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A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 21, 2024

The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’

Junichi Yasuda’s film about a time-traveling warrior is a loving tribute to the “jidaigeki” (period drama) genre and its practitioners.
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 21, 2024

'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists

Ko Shinjo’s novel, a bold exploration of the twisted psyches of criminals, is best appreciated as a companion work to the recent Netflix series of the same title.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a Donald Trump rally at the Greensboro Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Nov. 2
WORLD / Politics
Nov 22, 2024

Trump picks Pam Bondi for U.S. Attorney General after Gaetz withdraws

The president-elect moved swiftly to replace his former nominee Matt Gaetz after the embattled former congressman withdrew from consideration.
Best known as the home of Kuon Temple, Minobu, Yamanashi Prefecture, is a charming day trip from Tokyo with the potential for cultural verisimilitude.
LIFE / Travel
Nov 23, 2024

In rugged Yamanashi, a wild-goose chase for ‘real Japan’

Japan’s countryside certainly offers a different experience than its cities, but whether that makes it categorically superior is up for debate.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton drives during a practice session ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Nov 22, 2024

How the Las Vegas Grand Prix transforms the Strip in two hours

For the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the challenge of hosting a street race is multiplied by the fact that its circuit incorporates one of the most famous roadways in the world.
A waterway along a portion of the Mekong River where a groundbreaking ceremony took place to begin construction on the Funan Techo Canal, in Prek Takeo, Cambodia, in October.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 23, 2024

Cambodia's flagship canal in hot water as China funding dries up

Months after a groundbreaking ceremony for a major canal project in Cambodia, touted investments from China are in doubt.
Delegates applaud during a closing plenary meeting of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 24, 2024

Developing nations blast $300 billion COP29 climate deal as insufficient

The deal reached at the close of the two-week COP29 summit in Azerbaijan resulted from fractious and at times openly hostile negotiations.
Randy's Donuts in Inglewood, California. Replicas of the giant doughnut sculpture will be installed, where possible, at shops in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 24, 2024

An iconic 32-foot doughnut might give Randy’s an edge in Japan

The doughnut had a cameo in “2012,” where it is seen rolling down the street as an enduring symbol of end-time. Now the brand looks to tackle the tough Japanese market.
Yisrael Medad, an activist and writer on Israel's political right, looks at a book in his home in the Israeli settlement Shilo, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Nov. 13.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 24, 2024

Israeli settlers set sights on Trump support for full control of West Bank

Settlers have celebrated Trump's nomination of a clutch of officials known for pro-Israel views.
Former F1 world champion Mario Andretti will serve as a director on the board of a new General Motors Formula One team set to debut in 2026.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Nov 26, 2024

GM agrees deal to enter F1 with Cadillac in 2026

The firm said it had also registered with FIA as a power unit manufacturer to become a full works outfit by the end of the decade.
Ten percent of municipalities said they did not know details of the megaquake warning system or how to respond to the alert, and 2.8% said they did not even know its name.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 27, 2024

Many municipalities in Japan lack understanding of megaquake advisory system

A Cabinet Office survey found that 12.8% of municipalities were not aware of what steps they should take when a megaquake advisory is issued.
Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan looks on at a court in Ho Chi Minh City on Nov. 4.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Nov 27, 2024

Vietnam mogul told to refund missing billions to overturn death sentence

Truong My Lan, 68, is appealing her death sentence after being convicted in April of embezzling $12.3 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank.
Tokyo's Odaiba waterfront area will host a major international art festival called Tokyo Odaiba Triennale 2025 from October to December next year.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2024

Triennale aims to energize Tokyo's Odaiba area with art

The event will bring together works by famed Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama and other artists from Japan and abroad.
From late 2025, platforms including Meta's Instagram, Elon Musk's X, TikTok and Snapchat must show Australians they are taking reasonable steps to keep out users under 16 or face fines up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32 million).
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal / ANALYSIS
Nov 29, 2024

Australia looks for ways to enforce its teen social media ban

From late 2025, social media platforms including Instagram, X, TikTok and Snapchat must show Australians they are taking reasonable steps to keep out users under 16.
Mick Schumacher plans to leave Mercedes at the end of the season.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Nov 29, 2024

Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher to leave team after F1 season

