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Japan's jobless rate decreased to 2.4% in September, falling to its lowest level since January.
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2024

Job market tightened in September, supporting wage gains and BOJ policy goals

Higher demand for workers is expected to pressure companies to raise salaries to retain them, potentially feeding into a virtuous cycle between prices and wages.
The health ministry’s report shows that the number of elementary, junior high and high school students who took their own lives in 2023 stood at 513, one fewer than last year's record of 514.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 29, 2024

Japan’s struggle with youth suicide sparks government initiatives

The health ministry’s report shows that the number of elementary, junior high and high school students who took their own lives remained alarmingly high.
North Korean special forces soldiers march and shout slogans during a military parade marking the 105th anniversary of the birth of the country's founding father, Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang in April 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Oct 29, 2024

North Korean troops in Russia could have dangerous ramifications for Asia

Kim Jong Un's decision to send soldiers amid the war in Ukraine highlights the gamble he appears to be willing to take in his strategic relationship with Moscow.
Masayoshi Son last month invested $500 million in OpenAI through his Vision Fund, having missed out on the AI company’s previous funding rounds.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 30, 2024

Masayoshi Son inflates the AI bubble even more

Masayoshi Son last month invested $500 million in OpenAI through his Vision Fund, having missed out on the AI company’s previous funding rounds.
Ringhals nuclear power plant near Varberg, Sweden
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2024

Sweden’s nuclear revival in question as green hangover spreads

A policy U-turn that would entail a massive build-out of reactors, the first to come online in more than 40 years, now appears more unlikely.
Residents walk past wreckage following deadly floods in Sedavi, south of Valencia, eastern Spain, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Oct 31, 2024

Spain's warning system under scrutiny as flood toll rises

Torrential rains that began at the start of the week sparked flooding that has left at least 95 people dead.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2024

Warm weather causes record-breaking delay for autumn foliage in Japan

In many regions, the vibrant color change has been pushed back by more than 10 days, according to a forecast released Wednesday.
Gov. Kazuo Ueda has made it clear over the past few months that any monetary policy moves are dependent on inflation and growth data being aligned with forecasts.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2024

Bank of Japan keeps policy rate steady at 0.25%, as expected

The central bank held its ground this week even as it faced considerable political and economic pressure and significant uncertainty on the horizon.
With the next prime minister needing to be selected soon after the recent election, there are questions about whether the Democratic Party For the People and Nippon Ishin no Kai will support Shigeru Ishiba in his bid to remain Japan’s leader.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 31, 2024

Ishiba's future in question as support from allies wavers

The question now is whether the DPP and Ishin will support the LDP nominee to ensure victory, or if they will nominate their own candidates.
The close for the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Asia’s second-biggest equities market, will be moved back to 3:30 p.m. from Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 1, 2024

High-frequency traders get an extra 30 minutes for Japan stocks

The extra half-hour is raising concerns among market participants who fear the shift will give rise to machine-driven price moves.
Held weekly at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in Tokyo’s Nakano Ward, Tatakai Tuesday brings together both local and visiting fighting game enthusiasts.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Nov 2, 2024

Blood, bruises and brotherhood at Tokyo’s fighting games club

Organizers Jonathan Metoyer and Andrew Fidelis started the events to 'replicate a sense of pressure you’d feel in competitive space.'
People use umbrellas during a hot summer day in Ginza, Tokyo, in August.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 1, 2024

Extreme heat takes big toll on work and elderly mortality in Japan: report

The annual Lancet Countdown report says the world is facing elevated threats in 10 of 15 health indicators due to climate change.
The U.S. aircraft carrier Carl Vinson and two Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers transit the Philippine Sea in April 2017. Washington has recently deployed additional carrier strike groups to the Middle East as tensions in the region grow.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 1, 2024

Both U.S. presidential candidates’ security strategies raise concerns

Whoever wins the election will be strongly constrained by the challenging geopolitical environment. Plus, there is unease about both candidates' foreign policy stances.
Officials gather at the BRICS summit in Russia on Oct. 24. It it estimated that by 2040-2050, the gross domestic product of the Group of Seven countries will be surpassed by that of emerging economies, raising questions as to whether the U.S. is prepared for this shift.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 1, 2024

The U.S. is unprepared for a multipolar world

There is little acknowledgement in the U.S. that the world it now made up of multiple centers of power, which risks making Washington's foreign policy ineffective.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (right) shakes hands with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell before their meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Friday morning, ahead of the announcement of Japan and the EU's new defense and security partnership.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 1, 2024

Japan and EU launch defense and security tie-up amid mutual China concerns

The move is aimed at developing, deepening and strengthening cooperation and dialogue across all areas of security and defense, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya says.
Democratic Party for the People chief Yuichiro Tamaki’s personal YouTube channel has more than 326,000 subscribers, by far the highest number among party leaders.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 1, 2024

How Japan’s new kingmaker party won over young voters

The Democratic Party for the People's election gains can be traced to two different factors: its youth-oriented policies and skillful use of social media platforms.
A perfect storm of political uncertainty at home and abroad is brewing for markets in Japan.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 1, 2024

Investors in Japan place — and hedge — their bets ahead of U.S. election

Donald Trump's lead in U.S. battleground-state polls, coupled with the outcome of Sunday's Lower House election, is fueling bets on the dollar against the yen.
A handful of cases that have already reached the U.S. Supreme Court may herald the beginning of what legal experts expect would be a wave of litigation after the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, in particular if Donald Trump loses again in a race that opinion polls indicate is very tight.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 2, 2024

U.S. Supreme Court girds for rush of election-related litigation

Following the 2020 election that he lost to Joe Biden, Donald Trump and his allies brought a storm of legal cases challenging the outcome.
Japan's Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Tetsuo Saito arrives at Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Oct. 1.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 2, 2024

Land minister Tetsuo Saito set to lead Komeito

Saito will be picked to head the party by its leadership on Thursday, before being formally elected on Nov. 9.
The United Nations Headquarters in New York City
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2024

U.N. panel adopts nuclear abolition resolution proposed by Japan

The resolution mentioned the selection of Nihon Hidankyo, the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, and comes amid a tense security environment.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Salem, Virginia, on Saturday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 3, 2024

Climate skeptics are hatching big plans for a second Trump term

Pushed to the fringes during the Biden administration, they are now preparing to revive coal, gut the EPA and limit the tools used by climate scientists.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, face off in an election Tuesday that will have wide-ranging implications for Japan.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 3, 2024

Status quo or disruption? Breaking down the U.S. election's impact on Japan

Regardless of who wins, Washington is likely to have limited bandwidth to change tack in a significant way with its most important Asian ally.
Plastic waste on a beach in Japan. The rising volume of plastic waste is an increasingly urgent issue for world leaders.
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 5, 2024

Cleaning up pristine beaches means spotting plastic trash from space

New research shows how satellites can help locate plastic waste on beaches.
Takao Doi, a former astronaut and professor at Kyoto University, holds an engineering model of LignoSat wooden satellite during an interview at the university on Oct. 25.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2024

World's first wooden satellite, developed in Japan, heads to space

The palm-sized satellite is tasked to demonstrate the cosmic potential of the renewable material as humans explore living in space.
Workers at a garment factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh, on April 16, 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 5, 2024

AI supports fashion's climate goals, but workers may be left behind

In Bangladesh, about 60% of apparel workers, or 2.7 million people, risk losing their jobs due to automation.
A parent pushes a baby stroller in Shanghai on April 2, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Nov 6, 2024

China's latest cry for more babies may fall on deaf ears

Events aimed at encouraging couples to marry and have babies were criticized for being regressive, disparaging toward women, and reinforcing gender roles.
The National Cancer Center Hospital in Tokyo's Chuo Ward. A study by researchers at the hospital aims to determine whether restoring a healthy intestinal environment can enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy drugs used in cancer treatment.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 6, 2024

Japan explores intestinal flora transplants for cancer treatment

A study aims to determine whether restoring a healthy intestinal environment can make drugs used in the treatment of esophageal and stomach cancers more effective.
The film character Godzilla poses on the red carpet during a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California, in November 2004.  
COMMENTARY
Nov 6, 2024

After nearly three-quarters of a century, Godzilla’s monstrous empire is thriving

The famed Japanese monster went from serious metaphor for nuclear destruction to a kitschy pop culture icon.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 7, 2024

Ishiba holds first phone call with Trump as Japanese PM seeks to build ties

Ishiba called his first one-on-one conversation with Trump "friendly," saying that he expects the two will be able to "speak openly and candidly.”
U.S. President Donald Trump signs one of five executive orders related to the oil pipeline industry in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Jan. 24, 2017.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 7, 2024

From oil to EVs, here’s how Trump’s victory affects energy

The prospect of a Trump-era pullback from some policies promoting emission-free energy has already helped spark a slide in shares of renewable power firms.

Longform

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