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Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after a policy meeting at the bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2024

BOJ introduces first rate hike in 17 years following pay gains

The negative rates policy, the last one in the world, had been a symbol of the Bank of Japan's ultraloose monetary stimulus lasting over a decade.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo attend a working luncheon at the Sofitel Hotel in Manila on Tuesday. Blinken’s trip, which also touched upon economic cooperation, followed a trade mission visit by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo a week earlier.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 19, 2024

Blinken pledges closer U.S.-Philippine security ties ahead of trilateral summit with Japan

The top U.S. diplomat and his Philippine counterpart also signaled the allies were eyeing ways to "operationalize" security cooperation with Tokyo.
Children and teachers walk past an electronic screen displaying Japan's Nikkei share average outside a brokerage in Tokyo on March 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 19, 2024

Japan OKs bill on background checks for work involving children

Once the bill becomes a law, employers will be able to screen prospective employees for past history of sex offenses via the Children and Families Agency.
People walk under flags of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, on Queen's Road in Hong Kong.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 20, 2024

What's in Hong Kong's new national security law?

The law's broadly defined provisions have drawn condemnation from Western countries, which had urged Hong Kong to reconsider it.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) and Deputy Govs. Ryozo Himino (left) and Shinichi Uchida (right) attend a news conference at the bank headquarters in Tokyo in April 2023
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 20, 2024

How the Bank of Japan's plan for a smooth stimulus exit unfolded

The decision was complicated by differences between BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda's two deputies, as well as the governor's wavering on the exit timing.
The annual World Happiness Report, launched in 2012 to support the United Nations' sustainable development goals, is based on data from U.S. market research company Gallup, analyzed by a global team now led by the University of Oxford.
WORLD / Society
Mar 20, 2024

Gloomy youth pull U.S. and Western Europe down global happiness ranking

Japan was 51st in the annual rankings, ahead of South Korea at No. 52 and China at No. 60.
Artisan Suzanne Ross says Japanese lacquerware is a "treasure that belongs to the world."
JAPAN / Society
Mar 20, 2024

Wajima artisan’s livelihood, four decades in the making, upended by disaster

Lacquerware artist Suzanne Ross' life was upended by a massive earthquake. Now, she's determined to keep her craft alive.
A ruthless teen (Jinsei Hamura, right) attempts to blackmail a man stuck in an unhappy marriage (Masaki Okada) with evidence of a double murder in “Gold Boy.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 21, 2024

‘Gold Boy’: Clever criminal minds offer a study of evil

Shusuke Kaneko’s drama about twisted teens extorting money from a murderer thrills and chills in equal measure.
Known in Hokkaido business circles as an internationalist due to his close ties with the United States and the International Olympics Committee, Yoshiro Ito headed dozens of Hokkaido and national organizations during his decadeslong career.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Mar 25, 2024

Hokkaido mourns Yoshiro Ito, promoter of Japan-U.S. ties

Ito was known in Hokkaido business circles as an internationalist due to his close ties with the United States.
Elon Musk's brain-chip startup Neuralink livestreamed on Wednesday its first patient implanted with a chip using his mind to play online chess.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 21, 2024

Musk's Neuralink shows first brain-chip patient playing online chess

The patient had received an implant from the company in January and reportedly learnt to control a computer mouse using his thoughts.
A co-production between Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project and the Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw, Poland, “N/Kosmos” features performers from Poland and Japan, each of whom mostly uses their native tongue.
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 21, 2024

‘N/Kosmos’ puts on a dazzling display of controlled chaos

Stage director Hiroshi Koike welcomes pandemonium in his latest genre-fluid production in collaboration with Polish electronic musician Waclaw Zimpel.
Significantly, JAL will also buy 11 A321neos, breaking Boeing’s exclusive hold on the airline as its sole supplier of single-aisle jets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 21, 2024

Japan Airlines to add 32 new Airbus planes to its fleet

The airline, a longtime Boeing customer, will also buy 10 jets from the U.S. planemaker as it expands its international network.
Kumamoto-based sakura researcher Toshio Katsuki  says Japan's interpretations of the cherry tree have evolved over the course of history.
COMMUNITY / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 22, 2024

Toshio Katsuki: 'The cherry blossoms have been my vehicle to find new relationships'

A sakura researcher tells us what drew him to the flowering trees, how their significance has changed over time and his tips on the best way to enjoy them.
Dodgers' pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches during the first inning of his MLB debut in Seoul. The outing was one to forget for the former Orix Buffaloes ace.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 22, 2024

Yamamoto shelled in debut as Dodgers lose to Padres

Yamamoto, who joined the Dodgers on a 12-year, $325 million deal in December, was taken out of the game after just one inning.
Kaori Yamada grew up surrounded by bonsai her whole life and was expected to carry on her family's 170-year-old legacy when she became an adult.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 23, 2024

The bonsai master working to branch out an age-old craft

Kaori Yamada grew up surrounded by bonsai her whole life and was expected to carry on her family's 170-year-old legacy or otherwise end it.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 22, 2024

ASDF lieutenant general suspended over workplace bullying

It is the first punitive action against an ASDF lieutenant general for harassment.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 22, 2024

Japan urges priority for children as demand for measles shots spikes

Recent outbreaks in the country have led to a surge in interest in the vaccine among unvaccinated adults who haven't been infected with the disease.
In Hideo Yokoyama’s “The North Light,” an architect sets out to solve a mystery when he finds out the family he built a prizewinning house for has vanished.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 23, 2024

'The North Light': One man's psychological journey subverts the crime genre

Hideo Yokoyama's novel centered on a man confronting the shattered pieces of his life offers a look into post-bubble Japan's architectural world.
Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, appears in this still image taken from video released Friday in which she announced that she is undergoing preventative chemotherapy after cancer was found to have been present, following her abdominal surgery in January.
WORLD
Mar 23, 2024

Catherine’s cancer diagnosis puts U.K. royals on even more uncertain terrain

First King Charles and now Catherine, Princess of Wales, are facing grave health concerns, stretching an already slimmed-down monarchy.
Hedge funds have been consistently short the yen since 2021, according to CFTC, with the trade remaining popular in recent months on expectations that the BOJ’s pursuit of policy normalization will nonetheless remain accommodative.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 23, 2024

Hedge funds boost bearish yen bets after BOJ’s dovish hike

The yen fell more than 1% against the dollar following the conclusion of the central bank’s meeting Tuesday, and is now set for a second weekly drop.
The record high, which reflects rising prices, was the worst since the subject was added to the poll in 2008, according to a Cabinet Office official.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 23, 2024

Record 63% in Japan feel financially uncomfortable, government survey finds

The result, which reflects rising prices, was the worst since the subject was added to the poll in 2008, according to a Cabinet Office official.
A new brain wave study published Friday suggests that hearing the names of their favorite toys actually activates dogs' memories of those objects.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 23, 2024

'Good boy!' Dogs do understand us, says new study

A new study published suggests that hearing the names of their favorite toys actually activates dogs' memories of those objects.
Smoke rises from Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, on March 17. Ending the wars in Gaza and Ukraine and deterring conflicts in the Indo-Pacific region is a key global goal.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 31, 2024

How should Japan deal with Ukraine, Gaza and the Indo-Pacific region?

The power, institutions and values that underpin the international security order are being compromised worldwide.
A screenshot from a video taken and released Saturday shows China Coast Guard ships deploying water cannons against a Philippine military-chartered civilian supply boat near the Second Thomas Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 24, 2024

After clash, China warns Philippines over escalation in South China Sea

China's Defense Ministry issued the warning a day after Manila accused Beijing of damaging a Philippine vessel and injuring its crew with water cannons.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz celebrates with the winner's trophy after taking the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday in Melbourne.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Mar 24, 2024

Sainz leads Ferrari 1-2 in Australia as Tsunoda grabs first points of 2024

Japan's Yuki Tsunoda had his best drive of the season and finished eighth to give him momentum heading into the Japanese Grand Prix in two weeks.
BASEBALL / MLB / EXPLAINER
Mar 25, 2024

Ohtani’s former interpreter’s gambling scandal: What we know so far

Here is a breakdown of events leading to the interpreter’s firing ahead of the baseball superstar's plan to speak to the media about the scandal.
Afghan evacuees arrive at Narita International Airport in October 2021. Applicants from Afghanistan made up the majority of those recognized as refugees by the Japanese government last year, similar to 2022.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 26, 2024

Japan granted refugee status to record 303 asylum-seekers in 2023

While this is a jump from the 202 people in 2022 and a new record high, the number is still considerably lower when compared with Western countries.
Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attend the opening ceremony of the Gangdong Greenhouse in North Korea in this picture released on March 16.
JAPAN / Politics / EXPLAINER
Mar 27, 2024

North Korea reaches for familiar playbook in talks with Japan

Pyongyang blowing hot and cold on a potential leaders summit is meant to gain the upper hand in negotiations to realize such a meeting.
Ryuya Wakaba plays a man determined to kill the person who murdered his girlfriend, only to find he’s stuck reliving the same day over and over with his foe still alive in “Penalty Loop.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 28, 2024

‘Penalty Loop’: Murder on repeat loses meaning

Shinji Araki’s dark comedy about two antagonists stuck in a time loop is intriguing, but lacks logic and satisfying answers.
Beijing-based Chinese influencer Chang Feifei has taken on many jobs to promote travel destinations in Japan, including from Universal Studios Japan and the Hankyu and Hanshin department stores.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Mar 28, 2024

Influencers — Japan’s secret weapon to promote niche tourism spots

Followers' trust in — and reliance on — social media for travel info, even when the content is sponsored, is a key factor.

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