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Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks at an event in June.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 26, 2023

London’s mayor tries to unite a city divided by war in Gaza

The fighting between Israel and Hamas is shaking Muslim and Jewish people, who have lived side-by-side in London for generations.
Police officers block Wulumuqi Street in Shanghai on Nov. 27, 2022, amid protests over China's 'zero-COVID' policy.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 26, 2023

'Still suffocated': Mourning China's 'zero-COVID' protests a year on

Vigils for victims of a fire quickly morphed into calls to end zero-COVID measures — and in some cases, to topple Xi Jinping.
Yoshiko Koide sits in a classroom at Nagoya College where she teaches a Japanese-language observation seminar.
LIFE / Language / Longform
Nov 27, 2023

How a dictionary came to spark outrage among the web’s otaku

A project to create a reference book categorizing subcultures didn't seem to cause offense until it was packaged and sold as a dictionary.
“The Boy and the Heron” marks Hayao Miyazaki’s return from retirement.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 27, 2023

What’s it like to work with Hayao Miyazaki? Go behind the scenes.

The anime master is a creature of habit who talks every day with his longtime producer, and keeps it more hands off with his regular composer.
Jannik Sinner lifts the trophy after helping Italy defeat Australia in the Davis Cup final in Malaga, Spain, on Sunday.
TENNIS
Nov 27, 2023

Jannik Sinner carries Italy to Davis Cup title over Australia

Italy won the Davis Cup for the first time in 47 years.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 27, 2023

Yoshinobu Yamamoto named to third straight Best Nine team

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the runaway choice as the best pitcher in the Pacific League on Monday, when the winners of NPB’s annual Best Nine awards were announced.
Gold medalist Laura Kenny of Britain on the last day of the cycling track events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, at the Izu Velodrome, in Shizuoka Prefecture, on Aug. 8, 2021
OLYMPICS / Cycling
Nov 28, 2023

British cycling great Laura Kenny sets sights on Paris

Time is ticking for the 31-year-old to force her way back into the British team, but five-time Olympic gold medal winner Kenny says she is determined.
Yoko Huijs-Watanuki poses in the city of Fukuoka during a visit to Japan in October.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Dec 4, 2023

Oita woman helps Japanese Dutch, born in WWII, trace their roots

During the Pacific War the Japanese military occupied the Dutch East Indies, after taking the land from Dutch forces in 1942.
Tiger Woods during the second round of The Masters in Augusta, Georgia, in April
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Nov 29, 2023

'Rusty' Tiger curious about form at 'pain-free' comeback

Woods, a 15-time major winner, will play in the Hero World Challenge starting Thursday.
Argentina's President-elect Javier Milei has frequently referred to both his study of the Torah — the Jewish scripture that is also the first part of the Christian Bible — and his identity as a Catholic.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 30, 2023

Javier Milei's spirituality: Catholicism, Torah and a 'libertarian' God

Argentine President-elect has offered glimpses into how his seemingly contradictory spiritual practices influence his idiosyncratic worldview.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 30, 2023

World leaders react to the death of Henry Kissinger

Here are reactions to the death of Henry Kissinger, a controversial Nobel Peace Prize winner who left an indelible mark on foreign policy:
Chile's Joaquin Niemann (left) and Japan's Rikuya Hoshino line up their putts during a playoff on the final day of the Australian Open in Sydney on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Dec 3, 2023

Niemann tops Hoshino in Australian Open playoff

South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai retained the title in the women's Australian Open, being played in parallel on the same course.
Ronnie O'Sullivan poses with the trophy after winning the UK Championship in York, England, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 4, 2023

'The Rocket' Ronnie O'Sullivan becomes oldest UK snooker champion

O'Sullivan earned his eighth title with a 10-7 victory over Ding Junhui.
Scottie Scheffler, seen during the Ryder Cup in September, won the Hero World Challenge on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 4, 2023

Scottie Scheffler wins Hero World Challenge; Tiger builds confidence

Scheffler fired a bogey-free 68 on Sunday for a three-shot win in the Hero World Challenge.
Spain's Rafael Nadal celebrates after winning against Britain's Jack Draper during their men's singles match on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Jan. 16. Nadal has been absent from the courts for almost a year with a hip injury.
TENNIS
Dec 5, 2023

Nadal plays down expectations before Brisbane return

Rafael Nadal, 37, has been out with a hip injury since last January but is set to feature at Brisbane in the near year.
Kim, 31, who loaded his family into a homemade wooden boat in May and sailed away from his native North Korea, attends a job fair for North Korean defectors in Seoul while holding a whiteboard that reads "Navigator."
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 6, 2023

North Korean defector plans new life after high-risk escape by sea

Tens of thousands of North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the peninsula was divided by war in the 1950s, but most go overland.
American pop singer Caroline Polachek, who lived in Tokyo from the age of 1 through 7, held her first gig as a solo headliner in Japan at Toyosu Pit in November.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 7, 2023

A heady Tokyo homecoming for Caroline Polachek

The U.S. indie pop singer returns to her childhood home for her first solo gig in Japan and builds out her musical universe with maximalist emotions.
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 7, 2023

Feeling anxious? Wastewater, heat and Japan’s year in climate

In a year that saw Japan release 24,000 tons of wastewater (so far) from Fukushima No. 1 as the planet smashed heat records, it’s no wonder climate anxiety is on the rise. Mara Budgen joins us to break down the year in environment news, where we could see hope, and what we should be worried about....
Naomi Osaka in action during the 2022 U.S. Open in one of her final tournaments before her pregnancy leave
TENNIS
Dec 8, 2023

Returning Osaka targets Paris Olympics and more Grand Slam titles

The 26-year-old former world No. 1 is set to return to competition at the Brisbane International starting at the end of the month.
The day after the Fukuoka District Court dismissed her lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of Japan's dual nationality law, Yuri Kondo, 76, was in high spirits as she drove to see family and friends.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 8, 2023

Japan-born U.S. national Yuri Kondo continues dual citizenship fight

The dismissal of her lawsuit over the dual nationality ban has implications for tens of thousands of people, and Kondo says she'll keep fighting for them.
The end-of-year company party has been pretty much on hold for the past few years due to the pandemic. Will people embrace the tradition in bigger numbers as a result?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 8, 2023

Should we forget the year or forget the party?

After a few years without proper yearend work parties, are Japanese workers ready for a big bash? Or, has the tradition come to an end?
Yujiro Nakajimaya's advice for players new to hockey is that you have to know what you want to achieve. Is it a professional career? Then you need to challenge yourself.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 9, 2023

Yujiro Nakajimaya: ‘Overcoming adversity is an art’

At a young age, this hockey-playing Hokkaido native left for Canada and ended his journey playing in the NHL.
Drag queens (from left) Trinity the Tuck, Manila Luzon and Kylie Sonique Love headlined the most recent edition of Opulence, Tokyo's fast-growing drag performance extravaganza.
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 10, 2023

The opulence of Manila Luzon

The Asian American drag queen who rose to stardom after a stint on "RuPaul's Drag Race" pays things forward with her Philippines-based show "Drag Den."
Janos Cegledy sits in a park in Tokyo's Nerima Ward. The pianist says Japan suits him, “There is a certain civility and politeness here which you don’t find anywhere else.”
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / Longform
Dec 11, 2023

The extraordinary life of a Holocaust survivor living in Japan

Janos Cegledy tours schools, telling his story. If the students ever meet a Holocaust denier, he says, they can reply, "I met someone who was there."
Rina Gonoi, a former member of the Self-Defense Forces, who has accused colleagues of sexually assaulting her during her time in the military, speaks in Yokohama on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 11, 2023

Former Japanese soldier fights for justice in landmark sexual assault case

A former Self-Defence Forces member's yearslong fight for justice against the men she has accused of sexually assaulting her will reach a climax on Tuesday when a court delivers a verdict in a trial that has drawn international attention.
Yuka Tada and her friend pose for a photograph at a BTS fan cafe in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 12, 2023

BTS members head for South Korea military service; fans vow to wait

With three members already serving, the remaining four members of the K-pop supergroup begin their 18-month service.
Gold medalist Noah Lyles of the U.S. celebrates after the men's 200m final at the World Athletics Championship in Budapest on Aug. 25.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Dec 12, 2023

Lyles and Kipyegon named track athletes of the year

Lyles was recognized for the three gold medals he won at the world championships in Budapest.
Since starting out as a venue for short, silly lip-syncing videos, TikTok has emerged as an incubator for consumer trends, with millions of people trying on clothes and reviewing products.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 13, 2023

TikTok Shop sees early success, taking aim at giant Amazon

In a sign of how seriously Amazon is taking TikTok, the company cut deals with Pinterest, Meta and Snapchat to let users shop without leaving those apps.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 29, 2023

20 Questions: The best answers of 2023

Our interviewees this year gave a lot of advice for living a good life and paying attention to the things that matter most.
Toranosuke Katayama is a photographer who's photo assignments lead him to become a soba researcher with 70 publications on the cuisine.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 22, 2023

Toranosuke Katayama: ‘Soba is about saving history and identity’

A photographer who chose to document soba for a book soon found himself drawn into the deeper world of the buckwheat noodle.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan