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July 14, 2025
 

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LIFE

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Lifestyle
Japan is mad about pets, and the Interpets trade fair showed to what lengths some owners will go for their furry friends.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Cats, dogs, meerkats, goats: Interpets trade fair draws furry hordes
From June 19 to 21, a veritable animal kingdom (and their owners) descended on the Intex Osaka convention center to try new foods and meet new friends.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Why Japanese sunscreen is going viral — and selling out
Japanese skincare is getting its moment in the sun thanks to the help of beauty influencers on YouTube and other social media platforms.
LIFE / Lifestyle
The science of shinrin-yoku: Why forest bathing feels good
Science suggests that three days of “shinrin-yoku” forest bathing is enough to boost immunity for an entire month.
Held from June 7-8, the Japan Rapid Chess Championships is the latest major event put on by the country's chess supporters who hope to capitalize on the game's global momentum.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 14, 2025
Under shogi’s shadow, Tokyo’s chess lovers make their move
By Shyam Bhardwa
Japan has long resisted the lure of chess, but the stage is being set for the country’s first-ever grandmaster, one expert says.
Japan has a deep rogues' gallery of age-old "yōkai" (spirits), but a museum on the island of Shodoshima has released a new book collecting yōkai that reflect the uncertainties of the modern world.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 14, 2025
'Rice swindler,' 'Face thief': Worried citizens invent new monsters
By Thu-Huong Ha
A decade-old contest for original "yōkai" art reflects what keeps people up at night in Japan.
More and more older Japanese people are joining health clubs, with Pilates becoming a popular form of exercise.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 11, 2025
So long, gateball. Japan’s seniors are ready to work those core muscles.
By Yuko Tamura
Japan’s seniors are trading gateball for Pilates, chasing strength, stability and a new kind of aging — with core control.
Located in Nagano Prefecture, Samurai Gakuen tries to help young and old individuals who have withdrawn from society rediscover their places out in the world.
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 31, 2025
How ‘hikikomori’ shut-ins ‘start to have dreams for the future’
By Eric Margolis
As many as 1.5 million “hikikomori” shut-ins withdraw from social life in Japan, but one school in Nagano is finding success is coaxing them back into the world.
Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
May 12, 2025
What comes after 100?
By Tomoko Otake
The number of Japanese centenarians is on the rise, providing new models for how to live in a super-aging society.
2025 Osaka Expo mascot Myaku-Myaku dances on the stage during the event's official opening ceremony on April 12.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 28, 2025
Expo '25 gives the world a masterclass in mascots
By Patrick St. Michel
At Expo 2025 in Osaka, mascots from around the world borrow from Japan’s character culture — but none can match Myaku-Myaku’s gloopy charm.
The Tokyo version of the globe-trotting exhibition features a Ministry of Magic set, which includes an imposing replica of the Magic Is Might monument representing magical fascism.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 18, 2025
Calling all Potterheads: ‘The Goblet of Fire’ comes to Tokyo
By Gendel Gento
The grand scale and attention to detail is likely to impress — just make sure to withdraw some galleons at Gringotts before coming.

Nissan clinches $4.5 billion bond deal after orders soar
Nissan Motor has raised $4.5 billion through a junk bond sale in U.S. dollars and euros, part of which carries a record-high coupon rate.
U.S. urges clarity on Japan’s role in potential war over Taiwan, report says
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit, at the GSDF's base on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Osaka police crack down on crime ring over underage prostitution
Osaka Prefectural Police headquarters
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Is Japanese skin really ‘too smooth’ for Hideo Kojima’s games?
Hideo Kojima, the leading auteur in Japanese video games, has skirted controversy in the wake of the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
An emoji used to say it all. Now it might say too much.
Apple’s Craig Federighi shows off a set of emoji at a conference on June 13, 2016. While the small pictures have proved helpful in conveying nuance in our texts, younger people are using them less often.
‘Our ultimate goal is to save every single Japanese video game’
After nearly shuttering earlier this year, the Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society continues its work to save the early history of Japanese gaming.
Rare vintage shots and first-time shows at TOP’s 30th anniversary
The museum's curators selected a wide array of works from the archives for the milestone exhibitions. Among other photos, Nobuyoshi Araki's work from the series "Winter Journey" (1990) was included in the "Continuity and Change" exhibition that concluded in June.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after
Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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