Schumacher, a reserve driver, said it had been tough watching others race.
Drag queen Becca D’Bus plays Dido, the forlorn queen of Carthage, in a drag version of “Dido and Aeneas."
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 30, 2024

Divas and diversity: Opera meets drag in ‘Dido and Aeneas’

Becca D’Bus, one of Singapore’s most popular drag queens, and Tokyo’s voguers and queens team up for a grand show at the Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting.
Should Trump-o-phobes emulate Ellen DeGeneres, the comedian and ex-talk show host, who has apparently bolted for Britain to avoid the incoming administration?
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 27, 2024

Do you dislike Trump so much you’d quit the U.S. like Ellen?

DeGeneres’s escape from Trump may look like a political statement, but she’s not really a desperate pilgrim in reverse, risking all for new beginnings.
Syrian jihadis in the streets of the northern city of Aleppo on Saturday. Jihadis and their Turkish-backed allies reached Syria's second city of Aleppo earlier, as they pressed a lightning offensive against forces of the Iranian- and Russian-backed government.
WORLD
Nov 30, 2024

Jihadis and allies breach Syria's second city in lightning assault

The fighters took control of "half of the city of Aleppo" as regime forces withdrew, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Masafumi Tabuchi leaves Tokyo police headquarters on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 30, 2024

Defeated Japan election candidate held over promising to pay campaign staff

Paying or promising to pay campaign staff is a violation of the election law.
In the absence of a long-term revitalization strategy, the historic city of Venice will remain on the path to becoming a cultural mausoleum.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2024

Venice’s beauty curse

UNESCO’s World Heritage designation for Venice comprises the city in its entirety, rather than select buildings or neighborhoods.
Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 2, 2024

Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?

An app called Timeleft hopes to combat big-city alienation through a simple meal with a diverse group of people.
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Dec 2, 2024

Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?

Shrinking funding and limited support spark fears for the country's scientific prowess moving forward.
European Council President Antonio Costa looks on as he attends a handover ceremony at the European Council in Brussels on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 2, 2024

Before tackling Trump, new EU leader aims to end infighting

For years, attempts to shore up the EU have been hampered by internal dysfunction.
Employees at SunSource Energy inspect solar panels installed at a food processing plant in Greater Noida, India, on Nov. 21.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Dec 2, 2024

Glittering dreams: India's big push for solar power

India is building what it boasts will be the world's largest renewable power plant, an emblem of a determined push to boost solar energy.
Customers walk past an Apple logo inside of an Apple store in New in 2018.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 3, 2024

Apple accused of silencing workers, spying on personal devices

Apple is also facing at least three complaints from a U.S. labor board
War Tours co-founder Dmytro Nykyforov stands next to a destroyed Russian tank at a tank graveyard during a tour near Dmytrivka village, outside Kyiv, on Nov. 7.
WORLD
Dec 3, 2024

Ukraine sees influx of Western war tourists

Ukraine's destroyed Irpin brige, blown up to stop Russian troops in 2022, is now one of many hotspots for thrill-seeking tourists visiting the country.
The primary motivation for potentially adding Japan to the Five Eyes alliance is the considerable intelligence contributions the country could make concerning China, North Korea, Eastern Russia and East and Southeast Asia.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 30, 2024

If ever invited, should Japan make it 'Six Eyes'?

The primary motivation for potentially adding Japan to the alliance is the considerable intelligence contributions the country could make.
Trees in a forest in Nyanga, Gabon
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 3, 2024

Scientists behind ‘net zero’ concept say nations are getting it wrong

Countries may be claiming carbon credits for work already being done by land and oceans — and the accounting mismatch has consequences.
The start of the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday in Lusail, Qatar.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Dec 4, 2024

A 12th F1 team after Cadillac? Why not, says FIA president

Formula One has always had a provision for 12 in the rules but there was strong opposition from existing teams to going beyond 10 before a deal was reached.
This threat of H5N1 avian flu has been exacerbated by inadequate testing, delayed genetic data and insufficient containment measures, with powerful agricultural interests influencing the response.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2024

A bird flu pandemic would be one of the most foreseeable catastrophes in history

The threat of H5N1 avian flu has been exacerbated by inadequate testing, delayed genetic data, and insufficient containment measures.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb