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A new system under which bicycle riders pay fines for minor traffic violations to escape criminal punishment is expected to be introduced in Japan no later than 2026.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 17, 2024

Japan passes bill to introduce 'blue ticket' fines for cyclists

The new system will be applied to offenders aged 16 and above who breach traffic regulations.
Legislation that allows the option of joint custody of children after divorce is passed at the Upper House plenary session on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 17, 2024

Japan changes law to allow joint custody after divorce

For decades in Japan, one parent — almost always the mother — has been granted legal custody when a marriage ends.
The Lower House Judicial Affairs Committee approves legislation to introduce a new training scheme for foreign workers on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 17, 2024

Japan parliamentary panel OKs bill on training foreign workers

It will replace the foreign technical intern program with a new training scheme to allow foreigners to work in Japan for the medium to long term.
Members of the Self-Defense Forces are dispatched to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in January after a massive quake. The SDF will conduct a week-long quake drill in Hokkaido starting Monday.
JAPAN
May 19, 2024

Japan SDF to conduct drill for quake in Pacific trenches

The drill includes about 12,000 SDF members, U.S. troops in Japan and Australian military personnel and the Hokkaido prefectural government.
A couple looks out onto the Fukuoka nightscape. Due to its distance from Tokyo and its close proximity to South Korea and China, professor Tomoya Mori believes that Fukuoka is one of the few metropolitan regions of Japan that will see some form of growth in the decades to come.
JAPAN / Society / Perspectives
May 20, 2024

Why half of Japan's cities are at risk of disappearing in 100 years

Professor Tomoya Mori believes depopulation will alter the urban landscape of Japan in an unexpected way.
Kazuma Kaya reacts after his routine on the parallel bars during the men's apparatus finals at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp on Oct. 8.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
May 21, 2024

Team Japan in Paris will be strongest, says gymnastics medalist Kaya

To date, Japan has a haul of seven Olympic gold medals in the team discipline, the most of any country.
A worker installs a mesh barrier to block the view of Mount Fuji emerging from behind a convenience store in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Tuesday. The measure follows complaints of bad behaviors by tourists seeking the perfect photo at the location.
JAPAN / Society
May 21, 2024

Weary of overtourism, Japan town blocks one popular view of Mount Fuji

The large mesh barrier was put up at the popular photo-taking spot in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, in response to misbehaving tourists.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara is expected to hold bilateral talks with  his South Korean counterpart, Shin Won-sik, during the Shangri-La Dialogue to be held in Singapore from May 31.
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2024

Tokyo and Seoul to bolster defense ties with deal to prevent radar row repeat

The two neighbors' defense ministers hope to use an agreement to kick-start their defense relationship, which has been in limbo since the incident.
A visitor to the Japan Olympic Museum walks past a display of the Olympic Rings on a wet day in central Tokyo on May 1.
JAPAN
May 26, 2024

Japan wrestles with legacy of graft-stained Games in Paris warning

Cost overruns, corruption and COVID-19 all tarnished the Japanese public's memory of the Tokyo Olympics.
Toyota Land Cruisers bound for shipment at Yokohama port
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 21, 2024

Surge in luxury car thefts in Japan spurs call for preventative measures

Stolen vehicles are often illegally exported, leading authorities to call for increased vigilance.
Former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and new President Lai Ching-te wave during an inauguration ceremony outside the Presidential Office in Taipei on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2024

China rebukes Japanese and South Korean lawmakers visiting Taiwan

Beijing's embassy in Tokyo said the visit seriously contravened the spirit of Sino-Japanese commitments.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2024

Japan's revised immigration bill clears Lower House

Permanent residency holders may have their status revoked if they deliberately fail to pay their taxes, impacting only those "with malicious intent."
Japan's new whaling mothership, the Kangei Maru, is seen during the ship's launch ceremony at a port in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 22, 2024

Japan's new 9,300-ton whaling vessel sets sail on first hunt

The departure of the Kangei Maru heralds a new era for an industry defended by the government as an integral part of Japanese culture.
A tourist shops at a drug store in the Asakusa district of Tokyo on April 30.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 22, 2024

Japan panel sets out plans to accelerate drug discovery efforts

Ideas include calling in help from well-established firms overseas and having them work with "accelerators" to nurture local talent into "star scientists."
Science and technology policy minister Sanae Takaichi (center) speaks at a meeting of the government's AI Strategy Council on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 23, 2024

Japan to discuss AI regulations as early as summer

The government's AI Strategy Council will discuss the introduction of legislation that will work alongside guidelines drawn up in April for AI business operators.
Many drugmakers that have entered the generic drug market are producing a wide range of medicine in small quantities, resulting in an inefficient system, the health ministry panel noted.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 23, 2024

Health ministry panel urges consolidation in Japan's drug sector

In an effort to tackle an ongoing shortage of generic drugs, a health ministry panel says smaller drugmakers should merge with bigger companies.
Japan's new whaling mother ship, the Kangei Maru, arrives at Ariake pier in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN
May 23, 2024

WiFi, drones and sharp blades on Japan's whaling mother ship

The country has a quota this year of around 350 Bryde's, minke and sei whales.
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.
A transport ministry probe into Japan Airlines on Friday targeted daily operations pertaining to flight operations and safety management at company facilities near Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, including JAL's safety promotion headquarters.
JAPAN
May 24, 2024

Emergency probe of Japan Airlines carried out following incidents

The on-site investigation comes after the wings of two JAL planes collided while the aircraft were on Haneda Airport’s parking apron.
The increase in foreign student numbers in Japan came after the government started to gradually lift its COVID-19 travel restrictions in 2022.
JAPAN / Society
May 24, 2024

Foreign student numbers in Japan grew in 2023

A survey found 279,274 foreign students in the country as of May 2023, up 20.8% from a year earlier but still below prepandemic levels.
Frequent hydration and the use of parasols are believed to be needed more than usual this year to weather out the expected heat spell.
JAPAN
May 25, 2024

Japan set to suffer another scorching summer

Depending on weather conditions, this summer may be catastrophically hot, matching the heat last summer.
Japan's saury catches fell to roughly 18,000 tons in 2022, hitting a record low for the fourth straight year, before picking up slightly to around 25,000 tons last year.
JAPAN
May 25, 2024

Saury fading from Japan's dining tables amid poor catches

Catches of saury are mired in a prolonged slump with no signs of recovery in sight, and those that are caught are often lean and expensive.
Royalty took the top image spots on the June 3, 1924, edition of The Japan Times. In addition to Japan's imperial celebrations, the paper nodded to the birthday of Britain's King George V.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jun 1, 2024

Japan Times 1924: Tokyo gaily makes merry

After having suffered from a devastating earthquake the previous year, a royal wedding brings back a celebratory mood to the capital.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets with Chinese Premier Li Qiang for bilateral talks in Seoul on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 26, 2024

Kishida meets China's Li and South Korea's Yoon before trilateral summit

The Japanese leader discussed improving ties with Seoul and how to stabilize Tokyo's relationship with Beijing in separate bilateral talks.
A North Korean rocket carrying a spy satellite is prepared for launch in a location given as North Gyeongsang province in this image released on Nov. 21.
JAPAN
May 27, 2024

North Korea announces plans to launch satellite by June 4

The announcement came hours before top leaders from Japan, South Korea and China gathered for a rare trilateral summit in Seoul.
Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome can be caused by bacteria called group A streptococcus.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 27, 2024

STSS infections growing at record pace in Japan

The patient tally this year had reached 851 as of May 12, with the figure being 2.8 times higher than a year before.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a joint news conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (center) and Chinese premier Li Qiang at the Blue House presidential office in Seoul on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 27, 2024

In rare talks, Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing agree to step up cooperation

While Monday's summit didn't result in any breakthroughs, it is seen as an important step to stem the deterioration of Japan and South Korea's ties with China.
A peace rally on Constitution Memorial Day in Tokyo on May 3. Japan’s identity as a pacifist nation is shifting as the government strengthens its military, but many don’t agree with the policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 27, 2024

Government and society are at odds on national security

Tokyo posits itself as a mutual defense ally of the U.S., but polls show that while the public wants a stronger military, changes should align with the peace Constitution.
In September 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order outlining what technology areas would be considered critical in the government's process for reviewing inbound investments that could pose a threat to national security.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 27, 2024

How will Japan respond to new U.S. investment rules?

Washington is reforming inbound and outbound investment rules in the context of economic security concerns. Japan needs to prepare for these changes.
The European Organization for Nuclear Research's Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest particle accelerator, is depicted as a circle in tactile drawing in the new book, as opposed to the three-dimensional figure in the source material that makes it appear oval, to avoid misunderstanding.
JAPAN / Society
May 29, 2024

Japan translates physics book into braille

The book was produced through cooperation among the authors of the source material, braille experts and researchers with visual impairment.

Longform

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