years, Japan saw the number of corporate bankruptcies exceed 700 in April, Tokyo Shoko Research said Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 11, 2024

Japan corporate bankruptcies rise 28.3% in April

The number of bankruptcies is expected to rise as companies face increased pressure from higher borrowing costs.
Philippine and U.S. Marines watch as a projectile hits a target at sea during a live-fire exercise against an imaginary "invasion" force as part of the annual joint military drills, on a strip of sand dunes in Laoag on Luzon island's northwest coast, on May 6.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 11, 2024

U.S. builds web of arms, ships and bases in the Pacific to deter China

With missiles, submarines and alliances, the Biden administration has built a presence in the region to rein in Beijing’s expansionist goals.
TSMC’s factory in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture
BUSINESS
May 12, 2024

Kumamoto Prefecture wants to host TSMC’s third Japan plant

Kumamoto hopes enough chip-related companies will settle in the prefecture to create something akin to Taiwan’s Hsinchu Science Park.
A government white paper on small and medium enterprises said more than 60% of such firms plan to raise wages this year.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2024

Japan small firms raising wages amid labor shortages, government paper says

The white paper also pointed out that the labor productivity of Japan is lower than that of other members in the OECD.
A woman speaks of her experience of being sent to Macau by an overseas prostitution broker during an interview in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on April 8.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 12, 2024

Three men rearrested over brokering of overseas prostitution

The men sent between 200 and 300 Japanese women to brothels in the United States, Canada and Australia over three years, bringing in roughly ¥200 million.
George Guttridge-Smith brews tea at Kyoto Obubu Tea Farm in Wazuka, Kyoto Prefecture, where he serves as head of international development.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 13, 2024

Is black the new green for Japan’s flagging tea farmers?

With coffee and bottled tea cutting into their potential profits, harvesters in Japan are dabbling in the less-regulated production of black tea.
PRESS
May 17, 2024

昭和初期の混迷期に発行された 「The Japan Times Weekly」 をアーカイブに収録

株式会社ジャパンタイムズはアーカイブをブック形式で検索、閲覧できる『ジャパンタイムズブックビューア』で「The Japan Times Weekly」をデジタル化し、アーカイブでの提供を開始しました。
PRESS
May 17, 2024

New Japan Times Archive release: Early Showa Era publication “The Japan Times Weekly” now available

The Japan Times (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Chairperson, Publisher and President: Minako Suematsu) has now digitized the archival publication "The Japan Times Weekly" and made it available via "Japan Times Book Viewer," a platform that allows users to search and browse the newspaper’s archives...
Katsunobu Kato, former chief Cabinet secretary and a ruling party veteran, says the Bank of Japan must keep a close eye on economic conditions and coordinate carefully with the government in working out when to raise rates.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2024

Japan on track to normalize monetary policy, says ruling party heavyweight

The weak yen has inflated import costs, hurting consumption and creating headaches for policymakers looking to shore up a fragile economic recovery.
A reconstructed skeleton of <i>Futabasaurus suzukii</i> (top) and its fossil's replica are displayed at the Iwaki City Coal and Fossil Museum (Horuru) in Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
May 13, 2024

Fukushima fossil museum marks 40 years of unearthing history

The discovery of the fossil of a new genus of plesiosaur in 1968 led to the birth of the museum, which now hosts its replica and reconstructed skeleton.
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu's squad will face the United States in Kansas City ahead of the Paris Olympics.
SOCCER
May 13, 2024

U.S. to face Japan in final tuneup for Paris Olympics

The United States men's Olympic soccer team will play its final warmup against Japan in Kansas City ahead of the tournament in France in July.
Investing in Japanese stocks becomes harder if the yen continues to weaken, head of Japan active investments at BlackRock warns.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 13, 2024

BlackRock warns weak yen deters foreigners from Japan stocks

The Nikkei 225 has declined more than 6% amid concerns the currency is becoming a liability for domestic consumer spending and import costs.
Officers from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police raid the Tsubasa no To office in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 13, 2024

Political party Tsubasa no To investigated over election obstruction

The group is suspected of interfering with the campaign activities of candidates in the recent by-election in Tokyo’s No. 15 district.
Japan’s custody system may soon change with the introduction of joint custody, though issues like a lack of protection against domestic violence and abuse must also be tackled.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 10, 2024

Joint custody alone won’t fix Japan’s flawed system

Japan could be on the verge of adopting joint custody. While to some this is a step in the right direction, it may not be enough to protect families.
The Northern Lights in Nayoro, Hokkaido, on Saturday
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 13, 2024

In a rare event, the Northern Lights show up in Hokkaido

The aurora borealis was also observed across the Tohoku region.
Pending the offer’s success, I’rom Group will be delisted and Blackstone will own 55% of the company.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2024

Blackstone to take Japan drug trial firm private in management buyout

A tender offer will be made to acquire I’rom Group shares at ¥2,800 per share — a roughly 50% premium to Monday’s closing price of ¥1,873.
China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi (left), and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul walk with other officials during their talks in Beijing on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 14, 2024

South Korea and China's top envoys eye trilateral summit with Japan

Seoul has not formally announced the date for the summit — the first since 2019 — but media reports have said it will take place on May 26 and 27.
Nippon Ishin no Kai Secretary-General Fumitake Fujita (right) speaks beside Yui Kanazawa, the party's candidate in the Tokyo 15th district by-election on April 28. Nippon Ishin lost in this by-election as well as another in Nagasaki held on the same day.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 14, 2024

Ishin struggles to set itself apart from other parties

The Osaka-based party is weighed down by its Kansai focus as well as its closeness to the LDP, which makes it hard for it to criticize the ruling party.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat