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August 11, 2025
 

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet in Beijing on May 16.
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2024

The fragile fraternity of China and Russia

Putin’s Mao-like bid for a full-fledged military alliance with China, including commitments to mutual defense, also seems to have failed.
Yoko Yamanaka, 27, became the youngest woman to win an award from the International Federation of Film Critics at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.
CULTURE / Film
May 26, 2024

Director Yoko Yamanaka's film wins critics award at Cannes

Japanese director Yoko Yamanaka's "Desert of Namibia" won an award from the International Federation of Film Critics at the Cannes Film Festival.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has pledged to build three advanced plants in the U.S. state of Arizona with total investments exceeding $65 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 27, 2024

TSMC’s foreign investments are good for Taiwan, official says

TSMC is the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, with Apple and Nvidia relying on it for their most important products.
Mitsubishi Electric's TOKUI Fast Accurate Synchronized Motion Testing Robot solves a Rubik's Cube
JAPAN
May 27, 2024

Japanese robot solves Rubik's Cube in record time

Guinness World Records recognized the 0.305-second time achieved by Mitsubishi Electric's machine as a new world best, beating the previous record of 0.38 seconds.
Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture will host one of three ryokan Hyatt is set to launch with Kyoto-based developer Kiraku in 2026.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 2, 2024

Hyatt doubles down on Japan with line of luxury ryokan

The first three locations are scheduled to start opening in 2026 in Kanagawa, Oita and Kagoshima prefectures.
Health ministry officials enter Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's plant in the city of Osaka for inspection on March 30.
JAPAN
May 29, 2024

Two more unexpected compounds found in beni kōji supplements

The two compounds are believed to have been created by contamination of blue mold.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's death has sparked a crisis of legitimacy for the regime amid speculation about Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's succession plans.
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2024

Iran’s succession crisis is a legitimacy crisis

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's death has sparked a crisis of legitimacy for the regime amid speculation about Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's succession plans.
Saori (Satomi Ishihara) is thrust into a parent’s worst nightmare when her daughter goes missing, and her socially awkward brother emerges as the prime suspect.
CULTURE / Film
May 30, 2024

‘Missing’: A kidnapping story fully aware of loss

Keisuke Yoshida’s “Missing” explores a mother’s anguish (without overdoing it), commenting on modern Japan’s dark media landscape.
A professional single from Tokyo follows a deaf photographer to rural Hokkaido in Toshihiko Tanaka’s directorial debut, “Rei.”
CULTURE / Film
May 30, 2024

'Rei': An imperfect yet compelling directorial debut

Toshihiko Tanaka’s Rotterdam prizewinner is a flawed but oddly engrossing epic.
Junichiro “John” Imaeda (middle row center) decided to start Ajate, a band that infuses traditional Japanese festival music with Afrobeat, after spending three months traveling around Ghana and Burkina Faso to absorb the music of West Africa.
CULTURE / Music
May 31, 2024

Ajate's joyous blend of Afrobeat and Japanese festival music

The nine-piece project brings together sounds from disparate lands to celebrate connectivity and community.
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.
Sokyo Ono’s “Shinto: The Kami Spirit World of Japan” reveals how a mystic sense of nature lies at the heart of Shinto.
CULTURE / Books
May 31, 2024

'Shinto: The Kami Spirit World of Japan': A helpful guide to uncovering an integral part of Japanese life

Sokyo Ono’s book provides a concise introduction to all the fundamental elements of Shinto, including its symbols, beliefs and deities.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol addresses the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul on Monday as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang listen on.
EDITORIALS
May 31, 2024

A long-neglected trilateral resumes — to expected results

Revival of this trilateral has been driven by Chinese uncertainty: worries about its economy and anxiety regarding geopolitical developments.
South Korea's first openly gay legislator, Cha Hae-young
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 1, 2024

'We exist': South Korea's first LGBTQ councilor tackles inclusion

Cha Hae-young was elected to the Mapo district council on June 1, 2022 — the same day as Seoul's annual LGBTQ Pride march.
In “A Gentleman from Japan,” Thomas Lockley lays out the history of English exploration around the globe during the 16th century, delving into the life of the first recorded Japanese person to set foot in the United Kingdom, the United States and South America.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 2, 2024

'A Gentleman from Japan': A journey of firsts in the age of exploration

Written in fast, novelistic prose, Thomas Lockley uses the thread of one Japanese man’s experience to guide his readers into a complex world of suspicion and danger.
British opposition leader Keir Starmer speaks at a Welsh Labour general election campaign event in Abergavenny, Wales, Britain, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2024

Starmer campaigns on U.K. security ahead of key debate with Sunak

The Labour Party head is trying to win the election by campaigning on the political center ground, and by showing how the party has shifted since its historic 2019 defeat.
Hyappu Ishikawa (left) attends to children at the "Karafuru" Japanese language school in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, in April.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2024

How one Japanese city supports foreign students through community education

In the city of Nishio, public and private sectors collaborate with schools to support foreign students in Japanese language education and raise their school enrollment rates.
Nippon Television Network in Tokyo.The publisher of manga series "Sexy Tanaka-san" has criticized Nippon Television Network for its alleged "insincere" attitude over the television drama adaptation of the manga.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 4, 2024

Publisher raps Nippon TV over 'Sexy Tanaka-san' adaptation

Distrustful of the scriptwriter on the Nippon TV side via Shogakukan, Ashihara wrote the last two episodes of the series herself.
President of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National-RN) party Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen, parliamentary party leader of the French far-right National Rally, attend a political rally to launch the party's campaign for the European elections, in Marseille, France, on March 3.
WORLD
Jun 4, 2024

A surging hard right stumbles over its own divisions

Immigration is an issue that has laid bare the contradictions for nationalist parties of trying to forge an international alliance.
Ukrainian soldiers patrol a heavily war-damaged area of the town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine on May 20.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2024

Ukraine and its allies need a new strategy. Here’s a start.

With the war in Ukraine, stop talking about ‘liberal’ democracy and the ‘rules-based international order.’
Tottori Gov. Shinji Hirai (left) with Shinsuke Nakajima, executive chef at the Hotel New Otani Tokyo
ESG CONSORTIUM
Jun 5, 2024

Tottori wagyu and wine paired at New Otani Tokyo fair

The Tottori Wagyu Fair is taking place at six restaurants in the Hotel New Otani Tokyo until July 15. The event has been hosted by the hotel every year since 2018, and this year is offering a new way of enjoying the premium wagyu together with wine from Tottori Prefecture.
After a teenage girl loses her parents, she grapples with her new reality under an aunt’s guardianship in “Worlds Apart.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2024

‘Worlds Apart’ explores family, loss and unconventional ideas of love

A 15-year-old girl is orphaned when her parents die right before her eyes.
People wear Dragon Ball Z costumes, as they attend Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, in July 2023.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2024

Japan aims to quadruple overseas market for anime, games

Combining anime and game sectors with related industries such as fashion, cosmetics and inbound tourism, Japan is targeting an economic benefit of ¥50 trillion by 2033.
Yumi Kawai delivers an impressive lead performance as a young drug addict trying to get her life back on track in Yu Irie’s “A Girl Named Ann.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2024

‘A Girl Named Ann’: A powerful drama loses its way

The lead actor sinks deep into her role, performing without a hint of vanity or the actorly tics.
Amateur actor Chihiro Kawano (front) performs in Hikaru Fujii's video art installation "War Is Over" in Saiki, Oita Prefecture.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 7, 2024

War is (not) over: Hikaru Fujii probes historical memory in Kyushu

Viewable at its current location until June 16, “War Is Over” simply would not be the same work in a different location.
Postage rates for sealed letters and other documents are expected to be raised by 30% as early as October, the first rise in 30 years aside from when prices increased along with consumption tax hikes.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024

Postage rate hikes seen denting New Year's card tradition in Japan

The tradition of sending New Year's greetings on postcards began in 1873 with the introduction of postcards.
Colin Croy's Japanese is still a work in progress, but he hasn't had much trouble communicating with local customers in Sapporo due to the mutual language of musical performance.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jun 10, 2024

Colin Croy: 'After I built my first pedal, I just kept making more and more'

A St. Louis transplant in Sapporo serves the Hokkaido capital's music scene with equipment repairs, upgrades and customizations.
South Korea's Son Heung-min celebrates after his team's win over Singapore in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday in Singapore.
SOCCER
Jun 7, 2024

Son Heung-min urges South Korea to take time with coaching search

Son scored twice as South Korea booked its place in the final round of World Cup qualifying with a 7-0 thrashing away at Singapore on Thursday.
The government plans to increase support for the export of anime, manga and other Japanese content while helping content creators expand overseas.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2024

Japan to boost support for anime and manga exports

The government will draw up a strategy to boost the content industry and promote efforts under the strategy through public-private cooperation.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to journalists following an election campaign event at Melksham Town F.C. on Friday. Sunak apologized after skipping events to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day in France to return early to the U.K.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 8, 2024

The moment the Tories have long dreaded is finally upon them

With Labour so far ahead in the polls, few Tories expect to stay in power after the election.
Tokyo’s WWII museums hold diverse views on war and peace
A carrier-based Type 52 Zero fighter marks the entrance foyer of Yasukuni Shrine's Yushukan, a museum that tells a more nuanced story of Japan's experience in World War II than the controversies around the shrine might suggest.
Japan starts survey on foreign nationals' unpaid resident taxes
In the most recent regular session of parliament, problems were highlighted regarding some foreign workers leaving Japan without paying outstanding taxes.
Summer bonuses at major Japan firms hit record
The fourth consecutive year of increase came after many firms raised their monthly wages this spring and as a result of solid earnings mainly among manufacturers.
Japan's inheritance tax is high, unforgiving and sometimes avoidable
The National Tax Agency at the Ministry of Finance, Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. Japanese tax authorities can bill foreign residents in Japan for assets inherited globally.
Weather agency warns of landslides and flooding in Kyushu as heavy rain continues
An embankment on the Amikake River that collapsed due to heavy rain in Aira, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Friday. Downpours continued in the Kyushu region over the weekend.
At Himawari Shokudo 2, Italian food with a Japanese soul
At Himawari Shokudo 2, chef Hozumi Tanaka serves Italian-inspired fare with a focus on Toyama produce, such as this appetizer of lightly blanched "hotaru ika" (firefly squid) served atop mixed wild plants and a crepe prepared from "yamato-imo" yam.
Cheer with caution: Expert advises sports fans have game plan for extreme heat
A Cardinals fan fans himself during the seventh inning of a game against the Pirates in St. Louis, Missouri, in June 2022.
Australia's warship selection signals Japanese defense industry's arrival
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami-class frigate. Australia's selection of an upgraded version of the Mogami-class warship for its next frigate class could prove to be a watershed moment for Japan’s defense industry.
Japan's inheritance tax is high, unforgiving and sometimes avoidable
The National Tax Agency at the Ministry of Finance, Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. Japanese tax authorities can bill foreign residents in Japan for assets inherited globally.
Will the movement seeking Ishiba’s resignation succeed?
Liberal Democratic Party youth division head Yasutaka Nakasone (center) and other members speak to reporters in Tokyo on July 25.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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
By Naoko Abe

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