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OLYMPICS / Faces of Tokyo 2020
Jul 23, 2021

Japanese athletes who have overcome adversity to be at the Tokyo Games

The miraculous return of Rikako Ikee might grab headlines, but the country's swimming star isn't the only athlete who needed to battle tough times to qualify for the Games.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Explainer
Jul 23, 2021

Tokyo Summer Games FAQ: How it stands now

The situation is changing daily and some questions don’t yet have answers, but here’s what we know so far:
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 22, 2021

Takefusa Kubo lifts Japan in Tokyo Olympic opener

Kubo scores late to give Japan a win over South Africa
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 22, 2021

At a nearly empty soccer stadium, a subdued Olympic atmosphere

As New Zealand took on South Korea, it was impossible to feel a sense of excitement with the stands mostly empty.
OLYMPICS
Jul 22, 2021

For karateka at the Games, the goal is gold. For karate the sport, the goal is inclusion.

Karate is getting its moment to shine at the Olympics, but are the Games simply catching up to something a lot of us already know?
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 22, 2021

As virus cases rise, true cost of Tokyo Games comes into focus

The prioritization of the global sporting event over public health has added anger to the desperation weighing on the shoulders of an already exhausted nation.
BASEBALL / MLB
Jul 22, 2021

Fanatics lands exclusive memorabilia deal with Shohei Ohtani

The Los Angeles Angels two-way star is the latest big name to join the roster at the firm, which specializes in sports memorabilia and merchandise.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2021

COVID-19 cases rise in Sapporo just as Olympic events get underway

Hokkaido's capital is hosting soccer games and will host marathon events, but the mayor is now calling for stronger coronavirus measures as the number of cases jumps.
JAPAN / Explainer
Jul 22, 2021

Japan's vaccine passports: Here's what you need to know

With applications for the documents accepted from Monday, details have been set out on how to apply and where the passports can be used.
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2021

Director of Olympics opening ceremony sacked over past Holocaust joke

The new scandal is a further drag on public enthusiasm toward the Games, which have already drawn strong opposition amid concerns about coronavirus infection risks.
OLYMPICS / Faces of Tokyo 2020
Jul 22, 2021

Little-known Japanese athletes the world should watch at the Tokyo Games

A number of the country's lesser known stars look set to make a splash on the world stage at the Olympics.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 22, 2021

‘Ridiculous’: Vaccine myths cripple U.S. uptake as delta surges

Just as the Biden administration appeared on the verge of snuffing out COVID-19 in the U.S., a shadow pandemic of disinformation threatens to prolong the crisis.
Japanese Communist Party leader Tomoko Tamura speaks at a Lower House session in Tokyo in December 2024.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 23, 2025

Japanese Communist Party's Tomoko Tamura faces leadership questions ahead of polls

Tamura is aiming for 6.5 million proportional representation votes, but experts say that's unrealistic.
The number of new units for sale in the Tokyo metropolitan area fell 14.4% last year to a record low.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2025

Tokyo apartment prices retreat in 2024 as market calms

The decrease — the first in six years — came after prices rose nearly 30% to a record high in 2023 when several luxury condos went up for sale.
The Bank of Japan is set decide to raise interest rates at a policy meeting on Friday, according to Jiji Press.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2025

Bank of Japan set to raise rates on Friday, report says

The move would mark the central bank's first rate hike since July last year, when it increased rates to 0.25%.
TV star Masahiro Nakai abruptly announced his retirement Thursday as the fallout from sexual misconduct allegations against him continued to expand.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2025

Ex-SMAP member Masahiro Nakai to retire amid sexual misconduct allegations

The 52-year-old former SMAP member said his contracts had been wound up, and that negotiations with sponsors were in progress.
The bus stop in Suzhou, China, where a bus used by a Japanese school came under attack from a man, since identified as Zhou Jiasheng, in June last year
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 23, 2025

China sentences man to death over Japanese school bus attack

A Chinese court deemed the death penalty as appropriate in view of the "extremely heinous" nature of the crime, which resulted in the death of a bus attendant.
Marialyce Pedersen cleans burned leaves and debris that accumulated in the sink of her outdoor kitchen made of cob that survived the Eaton fire when her home burned in Altadena, California, on Jan. 20.
WORLD / Society
Jan 23, 2025

Los Angeles wildfires spark interest in adobe and natural building materials

Former homeowners determined to stay want houses that the next fire will not burn easily and that, if burnt, will not turn the soil, water and air into a toxic hazard.
Animated series “Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi” premiered on Cartoon Network on Nov. 29, 2004, and ran for three seasons. The show is based on real-life J-pop band Puffy.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jan 24, 2025

The cartoon chaos of ‘Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi’ was ahead of its time

Love for the J-pop duo’s zany Cartoon Network series has endured online for over 20 years since its premiere.
On Hiroshima Prefecture's Okunoshima island where more than 1,000 rabbits roam freely, 77 carcasses of the animal have been discovered since late November.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 23, 2025

On Japan's 'rabbit island,' bunnies are mysteriously dying one by one

Police have arrested a man for kicking a rabbit, which later died, as a probe continues over the deaths of more than 70 bunnies on Okunoshima island in Hiroshima Prefecture.
A business district in Tokyo. Japan plans to strengthen pre-screening measures for overseas investors that could potentially cooperate with foreign intelligence gathering efforts, addressing rising national security concerns.
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2025

Japan to tighten investment pre-screening amid security concerns

While the updated regulations will impose an additional step for a broader range of investors, those who pass the screening can still invest in Japanese companies.
Imperial family members wave to well-wishers during a public appearance in Tokyo on Jan. 2.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 23, 2025

Parliament to resume discussions over imperial family succession this month

The two chambers of parliament plan to resume talks Jan. 31 on measures to secure a sufficient number of imperial family members.
Vegetables for sale at a local supermarket in Kyoto.
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2025

Japan supermarket sales up for fifth year in 2024

Price increases of rice and vegetables such as cabbage pushed up overall sales while the number of purchased items continued to decrease as customers became thriftier.
This year's Oscar nominations were unveiled on Thursday, with transgender cartel musical "Emilia Perez" earning 13 Oscar nods and breaking the record for most Academy Award nominations for a non-English-language movie.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 23, 2025

'Emilia Perez' tops Oscar nominations in fire-hit Hollywood

Jacques Audiard's Mexico-set musical shattered the record for the most Academy Award nominations for a non-English-language movie.
The Food and Drug Administration headquarters in White Oak, Maryland
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 24, 2025

Trump alarms scientists by muzzling U.S. health agencies

The move could delay essential information and slow funding for potentially life-saving initiatives.
A Palestinian man searches for the graves and bodies of his father, brother and brother-in-law at Shejaia cemetery, which was flattened by Israeli tanks and bulldozers, in Gaza City, the Gaza Strip, on Monday.
WORLD
Jan 24, 2025

Bereaved Gazans dig out bodies from city ruins and give them graves

Burials are usually carried out within a few hours of death in Muslim and Arab communities, and failure to ensure dignified burials is agonizing for families.
Steps against diversity form part of U.S. President Donald Trump's broader campaign targeting the federal bureaucracy, which he has sometimes disparaged as the "deep state" secretly working against his agenda.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 24, 2025

Trump accelerates campaign to remake federal bureaucracy

The U.S. president says his orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs would make America a "merit-based country" once again.
Afghan citizens, who are in the process for resettlement in the U.S., attend an English class on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Society
Jan 24, 2025

Afghans awaiting U.S. resettlement feel betrayal after Trump order

Some feel betrayed, with many — including those who fled Taliban rule in Afghanistan — having already spent years in limbo.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’