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Despite bustling cities like Tokyo and Osaka, Japan faces a rising number of abandoned properties, particularly in rural areas, which pose risks to communities and economies.
EDITORIALS
May 3, 2024

Abandoned homes will be a big part of Japan’s future

Statistics reveal a significant increase in vacant and abandoned homes, with projections indicating a further rise unless addressed soon.
Naoya Inoue (left) and Luis Nery following a pre-fight news conference in Yokohama on Saturday, two days ahead of their super bantamweight title fight.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
May 5, 2024

'Monster' Inoue ready to tear down Luis Nery in title defense at Tokyo Dome

Ahead of boxing's highly anticipated return to the Big Egg, Naoya “Monster” Inoue said he's ready to knock out his opponent.
Mikuni Minato is not a town that has recently fallen on hard times — it's been that way for a century.
LIFE / Travel
May 7, 2024

48 hours in Mikuni Minato, Japan’s port town that time forgot

A trip to Mikuni Minato may not appeal to the average tourist, but well-traveled residents will find it fascinating.
The Kioke Summit on Shodoshima has seen a steady rise in participants from dozens in its early days 12 years ago and about 100 in 2019 to more than 600 this past February.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 8, 2024

On Japan’s island of olives, age-old shoyu secrets survive

Each Kioke Summit features many activities including a "kioke" auction — shoyu fermentation barrels that fetch anywhere from ¥60,000 to ¥450,000.
Her, a self-described feminist bar in Shanghai, on March 15. Women in Shanghai gather in bars, salons and bookstores to reclaim their identities as the country’s leader calls for China to adopt a “childbearing culture.”
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
May 7, 2024

In China, ruled by men, women quietly find a powerful voice

Women in Shanghai gather to reclaim their identities as the country’s leader calls for China to adopt a “childbearing culture.”
Grant Shapps, U.K. defense secretary, departs following a meeting of cabinet ministers at 10 Downing Street on Nov. 22, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 8, 2024

China seen hacking systems to build profiles of U.K. defense personnel

The U.K. is accusing China of using hacked data to build up their profiles of British military personnel and those in sensitive roles.
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.
Andy Summers’  exhibition “A Series of Glances,” currently on view in Tokyo and Kyoto simultaneously, features photographs taken in a wide range of locations around the world, including “Centaur,” which was snapped in Montserrat in July 1981.
CULTURE / Art
May 9, 2024

Andy Summers captures life on and off stage in moody monochrome

The guitarist for The Police, who cites Akira Kurosawa as an important influence, puts his passion for photography on display in Japan.
The Olympic flame sits on board the Belem as the boat sails near the coast of Marseille, France, on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS
May 9, 2024

Olympic flame arrives on French soil for 2024 Paris Games

"It marks the end of preparations, the Games arrive in the life of the French people," French President Emmanuel Macron said.
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.
A view of Matazo Kayama’s folding screen paintings reproduced on ceramic panels by Otsuka Ohmi Ceramics, displayed at Simose Art Museum.
CULTURE / Art
May 11, 2024

Art and architecture come together at Simose Art Museum

Tradition and innovation converge at Shimose Art Museum. For it first anniversary, the venue is spotlighting trailblazer nihonga artist Matazo Kayama.
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...
Urawa's Kiko Seike (right) celebrates with Yu Endo during the AFC Women’s Championship Cup at Urawa Komaba Stadium in Saitama on Friday.
SOCCER
May 13, 2024

Kiko Seike shines as Urawa Reds Ladies add two titles to collection over weekend

Urawa won the AFC Women’s Championship Cup on Friday and clinched the WE League title on Sunday.
Penny Sackett, a former director of the Australian National University’s Mount Stromlo Observatory, in the remains of the observatory, which was destroyed by a wildfire in 2003, just outside Canberra on May 6.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 14, 2024

Alarmed by climate change, astronomers train their sights on Earth

Seeing how climate change has impacted the earth, many astronomers have left science to become full-time activists.
Sony Group is missing analyst expectations for sales as demand for its PlayStation 5 hardware wanes.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2024

Sony sales outlook misses estimates on waning demand for PS5s

Shares in Sony have been under pressure this month amid mounting speculation about the terms of its potential $26 billion bid for Paramount Global.
Oleksandr Usyk punches Tyson Fury during their fight in Riyadh on Saturday. Usyk won to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
May 19, 2024

Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury to become undisputed heavyweight champion

Usyk is the first undisputed heavyweight champion in nearly 25 years.
Missile systems form part of the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9. The FBI tries to maintain a tricky balance in spy operations: the more access informants have to valuable intelligence, the higher the risk that they could be compromised.
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2024

FBI shed informants linked to Russian influence operations

After a secret review several years ago, the bureau cut off confidential sources thought to be connected to Russian disinformation.
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.
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.
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.
Yasuke, a historical Black samurai, will star in the newly announced Assassin's Creed Shadows — a choice that has riled some critics online.
LIFE / Digital
May 25, 2024

Gaming's latest culture war targets Yasuke, Japan's Black samurai

For a vocal minority of gamers, a Black protagonist of a game set in feudal Japan was a call to war.
Volunteers from a neighborhood committee stand watch on a street in Beijing on April 3.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 27, 2024

Xi Jinping’s recipe for total control: An army of eyes and ears

The goal is no longer just to address specific threats, but to embed the Chinese Communist Party so deeply in daily life that no trouble can even arise.
A government panel in charge of promoting women's active engagement in professional life has said gender wage gaps may be behind the outflows of young women from rural areas in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
May 28, 2024

Gender wage gaps seen behind outflows of women from rural areas

Experts have said that local governments need to make wage gap rectification part of regional revitalization efforts in order to stem outflows of women.
This untitled work was completed and installed in 1994 by a prominent Nigerian artist named Sunday Jack Akpan.
COMMUNITY / Voices / Black Eye
Jun 3, 2024

How a cache of African art found a home in western Tokyo

When I first encountered these statues, I was just minding my business headed for Tachikawa Station. I was struck dumb, paralyzed damn near mid-step.
Bidet toilets are the norm in Japan, where more than 80% of homes have one. But their numbers are growing worldwide.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 2, 2024

Feeling flush: Japan's high-tech toilets go global

Sales are surging abroad and especially in the United States, led by A-list bidet fans such as Drake, the Kardashians and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
A Boeing 777-300ER aircraft operated by Singapore Airlines at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on May 22
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2024

Killer turbulence sees more airlines embrace data-driven mindset

Turbulence Aware was launched by IATA in 2018 to help airlines mitigate the impact of turbulence, the No. 1 cause of passenger and crew injuries in the air.
Ukrainian soldiers patrol a heavily war-damaged area of the town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine on May 20.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2024

Ukraine and its allies need a new strategy. Here’s a start.

With the war in Ukraine, stop talking about ‘liberal’ democracy and the ‘rules-based international order.’
An individual said to be a key member of a group involved in the laundering of proceeds derived from criminal activities — 41-year-old Ryohei Fujii — has been arrested by the Osaka Prefectural Police in connection with the scheme.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 5, 2024

Osaka police looks to freeze 1,300 accounts in money laundering bust

Typically, such police requests are made on an individual basis, but in this case the police have taken the unusual step of requesting a blanket freeze.
Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 6, 2024

Alphabet taps Eli Lilly executive as new CFO replacing Porat

Anat Ashkenazi will replace Ruth Porat who announced last year she planned to step down.
Ryoma Takeuchi (right) will star as the protagonist in an upcoming adaptation of the Like a Dragon game franchise directed by Masaharu Take (left).
LIFE / Digital
Jun 6, 2024

When will a Japan-made game have a breakout TV adaptation?

There are far too many gems in the Japanese gaming world for there not to be even one capable of translating to success as a TV series.

Longform

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