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Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Mei Semones incorporates Japanese lyrics into her music, which blends jazz and indie rock with bossa nova, math rock and a dash of early-1990s grunge, among other genres.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 26, 2025

Mei Semones is the rookie to remember at Fuji Rock

The singer-songwriter delivers her bilingual lyrics and artful blend of jazz and indie pop with quiet confidence.
Tokyo Gas is in talks with at least four U.S. liquefied natural gas suppliers to secure a purchase deal, according to sources.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2025

Tokyo gas in talks to seal long-term U.S. LNG purchase deals

Japan’s largest gas distributor is in talks with at least four companies over supply from projects dotting the U.S. Gulf Coast, according to sources.
The National Police Agency has drafted stricter identification rules for secondhand metal dealers in order to prevent the resale of stolen goods.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 26, 2025

NPA to toughen ID rules for metal dealers amid surge in stolen AC units

The National Police Agency drafted amendments that would require metal dealers to verify sellers’ identities and keep transaction records for three years.
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 29, 2025

With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining

Want to be an advocate of Japan’s marine health? Look out for sustainably farmed fish the next time you dine at a restaurant.
The Justice Ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. Takahiro Shiraishi, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for killing nine people in the space of two months, was executed on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2025

Japan executes ‘Twitter killer’ in first hanging since 2022

Takahiro Shiraishi was on death row for killing nine people he met on social media in 2017.
Major department stores are doing their best to cater to foreign customers, but it’s unclear if it will lead to more sales.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2025

Department stores' tax-free sales drop as tourists' shopping patterns change

Greater foreign tourist diversity has led to a change in shopping priorities, the executive of the Japan Department Stores Association said.
Maria Seiren, known for winning the first-ever “Japan’s Got Talent” with her opera voice, has also been training in traditional noh theater, creating productions that combine opera, noh and even pop music.
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 28, 2025

Diva of dualities: Maria Seiren sings opera and noh in both a female and male voice

The first-ever winner of talent show competition “Japan’s Got Talent” is having a stacked year with two noh and opera productions and her 10th anniversary album release.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague on Wednesday. He expressed anger and threatened to sue over media reports claiming the U.S. strike on Iran delayed its nuclear program by only a few months.
EDITORIALS
Jun 27, 2025

Airstrikes won’t end Iran’s nuclear ambitions — diplomacy might

The consensus of the U.S. intelligence community earlier this year was that Iran was up to three years away from being able to deliver a nuclear weapon to a target of its choosing.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine arrives for a classified briefing about the American strikes on Iran, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

U.S. Senate rejects bid to curb Trump's Iran war powers

The Senate vote was 53 to 47 against a war powers resolution that would have required congressional approval for more hostilities against Iran.
People push a cart to receive water to distribute to neighbors in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 5, 2024, after a massive earthquake hit the area.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 28, 2025

Megaquake may hit central Japan within next 30 years, government panel says

There is a 16% to 18% chance of a large temblor hitting the Kinki western region and Hokuriku central region, according to a government panel.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim attends a news conference in Taipei on June 19.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 28, 2025

Czechs say China followed and planned intimidation of Taiwan vice-president

Prague does not have official diplomatic ties with Taiwan but has fostered warm relations with the democratically-governed island.
The total number of people who sat for police departments' exams in Japan during fiscal 2023 fell by more than 20% from fiscal 2021, while 30% of applicants who received informal job offers turned them down.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2025

Police in most prefectures miss hiring targets

Around 30% of the applicants given informal offers in many prefectures end up turning them down.
Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim speaks during the first exhibition organized by the Czech Center Taipei in the Taiwanese capital in June last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 29, 2025

Taiwan VP says she will not be intimidated after Czechs allege Chinese plot

A Chinese diplomat ran a red light while following her car, while other Chinese operatives had planned to stage a demonstrative car crash.
A satellite view shows an overview of Fordo underground complex, after the U.S. struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran, on June 22.
WORLD
Jun 30, 2025

U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites set up 'cat-and-mouse' hunt for missing uranium

Iran's more than 400 kg of uranium is enough, if further enriched for up to nine nuclear weapons.
Fidaa al-Eissa hangs a rug to dry on the rooftop of her home, surrounded by the wreckage left by the civil war, in the Qaboun neighborhood of Damascus on Feb. 21.
WORLD
Jun 30, 2025

'She's not coming back': Alawite women snatched from streets of Syria

The overthrow of Bashar Assad in December after 14 years of civil war unleashed a furious backlash against the Muslim minority community to which he belongs.
A man was stabbed to death at Sunshine City commercial complex in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 1, 2025

