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.

Tokyo's newest stationery store sells 'a slower, more human rhythm'
Plotter's signature customizable leather binder is just one of many products contributing to the ongoing boom in the popularity of Japanese stationery.
The party that ruled Japan for decades is in danger of crumbling
Haruo Tsukamoto, a rank-and-file member of the Liberal Democratic Party and a rice farmer in Ibaraki Prefecture, questions if the party still stands for people like him.
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Sanseito party leader Sohei Kamiya speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Sept. 25.
How Ohtani has boosted Japan's soft power and made LA even more baseball-obsessed
Fans at Dodger Stadium pose in front of a mural highlighting the Dodgers' Japanese stars from past and present during a game earlier this year.
Japan faces fresh energy challenge as it seeks to expand power-hungry data centers
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Our Planet

Data storage tapes at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center facility in Berkeley, California. Data centers consume massive amounts of electricity and water, and that will only rise as generative artificial intelligence takes off in earnest.
Japan faces fresh energy challenge as it seeks to expand power-hungry data centers
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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?
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Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
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