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While FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is a strong contender for game of the year, Black Myth: Wukong, the first AAA game made by a Chinese developer, offers some stiff competition.
LIFE / Digital / 2024 in Review
Dec 6, 2024

It’s Japan versus China for 2024’s game of the year

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Black Myth: Wukong both have a claim to the best game of 2024, a year marked by cultural scandals and lawsuits.
Keidanren chief Masakazu Tokura speaks to reporters in the city of Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture on Nov. 20.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 10, 2024

Keidanren urges tax hike for rich with eye on ¥1 quadrillion GDP

Such a move will help the nation achieve a “virtuous cycle of growth and distribution,” Keidanren chief Masakazu Tokura says.
The central Hokkaido city of Asahikawa made headlines this year when one of its suburbs was named as the best place to live in Japan — a ranking earned in part due to the community's many outstanding restaurants and cafes.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 28, 2024

How Hokkaido quietly became a culinary treasure trove in 2024

Food trucks, morsels with cutesy cues from nature and more helped Japan’s northernmost island have a stellar year.
The Toyama City Library, designed by Kengo Kuma, in November. The library is part of a building called Toyama Kirari that also houses the Glass Art Museum.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 8, 2025

New York Times chooses Toyama and Osaka as top places to go in 2025

The city of Toyama was praised by the Times as a place where tourists could “enjoy cultural wonders and culinary delights while skipping the crowds.”
Economists, legal experts and business leaders concur that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to implement fresh tariffs — whether directly aimed at Japan or not — could hurt the country's export-reliant machinery and automobiles industries while shattering the global economy.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jan 20, 2025

Japanese firms weigh fallout from Trump tariff pledges

Additional tariffs — whether directly aimed at Japan or not — could hurt its export-reliant machinery and automobiles industries while shattering the global economy.
Upon the release of Dragon Quest VII in 2000, hundreds of customers lined up outside stores in Tokyo to secure a copy of the new game. With a remake of a 1988 title, the rest of the world is understanding why Japanese gamers love the series so much.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 25, 2025

Japan’s love affair with Dragon Quest spreads worldwide

The remake of a 1988 game serves as the latest chance for the rest of the world to learn why Japan loves Dragon Quest so much.
The mural that artist Jonas Never painted during Kobe Bryant's last NBA season is seen on Jan. 19.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jan 27, 2025

Kobe Bryant still reigns over Los Angeles on hundreds of murals

Artists behind some of the murals say that they illustrate how Bryant captivated everyday people.
Masako Akagi, wife of late Toshio Akagi, holds Toshio's picture and his glasses during a news conference in Osaka on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 7, 2025

Government accepts ruling backing disclosure of Moritomo documents

Moritomo Gakuen was once linked to the wife of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba receives fruit from tangerine farmers of Shizuoka Prefecture in Tokyo on Jan. 22. The government's new regional revitalization plan focuses on convincing younger workers to choose a career and life somewhere other than a major urban center such as Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 18, 2025

Can Ishiba's 'joyful Japan' policy revitalize the nation's rural regions?

The prime minister may be taking cues from the mistakes of past efforts, but ultimately, even the best rural revitalization plan is tough to realize in practice.
Yamanote Jijosha has a long history of staging Shakespeare plays, and in celebration of its 40th anniversary, the company will present “Othello” and “Macbeth.” Previously, it toured productions like “Titus Andronicus,” which premiered in Tokyo in 1999, saw multiple revivals and had a homecoming in 2015.
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 21, 2025

Directing is never a monologue at the experimental Yamanote Jijosha theater company

To mark its four decades of existence, the company stages two Shakespearean tragedies for a triumph.
Taiwanese comic artist Rishiazao and interpreter Yun-wen Huang greet an attendee at the 2025 Angouleme International Comics Festival in France.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 1, 2025

Taiwan comics on the rise: Local storytellers, global aspirations

A supportive ecosystem and eager audiences — both domestic and global — are boosting the soft power of illustrated narratives from Taiwan.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba answers questions at a session of the Upper House Budget Committee in Tokyo. Approval ratings for Ishiba's government have dropped sharply, polls showed Monday, as the leader faces a backlash for distributing gift vouchers to rookie lawmakers in his ruling party.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 17, 2025

Approval rates for Ishiba's Cabinet plunge amid gift voucher snafu

Polls conducted by several newspapers over the weekend show public support tumbling to record lows.
Motoaki Tanigo, whom fans affectionately refer to as “Yagoo,” is the CEO and founder of tech company Cover Corporation, which runs Hololive, an industry-leading virtual YouTuber talent agency.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 21, 2025

Virtual idols, real fans: Hololive’s bet on the future of pop

Hololive CEO Motoaki Tanigo, whom fans affectionately refer to as “Yagoo,” has global ambitions for his virtual YouTuber sensations.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 21, 2025

Pentagon eyeing plan to halt U.S. Forces Japan upgrade, reports say

The move could create “political risk” for Washington with Tokyo and reduce the scope of command and control in the Indo-Pacific region as the U.S.-China rivalry heats up.

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.