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Terumi Tanaka (front left), co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, and others arrive at Oslo Airport on Sunday. Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairperson Jorgen Watne Frydnes stands in the back row on the right.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2024

Nihon Hidankyo delegation arrives in Oslo for Nobel Prize ceremony

The delegation comprises 30 people aged 32 to 92, including children and grandchildren of hibakusha.
The government is preparing to set Japan’s new Nationally Determined Contribution, an emissions reduction commitment made by members of the United Nations climate framework's Paris Agreement.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Dec 10, 2024

As Japan nears new climate goal, criticism of policy process ramps up

Critics say the process is not intended to facilitate genuine debate, and that those who support the energy status quo are overrepresented on policy panels.
Police seek information from the public on a high-profile murder case, in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, on Saturday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 14, 2024

Tokyo police seek public's help on Setagaya family murder 24 years ago

In the high-profile homicide case, a couple and their two children were killed at their home in the ward's Kamisoshigaya district in December 2000.
"True View of Horse-drawn Tramcars Coming and Going at Nihombashi Bridge" (1882) by Utagawa Hiroshige
CULTURE / Art
Dec 31, 2024

The bond between the Japanese and animals as seen in ukiyo-e

An exhibition looks at what kind of relationship did Japanese people and animals have during the early modern Edo Period.
Tokyo Comic Con took place at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Dec. 6, 7 and 8.
CULTURE
Dec 18, 2024

Comic cons are far more than just cosplay

The conventions allow fans of comics to meet their heroes — both actors and authors — with manga and anime playing an increasingly bigger role each year.
Djafaruddin poses for a photograph near the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 19, 2024

'End of the world': Tsunami body collector's torment 20 years on

Whenever the collector passes the spot where he collected those lifeless bodies decades ago, he says it reminds him of his efforts that fateful day.
Emergency personnel work at a Christmas market after a car drove into a group of people in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday, killing at least two.
WORLD
Dec 21, 2024

Death toll from German Christmas market car-ramming reportedly rises to four

The attacker was described as a 50-year-old male doctor from Saudi Arabia with permanent residency in Germany, where he had lived for almost two decades.
The Nio logo on a steering wheel of an electric vehicle at the automaker's dealership in Shanghai
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 23, 2024

China’s Nio unveils $108,000 EV to take on Porsche and Mercedes

Once one of the brightest rising stars in China’s electric vehicle market, Nio has fallen short of sales targets, with U.S.-traded shares slumping about 50% this year.
The next 12 months will be more challenging, with some countries pursuing quick interest-rate cuts while others will proceed cautiously.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2024

A view to 2025: Enough with the central bank hawks and doves

Interest-rate cuts will be a feature, including at institutions that resisted easing in 2024. But mind the nuances.
Roki Sasaki in action for Japan in a World Baseball Classic game against Czech Republic in Tokyo in March 2023
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 30, 2024

MLB teams making pitches to Roki Sasaki

The pitcher is expected to sign with a club soon after the opening of the 2025 international signing period on Jan. 15.
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (center) in action against West Ham United's Jean-Clair Todibo (right) in the two sides' Premier League clash in London on Sunday.
SOCCER
Dec 30, 2024

Five-star Liverpool pull eight points clear with West Ham rout

Arne Slot has stressed nothing can be won yet with Liverpool still one game shy of the halfway mark in the Premier League.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said forming a grand coalition of major ruling and opposition parties to stabilize his administration will likely be an option.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 2, 2025

Grand coalition of ruling and opposition parties likely an option, Ishiba says

The prime minster said forming a grand coalition of major ruling and opposition parties may be an option to stabilize his administration.
Incorporating modern technologies into your Japanese classes might be a way to connect with younger students.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 3, 2025

Start the new year with a fresh approach to teaching Japanese

It’s important for language instructors to update their methods to best appeal to their younger students.
Manchester City's Bernardo Silva receives instructions from manager Pep Guardiola during a match against Aston Villa in Birmingham, England, on Dec. 21, 2024.
SOCCER
Jan 3, 2025

Manchester City's Bernardo Silva says Premier League title no longer within reach

City lifted a record fourth straight English top-flight title last season, but has struggled in this campaign and is sixth in the standings.
Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jewish men stand on a hill in the southern city of Sderot as they watch Israeli forces bombard the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday.
WORLD
Jan 6, 2025

Hamas and Israel wrangle over talks as Israeli strikes in Gaza intensify

Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed 105 Palestinians this weekend, according to medics.
African tiger fish swim in the Okavango river in Botswana.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Jan 13, 2025

Study documents extinction threats to world's freshwater species

Threats to such species include pollution, dams and water extraction, agriculture and invasive species.
Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku (right) alongside David Rothschild, the promoter of an upcoming tournament in Paris, on Sunday in Tokyo
SUMO
Jan 19, 2025

Top sumo pros to enter the ring in Paris in June 2026

It will be the third such event in the French capital and the first since 1995.
Emmanuelle Moureaux in her office, which looks like a museum, at emmanuelle moureaux INC.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 31, 2025

How Tokyo taught a French architect the power of colors

French-born architect Emmanuelle Moureaux took inspiration from Tokyo's vibrancy to create her "100 colors" series.
Rodgers (right) was a longtime managing editor of Kyoto Journal and, alongside colleagues like Susan Pavloska (left) and John Einarsen (center), helped make it one of Japan’s leading English-language publications.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jan 27, 2025

Ken Rodgers, a fixture of the Kyoto literary scene, dies at 72

Hailing from Australia, Rodgers made a home and community for himself in Japan’s ancient capital across more than four decades.
A Chinese flag atop a nuclear fusion reactor in Hefei, Anhui province, China, in November 2018
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 28, 2025

Images show China building huge fusion research facility, analysts say

China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations say.
Firefighters and others work to rescue a truck driver who fell into a sinkhole at a Saitama prefectural road intersection in Yashio on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2025

Massive sinkhole engulfs truck in Saitama, trapping driver inside

The sinkhole is believed to have been caused by an underground sewage pipe rupturing.
Kirsty Coventry, who is bidding to become the next president of the International Olympic Committee, in Paris on Aug. 10, 2024.
OLYMPICS
Jan 29, 2025

Kirsty Coventry hopes to make waves in IOC presidential race

The former swimming star is one of seven candidates bidding to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee.
Rock patterns formed by crystalized minerals along the Dead Sea shore near Kibbutz Ein Gedi in eastern Israel on Dec. 30. The Dead Sea, nestled where Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian territory meet, has famously been dying for years.
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 29, 2025

Dead Sea an 'ecological disaster,' but no one can agree how to fix it

Tackling cross-border environmental issues is no longer a priority for governments in the region.
A protester holds a flag as he shouts slogans during a demonstration to mark the anniversary of Myanmar's 2021 military coup, outside the United Nations office in Bangkok, on Feb. 1, 2024.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 30, 2025

Risk of violence escalates in Myanmar's civil war as election looms

With many forces opposing the junta and the election, tensions are set to rise ahead of the ballot.
A little-used section of the JR Geibi Line, which runs through the Chugoku Mountains in Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures, faces a threat of closure.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Feb 10, 2025

Underutilized Hiroshima-Okayama rail route struggles to survive

While the number of passengers has continued to decline, the Geibi Line has served as a lifeline for some residents.
The koji room at Fukuwagura brewery in Mie Prefecture, where metals such as stainless steel, which are easy to manage for hygiene, are widely used
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jan 30, 2025

Japanese food makers step in to preserve sake breweries' legacy

The initiatives by food companies coincide with a growing recognition of traditional sake-making techniques.
Bosses at artificial intelligence companies are concerned about finding enough electricity to keep servers running at data centers.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 31, 2025

AI’s electricity demand means new tech is coming to grids

Startups have an opportunity to develop and deploy grid-enhancing technologies, including pumping more power through cables.
Mavericks guard Luka Doncic drives to the basket past Lakers forward Anthony Davis during a game in December 2023. Early Sunday, the two superstars were traded for one another in a blockbuster deal.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Feb 2, 2025

Lakers reportedly land Luka Doncic in blockbuster that sends Anthony Davis to Mavs

The Lakers and Mavericks have sent the NBA world into a frenzy with the deal involving the two superstars.
A statue of the founder of the International Olympic Committee, Pierre de Coubertin, at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland
OLYMPICS
Feb 5, 2025

The closed-door battle to lead the Olympics

For such a consequential election, much of it is taking place in the dark, away from any form of public or private debate.
The Marquis de Sade’s original rolled manuscript called Le Rouleau de la Bastille of “Les 120 jours de Sodome ou l’ecole du libertinage” (“The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinage”) is displayed before being auctioned in Paris in November 2017. 
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2025

The Marquis de Sade’s guide to cancel culture

The Marquis de Sade’s legacy proves that even the most reviled figures can outlast cancellation.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years