Search - people

 
 
People observe a moment of silence for the victims of a JR Fukuchiyama Line train crash in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, Thursday morning on the 19th anniversary of the accident.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2024

Victims of JR West train crash mourned 19 years on

The president of JR West and other officials observed a moment of silence at 9:18 a.m., the time of the crash, which killed 106 passengers.
Palestinian women in Gaza sit amid the rubble of a residential building they once lived in, which was destroyed by an Israeli raid earlier this month.
COMMENTARY
Apr 25, 2024

Biden must prove he doesn't have a double standard for Israel

If the U.S. wants to convince the world that it doesn't have a double standard, it should condition military aid to Israel on its use of American weapons.
The National Police Agency in Tokyo. Under an NPA plan, the minimum amount of state benefits paid to bereaved families of crime victims will be raised from ¥3.2 million to ¥10.6 million.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2024

Japan to increase benefits for crime victims' families

The National Police Agency aims to carry out the revision in June after seeking public comments.
Four scam victims in Japan have sued Meta over fake online investment ads posted on Facebook that use images of celebrities.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 25, 2024

Meta sued in Japan over celebrity investment scams

Social media online hoaxes in Japan led to ¥27.8 billion in losses last year, according to the National Police Agency.
Snoopy watches people very closely, and when he’s out on walks he’ll keep his nose to the ground.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Apr 29, 2024

Snoopy is sniffing out his forever home

Whether it's racing around or chasing balls, Snoopy is one super-energetic pup.
Vapor rises from cooling towers of a nuclear power station in Bugey, France. Geopolitical instability and war are putting the growth of nuclear power, a key clean energy source to combat climate change, at risk.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 26, 2024

Nuclear power’s expansion risks collapse on widening conflicts

Meeting nuclear energy targets requires adding 800 gigawatts over 25 years, equivalent to launching 30 large reactors annually until 2050.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Kim Il Sung Military University in Pyongyang on Thursday, to mark the 92nd anniversary of the founding of the country's army.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 26, 2024

Kim Jong Un tests new rockets that could boost ability to hit Seoul

The test of a 240-millimeter multiple rocket launcher is the second this year reported by state media.
Kenji Imata, mayor of Togo, Aichi Prefecture, speaks during a news conference in the town on Thursday after a third-party committee found he had continuously engaged in "power harassment" and sexual harassment against several town employees.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024

Two town mayors in central Japan resign over harassment scandals

Kenji Imata of Togo, Aichi Prefecture, and Kazuo Okazaki of Ikeda, Gifu Prefecture, have stepped down.
TikTok accounts for a small share of ByteDance's total revenues and daily active users, so the parent would rather have the app shut down in the U.S. in a worst-case scenario than sell it to a potential American buyer, sources said.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 26, 2024

ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, sources say

A shutdown would have limited impact on its business, and it would not have to give up its "secret sauce" — the algorithm that pushes videos to users.
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
WORLD / Politics
Apr 26, 2024

Israel prepares forces as conflict with Hezbollah intensifies

Israeli forces have been exchanging cross-border fire with Hezbollah almost daily since October as the potential for an all-out war only grows.
The Oresundsverket natural gas-fired power plant, operated by Uniper, in Malmo, Sweden
WORLD / Politics
Apr 26, 2024

Sweden plans for worst-case scenario: War spreading in Europe

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted Sweden to prepare for any possible contingency, including war coming to Europe.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (third from left) attends a ceremony last month for the Ground Self-Defense Force's systems communications and cyber school.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 26, 2024

The glitch in Japan's plans to bolster U.S. defense

Japan has suffered high-profile hacks in recent years that have elevated concerns over whether Tokyo can fully support its security partners.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Friday
WORLD / Politics
Apr 26, 2024

Top U.S. and China diplomats talk tough amid warnings of new ‘downward spiral’

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi did not mince words when addressing a raft of contentious topics, including trade, Ukraine and Taiwan.
Takuya Hirai, head of the Liberal Democratic Party’s digital promotion working group
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024

Facebook scams demand stricter online rules, Japan lawmaker says

Lawmakers in the Diet are considering summoning Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to testify before them regarding fake ads on Facebook.
Paul Kraft
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Apr 29, 2024

JapanIQ consultancy eases entry to tough market

Kraft began his career at The Schwan Food Company, then moved to C.H. Robinson Worldwide before starting his consulting firm, JapanIQ, in 2023
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 27, 2024

Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo

The largest solo show ever of a Black artist in Japan is an absorbing history lesson that draws a line between Chicago and Aichi.
Members of the town assembly of Genkai, Saga Prefecture, on Friday deliberate a petition calling for a survey to examine the town's suitability for hosting a radioactive waste disposal site.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024

Town assembly in Saga approves petition for nuclear waste site survey

A town in Saga Prefecture has become the first host municipality for a nuclear plant to approve a petition to accept a survey for nuclear waste.
The first Lower House political reform committee meeting begins in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 26, 2024

Gaps between Japan's parties on political reform on show at committee

At the committee's first meeting, differing views were expressed on the legal responsibility of politicians as well as punishments for wrongdoing.
U.S. President Joe Biden gives a speech after signing into law a bill providing billions of dollars of new military aid to Ukraine at the White House on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 26, 2024

Passing of U.S. aid package is a win for global peace

The aid for Ukraine is critical: Its military has been running short of ammunition and Russia has been exploiting its advantage to make battlefield gains.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and French President Emmanuel Macron deliver a joint statement in Paris in January 2023.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024

Kishida to visit France, Brazil and Paraguay starting next week

In Paris on Thursday, Kishida plans to give a keynote speech at a ministerial council meeting of the OECD and meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 26, 2024

Number of homeless in Japan hits record low

By prefecture, the figure for Osaka was highest, at 856, followed by Tokyo, with 624, and Kanagawa, at 420.
Gold medalists Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar on the podium following the men's high jump competition, at National Stadium in Tokyo in 2021.
OLYMPICS
Apr 26, 2024

Iconic shared Olympic gold moment will not be repeated, Qatari jumper says

In 2021, Barshim embraced his old friend Tamberi at the end of the men's high jump as the judges confirmed the double gold for the Qatari and the Italian.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attend an event in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2024

Imperial couple to visit Britain in June in first trip to country since '22

The visit will be the first trip to Britain by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako since they attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.
A young patient is evacuated from a hospital in Kyiv after reports that the building may have been targeted by Russian forces on Friday. Russia attacked railway facilities in three different regions across Ukraine on Thursday night and Friday morning, as the Russian defense minister vowed to step up strikes aimed at slowing the flow of critically needed American weapons and equipment to the front.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 27, 2024

Russia targets Ukraine railways as Western aid due to arrive

Kyiv warned that Moscow was looking to disrupt military supplies ahead of a fresh Russian offensive while Ukraine waits for new U.S. weapons deliveries.
Apple and OpenAI have begun discussing terms of a possible agreement on how some artificial intelligence features would be integrated into the next iPhone operating system, sources have said.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 27, 2024

Apple intensifies talks with OpenAI for iPhone generative AI features

The latest development comes about a month and a half before an Apple conference where it's poised to introduce new AI software and services.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken dines at the Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant at the Yu Gardens in Shanghai on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 27, 2024

When U.S. diplomats visit China, meal choices are about more than taste buds

Visits to China by U.S. officials like Secretary of State Antony Blinken can bring fame to local restaurants, as well as scrutiny to the dignitaries.
Ukrainian guards patrol a stretch of land on the border with Romania. New guidance carries a clear message to Ukrainian men abroad who may be avoiding the draft: You don’t get the benefit of state services if you don’t join the fight.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 27, 2024

Ukraine is denying consular services to men outside the country

The drive to bring fighting-age men back to Ukraine, or keep them from leaving, is part of a broader effort to enlist new soldiers urgently.
Students continue to maintain a protest encampment in support of Palestinians at Columbia University in New York on Friday.
WORLD / Society
Apr 27, 2024

Columbia University leadership rebuked for police crackdown on protesters

The president has faced an outcry for summoning police to dismantle a tent encampment set up by students protesting Israel's offensive in Gaza.
An estimated 835,200 people were due to travel through Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture during the 11-day Golden Week period — about 77% of the number during the same period in 2019, before the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 27, 2024

Travelers flock to train stations and airports as Golden Week begins

Japan kicked off its Golden Week holidays, which run through May 6, on Saturday, with many people heading to resorts or their home towns.
A truck rolls off a cargo vessel docked at Esbjerg Port in Ebjerg, Denmark. European Union food imports to the U.K. are about to get more expensive and complicated as the British government implements the Brexit deal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 27, 2024

Britons finally taste full Brexit as costly border checks begin

From April 30, the U.K. will impose checks on European Union food imports — a stark reversal from the pre-Brexit era of frictionless trade.

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