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The Fair Trade Commission says rules preventing pro baseball players from freely choosing their agents for contract negotiations could violate the antimonopoly law.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 20, 2024

Japan FTC warns pro baseball body over agent rules

The body's rules have limited agents for players to lawyers and prohibited players from choosing lawyers who had already been picked by other players.
Having grown up in North Carolina, where people are chatty and friendly, Duane Levi says Kansai and Osaka in particular had a similar vibe.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 27, 2024

Duane Levi: 'Once you are able to create something that has sustainability … you’re going to get help and support.'

Unable to get a job in PA and recording, Duane Levi forged his own path in the Japanese music scene and has introduced many artists to the market here.
A supporter holds a portrait of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah during an event in a southern suburb of Beirut on Jan. 3.
WORLD
Sep 28, 2024

Hassan Nasrallah, Iran’s man atop Hezbollah, dead at 64

Nasrallah was idolized by many for leading the armed resistance to Israel’s 1982 invasion of southern Lebanon but later became a divisive figure in the Middle East.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to sign a memorandum on intellectual property tariffs on high-tech Chinese goods at the White House in March 2018.
COMMENTARY
Sep 30, 2024

Trumpism, Stalinism and the tariff debate

Trump loyalists — which these days means almost the entire Republican Party — insist as a group that foreigners, not American consumers, pay taxes on imports.
JR Tokai officials send off the Nozomi No. 1 bullet train bound for Hakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, at Tokyo Station on Tuesday as the Tokaido Shinkansen marked the 60th anniversary of its services the same day.
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2024

Tokaido Shinkansen marks 60th anniversary

A commemorative ceremony was held by Central Japan Railway at Tokyo Station to send off the first train of the day.
United Nations peacekeepers stand watch over the Lebanese-Israeli border from the roof of a watch tower ‏in the town of Marwahin, in southern Lebanon, in October 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 1, 2024

Understanding the mandate of U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon

Any unauthorized crossing of the zone maintained by the peacekeepers by land or by air from any side constitutes a violation of a related Security Council resolution.
People work on some insulating fabric covering a small part of the Rhone Glacier to prevent it from melting, near Gletsch, in the Swiss Alps, on Monday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 2, 2024

Despite snowy winter, Swiss glaciers 'on track to disappear'

The glacier melt is having far-reaching impacts, with Switzerland and Italy having to adjust their mountain border and less water becoming available in the summer.
Bourgeois is perhaps best known among the general public for her giant steel spider sculptures, particularly in Tokyo, where a nearly 10-meter tall bronze cast of the original spider has loomed over the walkway in Roppongi Hills since 2003.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 4, 2024

Japan’s biggest Louise Bourgeois exhibit yet leans into ambivalence

At Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum, a large-scale retrospective of the visionary artist emphasizes her complex feelings toward femininity, memory, parenthood and the human body.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes his visiting French counterpart,  Emmanuel Macron, in Washington in April 2018. European leaders, such as Macron, recognize the need to adapt to a new reality where globalization may no longer drive growth, especially if Trump wins the U.S. election.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2024

Trump-proofing Europe looks impossible

Global supply chain strengths turn into weaknesses in a fragmented world, with unreliable access to cheap energy, Chinese consumers and U.S. security.
Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine, much like those of past Soviet leaders, stem from a desire to be recognized as a global power and from perceived Western threats.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2024

The sources of Russian conduct

From Josef Stalin to Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet leaders shared Putin’s desire for “great power” prestige.
A researcher works in the Ruvkun Lab in the Richard B. Simches Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, on Monday. U.S. scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the Nobel Prize in Medicine on Monday for their discovery of microRNA and its role in how genes are regulated.
WORLD
Oct 8, 2024

What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained

Several treatments and tests are under development using microRNAs against cancer, heart disease, viruses and other illnesses.
Jets coach Robert Saleh during his team's loss to the Vikings on Sunday in London.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Oct 9, 2024

Jets fire head coach Robert Saleh after 2-3 start

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will be the interim head coach for the remainder of the season, according to team owner Woody Johnson.
To lessen the impact from any shocks, including a U.S. economic slump, Mizuho has been buying Treasurys and other assets that are easier to sell or hedge against price falls.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2024

Mizuho choosing liquid assets, bracing for risk of failed U.S. soft landing

Market participants appear overconfident that U.S. policymakers will be able to tame inflation without causing a recession, the bank's co-head of global markets has said.
Ratan Tata, who transformed the Tata Group into a multibillion dollar conglomerate, at his home in Mumbai in 2021
BUSINESS
Oct 10, 2024

Indian business titan Ratan Tata dies at age 86

Under Tata, the Tata Group grew into a sprawling international enterprise with a portfolio ranging from software to sports cars.
Jets coach Robert Saleh hugs quarterback Aaron Rodgers during their game against the Patriots in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sept. 19.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 10, 2024

Aaron Rodgers denies any involvement in Jets' decision to fire Robert Saleh

Some reports said that Rodgers had been unhappy with a plan by Saleh to demote offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
Shohei Ohtani's success symbolizes a broader resurgence in Japanese sports, with contributing factors including increased investment in sports, modern coaching techniques and a generational shift in mindset.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 11, 2024

What baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s success says about Japan

The phenom has had what many are calling the greatest season ever. But his success is also a story of change in his home country.
With projections indicating a population drop in Japan from around 125 million to 63 million by 2100, traditional solutions like immigration and labor reforms are unlikely to be effective in time.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 15, 2024

Japan should master, not resist, its demographic destiny

Japan needs a strategic reorientation toward accepting and mastering its demographic changes rather than resisting them.
Falcons players celebrate after a touchdown during a game against the Saints last month at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which will host the Super Bowl in 2028.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Oct 16, 2024

Super Bowl to return to Atlanta in 2028

This will mark the fourth time Atlanta has hosted the NFL's championship game and the second at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Draft guidelines on take-home bags drawn up by the health ministry aim to change the behavior of both customers and restaurants, and reduce food waste.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2024

Health ministry drafts to-go bag guidelines to cut down on food waste

Draft guidelines on take-home bags drawn up by the health ministry aim to change the behavior of both customers and restaurants, and reduce food waste.
The emotional impact of constant news about wars and disasters is weighing heavily on many in the younger generations, causing them to seek ways to cope with their distress and anxiety.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2024

Is the apocalypse making you too anxious to work?

A poll reveals that a significant portion of the Gen Z and millennial generations feel unable to function at work due to distress over current events.
The move of extending to employees with same-sex partners spousal welfare benefits follows the enforcement of a law on boosting understanding for sexual minorities in June 2023.
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2024

Central Japan Railway to recognize employees' same-sex partners

Finer details of the system, such as whether official certificates will need to be submitted, are planned to be hammered out at a later date.
Asako Osaki attends the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, in New York in March.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Nov 3, 2024

How global lessons can improve prospects for women in rural Japan

Through motherhood, education and work, Asako Osaki worked to bring global standards to the front lines of gender issues.
Bidzina Ivanishvili, former prime minister and founder of the Georgian Dream party, waves during a pro-government rally in support of a bill regarding "foreign agents" in Tbilisi, Georgia, on April 29.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 22, 2024

Georgia's shark-owning billionaire tells voters: Don't risk war with Russia

Memories are fresh of a 2008 war with Russia over the Moscow-backed breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which lasted five days and ended in Georgia's defeat.
Stablemaster Oshima (left) congratulates Kyokushuzan on his promotion to the the jūryō division in 1995.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Oct 23, 2024

Former ozeki Asahikuni, also a trailblazing stablemaster, dies at age 77

In 1992, the stablemaster recruited six young Mongolian men into his stable, creating a lasting connection between sumo and the central Asian nation.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party looks set for a bruising election night. The question for its leader, Shigeru Ishiba, is how bad the damage will be.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 23, 2024

Ishiba and the LDP race to stem the electoral bleeding

Weeks into Shigeru Ishiba's premiership and mere days out from a general election, red alert signals are sounding in Tokyo’s corridors of power.
Yukio Hattori was an integral part of "Iron Chef" broadcasts, though his impact on food culture in Japan went far beyond the TV screen.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 27, 2024

Remembering Yukio Hattori, the voice of ‘Iron Chef’

Yukio Hattori was best known to international audiences as the expert commentator on the original Japanese version of the popular TV program “Iron Chef,”
Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui hits a solo home run off Pedro Martinez of the Phillies in Game 2 of the World Series on Oct. 29, 2009.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 25, 2024

From Shinjo to 'Godzilla': The Japanese players who have made their mark on the Fall Classic

Tsuyoshi Shinjo got the ball rolling for Japanese stars in MLB’s Fall Classic in 2002, and stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are set to join the growing club.
The Dodgers celebrate with the World Series trophy after winning Game 5 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 31, 2024

Dodgers win World Series after rallying from five runs down to beat Yankees in Game 5

Mookie Betts' sacrifice fly ensured a victory in Game Five, but it was Freddie Freeman’s MVP performance throughout that powered the Dodgers' eighth franchise title.
Tech entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist Masayoshi Son made his fortune by becoming a bridge between California's technology culture and Japan.
COMMENTARY
Oct 31, 2024

Masayoshi Son may be the oddest of the oddball billionaires

Masayoshi Son made his fortune by becoming a bridge between Californian tech culture and Japan.
Yuko Mohri uses “invisible forces” — gravity, weather, air, magnetic fields — to create jazzy kinetic sculptures.
CULTURE / Art
Nov 1, 2024

Yuko Mohri is a maestro of unstable elements

After a banner year at the Venice Biennale, the creator of jazzy kinetic sculptures opens her first large-scale exhibition in Japan.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan