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Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 27, 2022

In China’s auto market, electric isn’t the future. It’s the present.

This year, the U.S. passed a key threshold of EVs accounting for 5% of new car sales. China passed that level in 2018.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 5, 2022

Trying to cool down without the air conditioning? Look to Kyoto and Brisbane for some ideas.

Temperatures are up and that means a lot of us are trying anything to beat the heat.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
May 12, 2022

Google is remaking search and maps for the TikTok generation

The new features include ways for people to search for nearby items using images and identify physical objects with their smartphone cameras.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 19, 2022

Tesla autopilot stirs U.S. alarm as ‘disaster waiting to happen’

Regulators are applying greater scrutiny to Tesla's driver-assistance system than ever before, which could tarnish the company's reputation with consumers and spook investors.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Top 5
Mar 13, 2022

Tokyo's top tonkatsu make for a hefty meal

The hearty pork cutlet is a favorite choice for lunch in Japan. Thankfully, Tokyo has no shortage of places that serve it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 16, 2022

‘Kofu II’: Meitei’s sonic landscapes conjure the Japan of yesteryear with Edo aesthetics

Meitei has come a long way from the chilly, ambient flavors of his 2019 album “Komachi.” That offering, released on Berlin label Metron Records, left us with a headful of fragile soundscapes and nature-inspired sculptures — much of it born of a ghostly lo-fi world.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 28, 2020

Masters of their craft: Japanese artisans go abroad to preserve a cultural tradition

Three Japanese artisans fight to save traditional crafts in their adopted homeland
Japan Times
Special Supplements
Oct 2, 2020

Explore inspirations of classic Japanese aesthetic from daily life

Beauty is all around us. Whether it be vibrant, intricately designed attire or elegant tableware, the objects that surround us color the canvas of our daily lives. Since its opening in 1961, the Suntory Museum of Art has organized exhibitions that highlight the relationship between Japanese antiques...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 20, 2020

Subaru taps Xilinx for chip to allow hands-free traffic-jam driving

The feature will only be available in Japan, and will require the vehicle to be loaded with high-resolution mapping data.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Nov 22, 2019

Study reveals music's universal patterns

From love songs to dance tunes to lullabies, music made in disparate cultures worldwide displays certain universal patterns, according to a study by researchers who suggest a commonality in the way human minds create music.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 13, 2019

CVN: The sound of the Japanese underground

A change in address altered the way Nobuyuki Sakuma approaches his songs. "I think of the music I used to make in Tokyo as a fantasy. It was completely inspired by my own image, what I thought up. It didn't have much to do with what was happening around me or in society," he says.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jun 13, 2019

Summer-flavored fare for an elegant evening

Nothing complements summer evenings in the city quite like the ambiance of exquisite dining within an elegant terrace setting. From July 1 to Sept. 30, the Palace Hotel Tokyo welcomes guests to enjoy its summer dining plan available at restaurant Grand Kitchen.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 17, 2018

Mariya Takeuchi: The pop genius behind 2018's surprise online smash hit from Japan

On the 40th anniversary of singer-songwriter Mariya Takeuchi's debut, The Japan Times sits down with the musician responsible for such classics as 'Sutekina Holiday,' 'September' and the track that has taken the internet by storm, 'Plastic Love.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 25, 2018

Masaaki Yuasa: Anime for the discerning fan

Masaaki Yuasa is one of the most exciting directors working in Japanese animation today, with a three-decade career behind him. Yet until last year, you may not even have heard of him. Long the filmmaker of choice for discerning anime fans, the 53-year-old has had a significant profile boost over the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 14, 2018

Tokyo's fashion week can be for the fans

You don't need to be in the business to take part in Amazon Tokyo Fashion Week. Here's our pick of related events anyone can enjoy.
Utagawa Hiroshige produced several highly successful series of landscape prints over the course of his career, including “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” — the largest collection of his career.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 8, 2024

The definitive guide to Utagawa Hiroshige's masterwork is a feast for the eyes

Ukiyo-e expert Andreas Marks' new book is a rare compendium of the Japanese artist’s landscapes, even by local standards.  
The tradition of koromogae, which involves changing storage spaces for clothes according to the season, is becoming less common, largely due to the increasing adoption of Western-style closets that accommodate all clothing year-round.
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2024

Mothball makers innovate amid shrinking market

The market has been diminishing as synthetic fibers, which are resistant to insect damage, have become widely used in clothing.
High-rise buildings under construction in Tokyo in November last year
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2024

Japan looks to expand preferential measures for Flat 35 home loans

The measures to lower interest rates for those who acquire energy-efficient or earthquake-resistant houses are currently applied only to newly made loan contracts.
Sarvam AI, often described as India’s OpenAI, introduced software for businesses that can interact with customers using spoken voice rather than just text.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 26, 2024

Cheap AI voice bots are suddenly everywhere in India

Startups may turn India into a proving ground for what could be the next frontier of generative artificial intelligence products.
U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith
WORLD / Politics
Aug 28, 2024

Special counsel investigating Trump proceeds with 2020 election case

Special Counsel Jack Smith filed an updated indictment that removes several pages of allegations following a Supreme Court ruling.
Marc Benioff, chief executive officer of Salesforce, speaks during a press conference at the 2024 Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, California, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 18, 2024

Salesforce’s new AI strategy acknowledges that AI will take jobs

The new strategy by Salesforce addresses the investor fear that job losses from AI could hurt the software-as-a-service business model.
 A giant mural of Shohei Ohtani on the side of a hotel in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 5, 2024

Japanese baseball fans flock to LA to see playoff-bound Ohtani

Inside Dodger Stadium, the influence of Japanese fans is clear, from Japanese-language merchandise to cuisine that included bento boxes, sushi and fried octopus.
Violin, a day care center for the elderly, is housed in a building that used be an office of the Kudokai crime syndicate in the city of Kitakyushu. It retains the original look of the Kudokai facility, with its thick steel-plated front door, glittering chandelier and marble floor.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Oct 28, 2024

Former yakuza office repurposed to become elderly care facility

The building that houses Violin, a day care center for the elderly, was once one of the main facilities for the Kudokai syndicate.
The addition of an area in Pacific waters east of Chichijima in the Ogasawara Islands saw Japan's continental shelf expanded by 120,000 square kilometers in July.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2024

Japan expands its continental shelf by 120,000 square kilometers

The expansion has sparked optimism for potential resource development.
According to Fujikyu Railway, a group of around 10 people, who appear to be foreign nationals, boarded a train at Fujikyu-Highland Station on Oct. 16 and filmed themselves dancing onboard before they got off at Otsuki Station.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 25, 2024

Fujikyu Railway weighs legal action over foreign tourist dance video

The video, made by a group that appears to be a New York-based dance troupe, features dancers sliding on the floor and asking for a hand from nearby passengers.
The Japan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale is located in the Giardini, a historic park in the Italian city.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 6, 2024

Venice Biennale: 70 years of bringing Japanese art to the world

The Venice Biennale has been an international showcase for Japanese art for over seven decades. This year, Yuko Mohri is representing Japan at the prestigious event.
The Australian team has connected with the residents of Fuchu during their time in the city.
BASEBALL
Nov 8, 2024

Fuchu becomes home away from home for Australia before Premier12

The Australians have been coming to the Western Tokyo city since 2018.
Beyonce accepts the Innovator award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theater in Los Angeles in April.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 9, 2024

Beyonce leads Grammy nods after trailblazing country album

This year's awards ceremony, held in February 2025, is shaping up to be a battle of pop titans including Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan.
The discovery of the Navaornis hestiae fills the intermediate step in evolution between the first bird-like dinosaurs, such as Archaeopteryx, and living birds.
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 15, 2024

'One-of-a-kind' fossil from Brazil reveals birds' brain evolution

The fossil discovery filled in a gap of 70 million years in the understanding of the evolution of avian neuroanatomy.
The Bluesky social network has soared to one of the top positions in social network downloads in app stores in the past week since the U.S. election. The company reported a recent gain of 700,000 new users joining the social media platform, an alternative to X.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 18, 2024

How Bluesky, alternative to X and Facebook, is handling explosive growth

Bluesky’s meteoric growth underscores its role as a decentralized alternative to traditional social networks, prioritizing user control and developer creativity.

Longform

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