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Ukrainian soldiers carry the coffins of three comrades killed in recent fighting in eastern Ukraine during their funeral in the western city of Lviv on Dec. 20.
WORLD
Dec 28, 2024

Ukraine risks losing all Russian land it seized within months, U.S. says

With a more concerted effort by Moscow to push Ukrainian troops out of Kursk, possibly as soon as next month, Kyiv’s forces may only be able to hold the land until spring.
Poland's Iga Swiatek practices in Sydney on Friday.
TENNIS
Dec 28, 2024

Swiatek feared more negative public response after failed doping test

Swiatek tested positive in an out-of-competition sample in August but the ITIA, which runs tennis's anti-doping program, accepted that it was caused by contamination.
Evacuated people rest at a green house converted into an evacuation center in the aftermath of an earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 2. Japan is preparing to create a disaster management agency, with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba particularly keen to improve the conditions of emergency shelters for disaster evacuees.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 30, 2024

Japan preparing to create disaster management agency

Disaster-related deaths exceeded 220 in the 2016 quake disaster in Kumamoto Prefecture and topped 240 in the Noto Peninsula temblor.
The start of the 2024 Hakone Ekiden in Tokyo's Otemachi district. Every year on Jan. 2 and 3, Hakone Ekiden brings millions of fans across Japan to a standstill.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 31, 2024

A newcomer’s guide to the Hakone Ekiden experience

Every year on Jan. 2 and 3, Hakone Ekiden brings millions of fans across Japan to a standstill, even people who normally don’t care about running.
Members of the Wajima City Morning Market Association pose for a group photograph on the site where the market once stood.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Dec 30, 2024

In the wake of disaster, the revival of Wajima's market brings hope

Wajima's morning market on the Noto Peninsula was devastated a year ago. Now, led by women vendors and bold ideas, it is rising as a symbol of resilience.
Atsushi Mimura, vice minister of finance for international affairs, speaks during an interview at the ministry on Dec. 20.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 30, 2024

Japan sees G7 role increasing in divided world

"There are not many countries like Japan that can speak with the U.S. on equal terms," said top financial diplomat Atsushi Mimura.
Hisamido set up a return box at its bookstore in Machida, Tokyo, to allow its customers to borrow and return books owned by municipal libraries.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2024

Japanese bookstores collaborate with libraries for survival

A survey found that 493 municipalities had no bookstores as of November 2024.
A satellite image shows the Sverdlov plant in Dzerzhinsk, Russia, on Sept. 13, 2022.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 31, 2024

The Russian billionaires whose chemical factories fuel Moscow's war machine

The analysis demonstrates how heavily plants forming part of Russia's war machine rely on the chemical factories.
A Starlink antenna placed at a public facility in disaster-hit Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Dec. 10
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2024

Ishikawa municipalities weigh Starlink service one year after earthquake

Municipal officials think that Starlink is effective in securing communication methods in the early days of a disaster.
The city of Kumamoto has seen a surge in the number of students from Taiwan, following the arrival of chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and related businesses in Kumamoto Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 31, 2024

Kumamoto public schools respond to influx of Taiwanese students

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s arrival in Kumamoto has heightened the need to adapt to the needs of Taiwanese families.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks at a news conference after a policy meeting in Tokyo on Dec. 19.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 1, 2025

After historic year, the Bank of Japan ambles into 2025

Two or three rate hikes expected this year could take the central bank's benchmark to 1% for the first time in three decades.
An Air Self-Defense Force airman sets up a drone during a bilateral live fire exercise at Draughon Range, near Misawa Air Base, in Aomori Prefecture in July 2023.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 5, 2025

Taking a page from Ukraine war, SDF carves out growing role for drones

Whether for use in the air, on land or at sea, the SDF is gradually integrating these increasingly capable and often autonomous systems into their units.
The Nippon Steel logo is displayed at the company's headquarters in Tokyo in April.
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2025

Nippon Steel offers U.S. government veto power in bid for U.S. Steel approval

The Japanese firm offered to give the U.S. government a veto over any reduction in U.S. Steel's production capacity.
On the first day of the 2000s, the world was relieved that the Y2K computer glitch was mostly nothing. And in Russia, Vladimir Putin came to power.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jan 1, 2025

Japan Times 2000: Japanese celebrate new year

Check out what was on the front page on Jan. 1 in 1925, 1950, 1975 and 2000.
A policeman stands near where people were killed by a man driving a truck in an attack during New Year's celebrations in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 2, 2025

Trucks in New Orleans attack and Las Vegas explosion were rented using the same app

Renters of both vehicles had used Turo, a peer-to-peer app. Officials are investigating possible connections between the two cases.
A birth notification document issued by Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. Family registers, which record and certify citizens' familial relationships from birth to death, currently do not include the phonetic readings of names.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 2, 2025

Family registers to incorporate phonetic readings of names from end-May

Citizens who wish to register readings that differ from those listed on certificates of residence must notify municipal governments within a year.
Populist and far-right parties globally are gaining working-class support as center-left parties fail to address their economic concerns and cultural disconnects.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 10, 2024

The working class and the rise of populism

Talking about creating good jobs in the industries of the future is not the same as doing it. Workers want bold, effective leaders who will take concrete action.
A member of the FBI Evidence Response Team searches through trash as federal and local authorities investigate a townhouse in relation to the explosion in Las Vegas of a Tesla Cybertruck, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Thursday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 3, 2025

Police identify driver of exploded Tesla Cybertruck as U.S. Army soldier

The FBI said it had so far found no definitive link between the New Year's Day New Orleans truck attack that killed 15 people and the Cybertruck explosion.
Incorporating modern technologies into your Japanese classes might be a way to connect with younger students.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 3, 2025

Start the new year with a fresh approach to teaching Japanese

It’s important for language instructors to update their methods to best appeal to their younger students.
The Japan Transport Safety Board, which last month released an interim report on a deadly collision between a Japan Airlines passenger plane and a Japan Coast Guard aircraft at Haneda Airport a year ago, plans to a final report outlining measures to prevent a recurrence.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2025

Safety board to further analyze JAL jet collision at Haneda

The Japan Transport Safety Board will compile a final report that includes measures to prevent any recurrence of similar accidents.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is shown around by South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul during a working luncheon at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 6, 2025

Blinken fends off questions over U.S. stance on South Korea turmoil

The United States “has confidence in the resilience of South Korea’s democracy and the strength of its institutions,” the U.S. Secretary of State said in Seoul.
U.S. President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Nov. 13. Trump’s presidency is expected to disrupt U.S. energy transition efforts through weakened policies and heightened trade tensions.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2025

Can Biden’s green boom survive Trump’s wrecking ball?

The incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump promises to undo at least some of the progress made on decarbonization under President Joe Biden.
A man walks past a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing a ballistic missile, in Seoul on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 6, 2025

North Korea fires off intermediate-range missile in first launch of 2025

The missile, thought to be an IRBM carrying a hypersonic warhead, flew some 1,100 kilometers (683 miles) before splashing down in waters outside Japan's EEZ.
Taiwanese flags along a street in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on Dec. 9
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 6, 2025

Cyberattacks against Taiwan's government doubled in 2024, report says

Most attacks were attributed to China's cyber forces, with telecommunications, transportation and defense among the top targets.
A pedestrian walks past air conditioning units in Tokyo in July. The year 2024 was the hottest for Japan since records began, the Meteorological Agency said.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2025

Japan says 2024 hottest year on record

The average temperatures from January through December were 1.48 degrees Celsius higher than the 1991-2020 average, according to the Meteorological Agency.
Paloma Rheem Holdings is offering to buy Fujitsu General, Fujitsu’s air-conditioner unit.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025

Japanese oven maker to buy out Fujitsu General for $1.6 billion

Paloma Rheem Holdings is offering to pay Fujitsu General stockholders ¥2,808 a share, or as much as ¥164.7 billion.
Solaris secured about €100 million ($103 million) from SBI Holdings for the stake.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025

Japan’s SBI said to agree to take majority stake in Solaris

Germany’s economic struggles have placed a greater burden on the country’s larger fintech companies.
Many Japanese dating apps have ways to detail specific interests that can be as narrow as one particular TV show, game or an artist.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2025

Swiping in Japan: How Gen Z is changing the dating app game

The once-stigmatized apps are flourishing as a new normal for dating among Gen Z in Japan, albeit with a different approach to before.
A Tesla showroom in Beijing in January 2024. In today's world, the car isn’t the biggest moneymaker for automakers; instead, it is the services attached to the connected vehicle.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2025

China’s EVs may change the world in unimaginable ways

China has about 100 EV brands and they claim about 80% of the new electric vehicle market.
Voters take pictures and videos of a candidate campaigning for the Tokyo gubernatorial election in Tokyo's Chuo Ward in June.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 8, 2025

Japanese political parties struggling to use social media effectively

Social media proved to be a powerful campaign tool in 2024 elections, shocking political parties that had stuck to old-fashioned campaigns.

Longform

Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama “Unbound” began airing this month.
Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo’s media maverick