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Swallows mascot Tsubakuro performs during a game at Jingu Stadium in June 2023.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Feb 21, 2025

Swallows employee who portrayed popular mascot Tsubakuro dies

Tsubakuro became a ubiquitous presence at Jingu Stadium after his debut in 1994.
Students from Hiroshima Global Academy chat over gyōza dumplings with "island guardian" Koshi Omori at his home in Osakikamijima, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 3, 2025

Model school for global education rooted on small Hiroshima island

The school hopes its well-equipped students will help inspire and bring new energy to the aging island community.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky speaks during an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 21, 2025

As Ukraine rift emerges, Kyiv's envoy says Japan must take on bigger global role

The remarks by Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky came amid what appears to be a dramatic reversal in years of U.S. support for Ukraine since Russia's invasion.
U.S. President Donald Trump is seen on a TV screen in Kabul. Trump’s first term resulted in talks that eventually led to the Taliban’s return to power, but this time around, Afghans hope that the president will take a tough stance against the brutal regime.  
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2025

What Trump’s return could mean for Afghanistan

Despite Afghan refugees being denied admission to the U.S., at least for now, there is hope that the new Trump administration will undermine the brutal Taliban regime in Kabul.
Many Japanese companies like Toto have quietly shifted from consumer-facing products like toilets to specialized, high-value industries such as semiconductor materials, proving that Japan's innovation remains strong despite its lower global visibility.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 21, 2025

Japan’s toilet jokes are on you. Innovation is flourishing.

One of the most surprising stories in corporate Japan in recent months has been the emergence of semiconductor materials as a significant profit driver at Toto.
Without the well-developed road infrastructure of many parts of Honshu, it has never been easy to be a truck driver in Hokkaido, Japan’s second-largest island but largest prefecture in terms of landmass-
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Mar 3, 2025

Hokkaido trucking industry faces challenges from overtime cap

Without the well-developed road infrastructure of many parts of Honshu, it has never been easy to be a truck driver in Hokkaido.
Prince Hisahito heads to greet the Emperor and Empress on the occasion of his 18th birthday in Tokyo on Sep. 6.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2025

Japan's Prince Hisahito to hold first news conference on March 3

It is customary for Imperial Family members to hold a press conference when they reach the age of majority.
Festival organizers Smash revealed that local legend Tatsuro Yamashita is set to play Fuji Rock for the first time ever.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 21, 2025

Fuji Rock’s biggest lineup surprise? The debut of Tatsuro Yamashita.

The summer music festival also promises Vampire Weekend, Vulfpeck and Fred Again.. among the 60 acts named for its 2025 edition.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in parliament on Friday
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 21, 2025

LDP and opposition lock horns over Japan budget

Mindful of how much the ruling coalition needs their support, Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Democratic Party for the People are digging their heels in.
In Tomoka Shibasaki's short story collection "A Hundred Years and a Day," time flows architecturally, through the life of structures such as a ramen shop or a cinema.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 22, 2025

'A Hundred Years and a Day': Short stories unfold through the lives of structures and spaces

In Tomoka Shibasaki’s curious collection, time flows architecturally, plots meander by design and humans are unnamed, ephemeral and often disappear.
Japan is the world's No. 2 LNG buyer, a major investor in energy infrastructure and a trading hub with a glut of LNG that could help open new markets for U.S. gas in Southeast Asia.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 22, 2025

Trump seeks to reshape Asia's energy supplies with U.S. gas

While the Alaska LNG proposal faces hurdles, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and others are buying into the idea of increasing U.S. gas imports more broadly.
An electric vehicle factory in Rayong, Thailand. Asian countries are among the most vulnerable to President Donald Trump's economic grievances — but also well-placed to make deals to minimize their exposure.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 22, 2025

How Trump’s tariffs could reorder Asia trade and exclude the U.S.

Asian countries are among the most vulnerable to Trump's economic grievances — but also well-placed to make deals to minimize their exposure.
Israelis sit together in Tel Aviv on Thursday as the bodies of deceased hostages were handed over by Hamas under the terms of a ceasefire.
WORLD
Feb 22, 2025

Hamas releases new hostage body after misidentification of Shiri Bibas

The failure to hand over the correct body and the staged public handover on Thursday caused outrage and drew a threat of retaliation from Netanyahu.
A truck carrying partially-refined titanium ore to a factory for further refining at a mine east of Kyiv.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 22, 2025

Ukraine promises swift deal for minerals as Trump cuts Kyiv out of peace talks

Trump said Zelenskyy had been negotiating “with no cards” and did not need to participate in all the diplomatic meetings to end the war.
A White House reporter for the Associated Press is told by a member of the Trump administration that AP is barred from joining White House press pool coverage, in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 22, 2025

Associated Press sues White House officials to restore access

Last week, the White House barred AP reporters from pooled events, objecting to the wire service's references to the Gulf of Mexico in articles.
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown speaks during annual Memorial Day in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, in May 2024.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 22, 2025

Trump fires top U.S. general in unprecedented Pentagon shakeup

The decision sets off a period of upheaval at the Pentagon, which was already bracing for mass firings of civilian staff and other dramatic shifts.
Yuko Obuchi, head of the LDP's Party Organization and Campaign Headquarters, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2025

LDP to actively use social media for election victory

Achieving a victory in the election for the upper chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, is the most important challenge for the party this year.
Forever Young wins the Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Race Course in Riyadh on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
Feb 23, 2025

Japan's Forever Young wins world's richest race

Forever Young passed Romantic Warrior 50 meters from the post to claim victory.
A campaign poster for Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democratic Union candidate for chancellor, in Potsdam, Germany, on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2025

Gloomy Germans vote in election which conservatives are set to win

The election campaign has been dominated by fierce exchanges over the perception that irregular immigration is out of control.
U.S. President Donald Trump during the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on Saturday
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2025

Trump tells CPAC his goal is a ‘lasting’ Republican majority

GOP allies, foreign leaders and Elon Musk joined Trump at CPAC on Saturday, rallying around his vision for tax cuts and government spending.
Mirra Andreeva reacts after a point during her match against Clara Tauson during the Dubai Championships on Saturday.
TENNIS
Feb 23, 2025

Russian teen Mira Andreeva makes WTA history with title in Dubai

After ousting three Grand Slam winners, including second-seeded Iga Swiatek, en route to the final, Andreeva ended Clara Tauson's own dream run at the tournament.
Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 11.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2025

Musk orders U.S. federal workers to report on work by Monday or resign

It is unclear what legal basis Musk has to terminate federal workers if they fail to respond or what would happen to employees that cannot detail confidential work.
Aston Villa's Marcus Rashford (left) and Chelsea's Malo Gusto vie for the ball during their match in Birmingham, England, on Saturday.
SOCCER
Feb 23, 2025

Marcus Rashford making strong early impression with Aston Villa

Rashford was signed by Villa on loan from United earlier this month.
Asian seabass are bred at the Songkhla Coastal Aquaculture Technology and Innovation Research and Development Center in southern Thailand.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Feb 23, 2025

Japan looks to save seafood and seaweed farming from warming oceans

Projects at home and in Thailand are seeking to address challenges stemming from climate change as well as sustainability concerns.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba replies to a question from Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Seiji Maehara at a Lower House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Feb. 17.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2025

Party heads' love of trains could keep budget talks from derailing

The leaders of Nippon Ishin no Kai and Komeito both share Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's passion for locomotives.
Under the law, information such as race, social status, medical history and any criminal record is designated as sensitive personal information, and obtaining such information requires prior consent from the individuals concerned.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 23, 2025

Japan may ease privacy rules to aid AI development

The move is intended to make it easier for AI-related businesses to utilize personal information.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer addresses military personnel onboard HMS Iron Duke on Dec. 17, 2024 in Tallinn, Estonia.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 23, 2025

Starmer faces defining moment in campaign to sway Trump

The trip has taken on new urgency after Trump officials berated European leaders over security while conceding to some of Moscow's demands regarding Ukraine.
Visitors listen to a keynote address at Consensus, a cryptocurrency event in Hong Kong on Feb. 15.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 23, 2025

Hong Kong and Singapore lead Asia's drive to cash in on crypto boom

Bitcoin recently hit a record of close to $110,000 while others have also rallied on the back of Trump's pro-crypto promises.
Coffee beans are harvested in Corquin, Honduras, on Feb. 6. Climate change has diminished the supply of coffee around the globe via rising temperatures, droughts and excessive rains.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 23, 2025

Coffee prices are at a 50-year high. Producers aren’t celebrating.

Around the world, coffee traders, farmers and roasters fear how climate change and economic factors will affect their livelihoods.
Economic pessimism is rife in the U.K., with households looking to cut their expenses,
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 23, 2025

The reluctant British consumer is a problem for Keir Starmer

Pessimism is rife and households are looking to cut expenses as fear rises over inflation and job losses.

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