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Beauty salon Dione, which has over 100 branches nationwide, offers hair removal treatments for children as young as 3 years old. It uses hair removal equipment that emits a special light heated to around 38 degrees Celsius, unlike conventional equipment that involves temperatures of 60 to 80 C.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 9, 2025

Hair removal for kids — boosting confidence or preying on insecurities?

Hair removal treatments are increasingly being extended to children as young as three years old in Japan, raising concerns over the risks.
People remove snow in the city of Aomori on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2025

Caution urged as heavy snow forecast for Sea of Japan coast

Authorities have warned individuals to consider vehicle safety as well as the risks of traffic disruptions, snow falling from roofs and damage to buildings.
Staff from Aomori Bank and Michinoku Bank, along with family members, participate in the Aomori Nebuta Festival in August 2023, with a large float sponsored by Procrea Holdings behind them.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Jan 20, 2025

Rival regional Aomori banks merge to survive amid population decline

Aomori Bank and Michinoku Bank, which had long been rivals, merged this month to form Aomori Michinoku Bank.
Rahm Emanuel professes that the biggest thing he has brought to the U.S.-Japan relationship might be a fresh injection of vitality.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 9, 2025

Emanuel leaves reform legacy amid historic shifts in U.S.-Japan alliance

The departing U.S. ambassador arguably oversaw the most consequential shift in the U.S.-Japan alliance in decades.
U.S. President Jimmy Carter and then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan greet each other before their U.S. presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio, in October 1980.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2025

What if Reagan's vision had been more like Carter's?

Yes, Carter had his share of missteps, but he was way, way, way ahead of his time on clean energy.
A home is engulfed in flames as the Palisades Fire burns along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Jan 9, 2025

NFL still planning to stage playoff game between Rams and Vikings in LA

"The NFL's priority is the safety of the Los Angeles community," the league said in a statement.
NHK’s latest taiga period drama, “Unbound,” centers on Tsutaya Juzaburo (Ryusei Yokohama), a commoner who becomes a successful bookseller and publisher.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jan 10, 2025

‘Unbound’ breaks NHK period drama tradition with a hero of the common folk

Public broadcaster NHK marks its 100th anniversary by flipping the script on its long-running period drama series.
Greenland's flag flies in Igaliku settlement, Greenland
WORLD
Jan 10, 2025

Denmark says it has neglected Greenland defense for years

Greenland is crucial for the U.S. military and its ballistic missile early-warning system, since the shortest route from Europe to North America runs via the island.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses supporters at a protest in Caracas on Thursday ahead of the Friday inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro for his third term.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 10, 2025

A two-hour arrest rocks Venezuela as Maduro targets opposition

The arrest of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado marks a significant escalation by Nicolas Maduro, who was declared the winner of last year's election without evidence.
Pan-roasted baby beets, carrots, turnips and orange may be an otherwise American dish, but Sonoko Sakai's addition of lemon-miso yogurt turns it into a 'wafū' (Japanese style) marvel.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 12, 2025

The case for Japan-ifying everything you cook

“Wafu Cooking: Everyday Recipes with Japanese Style” coins the term “wafuing” — shorthand for bringing Japanese flavors into anything and everything.
A resident sprays water outside the fire-stricken Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church in Pacific Palisades, California, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 10, 2025

California leaders criticized over fires as political clash ensues

The criticism, fanned by President-elect Trump across social media, has triggered a political clash over the two massive wildfires menacing Los Angeles from the east and west.
Greenland’s new international prominence is helping drive its independence movement, which has grown alongside resentment toward Denmark.
WORLD
Jan 10, 2025

Greenland eyes the benefits in Trump’s proposed land grab

Greenland's geopolitical importance is rising as its ice sheet melts, and it is expected to be a key part of global shipping routes.
Incoming Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya arrives at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Nov. 11 after lawmakers voted in parliament to reappoint Shigeru Ishiba as the country's prime minister.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 11, 2025

Japan foreign minister to attend Trump Jan. 20 inauguration

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya would be the first Japanese Cabinet member to attend the swearing-in of a U.S. president.
Pete Hegseth, U.S. secretary of defense nominee for President-elect Donald Trump, arrives for a meeting with Sen. Chuck Grassley, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 11, 2025

With hearings imminent, partisan fight escalates over Trump Cabinet

Democrats are demanding that Republicans slow consideration of picks for the new administration until they can review background checks.
Yuzuru Hanyu smiles during an interview in his hometown of Sendai in between performances of his latest tour, Ice Story.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Jan 11, 2025

30 minutes with Yuzuru Hanyu

The two-time Olympic champion exited the competitive arena in 2022. His overall career goal — to make spectators say "wow" — has not changed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives for a meeting in Rome on Friday.
WORLD
Jan 12, 2025

Ukraine questioning two captured North Korean soldiers

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would provide media access to the prisoners of war because "the world needs to know what is happening."
Olaf Scholz, Germany's chancellor, during the SPD party congress in Berlin on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Jan 12, 2025

Scholz steps up criticism of Trump’s expansionist rhetoric

In power since 2021, Scholz’s SPD party has slumped as an early election looms for Europe’s largest economy on Feb. 23.
Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket on the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Friday
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 12, 2025

Blue Origin rocket set to debut in crucial SpaceX challenge

New Glenn, originally intended to launch as early as 2020, is set to lift off as soon as Monday out of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) shakes hands with Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto after giving a press statement following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, Indonesia on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 12, 2025

Ishiba hopes diplomacy will give boost to parliamentary management

As the Ishiba administration will have to go into the parliamentary session leading a minority government, he is hoping diplomacy will give his administration a boost.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (right) and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, Indonesia, on Saturday
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 12, 2025

Ishiba turns to Southeast Asia amid growing international uncertainty

Experts say that Ishiba's decision to prioritize Malaysia and Indonesia was a sign of the importance of the two major regional economies.
Palestinians pass through an Israeli checkpoint as they make their way to Jerusalem's al-Aqsa compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, in the West Bank, in March 2024. Israeli forces have frequently used disguises to infiltrate Gaza and target Hamas operatives.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 12, 2025

In the art of war, mimicry runs the gambit from disguises to deepfakes

Impersonation is one of the oldest tactics in war, because it exploits our social nature and persists because humans are dependent on identities for cooperation.
U.S. Vice President-elect JD Vance following a meeting with Republican Senators in Washington on Jan. 8
WORLD / Politics
Jan 13, 2025

JD Vance predicts hostage deal before Trump’s return to White House

JD Vance says a hostage deal with Hamas is likely before Trump’s inauguration, crediting tough rhetoric for pushing negotiations forward.
Climate scientists say that global warming is making extreme weather events more frequent and intense.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 13, 2025

2024 hottest recorded year, crossed global warming limit

Excess heat is supercharging extreme weather, and 2024 saw countries all over the world suffer disasters that cost more than $300 billion.
By selling video content to AI companies, YouTubers have a way to diversify their income beyond advertising deals with brands.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 13, 2025

YouTubers are selling their unused video footage to AI companies

Unused video created for networks like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, is selling for somewhere between $1 and $2 per minute.
People shop at a mall in the town of al-Dana, near Sarmada, in the northern Syrian province of Idlib on Dec. 13.
WORLD
Jan 13, 2025

'It was a mafia': Syrian businesses hope for revival after Assad

Syria's new caretaker government has told business leaders it will adopt a free-market model and integrate the country into the global economy.
Alexander Gauland (center), honorary chairman of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany party, is flanked by party co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla as they stand on stage during a party congress in Riesa, eastern Germany, on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 13, 2025

German far right emboldened by Austria

Long shunned by the political establishment, the Freedom Party is on the brink of power after being invited to try to form a government with the People's Party.
Marriage boosts men’s health, but women’s outcomes depend on having an egalitarian partner, with caregiving gaps revealing ongoing gender inequalities.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2025

Equitable marriages could save lives (and love)

Husbands live longer than single men. For wives, the calculation is more complex.
The sky over Los Angeles is filled with smoke from wildfires on Thursday evening.
SPORTS
Jan 14, 2025

Los Angeles sports teams donate $8 million to wildfire relief efforts

The teams and the Fanatics store will also distribute $3 million worth of sports merchandise to evacuated residents.
Smoke plumes rise from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 14, 2025

Final draft of Gaza truce deal shown to sides after 'breakthrough'

Both sides are "closer than we've ever been" to a deal, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
A firefighting helicopter flies past downtown Los Angeles as it goes back and forth dropping water on the Eaton Fire near Altadina, California, on Monday. At least two rounds of vicious, dry Santa Ana winds are expected to blast through Southern California early this week, bringing powerful gusts that will challenge fire crews struggling to contain two destructive blazes and likely force thousands more residents to evacuate.
WORLD
Jan 14, 2025

Fire-scarred Los Angeles braces for more extreme winds

Extreme fire conditions are forecast across a wide region, whipping flames with gusts that could reach speeds similar to those that caused last week's fires.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan