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The main targets of a new bill on smartphone software are the app stores provided by Google and Apple, as consumers effectively have only two choices for smartphone operating systems: Apple's iOS or Google’s Android.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 22, 2024

Japan aims to curb Apple and Google's smartphone app duopoly

A new bill would compel dominant platforms to allow third parties to launch their own app markets and to offer more payment options.
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."
In trying to govern AI, the U.N. and other institutions need an approach as dynamic, innovative and creative as the pursuit of the technology itself.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2024

We need effective governance to shape AI for good

How can we govern AI so that it serves the interests of humanity? Three key principles can guide the way for the U.N. and other actors undertaking this daunting challenge.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping attend a concert marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations on May 16.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2024

Deepening China-Russian ties: a sign of strength or insecurity?

Russia’s ongoing struggles in Ukraine and economic reliance on China illustrate its weakened position in their partnership.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump sits for his trial at the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on Tuesday.
WORLD
May 22, 2024

How Trump's hush money trial verdict could affect the 2024 election

Jurors could deliver a verdict as soon as next week.
A Chinese military ship northwest of Pengjia Island, off the coast of northern Taiwan, on Thursday
ASIA PACIFIC
May 23, 2024

China's military kicks off large-scale 'punishment' drills around Taiwan

The large-scale joint military exercises come days after the self-ruled island’s new president was sworn into office.
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.
A portrait of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un is displayed at a national meeting to commemorate Kim's 10-year anniversary as head of the country's ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang on April 10, 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 23, 2024

Kim Jong Un’s portrait elevated to big three in personality cult

Also spotted at a new training school were rare portraits of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.
Artificial-intelligence-related talks in Geneva between China and the U.S. yielded no concrete agreements, but the conversations set the stage for continued engagement on safety and risks related to the technology.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024

Seven hours in Geneva hotel highlight U.S.-China struggle on AI

Officials from the U.S. and China stressed in the meeting at the hotel a shared desire to prevent nightmare scenarios like a computer-triggered nuclear war.
Ecuador has sought funding to fight the effects of climate change, including a June 2023 flood that followed heavy rains in Esmeraldas. So far, the developed world has offered the debt-strapped nation more loans than grants.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 23, 2024

Rich nations reap climate finance dividend, benefiting from rates and terms

Developed nations have pledged to send $100 billion a year to poorer countries to aid adaptation, but money from the deals is being funneled back into rich economies.
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang delivers a keynote address on the latest innovations in AI, during a developers conference at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, on March 18. Nvidia on Wednesday issued a second-quarter revenue forecast of about $28 billion, topping the $26.8 billion predicted by analysts.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2024

Nvidia delivers on AI hype, igniting $140 billion stock rally

Its shares rose as much as 7.8% in extended trading on Wednesday, taking them above $1,000 for the first time.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, soaked in rain,  pauses as he delivers a speech to announce July 4 as the date of the U.K.'s next general election, at 10 Downing Street in London on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024

Sunak gambles on July 4 election as Tories struggle in polls

The leading opposition party holds a poll lead of about 20 points that Sunak has been unable to shift since he took over from Liz Truss in late 2022.
A damaged multistory apartment block, a section of which collapsed as the result of what local authorities called a Ukrainian missile strike, in the city of Belgorod, Russia, on May 13
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024

Inside the White House, a debate over letting Ukraine shoot U.S. weapons into Russia

Russia’s forces have placed weapons right across the Ukrainian border and aimed them at Kharkiv — knowing weaponry that can be used in response is limited.
Managing India's regional tensions will be critical for the nation's future, as demographic shifts and economic disparities threaten to exacerbate existing divides.
COMMENTARY / World
May 23, 2024

Hindu-Muslim split isn’t India’s most dangerous divide

If the long-established consensus around states’ rights continues to erode, India will be in real trouble.
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.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s ERA in nine starts since returning from Seoul is 2.38.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 23, 2024

Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto finds rhythm on mound after early stumble

Yamamoto has impressed even the organization that went out and committed $375 million (including posting fees) to add him to its roster this winter.
A bill on checking sex crime records of people seeking jobs involving contacts with children passes the Lower House on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 23, 2024

Lower House OKs bill to create Japanese version of DBS

The bill aimed at preventing sexual offenses against children was approved unanimously at a plenary meeting.
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.
Jera’s Hekinan thermal power station in Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture
BUSINESS
May 24, 2024

Jera warns of switching investment from Australia over lack of support

The lack of financial support for production of hydrogen and ammonia took some of the shine off Australia as a destination for Japanese investment.
Though he enjoyed making films when he was younger, Ryan Filiatrault wound up working a slew of other jobs before returning to his passion in his 30s.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 24, 2024

Ryan Filiatrault: 'Failure is an obstacle not a barrier. You can always get back on track.'

The Canadian filmmaker has taken a regimented approach to following his passion — and it has worked.
Chinese military vessels sail in an unknown location around Taiwan on Thursday amid joint military drills aimed at punishing the self-ruled island and its new president.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 24, 2024

China says Day 2 of Taiwan drills tests ability to 'seize' key areas

The Chinese military said the exercises test its ability “to jointly take control of (the) battlefield and launch joint strikes, and to seize control of crucial areas.”
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.
Japan's Hanako Utsumi is tackled by Fiji's Adi vani Buleki during a women's rugby sevens quarterfinal match at the HSBC Rugby Sevens Singapore tournament in Singapore on May 4.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
May 24, 2024

Women's rugby in Japan braces for a boom

The club game is getting stronger as teams move toward a more professionalized model.
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.
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.
Takashi Miike (front left) is among the big-name directors slated to work with K2 Pictures, a new film production startup that aims to disrupt the Japanese film industry.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 25, 2024

Can K2's goal of creating a better film industry in Japan win over skeptics?

While established auteurs such as Takashi Miike, Miwa Nishikawa and Hirokazu Kore-eda are slated to work with the startup, it still faces an uphill struggle.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday
WORLD / Politics
May 25, 2024

Putin wants Ukraine cease-fire on current front lines, sources say

The Russian president is also prepared to fight on if Kyiv and the West do not respond, according to sources.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 25, 2024

U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs to meet this week, as military drills around Taiwan end

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, this week for the first time, the Pentagon said Friday.
A Ukrainian billboard encouraging people to enlist in the army, in Kostyantynivka, Ukraine.
WORLD
May 25, 2024

Ukraine starts freeing some prisoners to join its military

Nearly 350 inmates have been freed under a new law that allows them to serve in exchange for the possibility of parole, the country’s justice minister said.
A protester holds a placard stating "Sunak Supports Genocide" in support of Palestinians as police stand guard during a visit from Britain's Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak to Cannock College, in Cannock, Staffordshire, England, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
May 25, 2024

Sometimes U.S. and U.K. politics seem in lock step. Not this year.

In 2016, Britain voted for Brexit and America for Trump, heralding a populist wave. Both countries face pivotal elections this year — but their paths appear to have diverged.

Longform

Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo