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Gold medalist Pan Zhanle of China celebrates on the podium after winning the men's 100-meter freestyle event at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS / Swimming
Aug 1, 2024

Chinese swim fans hit back at doping claims as Pan takes gold

Pan burnished his reputation in his home country with a world-record time of 46.40 seconds, beating the previous fastest time of 46.80 he had set in February.
Haruka Kitaguchi competes in the final of the women's javelin on Saturday at the Paris Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Athletics
Aug 11, 2024

Japan's Haruka Kitaguchi secures javelin gold with opening throw

Last year Kitaguchi needed her final throw to take the world gold in Budapest, but there was little suspense at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Former tennis player Andre Agassi (right) presents the U.S. Open trophy to Jannik Sinner in Flushing Meadows, New York, on Sept. 8.
TENNIS
Sep 17, 2024

The key to Agassi’s reentry: Don’t be too busy, and don’t be too bored

One minute, the former player was in the tennis wilderness in Nevada. The next, he was at the Australian Open.
Cameron Lew, who makes music under the name Ginger Root, recently released “Shinbangumi,” an album that was influenced by the glimmering pop echoes of Japan in the 1980s as well as the nerviness of Devo, the loose rock-pop of Hall & Oates and even Haruomi Hosono’s ’70s explorations of exotica.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 5, 2024

Ginger Root expands on effervescent retro sound

New release "Shinbangumi" comes after a whirlwind year for the American artist who blends glittering pop echoes of 1980s Japan with a mish-mash of Western influences.
Moninder Singh, a spokesperson for BC Gurdwara council, speaks at a news conference at the site of a 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, in May.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 19, 2024

Warned by police, some of Canada's Sikhs feel threatened by India

The Canadian police said this week it has communicated more than a dozen threats to people who are advocating for Sikh separatism.
People walk along Wall Street in New York.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 11, 2024

Wall Street math wizards are decoding private-market returns

Decoding such illiquid investments is fraught with pitfalls, however, as many modeling mortgage bonds and derivatives before the financial crisis would testify.
Oitomi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of the company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 23, 2024

After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future

Thanks to the Dodgers superstar, the waitlist for Oitomi’s Miyabi Tetsubin kettle now stretches to more than a year.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts at the end of his team's loss to Juventus on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Dec 15, 2024

Man City boss Pep Guardiola says no regrets over contract extension

Following a series of disappointing Premier League performances, City finds itself in fifth place with 27 points, trailing leader Liverpool by nine points.
Motoaki Tanigo, whom fans affectionately refer to as “Yagoo,” is the CEO and founder of tech company Cover Corporation, which runs Hololive, an industry-leading virtual YouTuber talent agency.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 21, 2025

Virtual idols, real fans: Hololive’s bet on the future of pop

Hololive CEO Motoaki Tanigo, whom fans affectionately refer to as “Yagoo,” has global ambitions for his virtual YouTuber sensations.
Alexandra Eala waves to the fans after her defeat in the semifinals of the Miami Open on Thursday.
TENNIS
Mar 28, 2025

Eala's dream run ends as Pegula sets up final with Sabalenka

In an enthralling battle over nearly 2½ hours, fourth-seeded American Pegula emerged with a 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3 win over Eala.
Lo Kin-hei (center), chairman of the Democratic Party, attends a news conference after an extraordinary general meeting to seek members' views on the potential dissolution of the party in Hong Kong on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 14, 2025

Hong Kong's last major opposition party moves toward disbanding

The head of the Democratic Party says 90% of its 110 members had voted for disbandment arrangements to begin, followed by a final vote in the coming months.
Stephen Dacus, incoming chief executive officer of Seven & I Holdings, speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Friday. Dacus plans to boost investments in its U.S. stores using cash from a planned listing of its American retail operations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2025

Seven & I’s new CEO plans aggressive investments in U.S. stores

In addition to investing in its North America operations, Stephen Dacus is also looking to review the company’s supply chain globally.
Pope Francis prays in front of a candle lit to remember victims of abuse by the church, inside St Mary's Pro Cathedral during his visit to Dublin, Ireland on August 25, 2018.
WORLD / Society
Apr 28, 2025

Abuse victims say they saw progress under Pope Francis, just not enough

For abuse survivors, Francis' legacy on the issue is a mixed one of powerful words and at times underwhelming deeds.
Feelings of lethargy and anxiety can sometimes hit after the Golden Week holiday period has concluded. The Japanese call this the “May blues.”
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 1, 2025

Why the month of May feels tough and how language can help

The phenomenon known as the "May blues" can have serious ramifications if you don't deal with it.
Iris Ohyama began sales of government-stockpiled rice at a home center location in Chiba Prefecture on Saturday morning.
JAPAN
May 31, 2025

Japanese customers brave the rain to line up for cheap stockpiled rice

Lines formed in the early hours of Saturday morning at an outlet in Chiba Prefecture as people clamored to purchase 5 kilogram bags of rice for ¥2,000.
From participants on the JET Programme to full-time content creators, Megan and Ben share their lives in Japan on screen. They recently signed with Tokyo-based influencer agency GeeXPlus.
LIFE / Digital
Jun 19, 2025

The Hitobito's Megan and Ben uncover the real Japan, one video at a time

The couple moved to Japan to be teachers. Now, their YouTube clips are viewed by millions.
Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, in Beijing on Thursday
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 18, 2025

Trump’s U-turn on Nvidia spurs talk of grand bargain with China

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the administration wanted Chinese developers "addicted” to American technology.
Visitors to the "Henri Matisse: The Path to Color" exhibition at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum face tough decisions in the gift shop.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 5, 2023

Matisse gachapon, Hockney parfaits: Japan’s next-level art merch

A Tokyo art exhibit doesn’t feel complete without a room filled wall-to-wall with custom trinkets.
Matt Daniels of the Buffalo Bills Wheelchair Football Team moves with the ball during a scrimmage against the Cleveland Browns Adaptive Sports team in Cleveland on Aug. 5, 2023.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 24, 2023

Wheelchair football provides camaraderie amid metal-on-metal clashes

Dawson Broad was instantly drawn to wheelchair football after attending a game in Buffalo.
"Lost in Translation" was a sleeper hit about two people meeting in an unfamiliar city and forming an intense and fleeting emotional bond.
CULTURE / Film / Longform
Sep 9, 2023

'Lost in Translation' at 20: A Tokyo perspective

The Japanese cast and crew of Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" reflect on their experiences decades later.
Burnt olive groves following a wildfire in the village of Dikella, west of Alexandroupolis, Greece, on Aug. 29. Nature-based investment aims to back projects that tackle land degradation, rectify biodiversity loss and combat climate change.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 22, 2023

Japan an outlier as interest in nature-based investment grows

Such investments aim to back projects that tackle land degradation, rectify biodiversity loss and combat climate change.
Tokyo now boasts five different Quidditch teams, while universities in Osaka and Kyoto also play host to their own clubs.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Nov 4, 2023

'Accio broomstick!' Quidditch is back and open to everyone

From relatively humble beginnings, Quidditch has continued to grow in popularity across Japan.
David Joiner’s books all share a detailed focus on local arts and crafts . In his latest book, “The Heron Catchers,” "kutaniyaki" ceramics of Yamanaka Onsen, Ishikawa Prefecture, take center stage.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 12, 2023

Location is everything in 'The Heron Catchers'

Author David Joiner ties the local crafts and literary history of Ishikawa Prefecture's Yamanaka Onsen into his new novel.
Japan’s national bar exam was held on Nov. 8 with a pass rate of 45%. Though for decades the pass rate was much lower, this seeming improvement has come on the back of several regulatory blunders.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 20, 2023

The failure behind Japan’s bar exam pass rate

The pass rate for Japan's bar exam has fluctuated, with this year's level coming on the back of several misguided interventions.
The Euro trophy in front of the drawn groups for the 2024 edition of the tournament, in Hamburg, Germany, on Saturday
SOCCER
Dec 3, 2023

Germany to take on Scotland in Euro 2024 opener as draw set

The Germans, three-time winners, will kick off the one-month tournament in Munich on June 14, with the final on July 14 at Berlin's Olympic stadium.
A consumer market in New Delhi on Dec. 12, 2023. Long-term investment in India by businesses is stagnant, and foreign money is falling, even as the government is driving growth with infrastructure spending.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 2, 2024

India is chasing China’s economy. Something is holding it back.

While money is flying into India’s stock markets, long-term investment from overseas has been declining.
JAPAN / First person
Jan 4, 2024

How Japan's violent New Year's quake felt in Toyama

What it feels like to be near a quake that shifts a house left and right, forward and backward.
Harvesting wheat in Punjab, Pakistan
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jan 7, 2024

Military men want to kickstart Pakistan’s green revolution

Islamabad argues that corporate farming is essential to ensuring food security for its 240 million people.
Just over 100 days after Oct. 7, enduring pain is a key reason why polls in Israel show consistently high support for its military offensive in Gaza.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 19, 2024

Enduring pain keeps public support for Gaza war strong in Israel

The support comes despite optimism fading over whether Israel can achieve its stated goals.
Lewis Hamilton arrives at a news conference in Sao Paulo in November ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Feb 4, 2024

Racing for Ferrari fulfills a childhood dream, Lewis Hamilton says

Britain's seven-time Formula One world champion stunned the sport when his move on a multiyear deal was announced on Thursday.

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