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Gold prices change daily, reflecting wider market movements, but start at about 88,000 won ($64) for a 0.5-gram bar.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2024

You can now buy gold bars from vending machines in South Korea

Prices change daily, reflecting wider market movements, but start at about 88,000 won ($64) for a 0.5-gram bar.
Tokyo has proved to be an attractive destination for Chinese entrepreneurs in recent times, away from the challenges hitting the economy at home.
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2024

Chinese entrepreneurs bet on Japan

A Chinese-language MBA program has been catering to those seeking opportunities in Tokyo.
Zozo CEO Yusaku Maezawa
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2024

Billionaire Maezawa leaves hospital after racing crash

A brake malfunction caused him to crash, Yusaku Maezawa posted on X.
Lee Kyoung-hyun, a popular YouTuber shaman, at her shaman parlor in Seoul on May 13
WORLD / Society
Jun 10, 2024

South Korea's young shamans revive ancient tradition with social media

Google Trends shows that searches on YouTube for "shaman" and "fortune-telling" in Korean have nearly doubled over the past five years.
Local governments are stepping up support for single elderly people, to tackle the issue of unclaimed bodies.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 10, 2024

Japan's municipalities take action to tackle issue of unclaimed bodies

A spate of incidents involving unclaimed bodies has led to the formulation of measures to provide end-of-life support to single elderly people.
A monitor shows the GPS tracking of balloons built by a Seoul-based activist group that are designed to distribute anti-Pyongyang messages over North Korean territory, in Seoul on June 3.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 11, 2024

Seoul activists develop 'smart balloons' to send into North Korea

The aim is to drop cargoes deeper into North Korea, including over Pyongyang.
Between November and May, five major incidents involving Japan Airlines aircraft were reported, prompting the transport ministry to issue the airline a stern warning and conduct an on-site inspection at its facilities late last month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2024

JAL vows to raise crew safety awareness following emergency probe

The airline promised to implement measures to prevent a recurrence of recent months' safety lapses in order to regain the trust of passengers.
Here are a handful of places around Tokyo where you can treat the dad in your life to the pampering they deserve.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 12, 2024

Retro barbers, executive facials: Pamper dad with a Tokyo spa day

Despite forward-thinking on male grooming, Japan markets these pampering services largely toward women — but here are a few places dad might enjoy this Father's Day.
Naran Unurtsetseg became one of Mongolia's most well-known journalists by exposing sexual abuse in a Buddhist boarding school, violence in the military and by taking on some of the country's most powerful people.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 12, 2024

Hard-hitting journalist ensnared in Mongolia's press freedom crackdown

Mongolia has plummeted in press freedom rankings amid what critics say is a declining rule of law and a government seeking to curb criticism of its record on corruption.
Otowayama stable wrestlers in front of their stable. It may come as a surprise to some, but the use of ring names between wrestlers in the same stable isn’t all that common.­
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jun 12, 2024

Burning questions (and their answers) new fans may have about sumo

The slow month of June is as good a time as any for our columnist to answer some of the fan questions that crop up with regularity.
The rates of unmarried Japanese have been rising across every age group. More than 90% of women age 30-34 were married in 1980, versus 65% now.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 11, 2024

Tokyo government's 'Tinder' is actually a good idea

The rates of unmarried Japanese have been rising across every age group. More than 90% of women aged 30-34 were married in 1980, versus 65% now.
Denmark's food agency has issued a warning over the levels of capsaicin, the active component of chile peppers, in certain instant noodle products.
WORLD
Jun 12, 2024

Denmark recalls South Korean noodles for being too spicy

Three products were assessed to have dangerous levels of capsaicin, the active component of chile peppers.
Tim Cook (left), chief executive officer of Apple; John Giannandrea (center), senior vice president of machine learning and AI strategy at Apple; and Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering at Apple, during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in Cupertino, California, on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 13, 2024

Apple to ‘pay’ OpenAI for ChatGPT through distribution, not cash

The partnership is apparently not expected to generate meaningful revenue for either party — at least, not at the outset.
The Shein logo on hangers at a pop-up store in Dublin on Nov. 8, 2022
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 13, 2024

Shein steers tough course in pursuit of blockbuster London IPO

Both of the U.K.’s major political parties have met with Shein leaders, according to reports, though neither has come out in support publicly.
Mrs. Green Apple has posted an apology on its official website after backlash over a music video that portrayed explorer Christopher Columbus in a charming way.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 13, 2024

J-pop act Mrs. Green Apple spikes ‘Columbus’ video after viewer backlash

A video in which band members portray Italian explorer Christopher Columbus "teaching" ape-like beings about culture? Japanese viewers are not on board with this one.
Recently, Japan designated Hokkaido Prefecture (including its capital, Sapporo), Fukuoka, Tokyo and Osaka as special zones for financial and asset management businesses. Kumamoto Prefecture was also named a national strategic zone for semiconductors.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 14, 2024

International social infrastructure key to Japan’s high-tech future

Across the globe there is an ongoing search for talent, especially in high-tech sectors, and Japan is no different.
Singapore goalkeeper Hassan Sunny tries to save a shot during his team's loss to Thailand in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday in Bangkok.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 14, 2024

Chinese soccer fans send money to Singapore goalkeeper for heroics

The keeper became a hero for China after his saves during Singapore's match at Thailand helped China squeeze into the next qualifying round.
By April 2024, dengue fever cases in the Americas passed the total for the previous year.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 15, 2024

What's behind the post-COVID surge in communicable diseases?

Many regions have reported at least one infectious disease resurgence that’s at least ten times worse than the prepandemic baseline.
Wang Shun of China races to gold in the final of the men's 200-meter individual medley at the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021.
OLYMPICS / Swimming
Jun 15, 2024

Doping regulator knew of previous positive tests by Chinese swimmers

Three Chinese swimmers who failed drug tests before the 2021 Olympics had tested positive for a powerful steroid several years earlier.
A person uses a tong with a camera and GPS system attached to pick up litter, part of an initiative to boost participation in collecting trash.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jun 16, 2024

Japan’s gamified environment apps target a greener mindset

Government funding has helped drive a boom in environmental and social app development.
Students receive school lunch at Senju Aoba Junior High School in Tokyo in June 2022.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 17, 2024

Obesity increased among children in Japan during pandemic

The study analyzed the health checkup data of about 186,000 people who graduated from junior high school between fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2022.
The experiences of our protagonist (Yukino Takahashi, right) and her fellow sex workers lead them to wonder if they still have some spark of humanity left in Shimpei Yamasaki’s “During the Rains.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 20, 2024

‘During the Rains’ captures a blunt, modern glimpse of Japan’s sex industry

Yukino Takahashi’s self-immolating performance makes her character hard to like but also forces the viewer to contend with the reality of her line of work.
More than 2,100 companies, or about 98% of listed firms whose financial year ends in March, are due to hold their AGMs during the coming two weeks, according to the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 18, 2024

Activists’ proposals hit record high for Japan’s AGM season

A total of 45 companies received proposals as of June 7, according to data compiled by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.
Michael Taylor, former U.S. Green Beret and architect of the 2019 Carlos Ghosn escape plot, said that other inmates deported from Fuchu Prison to a detention center in Los Angeles were so traumatized that they ended up with psychological problems.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 18, 2024

Man who sprung Ghosn challenges depiction of Fuchu Prison

Michael Taylor, who served part of his sentence at the facility, said he felt the depiction had missed key elements of the "Fuchu experience."
A nuclear-powered Type 094A Jin-class ballistic missile submarine of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy is seen during a military display in the South China Sea on April 12, 2018. The submarine that surfaced in the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday appeared to be one of this class.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 18, 2024

Taipei keeping watch after Chinese submarine surfaces in Taiwan Strait

Pictures of the surfaced craft, which appears to be a nuclear-armed Jin-class ballistic missile submarine, were taken by Taiwanese fishermen.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a government meeting on crime prevention at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2024

Japan's government demands stricter screenings of social media ads

Specifically, social media operators are being asked to draw up and disclose ad-screening criteria.
Renho (left) and incumbent Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike are both pushing for child care policies in their campaign pledges for the Tokyo gubernatorial election next month.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 18, 2024

Koike and Renho take aim at Tokyo's declining birth rate

In unveiling their campaign manifestos, both gubernatorial contenders have pledged to bolster child-rearing policies.
Young Kenyan students look at a computer monitor in Nairobi on Oct. 31, 2023.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 19, 2024

From Swahili to Zulu, African techies develop AI language tools

Technology experts warn the lack of AI tools in African languages will lead to millions of people on the continent being excluded.
Water is sprayed over the stage at a Taylor Swift concert in Rio de Janeiro in November 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 19, 2024

On a warming planet, outdoor concerts need a new safety playbook

Climate change is ushering in more extreme weather worldwide, and with it, greater risks for outdoor events.
GMO Internet Group is making a foray into the artificial intelligence and robot business to spread the use of such tech products and services in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2024

Japan’s GMO takes aim at labor shortage with AI and robotics company

It will focus on matching robot and drone manufacturers and AI developers with businesses.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear