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A figurine of the character Link from the Nintendo video game series The Legend of Zelda is displayed inside the Nintendo Tokyo store in the Japanese capital in November 2019.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 29, 2025

Nintendo announces Legend of Zelda film for 2027

Nintendo made the announcement on "Nintendo Today!", a new app for fans that was launched on Thursday.
Aryna Sabalenka celebrates with the trophy after her triumph at the Miami Open on Saturday.
TENNIS
Mar 30, 2025

Powerful Sabalenka subdues Pegula to claim Miami Open crown

Sabalenka, who was runner-up in Indian Wells earlier this month and at January's Australian Open, refused to accept the consolation trophy this time.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2025

Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs

The meeting came ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s expected announcement of a new round of tariffs on Wednesday.
Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Mar 31, 2025

The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan

A growing industry quietly erases the final traces of those who die alone, exposing deep societal fractures.
Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple, speaks during an event at the company’s campus.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 31, 2025

'Something is rotten': Apple's AI strategy faces doubts

Theories vary on why Apple is having trouble seizing the AI moment.
A ceremony is held to mark the completion of the Japan Pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka on Saturday.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2025

Osaka Expo's Japan Pavilion completed

The host country pavilion is expected to attract many foreign dignitaries and will feature exhibits linked to the expo's theme of "designing a future society for our lives."
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 31, 2025

On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now

In his first official trip to Japan, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to have been looking to tamp down on concerns in Tokyo.
Chinese officials have shared articles on social media accusing Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's (center) CK Hutchison Holdings of acting "in concert with U.S. hegemony” over its $22.8 billion sale of 43 ports around the world, including two in the Panama Canal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2025

Xi showdown with Li Ka-shing threatens China’s pro-business push

Derailing the deal could give credence to claims that CK Hutchison is ultimately controlled by Beijing — a perception with implications for private Chinese firms worldwide.
Shohei Ohtani jerseys displayed for sale at an MLB pop-up store in Tokyo on March 6.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 1, 2025

Dodgers' Ohtani has most popular jersey in MLB

The reigning National League MVP has led sales in the U.S., Japan and globally for 18 consecutive months
A tank containing liquid hydrogen in Kobe, where a special shipping terminal has been built in order to import liquid hydrogen from Australia.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2025

Japan-Australia flagship hydrogen project stumbles

The blockbuster project is hanging in the balance over questions about its climate credentials.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2025

OpenAI says new funding from SoftBank boosts valuation to $300 billion

SoftBank said in a release that it is on a mission to realize artificial superintelligence that surpasses human intelligence.
Damar Hamlin poses with students at The American School in Japan in Chofu, western Tokyo, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Apr 1, 2025

NFL comeback star Damar Hamlin shares life-saving message in Tokyo

Hamlin’s comeback is bigger than football. It is also a vehicle for him to do something he has done his entire life — help others.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House on March 6.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2025

Trump says he will be 'kind' with tariffs as deadline looms

The U.S. president promised to be "very kind" in addressing what he says are unfair trade imbalances — including with top allies such as Japan.
Asian countries can counter Donald Trump’s protectionism by deepening regional trade, financial cooperation and strategic alliances to reduce U.S. dependence.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2025

Asia must unite to survive Trump 2.0

Asian countries can counter Donald Trump’s protectionism by deepening regional trade, financial cooperation and strategic alliances to reduce U.S. dependence.
Four Taiwan Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jets prepare to take off from Hsinchu Airbase in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on Wednesday, amid ongoing Chinese military drills around the democratic island.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 2, 2025

China ends two days of military drills with simulated strikes on Taiwan ports and energy sites

The large-scale exercises prompted scathing criticism from the U.S. that China was fueling tensions in the region.
A 37-year-old son of death-row inmate Masumi Hayashi, who goes by the pseudonym of Koji Hayashi, stands in front of the land of the family's previous house in January.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 2, 2025

Family fights for death-row retrial under Japan's 'snail-paced' system

Japan's current retrial system is often labeled the "unopenable door" because the chances of being granted a legal do-over are so slim.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (right) and teammate Yuki Tsunoda (second from right) alongside Racing Bulls drivers Isack Hadjar (second from left) and Liam Lawson at the F1 Tokyo Fan Festival 2025 in Odaiba, Tokyo, on Wednesday
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 2, 2025

Red Bull and Racing Bulls display unity in Tokyo ahead of grand prix

Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda has moved up to replace Liam Lawson, who was demoted to the junior team.
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.
DOGE, the U.S. government reform project, embodies America's brash, fast-paced approach to change, while Japan’s cultural norms emphasize slower, more deliberate decision-making rooted in consensus.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 2, 2025

The DOGE solution? 'No thanks,' says Japan, with reason

I can’t imagine a DOGE-like beast in Japan. No one can. It is utterly alien to every tradition, precedent or cultural inclination in this country.
Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing (center) arrives to meet earthquake survivors gathered in the compound of a hospital in Naypyitaw last Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 2, 2025

Myanmar's deadly earthquake brings diplomatic payoff for junta chief

The disaster opens up diplomatic channels closed to the junta for four years after it ousted an elected government in 2021 to unleash a brutal civil war.
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
LIFE / Digital
Apr 3, 2025

Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5

The gaming giant's newest console will retail for ¥49,980 for its Japanese-only version and ¥69,980 for multilingual and multiregion support.
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Apr 3, 2025

Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments

NHK's new four-episode miniseries, “After the Quake,” probes the ripple effects of past major disasters across Japanese society.
A trio of former schoolmates (from left: Hana Sugisaki, Kaya Kiyohara and Suzu Hirose) share a mysterious bond in “Unreachable.”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 3, 2025

‘Unreachable’: An attractive but half-baked fantasy

The combined talents of Suzu Hirose, Hana Sugisaki and Kaya Kiyohara can’t save this flimsy fantasy drama.
Rescue teams from China and Belarus coordinate at the site of a collapsed building in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 3, 2025

With U.S. absent, China steps in for earthquake-hit Myanmar

The American absence shows how U.S. President Donald Trump's moves to slash the size of the government has hobbled its ability to act during disasters.
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 3, 2025

Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs

The duty rate for Japanese products is the "worst among the scenarios that had been imagined" by the market.
Emma Navarro hits a shot against Donna Vekic during their match in Indian Wells, California, on March 10.
TENNIS
Apr 4, 2025

Emma Navarro joins top players in asking Grand Slams for more compensation

Players at the lower levels often struggle due to a lack of steady sponsorship as well as expensive coaching, travel and accommodation.
Pix (left), the mascot of the U.K. Pavilion at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, is seen alongside the event's official mascot, Myaku-Myaku, on Jan. 16 in the city of Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture
JAPAN / Society
Apr 4, 2025

Countries' mascots beat drum for Osaka Expo

Participating nations are taking on Japan's love of mascots by coming up with characters of their own, some of which incorporate the culture of the host country.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on April 1. He has said that Japan is facing a "national crisis" following the introduction of new tariffs by the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 4, 2025

Japan digs deep to address 'national crisis' caused by Trump tariffs

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vows to "unite the entire country" in response to the crisis.
Nadeshiko Japan's Yuka Momiki (left) and Yui Hasegawa celebrate after Momiki's goal against the United States during the SheBelieves Cup in San Diego on Feb. 27.
SOCCER
Apr 4, 2025

Yuka Momiki and Nadeshiko Japan brimming with confidence under Nils Nielsen

Momiki said playing with Yui Hasegawa has been the most enjoyable experience of her career.
U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war has spurred the biggest market losses since the COVID-19 pandemic.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 5, 2025

Stocks slump again after China fires back in trade war with tariffs on U.S. goods

The trade war has spurred the biggest market losses since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji