The day before he played the match of his life, Shoji Segawa was swimming in a pool and enjoying the night view from his 40,000 yen room in the Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='200' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='/images/photos2005/nn20051229f1a.jpg' WIDTH='200' HEIGHT='126'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Shoji Segawa –

debuts Dec. 12 as a pro "shogi" (Japanese chess) player against amateur champ Toru Shimizugami at Shogi Kaikan in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.

Indulging in luxurious treatment before important games had become something of a ritual for the 35-year-old systems engineer from Yokohama.

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Taiwanese drama 'Zero Day Attack' on Chinese invasion to stream in Japan
A scene from the Taiwanese television drama "Zero Day Attack," which will stream in Japan from Friday.
Japanese star convicted of indecent assault in Hong Kong
J-pop idol Kenshin Kamimura leaves the West Kowloon Law Courts on bail in Hong Kong on Wednesday, after he was found guilty of indecent assault of a woman who worked as his interpreter at a restaurant in Mong Kok district in March this year.
Ukraine war has transformed North Korean military: Kyiv’s military intel chief
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Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
Will Ishiba's critics be able to garner enough support for a leadership race?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's political survival likely hinges on whether a leadership race will take place within the Liberal Democratic Party following its decision to have its election committee canvass the opinions of party members and prefectural chapters on the subject.
Hidden rosters and the legacy of Japan’s germ warfare
Katsutoshi Takegami, 77, in his storehouse attic where he discovered his father's Unit 1644 documents
Osaka Expo highlights the challenge of holding events in Japan's scorching summer
People huddle near a large fan blowing icy-cold mist at the Osaka Expo on July 12. Amid Japan's relentless summer heat, organizes have put myriad measures in place in order to keep guests safe.
At Himawari Shokudo 2, Italian food with a Japanese soul
At Himawari Shokudo 2, chef Hozumi Tanaka serves Italian-inspired fare with a focus on Toyama produce, such as this appetizer of lightly blanched "hotaru ika" (firefly squid) served atop mixed wild plants and a crepe prepared from "yamato-imo" yam.

Our Planet

A technician works on the assembly line at a solar panel manufacturing hub on the outskirts of New Delhi last October.
Amid fossil fuel shift in U.S., hope emerges for India and Japan tie-up on solar
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Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
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