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Severe Tropical Storm Shanshan is seen in a satellite image from Friday afternoon
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2024

Japan braces for typhoon landfall early next week

Severe Tropical Storm Shanshan, set to strengthen into a typhoon by Saturday, is forecast to make landfall in Shikoku or Honshu.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to reporters in Yokohama on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 23, 2024

Shinjiro Koizumi is public's favorite for next LDP leader, poll shows

Former LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba also received a strong degree of support.
Kyoto International High School players react after their win over Kanto Daiichi High School in the National High School Baseball Championship final at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on Friday.
BASEBALL
Aug 23, 2024

Underdog Kyoto International High School wins Summer Koshien crown

Kyoto International High School defeated Tokyo’s Kanto Daiichi High School in extra innings.
U.S. President Joe Biden has announced a new round of military aid for Kyiv that the Pentagon valued at $125 million.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 24, 2024

Biden talks with Zelenskyy and announces fresh military aid for Kyiv

The U.S. Defense Department later said the package is worth $125 million and consists of items drawn from American stocks.
Seafood for sale at a market in Zhoushan, China. Beijng's import ban has fueled an aversion to seafood in general, creating a situation it hadn't anticipated.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2024

China keeps door firmly closed to Japanese seafood imports

Despite assurances of safety, Beijing continues to call water released from the crippled Fukushima plant "nuclear-contaminated water."
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani raises his fist after he hit his 41st home run of the season on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 25, 2024

Rays power past Dodgers as Ohtani hits his 41st homer

The Rays rallied for a 9-8 victory over the Dodgers on Saturday even as Shohei Ohtani launched his 41st long ball of the season.
Seven Magellanic penguins evacuated from Notojima Aquarium in Ishikawa Prefecture were shown at Sumida Aquarium in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2024

Penguins evacuated from quake-hit Noto shown at aquarium in Tokyo

The penguins arrived at Sumida Aquarium in Tokyo from Notojima Aquarium in the city of Nanao on Feb. 1, one month after the 7.6-magnitude temblor.
Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of messaging app Telegram, has been arrested as part of an investigation of crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions on the platform.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 27, 2024

Telegram CEO arrested in probe into child porn, drug trafficking on app

The investigation over suspected complicity in various crimes includes the refusal to communicate information to authorities.
Remnants of the first Moji station complex are located near the current Mojiko Station in the city of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 27, 2024

Kitakyushu clashes with academics over Meiji Era remains

The city wants to proceed with plans to build a five-story complex to house several aging public facilities on the site of the original Moji railway station.
A cardboard cutout of the Monkey King character, or Sun Wukong, from the Chinese action role-playing game Black Myth: Wukong is displayed on the day of its launch in Beijing on Aug. 20.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 27, 2024

Black myth, Black samurai and gaming nationalism

While China has to date enjoyed success in mobile and PC gaming, those lucrative sectors carry relatively little prestige. That makes Wukong’s breakout a landmark event.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping before the APEC Leaders' Retreat in Bangkok in November 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2024

How a Harris-Walz administration might handle Asia policy

While a Harris-Walz administration would likely avoid unilateral economic measures against China, it would prioritize human rights more in the relationship.
The government has decided to continue offering subsidies to curb electricity, gas and gasoline bills until the end of this year.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2024

Japan to spend additional ¥980 billion to curb energy bills

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that his Cabinet plans to approve the additional spending on Sept. 3.
Nippon Ishin no Kai head Nobuyuki Baba (left) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discuss political reform in Tokyo in May.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 28, 2024

Hyogo governor's scandal could spell more trouble for Nippon Ishin

The party, still reeling from a mayoral election loss, gave its backing to Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito in his 2021 gubernatorial bid.
Quokkas have been dubbed the "happiest animal in the world."
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2024

Saitama zoo seeks donations for 'smiling' quokkas

The Saitama Children's Zoo in Higashimatsuyama is the only place in Japan where people can see quokkas.
Anna Sawai's performance as Lady Mariko in the FX series "Shogun" landed the actor an Emmy nomination for best actress in a drama.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Aug 29, 2024

In ‘Shogun,’ Anna Sawai drew on the power of silence. And Mozart.

“It gives me confidence,” Sawai says about her first Emmy nomination, for best actress in a drama. “I have such bad impostor syndrome.”
Japanese workers in their 40s and 50s — known as the "lost generation" — saw their wages rise slightly in the second quarter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 29, 2024

Japan’s 'lost generation' gets a raise, and the economy, a small boost

The pay bump in the second quarter is vitally important to the economy, as consumption by Japanese workers in their 40s and 50s is an important driver of growth.
Some fans lined up for over seven hours for a chance to get a Shohei Ohtani bobblehead at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 29, 2024

Fans line up hours before Dodgers game to get Shohei Ohtani bobblehead

Fans began arriving around noon for the night game against the Baltimore Orioles.
The Kia Tigers' cheerleaders a racking up millions of views on social media with one of their dance routines.
BASEBALL
Aug 29, 2024

Korean baseball team's cheerleaders taking over TikTok with viral dance

The dance has spawned numerous imitators, who, smitten by the cutesy number and its accompanying ear worm, mimic the cheerleaders’ blank stares and hip swivels.
Tomy's "Photogenic LiccA" dress-up dolls are exhibited at the International Tokyo Toy Show 2024 that opened Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2024

Toys targeting 'kidults' featured at Tokyo Toy Show 2024

About 35,000 toy items from 190 Japanese and foreign companies are being showcased at International Tokyo Toy Show 2024.
Jonah Ndeuludila (right) is studying at Tochigi Prefecture's Asian Rural Institute in order to bring skills back to his job at Namibia's Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 2, 2024

Over half a century, seeds of change grow at a Tochigi farm

Founded by Toshihiro Takami in 1973, ARI promotes organic, subsistence farming methods and the practice of servant leadership.
A submerged area of Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on Thursday after Typhoon Shanshan dumped torrential rain throughout the Kyushu region.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2024

Alerts issued for Tokyo area cities as Shanshan crawls across Japan

Multiple rivers in and around Tokyo threatened to spill their banks as the storm brought torrential rain.
Torrential rain in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Friday as Shanshan brought heavy precipitation to the capital.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 30, 2024

How climate change made Shanshan more likely and more devastating

The devastating winds of Shanshan were 26% more likely due to climate change, a rapid analysis has found, highlighting the impact of warming on severe storms.
Hiroshi Sunairi’s documentary “From Okinawa with Love” follows the unwavering Okinawan photographer Mao Ishikawa, who made her name documenting the relationships between Japanese bar girls and African American servicemen.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 30, 2024

‘From Okinawa with Love’: A revealing documentary about a true original

Hiroshi Sunairi takes a fly-on-the-wall approach to explore the life of Mao Ishikawa, who photographed Okinawans and the effects of the U.S. military.
Bureaucrats had envisioned payments of up to ¥600,000 for women who got married and settled outside of Tokyo, according to media reports.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 30, 2024

Japan scraps idea to woo women out of city with cash

Bureaucrats had envisioned payments of up to ¥600,000 for women who got married and settled outside of Tokyo.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani rounds the bases after hitting his 43rd home run of the season on Friday in Phoenix.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 31, 2024

Shohei Ohtani hits 43rd HR as Dodgers edge Diamondbacks

Ohtani also stole his 43rd base as he bids to become the first member of the 50-50 club.
Kyoto International High Shool's baseball team receives a champion flag after winning the Japanese High School Baseball Championship final at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture on Aug. 23.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 31, 2024

A high school baseball championship and Japan-South Korea relations

The reactions to Kyoto International High School winning the National High School Baseball Championship, both in Japan and South Korea, were intriguing.
Japan's Naoya Inoue (left) and Ireland's TJ Doheny fight during their super bantamweight title match at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Sep 3, 2024

'Monster' Inoue eyeing Vegas bout after stopping injured Doheny

The unbeaten Inoue was declared the winner when Doheny was left hobbling and unable to continue following a barrage to the body.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024

Warm weather expected to delay autumn foliage

Higher temperatures are expected this fall, as heat lingers on from Japan's joint hottest summer on record.
Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu announces his squad for upcoming World Cup qualifying matches, on Aug. 29 in the city of Chiba.
SOCCER / World cup
Sep 4, 2024

Japan favored in next World Cup qualifying stage, but history gives pause

At this stage, the Samurai Blue lost 1-0 at home to Oman three years ago and also went down 2-1 to the UAE in front of their own fans ahead of the 2018 tournament.
The future of 133-year-old remains, which lay buried beneath Kitakyushu for a century, is unclear amid the city's redevelopment plans.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024

Global conservation body calls on Kitakyushu to halt redevelopment plans

The city said the project will proceed as planned as there are no alternative sites and further delays could threaten the provision of public services.

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