Latest from Japan Times
Japan Times
30 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
Four restaurants from Japan earn spots on World's 50 Best list
Japan walked away with four restaurants among the top 50 spots at The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 awards ceremony held at Lingotto Fiere exhibition center in Turin, Italy, on Thursday night. In Tokyo,French restaurant Sezanne earned the No, 7 spot, climbing eight places from its previous position of No. 15 in 2024, while Narisawa returned to the top 50 club at No. 21 after being ranked at 56 last year. Florilege , which previously ranked No. 21, fell to No. 36 Modern French eatery La Cime in Osaka also fared well, jumping from No. 66 to No. 44 in this year's rankings. This year's top honor went to Maido , a Lima-based restaurant run by chef-owner Mitsuharu Tsumura. The eatery, which specializes in Nikkei cuisine, was ranked No.5 on the 2024 list. In a press statement, William Drew, director of content for The World's 50 Best Restaurants, said Tsumara 'demonstrated remarkable dedication, seamlessly incorporating Japanese techniques with traditional Peruvian ingredients to create dishes that captivate and surprise diners.' Lima-based Maido, run by chef Mitsuharu Tsumura, is the winner of this year's best restaurant accolade. | WORLD'S 50 BEST RESTAURANTS 2025 With six restaurants cited on the list, Bangkok emerged as the city with the most entries, underscoring the Thai capital's growing influence in the culinary world: Gaggan , which was crowned this year's top restaurant at the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards, was ranked No. 6. Thai fine diner Sorn captured the No. 17 position, while Thai-Chinese fine dining restaurant Potong earned the Highest New Entry award, debuting at an impressive 13th place. German restaurant Suhring landed itself at No. 22, while modern Thai eateries Le Du and Nusara claimed 30th and 35th spots respectively. Other notable entries from Asia on the top 50 list include Hong Kong's Wing (No. 11) and The Chairman (No. 19), Singapore's Odette (No. 25) and Seoul's Mingles (No. 29). Meanwhile, South America's restaurants continue to demonstrate their rising clout, with four of the top 10 entries comprising restaurants from the region: Mexico City's Quintonil and Lima's Kjolle improved on their previous rankings, climbing from No. 7 to No. 3, and No. 16 to No. 9, respectively. Buenos Aires' Don Julio kept its No. 10 position. 'This year's list celebrates culinary excellence across 22 territories, with 10 new entries making the 1-to-50 rankings,' Drew added, 'underscoring the growing global appreciation for diversity, creativity and excellence in hospitality.'
Japan Times
31 minutes ago
- Automotive
- Japan Times
GCAP industry partners launch joint venture for trilateral fighter project
Japan's plans to develop a next-generation fighter jet alongside Britain and Italy have taken a significant step forward, with the three core companies involved in the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) launching a joint venture on Friday that will be in charge of delivering the aircraft. Named Edgewing , the new firm — which brings together Britain's BAE Systems, Italy's Leonardo and the Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. (JAIEC) — will be responsible for the fighter's design and development and will remain the design authority for the life of the product, which is expected to be in service beyond 2070. JAIEC is a joint venture launched last July between the Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Edgewing will be headquartered in the English town of Reading to ensure maximum alignment and collaboration with the GCAP International Government Organization (GIGO) set up last year at the same location to manage the multibillion-dollar project, but will also feature joint teams working in each of the partner nations. Each of the three core firms hold an equal 33.3% shareholding in Edgewing. The future sixth-generation aircraft, which marks the first time that Japan is cooperating with countries other than the United States to meet a major defense requirement, is intended to replace aging Air Self-Defense Force F-2 jets, as well as British and Italian Eurofighters, with the first units expected to enter service by 2035. The twin-engine fighter, which is also intended for export, is set to function as a flying command center capable of controlling and coordinating other — likely autonomous — assets, with the aircraft viewed as 'the centerpiece of a wider combat air system that will function across multiple domains.' 'The newly formed entity will play a central role in achieving the program's ambitious goals — including the in-service date of 2035 — while setting a new benchmark for trilateral industrial partnership across Europe and Asia,' the new company said in a statement. Italian Marco Zoff, formerly managing director of Leonardo's aircraft division, will be Edgewing's first CEO. 'By uniting the strengths of our talented people in the U.K., Italy and Japan, we are not only delivering the next-generation combat air system, we aim to set a new global standard for partnership, innovation and trust,' Zoff said. Speaking to The Japan Times at the DSEI Japan defense exhibition in May, BAE Systems' Herman Claesen, who will be first chair of Edgewing's board of directors, said the joint venture expects to receive its first contract from the GIGO by the end of the year. It will then subcontract the manufacturing and final assembly of the aircraft to the three core companies and then the wider supply chain. With the aircraft's conceptual design stage complete, the project is now set to advance to the detailed design and development phases. Building fighter jets involves a complex supply chain, meaning that GCAP will comprise more than one industry construct. This means that several other companies are also set to come together as lead subsystem integrators in three broad domains. One such industrial construct — in charge of propulsion systems — will comprise Rolls-Royce, IHI and Avio Aero, while another featuring MBDA U.K., MBDA Italy and Mitsubishi Electric will join forces to develop the aircraft's future weapon systems. Last but not least, Leonardo Electronics Italy, Leonardo U.K., Mitsubishi Electric and ELT Group will work together on developing integrated communications as well as a fully integrated sensing and nonkinetic effects capability that will help provide a more comprehensive situational awareness picture in order to maximize survivability. GCAP is being designed to 'maximize and grow' the industrial capability in each of the nations, with design, development, manufacturing and production elements set to be evenly distributed. At the same time the partners hope that through 'effective knowledge and technology transfer' the project will also help grow and build resilient supply chains and deliver sovereign combat air capability in each nation for generations to come. At the same time, the three partner governments are considering whether to invite other countries to join, particularly Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has shown an interest in the multinational program, but there are also unconfirmed reports that Australia, Canada and India might be looking to participate. No official information has emerged on future partnership plans, including which additional countries are being formally considered or what their exact role or contribution to GCAP would be.
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Automotive
- Japan Times
Toyota files $361 million South Africa flood damage lawsuit
Toyota has filed a lawsuit for 6.5 billion rand ($361 million) in a South African court over 2022 flood damages that shuttered its plant near Durban, Business Day reported. The claim against Transnet SOC, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport and eThekwini Municipality has been brought to the high court in Durban by Toyota South Africa Motors' insurer, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance. It alleges that the floods, which closed the Prospecton plant for four months, cost the company about 4.5 billion rand in plant repairs and rehabilitation and more than 2 billion rand in business interruption, the newspaper reported. The suit, which claims interest on the sum, alleges that by failing to maintain waterways and drainage systems that carried the floodwater, the three defendants shared responsibility for the damage. "A successful case on behalf of Toyota could encourage others to seek compensation from municipalities and state-owned enterprises whose failure to deliver causes them losses,' Business Day cited a lawyer unconnected to the case. Immediately after the flood, Toyota predicted a 33% drop in planned vehicle production in 2022 and potential sales revenue losses of over 27 billion rand, the newspaper reported. Prospecton builds the Hilux pickup truck, the Fortuner SUV, Quest and Corolla Cross cars, HiAce minibuses and Hino trucks and buses. About half of production is exported, mainly to Europe. The 2022 KwaZulu-Natal floods and landslides were declared a national disaster and left more than 400 people dead.
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Hyogo governor referred to prosecutors over alleged vote-buying
Police referred Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito to prosecutors Friday on suspicion of vote-buying over his alleged payments to a public relations company for campaign activities in the prefecture's gubernatorial election last November, people familiar with the investigation said. The prefectural police sent papers on Saito, 47, to prosecutors after a criminal complaint was filed last December over the governor's alleged payments in violation of the public offices election law. The police also sent papers on the 33-year-old president of the PR firm. Saito has also been referred to prosecutors for an alleged breach of trust related to a victory parade for local baseball teams. The governor has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Speaking to reporters in Kobe on Friday, Saito said, "There is no change in my recognition that I've acted in compliance with laws, including the public offices election law." The PR company president has not responded to requests for comment. Saito is suspected of paying ¥715,000 to the PR firm on Nov. 4 last year for work on his re-election campaign, which included planning a PR strategy and managing the campaign's social media presence. The PR company president said in an online post on Nov. 20, 2024, three days after the election, that her company had been tasked with overall PR activities by Saito's team. The governor later refuted her claim during a news conference. In December, a lawyer and a university professor filed a criminal complaint against Saito over the alleged payments. After the PR firm refused to cooperate adequately with requests for voluntary questioning and document submissions, investigators seized evidence, including a smartphone, during a raid on the company's office in February. Saito first took office as Hyogo governor in August 2021. After being ousted from the post by the prefectural assembly last September over harassment allegations, he won re-election two months later.
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Times
¥1.9 trillion over five years eyed for 2011 tsunami reconstruction
Japan adopted a new basic policy on Friday for reconstruction after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, expecting projects worth ¥1.9 trillion for the next five years from fiscal 2026. The amount tops ¥1.6 trillion for the five years through fiscal 2025, which ends in March. Under the basic policy, the government will tackle such issues as the final disposal of soil removed during radiation decontamination after the nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Fukushima No. 1 power plant. The government will also promote the return of evacuees to their homes in areas affected by the radiation from the nuclear accident. "With a strong determination to resolve problems for reconstruction within the next five years, all the cabinet members will accelerate reconstruction efforts further, staying considerate to those in affected areas," Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told a meeting of the government's council for reconstruction from the disaster. The basic policy calls for studying the idea of allowing forest management and some other activities in areas where entry is heavily restricted due to the radiation from the nuclear accident. The government will also promote the use of soil collected during decontamination work in public works projects and continue to financially support disaster-affected municipalities with special grants. Of the ¥1.9 trillion projected for the next five years, ¥1.6 trillion will go to reconstruction efforts in Fukushima Prefecture, devastated by the Tepco accident on top of the quake and tsunami. The tsunami-hit prefectures of Iwate and Miyagi will each secure some ¥100 billion.
