Tag - new-year

 
 

NEW YEAR

Travelers at Shanghai Hongqiao railway station on Feb. 6. For the Feb. 10-17 period, there were 99.5 million rail trips made in China, a figure 36% higher than the comparable period in 2019.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 19, 2024
China’s new year travel and spending top pre-COVID levels
Some 474 million tourist trips were made around the country during the festival, which began Feb. 10 and concluded Saturday.
A traveler walks past a flight information display at the Beijing Capital International Airport on Feb. 2 ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday that begins on Saturday in China.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2024
Chinese visitors to Japan over Lunar New Year to fall short of 2019 level
Visa-free travel offered by some countries and last year's release of treated wastewater from Fukushima may be swaying Chinese travelers' decisions.
Terunofuji (left) defeats Kirishima at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Saturday.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Jan 31, 2024
Ninth title puts Terunofuji on cusp of joining all-time greats
His most recent victory puts him ahead — in terms of silverware won — of all but eight wrestlers to have made their debut in the past 65 years.
Terunofuji (back) knows what it’s like to overcome setbacks, having won two of his eight titles after middling starts to a tournament.
SUMO
Jan 24, 2024
Big names set up thrilling finale for January sumo meet
Terunofuji would appear to be the favorite as sumo's first tournament of 2024 reaches the homestretch, but a host of contenders means it could come down to the final day.
J-pop duo Yoasobi performed its 2023-defining hit, “Idol," during the 74th edition of NHK’s “Kohaku Uta Gassen,” giving the show its best moment — and drawing anger from netizens.
CULTURE / Sound Off
Jan 12, 2024
Yoasobi delivered the standout moment of ‘Kohaku.’ Why did some music fans hate it?
The J-pop duo brought artists from J-pop and K-pop together on stage for the night's best performance, but it didn’t take long for negative voices to emerge on social media.
Yokozuna-hopeful Kirishima (right) during a training session in Tokyo earlier this month.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 12, 2024
Winds of change swirl at the top of sumo ahead of New Year meet
Kirishima has his sights set on promotion to yokozuna, while major questions surround injury-plagued Terunofuji.
Passengers board a JR bullet train at Shin-Osaka Station on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2024
JR passengers up 8% during year-end and New Year's holidays
The combined number of users of bullet trains and other rail services came to around 9,869,000 for the period from Dec. 28 to Thursday.
January may be the month of new diets, but it doesn't have to be a month of short tempers as a result.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 6, 2024
Your 2024 diet isn't a blank check to be hangry
The neologism combining "hungry” and "angry” has been around since at least 1956 and made it into the Oxford English Dictionary in 2018.
The most expensive tuna sold at this year's first auction displayed outside Toyosu Market in Tokyo on Friday
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2024
Tokyo’s top tuna for the new year sells for ¥114.2 million
The tuna weighed 238 kilograms and was sold Friday to seafood wholesaler Yamayuki and sushi chain operator Onodera Group.
One Japanese idiom goes, "the drawn dragon is missing an eye." It means that something lacks that crucial finishing touch.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 4, 2024
The Year of the Dragon has arrived along with a slew of idioms
Japanese sayings that involve dragons tend to invoke the powerful characteristics of the mythical creature.
Wrestlers with the Shikoroyama stable after a training session in Tokyo late last month.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 3, 2024
Opportunities abound for sumo's governing body as centenary nears
Much progress has been made in Japan’s national sport in recent years, but there's still work to be done to better cater to foreign fans.
Devotees of Afro-Brazilian religions carry offerings to the sea as part of an annual rite in Rio de Janeiro on Dec. 29, 2023.
WORLD / Society
Jan 2, 2024
How to start the new year? Keep the sea goddess happy.
Followers of Afro-Brazilian religions have been displaced by New Year’s revelers. But they still find ways to make their offerings to the ocean.
2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, with the year predicted to be a good time for fresh starts.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Jan 2, 2024
Opportunities await the bold in the Year of the Wood Dragon
From February, you can expect a rush of creativity, passion, courage and confidence with the arrival of the Wood Dragon, say astrologers.
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and Princess Aiko pose for a photo at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Dec. 1.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 1, 2024
Japan emperor hopes for expanded support for needy people
Emperor Naruhito, in a New Year's message on Monday, expressed his wish that support will expand for people facing difficulties.
A person looks at the first sunrise of the year on the beach in Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Monday.
WORLD
Jan 1, 2024
World rings in 2024 after war, bots and 'Barbie'
Jubilant crowds bid farewell on Sunday to the hottest year on record, closing a turbulent 12 months marked by clever chatbots, climate crises and devastating wars.
A story on the front page of The Japan Times on Jan. 4, 1924, focuses on a Tokyo attempting to recover from the Great Kanto Earthquake.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jan 1, 2024
The Japan Times 1924: Tokyo greets 1924 in hope of better things
After a year in which the capital and its surroundings experienced a catastrophic earthquake, an article highlights the resolve of the people.
Visitors strike a giant bell to mark the new year as a Buddhist monk looks on, at Zojoji temple in Tokyo on Jan. 1, 2023.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 31, 2023
Ring in the new year on your phone: Apps offer alternate to Japan temple tradition
Smartphone apps are aiming to offer alternative ways to enjoy a noisy New Year's tradition.
A line of travelers on a shinkansen platform at JR Tokyo Station on Friday
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 31, 2023
Inflation and weak yen hit Japan's appetite for holiday spending
More than half of the respondents to a survey said they would cut seasonal spending.
A Japanese monk rings the bell at his temple. The bell is rung 108 times on New Year's Eve, a way to cleanse ourselves of the worldly desires.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 29, 2023
The year’s end provides us a chance to consider the passage of time
There are plenty of Japanese words that express the passage of time, whether it's a matter of years or the blink of an eye.
Onosato (left) and Nishonoseki stablemaster display the rankings list on Monday for the upcoming New Year's Grand Sumo Tournament, during which the highly touted Onosato will make his top-division debut.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 28, 2023
Who will grab the spotlight at sumo's first tourney of 2024?
Ozeki Kirishima has his sights set on the ultimate promotion, while debutant Onosato is looking to impress in his highly anticipated debut.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’