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Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 3, 2021

Tokyo Olympic organizers release first playbook for 2020 Games

The first playbook is aimed at international federations and technical officials. Guidelines for athletes and the media will be released at later dates.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2021

‘The Cinderella Addiction’: Can stepmothers get their happily ever after?

Ryohei Watanabe's tragicomedy about the dark side of parenting is fitfully stylish, but gets a little too twisted for its own good.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 3, 2021

‘Suicide Forest Village’: Little box of horrors goes over the top

Takashi Shimizu's latest horror offering about two sisters tormented by a deadly box presents the urban legends of Aokigahara, the titular forest, as fact.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Feb 3, 2021

Japan draws tough assignments for Tokyo Olympic basketball tournament

Japan's men’s and women’s basketball teams will face a stiff challenge during the preliminary round of this summer Tokyo Games after being given a tough road during the draw for the Olympic tournaments on Tuesday.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 3, 2021

Container crunch upends global food trade while ships queue at U.S. ports

Food is piling up in all the wrong places, thanks to carriers hauling empty shipping containers.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 3, 2021

Interesting facts about sumo's 13 living former yokozuna

With the passing of Tochinoumi on Jan. 29 there are now just 15 surviving active or retired yokozuna.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Feb 3, 2021

Boxing stars come together to support medical community

Naoya Inoue, Takashi Uchiyama and other current and former boxing stars will come together at Yoyogi National Gymnasium on Feb. 11.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 3, 2021

Episode 80: A shift in Japan's climate policy

Japan Times staff writer Ryusei Takahashi joins Deep Dive to discuss Prime Minister Suga's pledge to make Japan carbon neutral by 2050.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2021

BioNTech 'confident' it will meet Japan's COVID-19 vaccine demand

Pfizer and BioNTech have increased manufacturing capacity to more than 2 billion doses a year from 1.3 billion to meet demand.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 3, 2021

Did I make a mistake becoming an American?

As an American abroad, my question was personal: Did I make a colossal error five years ago?
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes during the Europa League Final against Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao, Spain on May 21
SOCCER
Jun 4, 2025

Fernandes confirms he rejected Saudi move to stay at Man Utd

United captain Fernandes was one of the few players to emerge with credit from a disastrous season, scoring 19 goals and making 19 assists across all competitions.
The Justice Department said two Chinese scientists conspired to smuggle a fungus into the United States that causes "head blight," a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 4, 2025

Chinese researchers charged with smuggling toxic fungus into U.S.

The fungus is classified in scientific literature as a "potential agroterrorism weapon," the Justice Department said.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba  addresses a meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday to discuss enhancing Japan's international competitiveness in the field of intellectual property.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2025

Government adopts new intellectual property program to enhance competitiveness

The government aims to raise the country's ranking in the World Intellectual Property Organization's annual Global Innovation Index to fourth or higher by 2035.
An Iranian newspaper's cover shows a photo of U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Tehran on May 11. The U.S. has started new talks with Iran with the aim of imposing fresh nuclear restrictions on Tehran.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 4, 2025

Any U.S. deal with Iran must tackle nuclear watchdog's blind spots

The International Atomic Energy Agency has lost track of elements of Iran's nuclear activities since U.S. President Donald Trump ditched a 2015 deal with Tehran.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions during a budget committee session of the House of Councilors on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 4, 2025

Ishiba eyes dissolving Lower House in wake of possible no-confidence motion

The prime minister is apparently sending a warning to the main opposition at a time when battles between the ruling and opposition camps are intensifying.
The year so far is only proving that Mrs. Green Apple is the biggest band in Japan. Their success also seems to be hinting at a change in the musical landscape more broadly.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2025

Six months into 2025, J-pop is having a full-on identity crisis (and a great time)

Halfway through 2025, J-pop is in flux — swinging between AI absurdity, idol nostalgia and viral sugar highs.
The scene where a crumbling glacier partially collapsed and tumbled, at the village of Blatten, Switzerland, on Monday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 4, 2025

Swiss glacier collapse is a lesson on climate disaster management

The collapse of the glacier in the Swiss Alps was an expected disaster. When the first signs of instability started to appear, the town was evacuated.
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 4, 2025

Komeito to propose sales tax cut on food, Yomiuri reports

A Komeito official confirmed the report, saying the tax cut idea will be among proposals in the campaign pledge due on Friday.
A mother takes her child to kindergarten in Hanoi on Wednesday. Vietnam's birth rate fell from 2.11 children per woman in 2021 to 1.91 last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 4, 2025

Vietnam scraps two-child limit as birth rate declines

The birth rate fell from 2.11 children per woman in 2021 to 1.91 last year, below replacement level.
The total number of births dropped to about 686,000, marking the first time the figure has fallen below 700,000, according to a health ministry release on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2025

Japan’s fertility rate hits record low despite government push

The new low underscores the immense challenge facing the government as it attempts to reverse the trend in one of the world’s most aged societies.
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and other imperial family members attend the New Year's appearance at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Jan. 2, 2020.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2025

Japan lawmakers likely to put off decision on imperial family plan

Leaders of the House of Representatives have found it difficult to reach a conclusion before the current parliamentary session is set to end on June 22.
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, depart from Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Wednesday for Okinawa to mourn those killed in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II 80 years ago.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2025

Emperor's family arrives in Okinawa

On Thursday, the family will offer flowers at a monument in Naha for the victims of the Tsushima Maru evacuation ship.
The Switch 2 is Nintendo's first new gaming console in eight years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2025

Nintendo’s Switch 2 console is finally here

The long-awaited gaming console hits shelves Thursday, with booming orders and tariffs making for a complicated debut.
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Jun 4, 2025

Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend

Though many former yokozuna have exited over the past two decades, Hakuho’s resignation is the biggest blow to the Japan Sumo Association.

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan