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The Kyoto Family Court dismissed a petition a married person filed to have their gender designation changed in the family register.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 20, 2025

Kyoto court rejects married person's petition for gender-designation change

The petitioner's side immediately appealed the ruling.
Hino Motors pleaded guilty on Wednesday over a multiyear emissions fraud scheme in the United States and must pay $1.6 billion in penalties.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 20, 2025

Toyota's Hino pleads guilty to U.S. emissions fraud and is fined $1.6 billion

Hino admitted that between 2010 and 2019, it used "illicit short-cuts" and submitted false applications for engine certification approvals.
The AI management shift has been months in the making and predates Apple announcing the Siri delays.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 21, 2025

Apple shuffles AI executive ranks in bid to turn around Siri

The company is undergoing a rare shake-up of its executive ranks, aiming to get its artificial intelligence efforts back on track.
Megumi Koiwai (left) found refuge in writing and storytelling that allowed her to reconcile with her heritage and upbringing.
COMMUNITY / Voices
Mar 24, 2025

A community of stories: Making space for reflection and dialogue in Tokyo and beyond

Through conversations with an international writing workshop, a writer of mixed heritage finds steadier footing and a sense of self.
AMKK’s latest exhibition, “X-Ray Flowers,” is the culmination of seven years of work aided by CT technologists, who help with the highly specialized imaging techniques.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 21, 2025

Avant-garde botanists AMKK illuminate the inner worlds of flowers

The punk florists' latest exhibition immerses visitors in darkness, bathed only in the glow of X-rays and CT scans of plants and flowers.
The Pentagon's disbandment of the Office of Net Assessment ends a key institution that provided long-term strategic analysis, leaving the U.S. vulnerable to future geopolitical challenges.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 20, 2025

A sad day for U.S. strategic analysis as the Office of Net Assessment is disbanded

While most focused on the military, ONA was the only group to conclude that winning the Cold War relied on economic means, not troop numbers.
 Whales sense their surroundings largely through sound and create complex vocalizations, or songs, when they’re searching for mates and food.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 22, 2025

Why we should worry when whales stop singing

A new study has found that whale songs can act as a barometer for the effects of climate change on ocean ecosystems.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a news conference in Ottawa on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 23, 2025

Under threat from Trump, Canada set to hold snap elections

The former central banker was chosen to replace Justin Trudeau as prime minister, but he has never faced the broader Canadian electorate.
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney gestures as he boards an aircraft, after calling for an election, in Ottawa on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 24, 2025

Carney calls snap election, saying Trump wants to break Canada

In calling the election now, Carney is hoping to capitalize on a remarkable recovery by his Liberal Party in the polls since January.
Max Lesser, a senior analyst on emerging threats at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, has uncovered a network of companies operated by a secretive Chinese tech firm that has been trying to recruit recently laid-off U.S. government workers.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 26, 2025

Secretive Chinese network tries to lure fired federal workers in U.S.

Max Lesser, a researcher who uncovered the network, said the campaign follows "well-established" techniques used by previous Chinese intelligence operations.
At No. 4, three-Michelin-starred Sezanne took home the title of best restaurant in Japan in this year's Asia's 50 Best Restaurants rankings.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 26, 2025

11 in Japan win Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant honors, but Gaggan is tops

The modern French cuisine of Sezanne was good enough for best in Japan and No. 4 in all of Asia.
At Japan's top cocktail bars, ice is as important an ingredient as any bottle you'll see on the shelf.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 30, 2025

The cold complexity of 'pure' Japanese cocktail ice

To some Japanese bartenders, the secret to a great cocktail lies not just in the mixologist's skills but also the quality of the ice.
U.S. President Donald Trump's deal-focused approach to diplomacy may prevent a hostile China-Russia-North Korea-Iran alliance, but weakens U.S. global leadership.
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2025

The art of the deal meets a four-power axis

Trump's deal-focused approach may prevent a hostile China-Russia-North Korea-Iran alliance but weakens U.S. global leadership.
A worker restores an anti-U.S. mural in Tehran on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 31, 2025

Trump threatens bombing if Iran does not make nuclear deal

Tehran has so far rebuffed Trump's warning to make a deal or face military consequences.
Myanmar's military chief, Min Aung Hlaing (center), arrives to meet earthquake survivors gathered on the compound of a hospital in Naypyitaw on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 1, 2025

Deadly quake gives junta a chance to tighten hold over Myanmar

Even as the damage of Friday’s quake was still being assessed, pro-democracy rebel groups reported fresh airstrikes in areas close to the epicenter.
A Buddhist monk walks past the damaged Mandalay Palace on Monday. The country's ruling military junta can repeat the mistakes of 17 years ago by blocking aid after Cyclone Nargis left 140,000 dead or allow urgent assistance to flow freely.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2025

The quake in Myanmar should force the junta’s hand

The ousted civilian administration initiated a two-week ceasefire in quake-hit areas to allow aid to reach victims. It doesn’t look like the junta will do the same.
A F-18 jet lands on the runway of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier during military exercises in 2024.
WORLD
Apr 2, 2025

Pentagon sends second aircraft carrier to Mideast as Iran tensions rise

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered additional forces to the Middle East, including the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group and aircraft.
Mitsuko Kusabue plays the feisty proprietor of a ramshackle drinking establishment in “Let’s Meet at Angie’s Bar.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 31, 2025

‘Let’s Meet at Angie’s Bar’: A granny like none other

Acting veteran Mitsuko Kusabue brings wisdom and wit to Yurugu Matsumoto’s lighter-than-air comedy.
Sasami has had a connection to Japan since childhood as her mother's side of the family is Zainichi Korean and has lived in Japan for years. The musician grew up listening to city pop and watching Japanese TV.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 5, 2025

Sasami is in her pop era, and she’s not overthinking it

As the singer explores Tokyo, she reflects on identity and her latest album, “Blood On the Silver Screen.”
Anthony Albanese
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 5, 2025

Australia to buy Darwin port lease from Chinese firm, PM says

China's Landbridge group was granted a 99-year lease on the port in 2015, a widely criticized decision that led to stricter scrutiny of major infrastructure sales.
Anti-Yoon protesters hold up placards reading "Let's build a democratic government!" during a rally in Seoul on Friday after South Korea's Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 5, 2025

Yoon's ouster prompts Japanese concerns about ties with South Korea

Japan is worried that Yoon's removal from power will undo the improvements in bilateral relations made under his administration.
Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin during the third period of Washington's game against Chicago on Friday. Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record with his 894th career marker.
MORE SPORTS / Ice Hockey
Apr 6, 2025

Ice legends: Alex Ovechkin and Wayne Gretzky had different paths to 894

Gretzky became the NHL's all-time goals leader while also serving as the league's premier playmaker, while Ovechkin has been known for his goal scoring since his rookie year.
Beards, once symbols of rebellion and counterculture, are making a comeback among elites, reflecting shifting cultural norms even as biases persist in professional settings.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 7, 2025

What does your beard say about you?

During the 19th century, the European monarchies associated beards with dangerous radicals. So did the dangerous radicals.
Jason Day plays his shot from the 15th tee during the completion of the first round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia on April 12, 2024.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Apr 9, 2025

Jason Day asked to tone down Masters outfit choices

The Australian former world number one had some interesting outfits ready for the year's first major this week but has since had to make changes.
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, who Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has appointed Japan's tariff negotiator, is one of his closest allies and busiest ministers.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 9, 2025

Who is Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariffs negotiator?

The man tasked with convincing the U.S. drop its tariffs on Japanese goods is one of the prime minister's closest allies and busiest ministers.
Bereaved family members of crime victims on the sidelines of National Stadium during the J. League's Levain Cup final on Nov. 2 in Tokyo. A Tokyo police initiative in which children who have lost family to crimes or accidents are invited to sports and entertainment events marks its 10th anniversary this year.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 10, 2025

Tokyo police program for bereaved children marks 10 years

Sponsorship from private companies and nonprofits have helped grow the initiative, and today, other prefectures have also adopted similar support programs.
Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Apr 11, 2025

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

On a man-made island in Osaka Bay, Japan stages a grand vision of the future — and a quiet test of relevance.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House in February
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 11, 2025

Trump calls U.S.-Japan alliance ‘one-sided’ as nations prepare for tariff talks

The U.S. president's remarks rekindled fears that he might use the talks to ask Tokyo to pay more for hosting troops, buy more weapons or further boost defense spending.
After focusing on cabernet sauvignon in Napa Valley, winemaker Eiji Daniel Akaboshi moved to make pinot noir at the renowned Freeman Vineyard & Winery in Sonoma County.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 13, 2025

In California, a Nikkei vintner finds his heritage and purpose

The discovery of a distant relative's wine legacy in California led winemaker Eiji Daniel Akaboshi to look at his vocation in a new light.
In the dystopian society of Sayaka Murata's latest book to come out in English, sex between married couples is considered incest and therefore taboo.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 14, 2025

'Vanishing World': Sayaka Murata’s vision of a sex-hating society

In Sayaka Murata’s latest book to come out in English, sex between married couples is considered taboo, and humans reproduce predominantly via IVF.  

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person