Search - 2019

 
 
Nomura's majority-owned joint venture in China has struggled to grow since its launch in 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 26, 2023

Nomura reviews business plan for mainland China as losses rise

The move comes as a further blow to the top Japanese investment bank's global expansion strategy.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Oct 26, 2023

All-Kansai Japan Series offers new chance to remember foreign aces

The 1964 Japan Series featured two of the best foreign pitchers in Japanese baseball history.
The simplest option for many Japanese industries facing labor shortages might be to do what the taxi sector is doing — keep people in the workforce longer.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 26, 2023

Octogenarian taxi drivers to the labor-crunch rescue

An option for many Japanese industries facing labor shortages might be to do what the taxi sector is doing — keep people in the workforce longer.
A banner at the entrance to Shibuya’s Center Street makes it clear this is no place for a party.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 26, 2023

The specter of Itaewon has Shibuya spooked

One year on, Elizabeth Beattie joins us to discuss where Itaewon stands after its Halloween disaster, and what its legacy means for celebrations in Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 27, 2023

Delusion led suspect to attack KyoAni studio, doctor tells court

The assessment contrast with that of another doctor, who said the suspect's delusion had almost no influence in the attack.
South African rugby supporters celebrate the team's World Cup triumph, in Johannesburg on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Oct 29, 2023

Ecstatic South Africans celebrate Rugby World Cup glory

Supporters of the national rugby team drank beers, waved flags and partied until the early hours in a wave of jubilation that swept the country.
A judge has decided to evict former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn from his residence in the Lebanese capital, a judicial source has said, about four years after an investment firm accused him of "trespassing."
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2023

Lebanon court orders Carlos Ghosn out of Beirut home

Phoinos Investment, to which the home in the Lebanese capital is registered, has accused the former Nissan boss of "trespassing."
JAPAN / Society
Oct 31, 2023

Coast guard leaders from over 100 nations gather at Tokyo summit

The two-day talks from Tuesday are set to focus on building a framework for international cooperation in maritime security.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 1, 2023

Shibuya Halloween passes without fuss following ‘don’t come’ message

Shibuya's mayor has expressed satisfaction with the reduction in crowds and public drinking this year.
The civil case centers on whether a foreign national in a same-sex partnership with a Japanese citizen should be granted “long-term resident status,” which allows residency for up to five years in Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 2, 2023

Tokyo High Court rejects same-sex couple's residence status lawsuit

The civil case centers on whether a foreign national in a same-sex partnership with a Japanese citizen should be granted “long-term resident status.”
People wearing sun protection gear amid a heat wave walk on a street in Beijing in July.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 3, 2023

Climate's 'Catch-22': Cutting pollution heats up the planet

The removal of air pollution may have had a greater effect on temperatures in some Chinese cities than the warming from greenhouse gases.
The Hong Kong skyline. The city's sedition law — one of the legacies of British rule — had remained dormant for over half a century but saw a resurgence in use following the 2019 protests and subsequent unrest.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Nov 3, 2023

H.K. student gets two-month sentence for 'seditious' posts from Japan

The court said she had violated a colonial-era sedition law by expressing support for Hong Kong independence in posts mostly made while studying in Japan.
Blair Masters and Talisker Scott Hunter pose for a photo with their kei truck, nicknamed “KT,” outside Ebisu Circuit in Fukushima Prefecture.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Nov 6, 2023

The little truck that could: A fresh way to tour Japan's north

Travelers have documented almost every corner of Japan. Perhaps a new kind of adventure would be doing those same journeys by different means.
After years of pining, gamers are finally getting the live-action Zelda movie they've always wanted.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Nov 8, 2023

A live-action Legend of Zelda movie is in development

A live-action Zelda movie has been a holy grail of video game adaptations for decades, and now that day has come.
SoftBank Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Masayoshi Son. Son's trust in his own intuition may have made him unwilling to heed red flags and opposition from his advisers regarding investments in WeWork.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 8, 2023

WeWork saga cost Masayoshi Son $11.5 billion and his credibility

WeWork's bankruptcy filing caps a yearslong saga that revealed breathtaking flaws in the Japanese billionaire's investment style.
A giant panda at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington during one of its last days on American soil. Pandas Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Xiao Qi Ji were returned to China on Nov. 8 upon Beijing's request.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2023

Pandas don’t play diplomatic hard ball like China does

Panda diplomacy is endangered, with the forced return of three bears from Washington to China an exercise in "dumb power."
Hang Dara, an electrician-turned-fisherman, passes the two active coal-fired power plants in Sihanoukville’s Steung Hav district.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Nov 26, 2023

Cambodia's big bet on the dirtiest fossil fuel faces major delays

Large projects are facing long delays amid uncertainty over foreign funding.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 4, 2023

Kishida denies media report of ties to Unification Church

The prime minister reportedly had an exchange with Masayoshi Kajikuri, the head of the Universal Peace Federation Japan, in 2019.
Alaska Airlines has announced that it will buy Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion, consolidating its position as the nation's fifth-largest carrier if it can attain regulatory approval.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 5, 2023

How Alaska Airlines’ CEO landed deal to buy Hawaiian Airlines

Ben Minicucci spent six months negotiating the purchase of Hawaiian Airlines in a bid to grow his company.
Japanese hotels have been among the most popular real estate investments in the Asia-Pacific region this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 5, 2023

Blackstone buys Kyoto hotel from Goldman in $54 million deal

Japanese hotels have been among the most popular real estate investments in the Asia-Pacific region this year.
A girl walks among bags and mattresses as Eastern European migrants wait to temporarily settle in a locale in Decines, France, in 2015. Some of the world's richest countries saw a sharp rise in child poverty from 2014 to 2021, according to a UNICEF report.
WORLD / Society
Dec 6, 2023

1 in 5 children in rich countries lives in poverty, UNICEF says

Report shows that the biggest setbacks since 2012 were in some of the wealthier nations, including Britain and France where rates increased.
Australian coach Graham Arnold prior to his team's 2026 World Cup qualification match on Nov. 16 in Melbourne.
SOCCER
Dec 6, 2023

Mideast teams best suited to Asian Cup's scheduling: Australia coach

Graham Arnold noted that his country — as well as Japan and South Korea — has many players based in Europe, making the January scheduling difficult.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
WORLD / Politics
Dec 7, 2023

Italy withdraws from China's Belt and Road initiative

The long-expected decision was quietly communicated to Beijing three days ago without any official announcement.
Shingo Takashima, a 26-year-old doctor, killed himself three months into his specialty doctor training at a general hospital in Kobe.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Dec 13, 2023

Young doctor’s suicide highlights overwork culture at Japan hospitals

The issue is coming into sharper focus ahead of the April implementation of a legal cap on doctors’ overtime.
Japan head coach Eddie Jones celebrates after the team's victory over the U.S. at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Dec 14, 2023

Make friends, start winning again: Eddie Jones' to-do list

Here are five challenges facing 63-year-old Eddie Jones as he returns to the Brave Blossoms.
Shiv Kumar (left) and Nirmal Singh say they are learning a lot about living and thriving in Japan while taking part in the Technical Intern Trainee Program. Their case, however, seems to be an exception to the norm.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 18, 2023

Beating the odds on Japan's controversial foreign trainee program

Nirmal Singh and Shiv Kumar beat the odds on the Technical Intern Training Program, but luck shouldn't play such a key role in a government initiative.
A security personnel stops a supporter during the national security trial of media mogul Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 18, 2023

Security tight ahead of landmark Hong Kong trial for Jimmy Lai

Now jailed for over 1000 days, one of Hong Kong's biggest critics of China has faced Beijing's wrath since the pro-democracy protests in 2019.
While Magic: The Gathering is popular with card game aficionados the world over, the community in Japan is split along some unexpected lines.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 23, 2023

Diehards and casuals clash in Tokyo’s Magic: The Gathering community

The Commander format is widely popular across Europe and the United States, but Japan’s Magic community hasn’t quite followed the same path.
Nancy Mills in a photo that appears to have been taken on Amami Oshima
JAPAN / History
Dec 26, 2023

New Yorker recalls life on Amami island 70 years after reversion

Tracing her early childhood through photographs and letters, 74-year-old Nancy Mills wishes for Amami residents' happiness.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson rushes during the first quarter of Baltimore's win over San Francisco on Monday in Santa Clara, California.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Dec 27, 2023

Lamar Jackson leaps to top of the MVP race with win over Brock Purdy's 49ers

With the win the Ravens moved one win away from clinching the AFC's top seed and will get their first shot at doing so when they host Miami on Sunday.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?