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After losing her family to a plane accident, Suzie (played by Rashida Jones) receives a posthumous gift from her husband in the form of a robot named Sunny (voiced by Joanna Sotomura).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jul 5, 2024

Rashida Jones uncovers an AI-fueled mystery in the AppleTV+ series 'Sunny'

Set in Kyoto, the story about a woman dealing with grief and an unexpected robot companion is a departure from the actor's comedic repertoire.
American Gregorio Narvasa has gone from baking cookies in his spare to time to working with major Tokyo companies from his new Koenji shop.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jul 7, 2024

Koenji gets a new cookie shop. Its owner gets a community.

After several years of sharing his creations at pop-up events scattered across Tokyo, Gregorio Narvasa opened a physical bake shop in Koenji on April 20 of this year.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is struggling to stay in office amid low public approval ratings and discontent from within his party. However, it is extremely rare for a sitting LDP president running for reelection to be dethroned.
EDITORIALS
Jul 5, 2024

Kishida fights for his political life

Despite low public approval ratings and discontent in the LDP, all is not lost for Prime Minister Kishida if the summer is kind to him and he plays his cards right.
Children sit near a flooding seawall during high tide in Serua, Fiji, in 2022.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2024

Japan to share weather data with Pacific island nations

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will announce the plan at the July 16-18 summit in Tokyo with Pacific island leaders.
The Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee typically meets seven times in its five-year tenure, with the third of these plenums being particularly important as it represents the first chance for the new leadership to properly introduce its broad thinking on economic and political issues.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 8, 2024

Why China’s third plenum matters for global investors

The typically once-in-five-years conclave of top officials usually deals with major economic and political policy changes.
Traditional boat parties on the Sumida River in Tokyo are popular for informal gatherings among professionals that deal in Japanese government bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 9, 2024

Tokyo’s exclusive circle of government bond traders in demand amid policy shift

The world’s top hedge funds are shaking up the closed community that was, for a time, a sleepy backwater of global finance.
Police examine a cash transport vehicle (left) outside a local bank branch in Kodaira, Tokyo, in October 2001.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 9, 2024

Iranian man arrested over 2001 Tokyo cash truck attack

The suspect is accused of firing three shots on Oct. 3, 2001, breaking a security guard's leg and stealing six bags with ¥102.2 million in cash.
A study found that long-term caregivers who were age 16 were 2.51 times likelier to engage in self-harm compared with noncaregivers.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 11, 2024

Young long-term caregivers likelier to have mental health issues

A joint study by the University of Tokyo and the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science found that the risk is particularly high for those between 14 and 16.
Public support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet marked a new low of 15.5% in July, Jiji poll shows.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 11, 2024

Kishida Cabinet's approval rating sinks to 15.5%, poll shows

The results marked a new low for the Liberal Democratic Party since it returned to power in December 2012.
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Boiling Point
Jul 13, 2024

How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike

The one thing everyone can control when the mercury rises is their diet.
People on a train from India's northeastern states stretch out their hands to collect free food being distributed by an NGO at a railway station in Kolkata in 2012.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 12, 2024

Empty beds, lost jobs: The price of India's crackdown on NGO funds

Only 15,947 NGOs remain active in India, while 35,488 licenses have been cancelled or expired, according to the country's FCRA dashboard.
Elon Musk, chief executive officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X, attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups in Paris in June last year.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 13, 2024

Musk donates to Trump, tapping vast fortune to swing 2024 U.S. race

It’s unclear how much Musk has given, but people familiar with the matter characterized the figure as a sizable amount.
NewJeans members (from left) Hanni, Haerin, Danielle and Minji attend an event at which they were named tourism ambassadors to South Korea.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jul 13, 2024

South Korea names K-pop group NewJeans tourism ambassadors

The quartet take on the role previously held by "Squid Game" star Lee Jung-jae and K-pop megastars BTS.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and others at a position of Ukrainian servicemen in the town of Kupiansk last November.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 13, 2024

Being Volodymyr Zelenskyy: How war has changed Ukraine's leader

His ambition when he was elected in 2019 had been to help Ukraine become a modern democracy, before that was shattered by Russia's invasion in 2022.
Barbora Krejcikova kisses the trophy after winning the Wimbledon women's singles title on Saturday over Jasmine Paolini.
TENNIS
Jul 14, 2024

Inspired Krejcikova emulates mentor Novotna with Wimbledon triumph

The 2021 French Open champion added the Venus Rosewater Dish to her bulging trophy cabinet that also includes 10 Grand Slam doubles prizes.
U.S. President Joe Biden prior to a rally in Detroit on Friday
WORLD / Politics
Jul 14, 2024

Is Biden competent to serve again? Here's what health experts say.

A battery of new cognitive tests could enlighten voters on the mental abilities of both Biden and Trump, who has had his own share of verbal lapses.
A child receives an oral Malaria vaccine in Lilongwe, Malawi.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 15, 2024

Rising conflicts globally slowed childhood vaccination rate in 2023, U.N. says

About 14.5 million children failed to get vaccinated in 2023, compared with 13.9 million a year earlier, according to U.N. estimates.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito speaks to reporters on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 16, 2024

Hyogo governor stands firm on not resigning despite official's death

Gov. Motohiko Saito said he has "responded within the necessary scope" of his duties in relation to allegations of power harassment against him.
England head coach Gareth Southgate walks past the trophy after his side lost the final of Euro 2024 against Spain on Sunday in Berlin.
SOCCER
Jul 17, 2024

Southgate stands down: Who's next for England's hot seat?

Southgate announced his departure less than 48 hours after England's second successive Euro final defeat, this time a shattering 2-1 loss to Spain in Berlin on Sunday.
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy participates in a practice round on Tuesday in Troon, Scotland, ahead of the British Open.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jul 17, 2024

Scheffler and DeChambeau loom over McIlroy's bid for major redemption

McIlroy's major drought continued in last month's U.S. Open, where he agonizingly finished second after bogeying three of his last four holes.
The North Korean flag flutters at the North Korea consular office in Dandong, China, on April 20, 2021.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 17, 2024

'Shocking': U.N. report details North Korea's widespread forced labor

In a damning report, the U.N. rights office detailed how people in North Korea have been "controlled and exploited."
Seoul Queer Culture Festival participants hold a huge rainbow flag during parade in Seoul on July 1, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 18, 2024

Top court hands South Korean gay couple win on spouse status

The two plaintiffs filed the suit against the National Health Insurance Service in 2021 after their spousal benefits were stripped.
More Japanese firms have gone bankrupt in the first half of this year due to soaring costs, labor shortages and the end of pandemic-related support.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 18, 2024

Triple whammy takes Japan bankruptcies to decade high

Soaring costs, labor shortages and the end of pandemic-related financial support are taking a heavy toll on smaller businesses.
Japan's tradition of offering investors gifts is nice. But with the stock market at record highs, such perks are no longer needed.
COMMENTARY
Jul 18, 2024

It’s time Japan's shareholders buy their own wine

The practice by Japanese companies of giving gifts once served as a good way to encourage trading novices to dabble in the stock market.
Musician Yuka Noda’s 1989 album “Karibu no Yume: Light Fusion Fantasy” has developed a cult following among jazz fusion fans, and the album is set to be reissued as a CD and record next week.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 19, 2024

Yuka Noda's sonic escape to a balmy yesteryear

The reissue of Noda's 1989 album “Karibu no Yume: Light Fusion Fantasy" underlines a growing interest in bubble-era nostalgia and Japan's jazz and fusion works.
The Torchin series of table lamps, made by Yame 'chōchin' (paper lantern) artisans Shiraki Kougei and produced in collaboration with Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten and design unit Tent, combine contemporary design with traditional lantern-making techniques.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jul 20, 2024

Celebrate o-Bon in style with these elegant crafts

As o-Bon approaches, On: Design looks at industry mainstay Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten’s latest initiatives to honor the dearly departed.
Sardines may not be the traditional choice for Japan's special midsummer eel-eating day, but with a few special touches, the fish can be a satisfying and sustainable replacement.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Washoku Essentials
Jul 21, 2024

Going eel-less for Japan’s midsummer tradition

Japanese eel is endangered, but sardines are an ethical — and delicious — substitute for this year’s double Doyo no Ushi no Hi.
When it is in season, 'maguro' (tuna) from the Sea of Japan is one of the mainstay menu items at Tokiwa Sushi.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jul 21, 2024

Tokiwa Sushi: Niigata sushi master with a hometown, locavore focus

"Tuna from Niigata Prefecture is the mainstay of our menu, but it’s only available three months a year," chef Kosuke Kobayashi explains.
The government is considering introducing a new preclearance system for foreign visitors, starting with tourists from Taiwan, to help shorten the time taken for entry procedures on arrival.
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2024

Japan to speed up entry process as tourist wave hits new record

The government will introduce a new preclearance system from January, starting with tourists from Taiwan, NHK has reported.
A passerby holding a parasol wipes her face as she walks on the street amid a heatstroke alert in Tokyo and other prefectures, in Tokyo on July 9.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Boiling Point
Jul 19, 2024

How to prevent and respond to heatstroke in Japan this summer

Staying hydrated and controlling the rise in one's body temperature are the fundamental ways for preventing and alleviating heat-related illnesses.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan