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Earlier this month, the International Olympic Committee said that Russians and Belarusians who qualify in their sport for the Paris 2024 Games can take part as neutrals without flags, emblems or anthems.
OLYMPICS
Dec 19, 2023

Russian athletes still banned, but 'things change,' says Coe

"We made a judgement which we believe was in the best interest of our sport," said Coe, president of World Athletics.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2023

The outlook for 2024 appears grim — but nothing is preordained

Given the complex landscape of 2024, we can expect to navigate uncertainty, geopolitical shifts and a myriad of pivotal elections.
Naomi Osaka speaks during a news conference at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Jan. 12.
TENNIS
Feb 11, 2024

Naomi Osaka explains why she’s investing in women’s sports

Osaka, one of the world's most marketable athletes, plans to stay involved in the world of sports even after her tennis career ends.
A general election must take place in the U.K. by late January 2025, which means plenty of time for expats abroad to register and vote.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Feb 26, 2024

As more U.K. expats get the vote, Japan’s ballot box stays closed

As of Jan. 16, Brits abroad — including the more than 17,000 in Japan — are able to register to vote regardless of how long they have lived overseas.
Makoto Hasebe (top) celebrates with his Japan team mates after qualifying for the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, in Rustenburg, South Africa, in June 2010. Hasebe captained the Samurai Blue in three consecutive World Cups.
SOCCER
May 14, 2024

Makoto Hasebe bows out at the top, on his own terms

With 114 Japan caps and more than 380 Bundesliga appearances, the player has earned an almost legendary status.
Italian chef and restaurateur Massimo Bottura is increasingly focusing on passing on his knowledge to chefs such as Antonio Iacoviello.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 18, 2024

Massimo Bottura: 'The Japanese let ingredients express themselves'

The renowned chef and restaurateur talks about passing on his legacy and the "transfer of emotions" involved in cooking a successful dish.
NBA legend Ray Allen high-fives children during a basketball clinic in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Saturday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jun 15, 2024

Former Celtics great Ray Allen says 'distractions' played role in Game 4 blowout

The two-time NBA champion, who ran a basketball clinic for children in Tokyo on Saturday, also stressed that learning defense is key for developing young players.
Italy's Andrea Cambiaso, Davide Frattesi and Alessandro Bastoni look dejected after their team's loss to Switzerland on Saturday in Berlin.
SOCCER
Jun 30, 2024

Italy and coach Spalletti at crossroads after Euro title defense disaster

A shockingly one-sided match in Berlin led to a dismal last-16 exit after Luciano Spalletti's side had scraped through the group stage by the skin of its teeth.
From a Michelin-star kitchen in Italy to a central-Tokyo gelateria, Masako Minaguchi of Gelato MinNa believes doing what you love should always be a priority.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 11, 2024

Masako Minaguchi: ‘Gelato is full of possibilities’

From a Michelin-star kitchen in Italy to a central-Tokyo gelateria, this foodie believes doing what you love should always be a priority.
Hedwig Schreck is a third-generation Tokyoite whose grandfather first arrived in Japan from Germany in 1920 as a submarine engineer.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 24, 2024

Hedwig Schreck: ‘Art has always been part of my life’

A third-generation Tokyoite, the former TV producer has pivoted to teaching others about Japanese culture in her retirement.
Mylene de Joya Garcia-Albano
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Sep 4, 2024

Philippine envoy highlights climate and smart farms

A native of the Philippine city of Davao, Mylene de Joya Garcia-Albano arrived in Tokyo in December 2022 as ambassador of the Philippines to Japan.
Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns arrives to testify before a closed Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on U.S. President Joe Biden's proposed budget request for the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 12.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 8, 2024

U.S. and U.K. spy chiefs warn of deepening Iran-Russia military links

Iran has sent ballistic missiles to Russia, defying months of warnings by U.S. and European officials.
Squats are a good way to exercise your legs and glutes, just don't neglect exercising your mind when it comes to new vocabulary.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 10, 2024

Studying Japanese is like exercise: The more you do it, the better you'll feel.

Get to know the language of weight training as experts say strengthening muscles is key to remaining comfortable and injury-free in your old age.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks to UFC President Dana White during UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 18, 2024

Donald Trump meets PGA commissioner and Saudi PIF head

Golf star Rory McIlroy said Trump could help the two sides reach a deal.
Japan's success isn't rooted in mystical Eastern wisdom; it's driven by practical public policies, social standards and education, not secret life hacks.
COMMENTARY
Dec 10, 2024

Two words for current ‘ancient Japanese wisdom’: think again

Japan's success isn't rooted in mystical Eastern wisdom; it's driven by practical public policies, social standards, and education, not secret life hacks.
Former Greece manager Gus Poyet gestures during a Euro 2024 qualifying match against The Netherlands on Sep. 7, 2023. Poyet is now in charge of South Korea's Jeonbuk Motors.
SOCCER
Mar 12, 2025

Poyet unleashes on Asian soccer bosses ahead of Sydney tie

The Jeonbuk Motors coach railed against the selection of match officials, the use of VAR and a forced change of venue after Jeonbuk's pitch was ruled sub-par.
Hitachi CEO Keiji Kojima. The company’s metamorphosis belies the argument that the bastions of Japan Inc. are set forever in their ways.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 4, 2023

Hitachi reinvents itself in sign of hope for Japan

The old-school conglomerate revamped its governance, shrank its empire to focus on growth and evolved into a more global enterprise.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 10, 2023

Why is modernizing Japan so darn tough?

Reporter Gabriele Ninivaggi joins us to break down how Japan’s digitalization hiccups risk exposing how backward things are.
France's head coach Fabien Galthie (top, center) stands with his players ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal match between France and South Africa in Saint-Denis, France, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Oct 16, 2023

France coach Galthie has no regrets over defeat to South Africa

Fabien Galthie's first thoughts after the 29-28 defeat were for the fans who had supported the team so vociferously.
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Andrew Heaney during the first inning of Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday in Phoenix.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 1, 2023

Offensive explosion moves Rangers to cusp of World Series title

The Rangers rolled to an 11-7 win and are now one victory away from their first World Series championship.
Mika and Jesse say their landlady prefers a hands-off style of property management, leaving all matters, including maintenence and repairs, to the renting couple.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 18, 2023

Renting akiya: A backdoor into Japan's abandoned homes

“If the choice is between leaving (an akiya) empty or renting it out, please rent it out.”
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton arrives at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi ahead of the race on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Nov 30, 2023

After difficult F1 season, Hamilton admits to self-doubt

Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, last won a race in Saudi Arabia in December 2021 when he was battling Red Bull's Max Verstappen for the title.
Competitors play "Warships" at Squid Game: The Trials, Netflixユs new attraction in Los Angeles on Nov. 28, 2023. For $30, fans can compete in some 70 minutes of play, with moral twists and six group activities, including nonlethal versions of the showユs challenges.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Dec 13, 2023

Netflix builds a ‘Squid Game’ universe as it awaits a second season

A reality show and a live experience are two ways of keeping the dystopian series in the public eye. Is the original’s bleak message being diluted?
It doesn't snow everywhere in Japan, but when it does, it falls in blankets that must be cleared away, sometimes through unexpected means.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 4, 2024

Rural Japan’s snow removal solutions range from cute to curious

Outside of Tokyo, cities that get a significant volume of snow tend to have better ways of dealing with it than the capital.
Wim Wenders (left) co-wrote the script for “Perfect Days” with top advertising creative Takuma Takasaki. Japanese star Koji Yakusho (right) won best actor at Cannes last year for his performance as the film’s protagonist, a taciturn toilet cleaner in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 27, 2024

Oscar-nominated 'Perfect Days' is 'not about toilets,' Wenders says

The director's film about a taciturn cleaner who keeps Tokyo's public toilets spotless prompts reflections on urban solitude, community and growing older.
What role should money from oil and gas — the very industry that’s the main contributor to global warming — have in funding the work of climate scientists?
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 4, 2024

Two young climate scientists. Two visions of the solution.

The pair's biggest question: What role should money from oil and gas have in funding work like theirs?
Ben Binyamin attends a training session for the Israel amputee soccer team in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, on March 28.
SOCCER
Apr 3, 2024

Oct. 7 survivor is now a star of Israel's amputee soccer team

Six months after the attack, Ben Binyamin is the rock at the heart of the defense for Israel's national amputee soccer team.
Chelsea defender Alfie Gilchrist celebrates after scoring the club's sixth goal during their English Premier League football match against Everton on April 15.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2024

Arsenal? Liverpool? Chelsea? Help me pick my 'football' team

This writer’s been in England for six years. It’s time he backed a club.
Justin Reid has helped the Chiefs win the last two Super Bowl titles.
MORE SPORTS / Football
May 13, 2024

Chiefs safety Justin Reid committed to lifting up Kansas City on and off field

The confetti had hardly finished falling on the Kansas City Chiefs' second consecutive Super Bowl title when safety Justin Reid started looking ahead.
Whether you get your goosebumps from horror movies, the dark or even historical battle sites, there are lots of ways to express fear in Japanese.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 31, 2024

Using intransitive verbs to make Japanese ghost stories extra spooky

Since intransitive verbs don't need to take a subject, they are best at describing things that happen of their own accord.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.