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From a ceremony in Turku, Finland, the Michelin Guide announced the world's crop of starred restaurants for 2024.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 8, 2023

183 Tokyo restaurants awarded Michelin stars for 2024

High-end sushi restaurant Harutaka is the newest addition to the city’s three-Michelin-star club.
As Japan’s borders opened back up and tourists eager to document their long-awaited trips to the country streamed back in, 2023 saw a handful of prominent content creators stir up trouble with local residents to grab attention online.
LIFE / Digital / 2023 in Review
Dec 29, 2023

Social media binged on bad behavior in 2023

Mischief makers like Johnny Somali and "sushi terrorism" instigators gained attention online amid a deluge of Japan-related content this year.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2024

Strong quake prompts tsunami warning for Japan's western coast

Residents were said to be trapped in collapsed buildings following the quake, which measured a 7 on Japan's intensity scale — the highest level.
Firefighters inspect collapsed wooden houses in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday, a day after a major 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the Noto region in the prefecture.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2024

Ishikawa quake rescue efforts ramp up as crucial time window narrows

Over 33,000 people are staying in evacuation centers with limited access to electricity and water.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada, in December last year. Trump's potential return to the White House could have serious implications for the U.S, as well as Japan, as he appears set to be even less inhibited and open to reason than before.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 5, 2024

Potential Trump redux: Unrestrained in Asia or bound by a changed region?

A win for the ex-president in November's election would potentially have big implications for Japan, given the death of Shinzo Abe, its most effective “Trump whisperer.”
Shitsui Hakoishi, 107, works with researcher Yasumichi Arai (left) while her younger brother, Hidemasa, looks on. Researchers like Arai believe the healthy and active Hakoishi's cells may hold the secret to living a long life.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Jan 27, 2024

Living until 100, if not forever, in good health

Immortality may be out of reach, but can a slew of research projects prolong our natural aging process?
Pop superstar Taylor Swift delighted fans at her sold-out Tokyo Dome show on Wednesday by confidently telling the audience, “Eras Tour e yokōso!” (“Welcome to The Eras Tour!”)
CULTURE / Music
Feb 9, 2024

Taylor Swift slays her Tokyo era

Pop's reigning queen gets sold-out crowd singing along to her hits for the Japan leg of the global Eras Tour.
Established in December 2021 in the middle of the pandemic-fuelled gaming craze, Sega Sapporo Studio is remarkable for growing amid a recent slump in the industry.
LIFE / Digital
Feb 17, 2024

Sega developers say new Sapporo studios lead to better lives

Aside from quality-of-life benefits that come from living outside a major metropolis, Sapporo also has a history of game development.
Chef Harutomo Hagi's self-named restaurant in Iwaki was selected as the 2023 Japan Times Destination Restaurant of the Year.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Mar 10, 2024

Hagi: French restaurant leads Fukushima revival

The Japan Times’ 2023 Restaurant of the Year is a sterling example of Fukushima’s slow and steady post-disaster revival.
People ride motorcycles near the site where a building collapsed, following the earthquake, in Hualien, Taiwan, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 4, 2024

Taiwan's strongest quake in 25 years kills at least nine, injures over 1,000

Scores of emergency workers were trying to shore up damaged buildings and demolish those deemed impossible to save.
Despite being the home of TSMC’s new factory, the Kyushu region is facing hurdles toward expanding its semiconductor-related transactions.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 11, 2024

Developing Kyushu's chip supply chain still a challenge for TSMC

The issue partially stems from the high barrier of entry into the key semiconductor industry.
A U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 8.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 16, 2024

U.S. deploys midrange missile system in Indo-Pacific for first time

The deployment for joint military exercises in the northern Philippines — effectively China's backyard — was widely expected to unnerve Beijing.
Philippine Marines wave to Philippine Navy personnel and the media during a resupply mission at their military outpost, the BRP Sierra Madre, a warship run aground in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in 1999, in the South China Sea, in March 2014.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
May 8, 2024

Stormy seas ahead as Beijing and Manila trade barbs over secret deal

China has accused the Philippines of reneging on a "gentlemen's agreement" concerning activities in the South China Sea.
Archaeologists say a 1,600-year-old wooden coffin at the Tomio Maruyama tumulus in the city of Nara was kept in good condition probably because it was protected by a layer of clay and copper ions that had seeped out of the mirrors that were buried together.
JAPAN / History / FOCUS
May 9, 2024

How the discovery of a giant sword in Nara offers clues into ancient Japan

Experts say a series of surprise finds at the burial mound could help untangle the many mysteries surrounding the rulers of fourth-century Japan.
Completed in 1889, the original Yebisu brewery finally has a worthy successor in the neighborhood that still bears the beer's name.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 1, 2024

A new brew for Ebisu, the town that beer made

Ebisu and its beer are unique among communities with drinking histories. Here, the beer named the town.
Kamekichi Fujiwara has been making 'New York-style' pizza in Tokyo's Kichijoji neighborhood since 1967.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 30, 2024

At Tony’s Pizza, ‘New York style’ is a state of mind

In 1967, Kamekichi Fujiwara made his first pizza layered with Dutch edam, mozzarella from Germany and Danish Maribo — and it’s what Tony’s Pizza still serves today.
A nursing home in Ishikawa Prefecture. Wage increases in other industries have made the nursing care sector less attractive.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 4, 2024

Over 80 nursing homes in Japan went bankrupt in first half

Rising costs and a severe manpower shortage are the main reasons driving care providers out of business.
Don't let anyone tell you that when it comes to legitimate Mexican food, Tokyo is a culinary desert.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Top 5
Jul 14, 2024

Tokyo’s top tacos dispel the ‘no good Mexican food’ myth

Whether a casual bite from a counter restaurant or a more elegant affair, Tokyo’s tacos do not skimp on variety.
Chef Hironori Fujii moved his restaurant, Oryouri Fujii, to the Iwase district of Toyama City in 2019, finding the ideal setting in its historic surroundings.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Aug 4, 2024

Oryouri Fujii: High-end Japanese cuisine in a picture-perfect Toyama setting

Chef Hironori Fujii will serve according to the seasons: ‘ayu’ (sweetfish) and ‘nodoguro’ (blackthroat perch) in summer; snow crab and yellowtail in winter.
“Ghost Cat Anzu” centers on an 11-year-old girl who travels to hell and back with a walking, talking, moped-driving, human-sized cat.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Aug 11, 2024

Two hidden gems hint at a path to more diversity in anime

“Ghost Cat Anzu" and “A Few Moments of Cheers” stand out from blockbuster hits by finding creative partners abroad and embracing techniques old and new.
Polina Oba enjoys the food in Fukuoka, but still finds herself traveling to Tokyo often as that’s where most of the decision-makers are based. 
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 12, 2024

Polina Oba: ‘Try quick, fail quick, learn quick and you need to always pivot’

Networking is at the core of Polina Oba's GourmetPro startup. Not only is it great meeting new people but you'll never know where those connections may lead.
Damage to a Philippine Coast Guard vessel allegedly incurred during a collision with a China Coast Guard ship in the disputed South China Sea is seen in this image released on social media Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 19, 2024

Beijing and Manila trade blame over South China Sea ship collisions

China claims the Philippine side "intentionally rammed" one of its ships in the disputed waterway — an accusation Manila denies.
Robert C. Neff, passed away at after a long illness at 77 years old on July 31, 2024, at his home in Hayama, south of Tokyo.
COMMUNITY
Aug 25, 2024

The American journalist ahead of the game on an ascendant Japan

Neff was part of a golden age of magazine journalism as Tokyo bureau chief for Businessweek magazine and a lover of hot spring retreats.
Pasocom Music Club’s “Love Flutter” marks an important moment for Japan’s electronic community as project members Aoi Shibata (left) and Masato Nishiyama step into a role other artists once held for them — scene veterans who are inspiring the next generation.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 5, 2024

Pasocom Music Club returns to the pure pleasures of the dance floor

For the Kansai-born duo, new album “Love Flutter” isn’t just an evolution of its sound — it’s the next step in pushing the boundaries of electronic music.
Few in Japan may be more passionate about the 'onigiri' (rice ball) than Yumiko Ukon, owner of an onigiri specialty shop in Tokyo's Otsuka neighborhood.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 8, 2024

‘When I die, I would like to come back as a rice ball’

There’s no denying the cultural significance of the ‘onigiri’ (rice ball). But there comes a point where an onigiri is surely just an onigiri.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba reacts during a news conference ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election in Tokyo on Sept. 6.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 24, 2024

Why is Shigeru Ishiba so unpopular among his LDP peers?

The former defense minister is highly regarded among the public and local chapters of the ruling party, but it's a different story when it comes to LDP lawmakers.
Chinese military vehicles carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles travel past Beijing's Tiananmen Square during a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, on Oct. 1, 2019.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 25, 2024

China fires long-range missile into Pacific Ocean in rare test

Tokyo said it had not received advance notification from the Chinese side of the launch, which Beijing said was part of annual military training.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba would face a number of obstacles to updating the Status of Forces Agreement — something that hasn’t occurred since its promulgation in 1960.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Oct 16, 2024

Ishiba's goal of revising U.S. troops pact likely long-term project

The prime minister's push to change the Status of Forces Agreement governing the U.S. military presence in Japan is unlikely to happen any time soon.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrives to deliver a campaign speech in Osaka on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 23, 2024

Polls show Japan's ruling bloc could lose its majority. What would happen then?

Depending on the final count, one option for the LDP and Komeito might be to invite another party into a coalition.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Jan. 16.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 30, 2024

North Korea's top diplomat heads to Moscow as troops gear up for fight

The Pentagon has said there are indications troops deployed to Russia by Pyongyang could be used in an infantry role in the Ukraine war.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes