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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 8, 2023

A long and winding visit to 'secret' Ubayu Onsen

Secluded and remote hot springs are yet another example of Japan's deep bathing culture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 2, 2023

Lucky Pierrot’s anti-McDonald's approach makes it a Hakodate treasure

With an eclectic menu, eccentric decor and 35 years under its belt, Lucky Pierrot is a fixture of southern Hokkaido comfort food.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 13, 2023

'Everything Everywhere' dominates at Oscars, capping award-season sweep

The unconventional sci-fi drama won seven Academy Awards, including best picture, while Michelle Yeoh made history as the first Asian best actress winner.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 8, 2023

Shohei Ohtani ready to lead powerful Japan at World Baseball Classic

After more than a decade of frustration, Japan is back and stronger than ever, with the Angels star — who may one day surpass Ichiro Suzuki in the Japanese baseball pantheon — at the helm.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 2, 2023

Tech rivals chase ChatGPT as AI race ramps up

Google has said that AI-powered features will soon be rolled out in its world dominating search engine, though it has remained vague on exactly how and when.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 16, 2023

One of the world’s cleanest new skyscrapers collides with the future

One Vanderbilt in New York is built to be especially climate friendly. But the design landscape is changing so quickly that some features are now yesterday's news.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 7, 2023

Google to release ChatGPT rival named Bard

Google's announcement came on the eve of an AI-related launch event by Microsoft in yet a further sign that the two tech giants will do battle over the technology.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Feb 4, 2023

Blaming TikTok for harming students is easy. Proving it isn’t.

About half of adolescents have had a mental health disorder at some point in their lives, and some school districts are putting at least part of the blame on social media companies that they say addict America’s youth.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 1, 2023

ChatGPT sounds exactly like us. How is that a good thing?

For 70 years, programmers have tried to make computers more like people. Now they’ve succeeded — sort of.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / New Wine Frontier
Jan 29, 2023

The ‘bugs, microbes and wild yeast’ of Japan’s umami wine master

Takahiko Soga embraces the potentially destructive elements of winemaking that many other vintners try their best to avoid.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jul 3, 2023

Nagasaki island divided over survey on hosting nuclear waste disposal site

Some residents are expressing hopes for regional development — mindful that the city will receive a large subsidy if it proceeds with the move.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / Ice Hockey
Jul 2, 2023

New professional women's ice hockey league set to launch in 2024

Details on the new league, with regards to how many teams it will consist of and in what cities, were not disclosed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2023

Yamagata pins hopes on shinkansen tunnel, but faces roadblocks

Looming over the move are the harsh conditions of Itaya Pass straddling Yamagata and Fukushima prefectures, which is battered by heavy snow in winter.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 23, 2023

Trapped in trash: Japan’s hidden hoarders

Behind closed doors, Japan has more houses filled with garbage than you might think — a phenomenon being exacerbated by shifting demographics and pandemic-induced social isolation.
An extreme heat warning in Death Valley, California, on July 15
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2023

Our civilization was built for a climate that’s vanishing

Weather disasters linked to climate change like those unfolding across the northern hemisphere will affect more and more of us.
Director Hirobumi Watanabe (second from left) stars alongside his brother Yuji (far right), who has served as composer on all of his films, in his new feature “Techno Brothers,” which follows a sibling trio on the road to Tokyo to find success in the music business.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 21, 2023

Foolish Piggies Films keeps humor at its heart

Indie director Hirobumi Watanabe looks back on 10 years of making distinctive, micro-budget films with his brother and seeking out new challenges on and off screen.
A cinema employee checks on a display showing a digital poster for Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki's latest film, "The Boy and the Heron," on the first day of its premiere in Tokyo on July 14.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 21, 2023

For his last movie, Hayao Miyazaki recycles himself

While visually and technically stunning, "The Boy and the Heron" might give some viewers an unsatisfying sense of deja vu.
A photograph by Joel Pulliam provides a hint at what is on offer at VoidTokyo's "Sharaku" exhibition at HikoHiko Gallery.
CULTURE
Jul 19, 2023

Street photography by VoidTokyo on full display in Ginza

With the goal of capturing the city of Tokyo in physical form and not just on social media, VoidTokyo celebrates its members at “Sharaku.”
TikTok is in a race to dominate e-commerce in Southeast Asia.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2023

TikTok steps up Southeast Asia presence amid e-commerce push

As the company intermingles social media and e-commerce, it is betting that this vision of shopping will knock aside rivals in the region.
Haruki Hirao, second grader at Torikai Elementary School in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, attends a mathematics class in May as nurse Yoshimi Yoshiyama looks on from the back of the classroom.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 24, 2023

More children who need daily medical care attend regular schools since 2021 law

Since 2021, more children who require daily medical care have been able to attend regular schools, broadening their horizons and raising awareness of diversity in classroom.
Professor Mutsuko Tendo (right) teaches a class in career development theory at Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 24, 2023

Women’s universities in Tohoku seeking to survive with distinctive education

Women's colleges had long been regarded as schools with a focus on home economics and liberal arts, but some are now reorganizing their programs in a bid to attract students.
Crunchyroll, now owned by Sony Group Corp., is setting its sights on India as a major growth market.
LIFE / Digital
Jul 15, 2023

Former piracy site Crunchyroll cashes in on anime's global appeal

Crunchyroll expects the anime industry will have more than 800 million fans globally by 2025 outside markets in China and Japan.
Yoshiko Hara (left) plays basketball with members of her Fukushima Club basketball team.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jul 31, 2023

Pioneer in basketball for disabled people looks to inclusiveness

Through basketball, Yoshiko Hara aims to have players in her club acquire physical strength and stamina, as well as learn about group rules and manners.
Staff at Youits by My Gakuya, a shop selling gender-free cosmetics that opened in Nagoya’s Sakae shopping district in April
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jul 31, 2023

Cosmetics stores in Nagoya expand sales of gender-free makeup

Move reflects the recent trend of men becoming more conscious about grooming and the popularity of male K-pop idols wearing makeup.
Wall Street in New York. While survey participants are likely riding the AI-fueled market melt-up thanks to their broad equity exposure, they aren’t going all-in on the technology just yet.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 31, 2023

Investors are happy to pay premium for tech, but not for AI

Even as AI floods the workplace, many still doubt that it will dramatically affect their job within the next three years.
A new high-rise is erected in Beijing in October 2021. The same year, 41% of the assets in China’s banking system were accounted for by property-related loans and credit.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2023

Is Japan’s economic past China’s future?

China is facing a long period of low growth similar to Japan’s experience since the 1990s.
Chikako Utsumi holds bottles of Rose Mind at Tenpoichi sake brewer in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Aug 7, 2023

Local Hiroshima sake and beef grow in popularity due to G7

Popular sake Rose Mind has seen its popularity surge since it was served during the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima.
The social media backlash to “Barbenheimer,” an internet trend centered on the simultaneous release of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” in the United States, led to the hashtag #NoBarbenheimer trending recently on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 2, 2023

‘Barbenheimer’ memes trigger anger in atomic-bombed Japan

Warner Bros. Japan criticized its U.S. counterpart for participating in internet memes that appear to trivialize the effects of the atomic bombings.
Signs hang on a gate as people hike in the Pen y Pass at the foot of Mount Snowdon near Llanberis, Wales, in 2020. For residents of deprived urban areas, going to natural green spaces can be prohibitively expensive.
WORLD
Aug 2, 2023

Isolated from nature, U.K.'s ethnic minorities hit harder by heat

Experts say ethnic minorities will be affected most as they often live in dense, poorly insulated households near fewer parks and less vegetation.
Chihiro Okada (right), a representative of Animal Rights Center, during a news conference at the Okinawa Prefectural Government building on July 10
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Aug 7, 2023

Confrontations deepen over duck-catching event in Okinawa

Animal rights groups say the event constitutes animal abuse.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji