Search - people

 
 
Alleged scam center workers and victims from China, who were handed over from Myanmar, board a plane at Mae Sot Airport in Mae Sot in Thailand's Tak province on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 21, 2025

China flies home first nationals from Myanmar ‘scam centers’

The repatriation is part of a multinational effort to stamp out the centers, a transnational criminal industry that has found havens in Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 21, 2025

Trump tightens grip on independent agencies, testing limits of presidential power

The agencies have for years taken pride in their independence overseeing such matters as elections, stock markets and labor unrest.
David Moreton, a former professor at Tokushima University, originally came to Japan as a missionary in 1988. He is now one of the world’s foremost experts on the Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Feb 24, 2025

How a Canadian missionary found spiritual transformation in Shikoku

David Moreton has devoted decades to researching southern Japan’s famed 88-temple pilgrimage, established by influential monk Kobo Daishi.
These public ashtrays ask either-or questions, which people vote on with their cigarette butts.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 28, 2025

How Shibuya reduced cigarette litter by 90%

A project to reduce litter by making "ballot" smoking areas called Ask the Tobacco is under way.
U.S. President Donald Trump is seen on a TV screen in Kabul. Trump’s first term resulted in talks that eventually led to the Taliban’s return to power, but this time around, Afghans hope that the president will take a tough stance against the brutal regime.  
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2025

What Trump’s return could mean for Afghanistan

Despite Afghan refugees being denied admission to the U.S., at least for now, there is hope that the new Trump administration will undermine the brutal Taliban regime in Kabul.
Multinational victims of scam centers, who were allegedly trafficked into working in Myanmar and were sent to Thailand on Feb. 12 amid a mounting crackdown on scam centers operating along a porous border, queue to get food at a shelter in Tak province, Thailand, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 21, 2025

Japanese nationals returned from Myanmar as scam probe continues

The Japanese nationals are among hundreds of thousands of people who police say have been coerced into engaging in online scams.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in parliament on Friday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 21, 2025

LDP and opposition lock horns over Japan budget

Mindful of how much the ruling coalition needs their support, Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Democratic Party for the People are digging their heels in.
Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by Aum Shinrikyo, the Public Security Intelligence Agency launched a special website Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2025

Special website created 30 years after Tokyo subway sarin attack

The Aum Shinrikyo digital archive covers not only the Tokyo subway system attack, but also other crimes by the cult, including a 1994 sarin gas attack in Matsumoto.
NEC's safety confirmation system for local governments to use in the event of a disaster
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2025

Japan eyeing IT to help those in need of assistance during disasters

By digitalizing operations previously done on paper, the country hopes to streamline efforts to help vulnerable people during disasters.
Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 11.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2025

Musk orders U.S. federal workers to report on work by Monday or resign

It is unclear what legal basis Musk has to terminate federal workers if they fail to respond or what would happen to employees that cannot detail confidential work.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba replies to a question from Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Seiji Maehara at a Lower House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Feb. 17.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2025

Party heads' love of trains could keep budget talks from derailing

The leaders of Nippon Ishin no Kai and Komeito both share Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's passion for locomotives.
Demonstrators rally in support of USAID in Boston on Feb 17. Women and children are the main beneficiaries of humanitarian assistance, so they are the biggest victims of what is unfolding with the agency’s closure.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 20, 2025

Mr. President, foreign aid does put America first

Women and children are the main beneficiaries of humanitarian assistance, so they are the biggest victims of what is unfolding with USAID's closure .
Nuns pray at the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital, where Pope Francis is hospitalized for pneumonia in Rome, on Sunday
WORLD
Feb 24, 2025

Pope Francis remains critical and has 'slight' kidney issue, Vatican says

The pope is particularly prone to lung infections because he developed pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.
People ride in cable cars over the Chandragiri hilltop on the outskirts of Kathmandu on Feb. 3.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 24, 2025

Nepal community fights to save sacred forests from cable cars

Five cable car projects have opened in the past two years — and 10 more are under development, according to government figures.
Mourners walk during the funeral procession with the vehicle carrying the coffins of Hezbollah's slain leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine toward their burial place on the outskirts of Beirut on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 24, 2025

Hezbollah chief vows 'resistance' as masses mourn Nasrallah

Naim Qassem, the successor of the slain Hezbollah chief, promised to keep following his "path," and rejected any control by the "tyrant America" over Lebanon.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako greet people gathered at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Sunday to celebrate the emperor's 65th birthday that day.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2025

Over 20,000 visit the Imperial Palace for the emperor's 65th birthday

A total of 23,019 people visited the Imperial Palace on the day, according to the Imperial Household Agency.
Efrat Machikawa (center) and others protest in white near the Knesset in Jerusalem on Feb. 14, advocating for the safe return of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 24, 2025

The terror, the protests and the reunion: Efrat Machikawa's life since the Israel-Hamas war

The family of Machikawa's uncle, 80-year-old Gadi Moses, taken hostage from southern Israel by Hamas in their October 2023 attack, waited nearly 500 days for him to return home.
A rally in support of South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Jan. 18. Young men have emerged as a key demographic that has come out in support of Yoon, in contrast to the many young women participating in protests opposing him.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2025

Men, media and MAGA deepen South Korea’s split

Political polarization in South Korea is evermore extreme, with many young men rallying around impeached President Yoon, fueled by online media and a MAGA-inspired movement.
Kusatsu Onsen resort, a popular tourist destination in Gunma Prefecture, on Dec. 26, 2022
JAPAN / Society
Feb 25, 2025

Gunma ranks top among city dwellers eyeing countryside, survey shows

Respondents picked the prefecture for its child-friendly environment, rich natural surroundings and proximity to the Tokyo metropolitan area.
From her early love for "Cardcaptor Sakura" and "YuYu Hakusho" to her rise on "RuPaul’s Drag Race," Rock M. Sakura’s anime inspirations are central to her drag persona.
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 25, 2025

When anime meets drag: The manga-inspired world of Rock M. Sakura

A drag queen who merges manga, anime and queer culture, Rock M. Sakura's persona resonates deeply with fans worldwide.
An ANA Boeing 787 Dreamliner undergoes maintenance in ANA's hanger at Haneda Airport.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2025

ANA to buy at least 77 jets from Boeing, Airbus and Embraer

The purchase underscores ANA’s ambitions to exceed its pre-pandemic fleet size by 2030 and capitalize on the boom in global air travel demand.
The Chinese embrace of DeepSeek comes as governments from South Korea to Italy remove the artificial intelligence from national app stores, citing privacy concerns.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 25, 2025

DeepSeek rushes to launch new AI model as China goes all in

Deepseek had planned to release R2 in early May but now wants it out as early as possible.
U.S. President Donald Trump's officials recently met with their Japanese and Dutch counterparts about restricting Tokyo Electron and ASML engineers from maintaining semiconductor gear in China, according to people familiar with the matter.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2025

Trump team seeks to toughen Biden’s chip controls over China

The move is an early indication the new U.S. president plans to expand efforts that began under Joe Biden to limit Beijing’s technological prowess.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at a news conference following the Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting in Johannesburg on Feb. 20
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 26, 2025

Japan's soft power may hold key to African development as U.S. cuts aid

Businesses linked to Japanese food and anime, for example, may play an important role in investments to Africa from Japan.
Elon Musk holds up a chainsaw onstage during the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on Feb. 20.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 26, 2025

Musk's new ultimatum spurs fresh confusion among U.S. government workers

President Donald Trump said workers who did not respond would be "sort of semi-fired," adding to the uncertainty.
Lawyers advising in a racial profiling case speak during a news conference on Wednesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 26, 2025

About 70% of foreign nationals questioned by police on the streets: survey

The survey was believed to be the first conducted comparing police questioning between foreign nationals and Japanese on the issue.
A 7-Eleven convenience store, operated by Seven & I Holdings, in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2025

Seven & I buyout talks stall over management control

The founding Ito family and Itochu have yet to reach consensus on the composition of the board of the post-buyout entity, sources said.
Jose Ando purposefully wrote his Akutagawa Prize-winning novel “Dtopia” to be accessible to an audience beyond Japan and to spark conversations about race, gender and the effects of modern entertainment.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 27, 2025

Jose Ando's rapid rise from first pages to the Akutagawa Prize

Just three years after dedicating himself to writing, the author won Japan's top literary award for his novel "Dtopia," which offers a fresh perspective on identity and diversity.
Daiwa House employees take part in a barrier-free workshop as part of its hiring system for people with disabilities.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2025

Daiwa House to boost disability employment

Daiwa House aims to increase the whole group's disability employment rate to 2.7% in the coming fiscal year.
The number of fatal bicycle accidents and those causing serious injury that were attributed to cyclists' mobile phone use totaled 28 in 2024, a record high. Similarly, the number of such accidents involving cars driven by drivers distracted by mobile phones rose to the highest on record, at 136 cases.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 27, 2025

Accidents caused by distracted drivers hit record high in 2024

A total of 136 fatal car accidents and those resulting in serious injury due to mobile phone use were recorded last year, the highest since at least 2007.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan