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BASEBALL / MLB / Sac Bunts
Jul 27, 2023

Angels would be taking major gamble by keeping Shohei Ohtani

The Angels have reportedly decided to not trade Shohei Ohtani, setting up the possibility of losing him for nothing in the offseason.
Paris' Japan Expo, a gathering for fans of Japanese pop culture, says it attracts 250,000 attendees per day.
CULTURE
Jul 30, 2023

In France, Japonisme has turned into Japanmania

Through architecture, fashion, culinary arts and even sports, aspects of Japanese culture are attracting a large portion of France’s population.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attend a memorial service marking the 78th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 15, 2023

Japan marks 78th anniversary of the end of World War II

Members of bereaved families from 10 prefectures were unable to participate in the ceremony due to Typhoon Lan.
Japan's Kotaro Matsushima attempts to avoid being tackled by Samoa's Ed Fidow during their match at the Rugby World Cup in Toulouse, France, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 29, 2023

Japan keeps quarterfinal hopes alive with win over Samoa at World Cup

Japan will now face Argentina in Nantes on Oct. 8 with the winner likely moving on to the last eight.
SOCCER
Sep 29, 2023

Vissel opens up four-point lead with win over F. Marinos

Reigning champion Yokohama saw its hope of a title defense take a strong blow following the shutout loss at Nissan Stadium.
Produced by Toei Animation, “Girls Band Cry” follows five young women who form a band and navigate the Japanese rock landscape.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Aug 17, 2024

Prepare for a new wave of anime-born bands

'Girls Band Cry' and its in-real-life band Togenashi Togeari offer the latest evolution of mixed-media music projects.
SOCCER / Women's World cup
Jul 20, 2023

Soccer feeling the heat from Japan's scorching summer

Postponements of matches reflect the growing challenges facing amateur teams as they attempt to cope with Japan’s increasingly hostile summer months.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 20, 2023

Mother in Osaka arrested for starving daughter and claiming insurance money

Investigators believe Kasumi Nawata regularly starved her daughter, hospitalizing her 43 times for a total of 332 days since spring 2018.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2023

Typhoon Lan brings damage and power outages to western Kansai

In the wake of the storm, the city of Tottori released water from the Saji River Dam late afternoon Tuesday due to fears that the dam would overflow.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 15, 2023

Return of Chinese group tours to Japan to bring economic boost

The average amount of spending by individual Chinese tourists is the second largest at ¥338,238, just behind ¥358,888 by travelers from the U.K.
Japan needs to win its remaining two Pool D games in order to progress to the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Sep 19, 2023

Error-strewn loss to England leaves Japan facing uphill battle

The kick-heavy encounter in Nice left discouraged Brave Blossoms fans knowing their team will need a major turnaround to match its 2019 quarterfinal run.
Manchester City's Erlind Haaland scores his team's fifth goal against Yokohama F. Marinos during the J. League World Challenge at Tokyo's National Stadium on Wednesday.
BASEBALL
Jul 23, 2023

Erling Haaland brace sparks Man City comeback over F. Marinos

Pep Guardiola's men conceded two goals against the reigning J. League champion before taking control at the National Stadium in Tokyo.
Activists dressed as debt collectors call for finance action during a demonstration outside the IMF-World Bank headquarters in Washington in October 2021.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2023

The World Bank reflects our ambition

In an environment of intertwined challenges, such as an existential climate crisis, pandemic recovery and a crippling European war, the World Bank has never been more relevant.
Seihan Mori, chief priest of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, writes "zei" (taxes), which was chosen on Tuesday as the kanji of the year.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2023

Talk of taxes spurs choice for Japan’s kanji of the year

The choice came as tax hikes and cuts were heavily covered in the news and discussed among policymakers.
A view of Matazo Kayama’s folding screen paintings reproduced on ceramic panels by Otsuka Ohmi Ceramics, displayed at Simose Art Museum.
CULTURE / Art
May 11, 2024

Art and architecture come together at Simose Art Museum

Tradition and innovation converge at Shimose Art Museum. For it first anniversary, the venue is spotlighting trailblazer nihonga artist Matazo Kayama.
Beyond Meat plant-based burger patties for sale at a plant-based grocery store in Hong Kong in June 2019.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2023

The coming disruption of animal production

It will be easier to persuade people to avoid meat from animals if they can eat meat and other animal products that taste like those they know, but do not require raising animals.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 26, 2023

Can Japan prevent crimes from happening on trains?

Trains are often targeted for attacks because they offer the most familiar, everyday setting. Railway companies are now exploring ways to bolster security.
Kazuyuki and Yuki Shimamoto are the executive chef and head patissier chef at Mimi’s Restaurant and Bar in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 10, 2024

Kazuyuki and Yuki Shimamoto: 'When you make things you love, you naturally just get better at it'

A culinary couple share their thoughts on a career in the kitchen and how they approach life in one of Japan's major tourist towns.
A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Longform
Mar 15, 2024

Akira Toriyama's gift to the world

The artist's impact was such that he should be considered alongside greats such as Walt Disney and Stan Lee when it comes to cultural contributions.
Don Kenny leaves behind a wealth of English translations of kyogen as well as work on other aspects of Japanese culture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Nov 14, 2024

A bridge between kyogen and the world, Don Kenny dies at 88

He came here a soldier, stationed at Atsugi air base after the war, and soon fell in love with the world of Japanese theater.
Tokyo police declared that Japanese young men and women were simply "not accustomed to one another’s society" due to their cultural upbringing — and thus freewheeling dance venues and foreign customs needed to be reined in.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jun 4, 2025

Japan Times 1925: Tokyo police impose curfew on ‘social dances’

In June 1925, concern over “the moral effects of the Western dancing” on Japanese youth led to restrictions on social venues.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 2, 2023

Sushi chain drops suit against teen over prank video

“The customer has admitted his responsibility and we have reached a settlement with reasonable details that are acceptable to us,” a spokesperson said.
A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 20, 2023

Table for one? What depopulation in Japan means for dinner.

As Japan’s population ages and more people find themselves isolated, solving their dietary needs is shaping the way the country feeds itself.
Foreign entertainers are now permitted to work in event venues with a capacity of more than 100 people — including standing-only establishments — that sell food and drinks.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 1, 2023

Japan loosens requirements for entertainer visas

Entertainers earning more than ¥500,000 or more per day are now able to stay for up to 30 days, an increase from 15 days.
A woman stands on one side of the wall texting in front of a nightclub while, on the other side of the wall, a man works in an izakaya.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 24, 2023

One night out in Tokyo

As the last trains leave the central hubs of Shinjuku and Shibuya for the suburbs, much of the city heads home. However, Tokyo never sleeps.
A typical show for the Derek Toro persona features Ice Elloso as a suave, macho hero straight from a Schwarzenegger film, along with a trademark goatee and tons of props and gadgets.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Apr 20, 2024

‘Drag is my superpower’: A night of pride for Filipino kings and queens

Sparkle: Road to Opulence, an April 19 lip-sync and drag performance, kicked off Pride weekend in Tokyo with a bang.
Japanese project Serani Poji, founded and operated by musician Tomoko Sasaki, was a relatively under-the-radar group during the early 2000s. Thanks to short-form video platforms such as TikTok and YouTube Shorts, however, it has suddenly become one of the most successful Shibuya-kei groups in terms of streaming numbers.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 25, 2024

Serani Poji’s retro Shibuya-kei sounds find viral fame

The video game-related pop project gets a second life after online listeners rediscover chipper cuts from a 2002 album.
Filmmaker David Lynch at his Hollywood Hills home in Los Angeles in 2002. The painter turned avant-garde film artist, whose fame, influence and distinctively skewed worldview extended far beyond the movie screen, died on Thursday at 78.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 17, 2025

David Lynch, maker of florid and unnerving films, dies at 78

A painter turned artist whose films included “Eraserhead,” “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Drive,” Lynch also brought his visionary view to the small screen with “Twin Peaks.”
New Yorker Kenny Colvin opened Sanita, an Italian American-style cocktail bar, in Tokyo’s Hatagaya neighborhood in 2020.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 24, 2025

Kenny Colvin: ‘Work hard, drink hard, eat hard … relax hard’

The owner of Sanita, a cozy cocktail bar in Hatagaya, shares his journey and inspirations.
The bus stop sign for the Ghibli Museum at Mitaka Station. The viral trend of AI-generated Ghibli-style images reflects both a longing for comfort in uncertain times and the ongoing debate over AI’s impact on art.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 2, 2025

For a brief moment, everything was Ghibli

ChatGPT will make almost anything Ghibli-ish, but it won’t draw Totoro.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past