Search - works

 
 
Palestinian American photographer Adam Rouhana’s exhibition at this year’s Kyotographie festival shows Palestinian life, not death and rubble.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 18, 2025

Kyotographie 2025 opts for laughter and levity in the face of global strife

Artists at the 13th edition of the international photography festival find humor and heart in their portrayals of humanity.
Hiroshima is full of memorials to the 1945 atomic bombing. Among them, the peace museum promotes an ambiguous message: One against nuclear weapons without acknowledging the role of nuclear deterrence in preserving the postwar peace.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 21, 2025

The ambiguity of Japan’s message on nuclear weapons

It is common in Japan to be both anti-atomic weapons and anti-war. But are these positions not contradictory if nuclear deterrence actually works to preserve the peace?
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako host a garden party at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2025

Imperial couple hosts spring garden party

The imperial couple and other members of the imperial family spoke with some 1,400 guests.
Once known only by his first name, Sasuke Haraguchi scrapped the pretension of a crafted image for bare authenticity. He’s now an in-demand electronic producer and artist in his own right.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 25, 2025

Sasuke Haraguchi’s provocative soundtracks for digital natives

The 21-year-old electronic producer and artist taps into the chaotic nature of modern online life.
Bayern Munich's Harry Kane celebrates after his team's goal against St. Pauli at Allianz Arena in Munich on March 29.
SOCCER
Apr 25, 2025

Bayern Munich's Harry Kane hopes to silence critics with Bundesliga crown

Bayern is eight points clear with four games remaining, so a first title for Kane is a mere formality.
Former inmates work as trainees in the forestry industry in Nara Prefecture under the prefecture's fully funded rehabilitation program.
JAPAN / Society
May 20, 2025

Nara initiative offers second chances to former prison inmates

Since 2020, nine people have participated in a first-of-its-kind reintegration program, with job training, housing and life skills classes.
As humidity rises in the rainy season, it’s a good idea to get some moisture absorbers and place them around the home.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 30, 2025

How to talk about change in Japanese — one forecast at a time

Use the changing seasons as a springboard to learn how Japanese expresses cause-and-effect shifts.
U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Steel Corporation Irvin Works facility in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on Friday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 31, 2025

Trump to hike steel tariffs to 50% to aid Nippon-U.S. Steel

The U.S. president said the move would help protect American steelworkers during a visit to a United States Steel plant on Friday.
A social media influencer photographs her meal for her followers.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 16, 2025

Influencers take bigger bite of ad pie as economic turmoil tightens budgets

Brands increased investment in influencer partnerships by 49% in 2024 and content creators topped social media marketing budgets, taking up a quarter of total annual spending.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi steps off the plane upon his arrival at OFranjo Tudjmano airport in Zagreb, Croatia, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health / FOCUS
Jun 21, 2025

Modi's ambitious water plan fails to quench India's thirst

On paper, the water initiative is a success. But unconnected water tanks and broken taps point to a very different reality on the ground.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

They voted for Trump. Most still back him — but not on everything

A group of 20 Trump voters were asked to share their thoughts on the president's performance so far. The results were a mixed bag.
People carry a portable shrine at Sensoji temple during the Sanja Festival in May. The festival is one of the three largest in Tokyo.
LIFE / Language
Jul 5, 2025

What’s the first thing you think of when you think of a Japanese summer?

Fireworks and festivals are part of the traditional Japanese summer, but what do people associate with the season these days?
Tobias Bieker settled in Osaka in 2018 and started "Unpacking Japan" as a side project with ZenGroup five years ago.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 11, 2025

Tobias Bieker: ‘A good interviewer helps the guest shine’

The host of the "Unpacking Japan" podcast offers his take on Osaka life, Japanese jazz and writing fiction.
A Beijing store selling merchandise based on the "boys’ love" genre of graphic novels on June 16
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jul 10, 2025

China detains female writers of 'boys' love' content in porn crackdown

The detentions since March have triggered debate on social media about the limits of free speech and the apparent sexist nature of the crackdown.
Scientists say a recently published study could help explain why women are typically less prone to weight-related conditions. The research may lead to new therapies that target calorie-burning mechanisms.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 15, 2025

Japanese scientists discover clue to why women burn more fat than men

Scientists say their findings could help explain why women are typically less prone to weight-related conditions and may lead to new therapies.
Pham Thi Bich Hau (fifth from left) began translating and interpreting for the Vietnamese community in Japan in 2013, when she was working for a trainee management organization. She went on to found the Vietnam Women's Union in Japan, organizing activities like the Tet festival pictured here.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Jul 21, 2025

The mothers holding up Japan's Vietnamese community

Online support groups and in-person events are helping Vietnamese women from all walks of life manage motherhood abroad.
A memorial is held at the site of Kyoto Animation Co.'s No. 1 studio, in the city of Kyoto on Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2025

Six years on, victims of fatal Kyoto Animation attack remembered

Some 150 people including bereaved relatives and employees attended the ceremony at the former site of the studio, offering silent prayers.
China’s use of exit bans has been a point of contention between Beijing and Washington.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 21, 2025

China stops U.S. Department of Commerce worker from leaving country: reports

China’s use of exit bans has been a point of contention between Beijing and Washington.
A synchronous speaker stands in a dubbing studio in Munich. The rise of AI raises the question of whether voice dubbing actors will be needed in the future.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 1, 2025

Voice actors push back as AI threatens dubbing industry

As AI-generated voices become more sophisticated and cost-effective, voice actor industry associations are calling for tighter regulations.
Shintaro Matsue (right), head of the International Furikake Association, holds an enlarged package of <i>furikake</i> in Jakarta on July 9.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2025

'Furikake' app to help manage children's health in Indonesian

After downloading an app featured on furikake product packaging, children input data like their height and weight, then do academic drills, with the reward being manga.
National flags line a street to mark Swiss national day in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced he will impose a 39% tariff on imports from Switzerland, one of the steepest levies globally that threatens to leave the country’s key exports reeling.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 6, 2025

Switzerland’s go-it-alone approach tested by Trump tariff shock

For the pro-EU voices in Switzerland, the chaotic back and forth with the U.S. on trade will give them fresh reason to push the benefits of ties with the bloc.
Ambulances are seen outside U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works following explosions at the plant in Clairton, Pennsylvania, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 12, 2025

Two dead, 10 hospitalized after Pennsylvania steel plant explosions

The incident at U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works happened at around 11 a.m. on Monday.
The inverted cone, one of Atsushi Kitagawara’s six signature elements in architecture, is a key feature of the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection museum building.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 16, 2025

Atsushi Kitagawara’s exhibition finds poetry in architecture

Award-winning architect Kitagawara's work is displayed at the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection museum he designed, making it both a venue and a centerpiece of the exhibition.
Two boys pose with Pocari Sweat and Aquarius sports drinks in a park near Tokyo.
SPORTS
Aug 19, 2025

The great sports drink debate: What’s best for athletes?

When it comes to the classic debate of Pocari versus Aquari, fans on both sides have strong opinions about which sports drink reigns supreme.
Japan faces a strategic dilemma between an unreliable U.S. security alliance and an assertive China, requiring it to pursue flexible, resilient and multilayered partnerships while avoiding dependence on either power.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 28, 2025

Japan must prepare for a post-American Indo-Pacific

Tokyo must confront an uncomfortable truth: The U.S.-led order that enabled Japan’s postwar success is dead and no one knows what comes next.
Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, arrives for a probate court hearing in Reno, Nevada, on Sept. 16, 2024. A new deal gives Lachlan Murdoch control of his family's media empire for probably decades to come.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 10, 2025

Lachlan Murdoch 'a very different leader than his father'

The eldest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch strategizes plays designed to generate profits, not increase his political clout.
Nippon Steel has announced a $300 million investment in two U.S. Steel facilities, which forms part of its $11 billion commitment to the American steelmaker.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 26, 2025

Nippon Steel to invest $300 million in U.S. Steel

The investment in two U.S. Steel plants forms part of the Japanese company's $11 billion commitment to the American steelmaker.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya (center) with other parliament members from the party
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2025

What’s driving the far-right voters who shook Japanese politics

Sanseito’s slogan is "Japanese First,” and it campaigned on a mix of tax cutting, vaccine skepticism and restrictions on immigration and foreign investment.
The Capitol Building in Washington on Oct. 1. The mass layoffs of federal workers could begin if President Donald Trump decides negotiations to end a partial government shutdown are "absolutely going nowhere," a senior White House official said Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 6, 2025

White House says mass layoffs will start if shutdown talks 'going nowhere'

No tangible signs of negotiations have emerged between congressional leaders since Trump met with them last week.
Takashi “Waka” Wakasugi stopped by the Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya Ward last month following his stint at Edinburgh Festival Fringe performing his show “Comedy Samurai.”
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 9, 2025

A Japanese comedian walks into an Aussie bar … and stays there

Melbourne-based comedian Takashi “Waka” Wakasugi, who has only ever done stand-up in his second language, is fast becoming Australia’s favorite Japanese comedian.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?