Japan

[ad_1] ClassPass is betting that more people in Japan want to go to the gym and that more visitors to the country want to maintain their fitness routines.The New York-headquartered company, which provides access to gyms globally on a membership basis, started operating in Japan on Sept. 19. It has signed up 200 gyms and fitness studios in the country, mainly in Tokyo.“I think there's the potential for Japan to […]

[ad_1] Former Prime Minister Taro Aso has once again found himself at the center of controversy over Taiwan on Wednesday, after delivering remarks a day earlier that referred to the island as an important “country” for Japan — despite Tokyo's lack of formal diplomatic ties with Taipei.In his remarks at an event in Tokyo celebrating Taiwan’s National Day, which Taipei was set to mark Thursday, Aso called the democratic island […]

[ad_1] Yokohama – Japan should establish a new industry-academia chip research institute in the Keihin area between Tokyo and Yokohama to revitalize the country's semiconductor industry, Fumihiro Inoue, an associate professor at Yokohama National University, said in a recent interview."Technological innovation led by companies is necessary for the semiconductor industry to regain momentum," said Inoue, 38, who researches technologies in the assembly and testing process of chip production.Inoue called for […]

[ad_1] Beijing – China's foreign minister told his new Japanese counterpart during a phone call on Wednesday that he was hoping to make progress in bilateral ties, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Wang Yi told Japan's Takeshi Iwaya that he was looking forward to "a new atmosphere ... and to new progress in China-Japan relations", CCTV said. It added that Wang said Beijing hopes "Japan will abide by its political commitments […]

[ad_1] The ruling Liberal Democratic Party decided Wednesday that it will not endorse 12 party lawmakers implicated in a political slush funds scandal in the Oct. 27 general election.The decision by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who dissolved the Lower House in the afternoon, and other senior party officials means those not endorsed will be forced to campaign for the election without support, including financial assistance, from the party.If they lose […]

[ad_1] Three computer scientists, including an artificial intelligence researcher at Google DeepMind, won the Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for their work in protein science, including cracking the code for proteins’ structures. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences gave half of the prize to David Baker, a professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, for computational protein design, and the other half to Demis Hassabis of University College […]

[ad_1] Political reform and the Liberal Democratic Party’s handling of the slush fund scandal took center stage in Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's first showdown with opposition party leaders in parliament Wednesday.Constitutional Democratic Party leader Yoshihiko Noda lambasted Ishiba’s initial decision to give the party’s formal backing to 12 lawmakers involved in the scandal in the Oct. 27 Lower House election.“Taxpayers' money destined for political parties might be paid to people […]

[ad_1] Many of Japan’s top universities moved up in the latest World University Rankings announced on Wednesday, with five, including the University of Tokyo, ranked in the top 200. In the annual rankings for 2025 released by Times Higher Education (THE), the University of Tokyo was ranked 28th — the highest a Japanese university has placed since 2015 and up from 29th in the previous rankings. Kyoto University stayed in […]

[ad_1] Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba dissolved the Lower House of parliament on Wednesday for a general election, as Ishiba stressed the importance of winning a mandate from the public following his LDP leadership victory late last month. Ishiba’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, are aiming to maintain their dominance in parliament despite facing political setbacks stemming from a political funds scandal. The prime minister announced […]