Man arrested for allegedly killing employee at Tokyo’s Sunshine City

The male suspect reportedly brandished a bladed weapon and slashed the male victim, who was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead shortly after.
This screen shot from Korean Central Television taken Friday shows a screen displaying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looking at coffins during a performance attended by Kim and Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova in Pyongyang.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 1, 2025

North Korea's Kim shown honoring troops killed in Russia-Ukraine war

Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, according to South Korea's spy agency.
This digital visualization shows the small modular nuclear reactor being developed by Rolls-Royce SMR, which is set to be the first in the U.K. A widely cited IEA report says global data center electricity demand will more than double by 2030 to 945 TWh — more than Japan’s current total usage.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2025

Data centers and small reactors could change Asia’s nuclear dynamic

An estimated 402.74 million terabytes of data are created each day and storing and processing all that information creates virtual volcanoes.
A delivery driver takes a break in the shade during high temperatures in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 2024.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2025

How much does a heat wave cost? Insurers and CEOs want to know.

Some believe a new market for heat insurance — driven in part by artificial intelligence and the need to cool data centers — is around the corner.
The Federal Trade Commission has opened an in-depth investigation of SoftBank Group's acquisition of semiconductor designer Ampere Computing.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2025

SoftBank’s Ampere deal now faces a more in-depth review by FTC

SoftBank’s acquisition of semiconductor designer Ampere Computing is facing a potentially lengthy probe by the U.S. government.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore recently announced a hard deadline of June 30 for cryptocurrency firms incorporated in Singapore and offering services offshore to cease activities.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 2, 2025

Binance to keep hundreds of staff in Singapore despite crypto crackdown

More than 400 Binance workers label themselves as based in Singapore on LinkedIn.
Tomonobu Kojima, admitted his involvement in the "Luffy" cases at the first hearing of his trial at Tokyo District Court on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 2, 2025

Senior member of 'Luffy' crime ring pleads guilty at hearing

Tomonobu Kojima, 47, said, "There is no mistake" regarding his charges of aiding robberies and committing fraud.
The Central Disaster Prevention Council adopted a revised disaster-prevention plan that will encourage municipalities and logistics business associations to ensure there will be an emergency transportation system should a Nankai Trough earthquake occur, at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2025

Japan adopts target of reducing death toll by 80% in Nankai Trough quake

According to the latest estimate disclosed in March, the death toll from a Nankai Trough megaquake is expected to reach up to about 298,000.
Reito Watanabe, who allegedly stabbed his coworker, Daiki Yoshino, to death in a Tokyo law office, is escorted by police on Tuesday in Tokyo’s Toshima Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 2, 2025

Suspect in Tokyo law firm stabbing held grudge against victim, police say

The 50-year-old man, who is an employee of the firm, said unpleasant experiences at work involving the victim, his coworker, had brought him to his limit.
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
CULTURE / Film
Jul 2, 2025

Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made

A new show at Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills Gallery explores the painstaking process of the late “Grave of the Fireflies” and “Pom Poko” director.
F-35 aircraft on the deck of Britain's Prince of Wales aircraft carrier as it arrives at Marina Bay Cruise Center in Singapore on June 23
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2025

British F-35B fighters could soon land on a Japanese carrier

The latest British carrier deployment could see jets from the Prince of Wales vessel touch down on one of Japan's own de facto aircraft carriers.
Born in late 2011, Cheyenne is an affable canine companion who gets along with humans, most dogs and even cats.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Jul 2, 2025

A furry ball of sunshine

Thirteen-year-old Cheyenne may be in her golden years, but her good cheer and affability will win anyone over.
Hiroshi Masuda (left), head of the Memorial Museum for Soldiers, Detainees in Siberia, and Postwar Repatriates, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2025

Japanese war memorial network unites to pass on memories to youth

The facilities will work on strengthening their capabilities to disseminate information and provide content for schools.
In adapting Masataka Matsuda’s 1998 play “On Summer Sand” to film, director Shinya Tamada decided to age up the central character, played by Joe Odagiri (left), by 10 years to bring out a deeper sense of despondency and grief.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 1, 2025

From stage to screen, a story of quiet connection in the still heat of Nagasaki

Director Shinya Tamada adapts "On Summer Sand" for film by filling the silences between scenes with heartbreak and slow healing.
Pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham speaks at a League of Social Democrats news conference at their headquarters in Hong Kong on June 29.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 3, 2025

Hong Kong proposes limited recognition of same-sex couples' rights

The move comes as the Hong Kong government seeks to comply with a landmark court ruling from September 2023.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’