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Demonstrators hold a banner as they take part in a march to call for gender equality and protest against gender discrimination as part of an International Women’s Day march in Tokyo in 2021.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 8, 2024

Recognizing the vocabulary surrounding International Women’s Day

Many of the terms describing issues women are facing in Japan have a string of complex kanji. Knowing the basics can go a long way in aiding understanding.
Iwate Gov. Takuya Tasso speaks during an interview in February in the city of Morioka.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 8, 2024

13 years after 3/11, Iwate looks to make best use of new infrastructure

The governor of Iwate also called on the central government to continue necessary reconstruction projects while listening to people in the affected areas.
New series "Shogun" focuses on power struggles during Japan's samurai era, with warlord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) finding himself in danger of being bested — and perhaps beheaded — by rival Lord Ishido and his allies.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 9, 2024

New ‘Shogun’ series is a cut above the original

From the 1980 original to ‘Last Samurai’ to now, Hollywood is getting better at depicting Japan.
Hideo Takayama (front) and Nama Yoshimura head down a narrow alley where a small stream used to run.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Mar 9, 2024

Tracing Tokyo’s hidden rivers

Underneath the pavement are remnants of the way the city used to look. Discovering them is a challenge that increasing numbers of locals enjoy.
A war survivor details vivid recollections of World War II in footage never before made public. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has released parts of a collection of interviews with over 300 war survivors for public viewing this month.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 8, 2024

Witness accounts recall 1945 firebombing of Tokyo

The Tokyo government is screening a collection of interviews of survivors for the first time to serve as a reminder of the destruction of war.
An ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Kuniteru depicts the assault of Asano Naganori on Kira Yoshinaka, an incident that triggered the tragedy of the 47 Ronin and one that was re-created in the play “Chushingura.”
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Mar 8, 2024

Revenge: A dish seldom served in Japanese history but still cold as ice

When Confucius was asked, "Should we kill those who are evil?" The response came, "What need is there for you to kill?"
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 8, 2024

Group files lawsuit over Japan law that mandates couples share a surname

Similar lawsuits have been filed before, but public opinion appears to be shifting in favor of allowing couples to have separate surnames.
Palestinians carry bags of flour they grabbed from an aid truck in mid February near an Israeli checkpoint as Gaza residents face crisis levels of hunger amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 7, 2024

Getting more aid to Gaza shouldn’t be this difficult

Adding avoidable deaths through hunger and disease in Gaza to an already high fatality toll is good for no one but extremists.
Sony's move to cut costs and Microsoft's decision to release titles on rival platforms reflect uncertainty in the gaming industry.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 8, 2024

Looks like we're nearing peak PlayStation

The gaming industry as a whole is struggling with ballooning development costs and longer production cycles, leading to fewer and risk-averse titles.
Research from the International Monetary Fund suggests that gains from fully closing the gender gap in labor markets could increase gross domestic product in developing economies by 23% on average.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 8, 2024

The economic power of gender equality

There is ample empirical research demonstrating that gender equality delivers better results for people, for the planet and for profits.
Actress Yumi Ishikawa speaks during an interview on Monday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 8, 2024

'KuToo' campaign leader wants to bring attention to sexual abuse

Ishikawa believes that behind the issue of sexual abuse is the unspoken assumption within Japanese society that there is no such thing as discrimination.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attends a session of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 9, 2024

OpenAI’s Sam Altman returns to board after probe clears him

Altman was cleared of any wrongdoing that would have mandated being fired, according to a report based on a monthslong investigation.
An image taken from video of a U.S. Navy F/A-18 jet crew’s encounter with an unexplained anomalous phenomena
WORLD / Politics
Mar 9, 2024

Pentagon review finds no evidence of alien cover-up

But the new report suggests that the public’s belief that the government is hiding what it knows will probably continue.
Former U.S. President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during an election night watch party at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 9, 2024

Japanese government making preparations for 'Trump wins' scenario

The Foreign Ministry is fully mobilizing the Japanese Embassy in Washington and consulates across the United States to analyze his remarks.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 9, 2024

Space One postpones bid to be Japan's first private firm to put satellite in orbit

The Tokyo-based startup halted the mission after a ship ventured into a "maritime warning area" just 10 minutes before the launch.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2024

Reservations open for subsidized trips to areas hit by Noto quake

Tours to Niigata, Toyama and Fukui prefectures sold out on a host of websites soon after the start Friday, displaying robust demand for the campaign.
A worker checks the carbon fiber at the composite production line at the Swancor factory in Nantou, Taiwan, in February.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Mar 9, 2024

Recycling wind turbine blades can solve the industry’s biggest problem

Swancor is one of several firms globally trying to develop products that mimic the physical properties of current blade material but can be recycled.
Fukushima Gov. Masao Uchibori speaks during an interview on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 9, 2024

Fukushima governor urges state to clarify soil policy

Fukushima will host interim storage facilities for the soil on the premise that the soil is stored at final disposal sites outside the prefecture.
Residents of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, participate in a nuclear disaster drill at an evacuation facility in Kurihara on Jan. 20.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 9, 2024

Nuclear plant restart raises evacuation concerns in Miyagi

Residents near the Onagawa nuclear plant on Miyagi's Oshika Peninsula are concerned about whether they could evacuate swiftly if disaster strikes.
From left: Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice Paul Lam, Chief Executive John Lee and Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung hold a news conference regarding national security laws, in Hong Kong on Jan. 30.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Mar 9, 2024

Hong Kong fast-tracks new security law at Beijing’s urging

The legislation would impose life sentences for crimes such as treason and give police expanded powers.
Pope Francis presides over a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Saturday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 10, 2024

Pope says Ukraine should have the ‘courage of the white flag’

Pope Francis has reiterated in a new interview that Ukraine should negotiate to end the war with Russia, but this time he used language — adopting his interviewer’s expression, "white flag” — that has drawn attention and raised questions about whether the pope was suggesting that Ukraine surrender....
U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv in October
WORLD / Politics
Mar 10, 2024

Netanyahu approach to Gaza war 'hurting Israel more than helping,' Biden says

The comments highlighted the U.S. leader's growing impatience with his Israeli counterpart over his approach to the war in Gaza.
Americans, who by nearly every measure are hungering for a new direction, are confronted with the choice between a continuation with U.S. President Joe Biden or a restoration with former leader Donald Trump.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 10, 2024

The Biden-Trump rerun: A nation craving change gets more of the same

Americans love a candidate who promises something new. But when a sitting president runs against a former one, can either claim the mantle of change?
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 10, 2024

Nuclear power policy to be major focus in parliament after Ishikawa quake

The New Year's Day earthquake occurred near Hokuriku Electric Power's Shika nuclear power station, raising concerns over another nuclear disaster.
Charred vehicles amid escalating gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Saturday
WORLD
Mar 10, 2024

Haiti capital a 'city under siege' amid spasm of gang violence

Criminal groups already control much of Port-au-Prince as well as roads leading to the rest of the Western hemisphere's poorest country.
A Palestinian man transports humanitarian aid at the distribution center of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees UNRWA in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 3.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 10, 2024

Sweden and Canada to restart payments to U.N. agency for Palestinians

Over a dozen countries suspended payments to UNRWA after Israel claimed some of the organization's employees were involved in Hamas-led attacks.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2024

Tepco profit goal remains elusive, 13 years after triple meltdown

The total costs related to the nuclear crisis are estimated at ¥23.4 trillion, including ¥8 trillion for decommissioning the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
Two of the country’s four major makers of alcoholic beverages are reportedly going to stop releasing new products with alcohol content of 8% or more, citing health concerns.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 10, 2024

Japan asks when a stiff drink is a bit too stiff

Two of the country’s four major makers have taken the unusual step of retreating from a lucrative and growing market: strong premixed drinks.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, attends a conference in Paris in June of last year.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 10, 2024

Led by Musk, Silicon Valley inches to the right

Musk and other tech mavens are pushing themes cherished by Fox News and far-right movements from a place that electorally remains a liberal stronghold.
Lion Air’s safety record has been in the spotlight over the years. The privately held carrier has suffered several hull losses, the industry term for aircraft damaged beyond repair.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 10, 2024

Two Indonesian pilots suspended after falling asleep in cockpit

Flight 6723 was on its way to Jakarta from Sulawesi on Jan. 25 when neither the pilot or co-pilot responded to communications.

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan