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Mindbody ClassPass CFO Tom Aveston speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in September.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2024

ClassPass lands in Japan with eye on domestic fitness market and visitors

The company, which provides access to gyms on a membership basis, started operating on Sept. 19 with 200 partner gyms and fitness studios, mainly in Tokyo.
The University of Tokyo is ranked 28th in the latest World University Rankings, advancing one place from the previous rankings.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 9, 2024

University of Tokyo moves up a spot to 28th in World University Rankings

Many of Japan’s top universities moved up in the latest rankings announced on Wednesday, with five of them in the top 200.
Two childhood friends (Hayato Kurihara, left, and Yukito Hidaka) living in a near-future Japan see a rise in student protests against oppressive surveillance in “Happyend.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 10, 2024

‘Happyend’ tests teen friendship with authoritarian dystopia

Neo Sora’s ambitious coming-of-age film follows a group of friends attempting to disrupt a surveillance society with something less than life-or-death urgency.
Former Prime Minister Taro Aso speaks during the Ketagalan Forum in Taipei in August 2023.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 9, 2024

Former PM Taro Aso calls Taiwan a ‘country' — much to China's chagrin

Tuesday’s remarks were not the first time Aso has sounded off about Taiwan and how a conflict over the island would represent an emergency for Japan.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba listens as Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda (right) speaks during a one-on-one debate in parliament on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 9, 2024

Opposition clashes with Ishiba over political reform

Political reform and the LDP slush fund scandal took center stage during the prime minister's showdown with opposition party leaders.
A screen shows the 2024 laureates for the Nobel Prize in chemistry David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper during the award's announcement by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm on Wednesday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 9, 2024

Trio of scientists win chemistry Nobel for work on the structure of proteins

Scientists David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper won the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry for cracking the code for proteins’ structures.
Two of Google's researchers shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work revealing the secrets of proteins through AI.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 10, 2024

AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins

The science now bundled together as artificial intelligence has a long history, emerging in the 1950s and 60s with simple algorithms.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington on July 25.
WORLD
Oct 10, 2024

Looming Israeli strike on Iran offers fresh test of U.S. sway

With Israeli retaliation against Iran expected at any time, the U.S. is finding it has few assurances against further escalation.
A screenshot from a video shows a Taiwanese coast guard ship pursuing a Chinese fishing boat near Taiwan's Qimei island on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 10, 2024

China causing chaos ahead of Lai's keynote address, Taiwan official says

National day in Taiwan — observed on Oct. 10 — marks the 1911 overthrow of the last Chinese dynasty and the ushering in of the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name.
Just 1 in 10 researchers and 1 in 5 students at the prestigious University of Tokyo are women.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Oct 10, 2024

Women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance with posters

Gender bias begins early in Japanese education.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is the largest foreign issuer of yen bonds this year, raising a record ¥545.1 billion.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 10, 2024

Berkshire issues bonds worth ¥282 billion, sparking Japan investment hopes

The seven-part bond deal is Berkshire’s biggest yen-denominated deal since 2019, and makes it the largest foreign issuer of yen bonds this year.
Annual festival Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! was born a decade ago when Barakan (left) decided to create a platform to share his love of roots music, which he attributes to growing up in 1960s England.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 11, 2024

Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! takes its final bow

The 11th edition of the annual blues, jazz and roots festival will also be its last, at least in its current form, but the core concept of the event will live on.
The Taro Nasu gallery in Tokyo, with work by the French artist Benoit Pieron on view.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 10, 2024

In Tokyo, the Taro Nasu gallery focuses on conceptual art

Striving to be unique, the small gallery is bringing attention to artists from around the world whose works have rarely been seen in Japan.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, awards Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh (left), the commander of the Aerospace Force, with the Fath badge in Tehran on Sunday for the missile attack on Israel. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 10, 2024

Today's Tehran looks a lot like the Tokyo of the 1930s

Current tensions between Iran and Israel have parallels to historical events in 1930s Japan.
The Tomakomai carbon, capture and storage test site in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, in March 2018. The true benefits of carbon removal won’t be realized until we get close to net zero emissions.
COMMENTARY
Oct 10, 2024

Geoengineering can save the planet — if we demystify it

The percentage of Americans who say they trust scientists on the environment has declined to 67% this year from 75% in 2020.
FEPC Vice Chairman Toshiharu Sasaki (center) holds a news conference after meeting with Aomori Gov. Soichiro Miyashita on Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2024

Aomori Prefecture rejects proposed high-level nuclear waste delivery

The prefecture was asked to accept a small amount of high-level nuclear waste returned from overseas instead of more low-level waste, which had been agreed earlier.
Han Kang is the first South Korean author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 10, 2024

South Korean author Han Kang wins Nobel Prize in literature

Han is the first Asian woman and the first writer from South Korea to receive the award.
Rafael Nadal won 22 Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal during his career.
TENNIS
Oct 11, 2024

Rafael Nadal leaves behind legacy as role model and inspiration for fellow players

Nadal will hang up his racket after the Davis Cup next month.
Migrants walk to board an inflatable dinghy in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on the beach of the Slack dunes in Wimereux, France, on Sept. 4
WORLD / Politics
Oct 11, 2024

'Mood change' on migration puts deportation hubs on EU table

Talks of such hubs come only a few months after the European Union adopted a sweeping reform of its asylum policies.
X owner Elon Musk and Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump meet prior to a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
WORLD
Oct 11, 2024

Disinformation stirred by Musk and Trump adds strain to hurricane recovery

Conspiracy theories and hate speech targeting the government’s storm response erupted across social media after Hurricane Helene devastated the Southeast.
Members of the Red Cross work at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Ras Al— Nabaa, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Thursday.
WORLD
Oct 11, 2024

Hezbollah official survives Israeli assassination attempt: sources

Israel reportedly targeted Wafiq Safa, who heads Hezbollah's liaison and coordination unit responsible for working with Lebanese security agencies.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands on the day of a bilateral meeting inside 10 Downing Street in London on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 11, 2024

Zelenskyy outlines 'victory plan' to allies and discusses long-range weapons

The Ukrainian leader is keen for the West to give further support to try to change the balance on the battlefield ahead of a U.S. presidential election and winter.
The wellness amenities at Six Senses Kyoto are just the latest example of hotels in Japan bolstering their relaxation offerings to attract guests.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 12, 2024

Can't choose a Kansai hotel? Perhaps a wellness screening will help you decide.

The holistic offerings at Six Senses Kyoto and Four Seasons Osaka are part of a growing wellness travel trend sweeping Japan.
Cider in Japan doesn't have as long a history as other alcoholic beverages, but with consumer preferences shifting, it might be just the easy sip for drinkers sick of stiff tipples.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 13, 2024

As Japan shuns stiff drinks, cider aims for a bigger share of the market

Sake brewer Isamu Yoshii was the first person in Japan to produce cider as an alcoholic drink in 1954, paving the way for a possible cider boom in the future.
Performers at Stand Up Indonesia Tokyo shows crack plenty of jokes, but the main purpose behind the group, organizers say, is to provide a space where Indonesian expats can express themselves about any struggles they may have about living abroad.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 14, 2024

Tokyo’s Indonesians get through life abroad with a couple of laughs

Stand Up Indonesia Tokyo is a community of comedians, comedy fans and others with connections to Indonesia seeking a reminder of home.
Lauretta is much calmer and more demure than her operatic name might suggest.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Oct 14, 2024

Named for an opera, Lauretta is more adorable than dramatic

Named after the daughter of Gianni Schicchi in the Puccini opera of the same name, it was Lauretta’s big, round face and lovely eyes that won her the name.
People engage in discussions during a program of School for Life Compath in Biei, Hokkaido, in August 2021.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 11, 2024

Danish-style 'schools for life' gaining popularity in Japan

The schools promote personal growth and lifelong learning, covering topics such as self-discovery, societal exploration, modern art and forest adventures.
Natalie Nakase will lead the Valkyries, the WNBA's newest team, after spending three years as first assistant coach with the Aces.
BASKETBALL
Oct 11, 2024

Natalie Nakase named as inaugural head coach of expansion Valkyries in WNBA

Nakase, 44, has more than 16 years of coaching experience, including 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA.
Seven & I Holdings essentially unveiled a plan to split in two.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 11, 2024

Seven & I to split in two to fend off Couche-Tard takeover bid

The big question is if the move will be enough to win over any investors warming to Couche-Tard’s approach.
Japan's Daichi Kamada (right) vies for the ball against Saudi Arabia midfielder Abdulelah Al-Malki during their World Cup qualifying match in Jeddah on Thursday.
SOCCER
Oct 11, 2024

Japan looks to Australia and beyond after beating Saudi Arabia in World Cup qualifier

Samurai Blue are five points clear at the top of Group C, with the top two teams securing direct passage to the 2026 World Cup.

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