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One of the themes in American guitarist Marty Friedman’s autobiography “Dreaming Japanese” is that while he has become a star in his own right in Japan, he still feels that he doesn’t “belong.”
CULTURE / Books
Jan 1, 2025

Guitarist Marty Friedman goes to bat for J-pop in new autobiography

"Dreaming Japanese" tells the story of how the Megadeth guitarist navigated Japan's music industry.
Kaz Shiomi is looking forward to the Osaka Expo this year, which will be held from April 13 to Oct. 13.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 10, 2025

Kaz Shiomi: ‘I want to show people … how to color outside the lines’

Producing toys under her kiko+ & gg* brand, the business owner hopes to encourage children to find their own unique paths in life.
New Yorker Kenny Colvin opened Sanita, an Italian American-style cocktail bar, in Tokyo’s Hatagaya neighborhood in 2020.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 24, 2025

Kenny Colvin: ‘Work hard, drink hard, eat hard … relax hard’

The owner of Sanita, a cozy cocktail bar in Hatagaya, shares his journey and inspirations.
The production line at Tanmiah Food’s chicken processing plant in Shaqra, Saudi Arabia
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2025

Chickens hatch across the Saudi desert in kingdom’s pivot from oil

The kingdom imports about 80% of what it eats, triggering worries about shortages in a time of rising geopolitical tensions.
The Osaka Expo site on Yumeshima island in December. A survey of 3,000 people from across Japan conducted in October by the Mitsubishi Research Institute showed that just 24% of respondents expressed an interest in attending the Osaka Expo.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 4, 2025

Excitement for the Osaka Expo is low. Can organizers build hype?

A little over two months before it opens, the Osaka Expo is just about ready to welcome guests from Japan and the rest of the world — that is, if they are ready to come.
Journalist and filmmaker Shiori Ito made the documentary “Black Box Diaries” about her years-long battle to find justice following her sexual assault.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 27, 2025

Oscar-nominated documentaries put Japan under the microscope

Shiori Ito’s “Black Box Diaries” and Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s “Instruments of a Beating Heart” both mark firsts in their respective categories.
Hiromi Okuda’s study abroad experience at the University of Mumbai inspired her to build a career at the intersection of social welfare and IT.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 7, 2025

Hiromi Okuda: 'Humans and emerging tech should exist symbiotically'

For the past 30 years, Hiromi Okuda has forged a career at the intersection of social welfare and technology.
Every year, there is heightened interest in commemorating the 3/11 disaster around the time of the anniversary. But memorial facilities and operators are increasingly struggling to keep their activities going all year round and as time passes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 10, 2025

Preserving the memory of 3/11 is becoming more difficult

Despite a peak in interest around the 3/11 anniversary, disaster memorial facilities and operators are facing mounting challenges in keeping their activities going as time passes.
Kaori Sakamoto performs her free skate during the world championships in Boston on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Mar 31, 2025

Kaori Sakamoto breathes sigh of relief after world championships

Sakamoto finished in second place behind American Alysa Liu, who made a surprising run to the world title.
Max Verstappen speaks during a news conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 18, 2025

Red Bull star Max Verstappen feeling ‘very relaxed’ amid rampant speculation

Verstappen, who won the Japanese Grand Prix on April 6, finished sixth in Bahrain last week.
A farmhand prunes trees on a 4-year-old cocoa plantation, replanted after swollen shoot disease, in Enchi, Ghana, on March 4.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 23, 2025

Cocoa crunch isn’t over yet as top growers struggle with supply

Africa’s cocoa heartland has long grappled with blight and aging trees, leaving farms vulnerable as severe weather hammered crops in recent years.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a campaign rally in Laval, Quebec, Canada, on Tuesday. Carney was the subject of at least 16 books published in March and listed on Amazon, according to a review of the site on April 16.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2025

AI floods Amazon with strange political books before Canadian election

The development adds to concerns about how new technologies are affecting the information voters receive during the election campaign.
Since 2017, Kotomi Li has won some of Japan’s top literary awards and built a formidable career in the face of persistent online harassment. “Authors are tenacious creatures to begin with,” she says.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 5, 2025

Kotomi Li: 'I refuse to choose death'

The Taiwanese writer reflects on the importance of queer community, her ascent in Japan’s literary world and her ongoing battles against online harassment.
Dr. Raquel Gomez flips a tortilla at the Industrial Microbiology laboratory of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 13, 2025

Scientists in Mexico develop tortilla for people with no fridge

The wheat flour version developed by Raquel Gomez and her team contains probiotics — live microorganisms found in yogurt and other fermented foods.
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton brings the ball up the court during the second half of Indiana's series-clinching win over the Cavaliers on Tuesday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
May 14, 2025

Haliburton shines as Pacers advance past top-seeded Cavs

A flurry of six 3-pointers from Haliburton helped Indiana wrap up a 4-1 series victory as the Cavaliers' promising season fizzled out.
Meta’s rapid AI chatbot rollout is raising safety concerns as critics cite inappropriate responses and poor accountability despite its access to vast user data.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 14, 2025

Meta’s defense of its rogue AI sounds painfully familiar

The social media platform Meta is going on the attack instead of worrying about its users. How did that work out the last time?

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?