Search - 2023

 
 
A man pours water atop his head outside the Emergency Aid Coalition during a heat wave in Houston in August.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 14, 2023

2023 virtually certain to be warmest year on record, U.S. says

"There is a greater than 99% probability that 2023 will rank as the warmest year on record," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
A child receives an oral Malaria vaccine in Lilongwe, Malawi.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 15, 2024

Rising conflicts globally slowed childhood vaccination rate in 2023, U.N. says

About 14.5 million children failed to get vaccinated in 2023, compared with 13.9 million a year earlier, according to U.N. estimates.
The words of encouragement that star player Shohei Ohtani gave his teammates before their final game against the United States during the World Baseball Classic in March were among those nominated on Thursday to be the buzzwords of the year.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 2, 2023

Japan's 2023 buzzwords reflect light and dark sides of the year

From the year's scandals to its champions, the annual list of buzzword candidates highlights the nation's hope, fears and diversions.
Diggers move piles of coal after it was unloaded from a ship at Lianyungang Port in China's Jiangsu province.
ENVIRONMENT
Dec 16, 2023

Coal use hits record in 2023, Earth's hottest year

The IEA reported that nations would burn even more coal this year than in 2022, but that demand would tail off starting in 2024.
Market players see the yen rallying next year as the Bank of Japan exits the world’s last negative interest rate regime and its global peers cut borrowing costs.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 18, 2023

2023's big currency flop is top pick for year ahead, again

The BOJ's expected unwinding of its ultraeasy monetary policy and the prospects of lower borrowing costs elsewhere set the stage for the yen to rebound.
As Japan’s borders opened back up and tourists eager to document their long-awaited trips to the country streamed back in, 2023 saw a handful of prominent content creators stir up trouble with local residents to grab attention online.
LIFE / Digital / 2023 in Review
Dec 29, 2023

Social media binged on bad behavior in 2023

Mischief makers like Johnny Somali and "sushi terrorism" instigators gained attention online amid a deluge of Japan-related content this year.
Salesforce headquarters in San Francisco.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 29, 2023

Software companies finally had to care about profit in 2023

The pressure was acute for money-losing companies.
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi controls the ball during practice at Florida Blue Training Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday.
SOCCER
Jan 16, 2024

Messi named FIFA player of 2023; Spain's Bonmati wins women's award

Messi, 36, voted the best player by national teams coaches, captains, journalists and fans, helped Inter Miami win the 2023 Leagues Cup.
Tokyo's Ginza shopping district on Wednesday. Spending by visitors totaled a record ¥5.3 trillion in 2023, up by roughly 10% compared with the tally in 2019.
BUSINESS
Jan 17, 2024

Japan’s economy gets boost from 25 million visitors in 2023

A weak yen has helped boost tourists’ spending power, making Japan a much more affordable and attractive destination.
Members of the Community-Reactivating Cooperator Squad living in Tokushima Prefecture meet in the city of Yoshinogawa in the prefecture in December 2022 to learn from each other's experiences.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 5, 2024

Record 7,200 served as 'community reactivators' in FY 2023

The government aims to increase the number of community cooperators to 10,000 by fiscal 2026.
Tokyo's Shibuya Ward offers a ticket to Shibuya Sky, an open-air observation deck at the rooftop of a high-rise building in Shibuya, as a return gift for those who made furusato nozei donations to the ward.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 2, 2024

'Furusato nozei' donations topped ¥1 trillion for first time in 2023

The city of Miyakonojo in Miyazaki Prefecture received the largest amount of donations, at ¥19.3 billion.
Beyond Meat plant-based burger patties for sale at a plant-based grocery store in Hong Kong in June 2019.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2023

The coming disruption of animal production

It will be easier to persuade people to avoid meat from animals if they can eat meat and other animal products that taste like those they know, but do not require raising animals.
From hidden street art to this two-story-tall Pikachu balloon, Yokohama will be blanketed in Pokemon paraphernalia
through Aug. 14.
LIFE / Digital
Aug 10, 2023

Pokemon comes home for the 2023 world championships in Yokohama

For the first time in the Pokemon franchise’s history, its world championships get underway in Japan.
Nadeshiko Japan reached the knockout stage at a fourth consecutive FIFA Women's World Cup before being eliminated in the quarterfinals on Friday by Sweden.
SOCCER / Women's World cup / From the Spot
Aug 15, 2023

Bold steps needed from JFA, WE League to maintain momentum after WWC

After Nadeshiko Japan's inspiring quarterfinal run in New Zealand, the country's soccer bodies must avoid the missteps of the post-2011 boom and bust.
Naoya Hatakeyama’s “Rikuzen Takata 2011-2023” is a display of hundreds of color contact prints of his hometown, Rikuzen Takata, Iwate Prefecture. The images show the shifting landscape of a place that was heavily affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 13, 2023

Tokyo Biennale 2023 seeks healing through art

The contemporary art festival creates safe spaces for its artists and their works by embracing a “we accept anything” maxim.
The city of Lyon after sunrise from the Fourviere esplanade as France issued a "red alert" for four southern regions amid a spell of excessively hot weather in August.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 25, 2023

Record-breaking weather in 2023 shows impact of climate change

July was not only the hottest month in over 170 years of record-keeping, but likely the hottest month in over 100,000 years.
Drag queen Kylie Sonique Love performs at the third edition of Opulence. While the LGBTQ community suffered a few setbacks this year, there were also many occasions in which people could let loose and celebrate the scene.
LIFE / Lifestyle / 2023 in Review
Dec 10, 2023

Politics and pageantry for Japan's LGBTQ community in 2023

The year was one in which more Japanese members of the LGBTQ community began to push for rights such as marriage equality.
Tokyo's Ameyoko shopping district is crowded with shoppers on Saturday.
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2023

Japan saw price hikes on over 30,000 food items in 2023

The figure marks a 25.7% rise from 2022, when prices went up for 25,768 food items.
While Apple has dominated the holiday quarter in recent years, its surge ahead of Samsung over a full year is unprecedented and suggests Apple is weathering an industrywide slump better than its rivals.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2024

Apple passed Samsung as world’s top phone-maker in 2023

Apple's surge ahead of Samsung over a full year is unprecedented and suggests Apple is weathering an industrywide slump better than its rivals.
Oil and gas tanks are seen at an oil warehouse at a port in Zhuhai, China, in October 2018.
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2024

China defies sanctions to make Russia its biggest oil supplier in 2023

Russia shipped a record 107.02 million metric tons of crude oil to China last year, equivalent to 2.14 million barrels per day (bpd), the Chinese customs data showed.
Tokyo's net population inflow rose for the second consecutive year in 2023, reflecting a recovery in the number of people relocating to the capital after pandemic-related restrictions were eased.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2024

Tokyo's net population inflow rose to 68,000 in 2023

The net population inflow, or the number of people moving into Tokyo minus those moving out, rose for the second consecutive year.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government holds an event in Tokyo in November to increase people's awareness for fraud and 'dark' part-time jobs. Recruitment ads for such jobs formed some 90% of deletion requests made to internet service providers last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 15, 2024

Nearly 3,000 postings for 'dark' part-time jobs removed from internet in 2023

Recruitment ads for such jobs formed the bulk of deletion requests made to Japanese internet service providers last year.
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.
Japan’s birth rate has been in decline for decades as more women choose to get married and start a family later in life.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 5, 2024

Japan’s birth rate hit new low in 2023

The latest figure of 1.20 is 0.06 point down from the previous year in 2022 and the lowest since the government started keeping records in 1947.
The number of consultations made by consumers regarding troubles on social media marked a record high in 2023, with people in their 50s or older particularly vulnerable.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2024

Japan sees social media linked consultations hit record in 2023

In 2023, there were 910,000 consultations, and consumer damage from problematic transactions amounted to a record ¥8.8 trillion.
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, in December
JAPAN / Society
Jun 28, 2024

Deportations over immigration violations in Japan up 65% in 2023

Foreign nationals subject to deportation procedures nearly doubled to 18,198.
Japan's food self-sufficiency rate has declined on the back of the country's changing food culture as demand for rice declines.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2024

Japan's food self-sufficiency rate remained stable at 38% in fiscal 2023

The rate has remained stagnant even though the government aims to raise it to 45% by fiscal 2030.
Nigeria's Super Falcons have reached the knockout stage of the FIFA women's World Cup for a second straight tournament after escaping a Group B that included cohost Australia.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Aug 1, 2023

More the merrier: Expanded field holds up under WWC pressure

FIFA expanded the competition from 24 teams to 32 for 2023, with President Gianni Infantino citing the "astounding success" of the 2019 tournament.
Nadeshiko Japan players celebrate Risa Shimizu's goal in their 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup round-of-16 game against Norway in Wellington on Saturday.
SOCCER / Women's World cup / From the Spot
Aug 6, 2023

Nadeshiko Japan is back, but is Japan paying attention?

The team’s lack of media exposure and name recognition is a symptom of the Japan Football Association’s failure to capitalize on its 2011 world title.
England goalkeeper Mary Earp has criticized team outfitter Nike over failing to produce replicas of her uniform for sale.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Aug 15, 2023

Adidas and Nike navigate bumps in retail demand as WWC breaks records

As the market for women's soccer grows, marketers have to juggle the fan base's ever-changing demands.

Longform

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