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Yuta Orisaka strips things back on his latest album, “Jumon,” though it still features a few explosive moments.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 28, 2024

Yuta Orisaka's folk style is far more than a throwback

The singer-songwriter wanted to make songs his grandmother could enjoy, but that doesn't mean he'll skimp on the electronic touches.
After losing her family to a plane accident, Suzie (played by Rashida Jones) receives a posthumous gift from her husband in the form of a robot named Sunny (voiced by Joanna Sotomura).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jul 5, 2024

Rashida Jones uncovers an AI-fueled mystery in the AppleTV+ series 'Sunny'

Set in Kyoto, the story about a woman dealing with grief and an unexpected robot companion is a departure from the actor's comedic repertoire.
Tibetans participate in a protest march held to mark the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, in the northern hill town of Dharamsala, India, on March 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 8, 2024

Exiled Tibetans fear a future without the Dalai Lama, now 89

The Dalai Lama has said he will clarify questions about succession — including if and where he will be reincarnated — around his 90th birthday.
Namibia is emerging as an oil exploration hub with major finds by different oil giants, which could significantly boost the country's economy.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 18, 2024

African outpost Namibia gets ready to become new oil hotspot

Massive oil finds 180 miles off Namibia’s coast have seen an 80% success rate since 2022 — an almost unprecedented achievement.
During a demonstration to demand a ceasefire and an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in Tokyo on June 24, Sophia University student Jumana Kasemu participates in “Tears for Palestine,” a global event that started in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 19, 2024

If the Gaza protests seem one-sided, it’s because the current violence is

Empathy for Israeli suffering doesn't prevent college students in Japan and beyond from manifesting their anger at indiscriminate violence leveled against Palestinians.
Lamposts and other signs throughout Hirogawa, Wakayama Prefecture, display warnings, evacuation routes and measurements of height above sea level. The town has been hit by eight tsunami in its recorded history.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / OUR PLANET
Jul 21, 2024

Why Japanese researchers are looking to submarine cables for faster tsunami warnings

While Japan boasts one of the world's most sophisticated earthquake and tsunami detection systems, gaps still remain.
Team France celebrates after winning gold in the judo mixed team event at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo in July 2021.
OLYMPICS
Jul 25, 2024

Is it too early to celebrate gender equality at the Olympics?

In both Japan and abroad, women are far from achieving equality in the ranks of coaching and at the administrative level.
American musician and visual artist Kim Gordon released her second solo album, “The Collective,” earlier this year, and it’s a bona fide banger.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 25, 2024

Ahead of her Fuji Rock set, Kim Gordon weighs in on punk and U.S. politics

The former Sonic Youth bassist, guitarist and vocalist is in Japan for the first time in over 10 years to promote her latest album, "The Collective."
Flames and smoke rise from a burning wildfire, as seen from a highway in Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 26, 2024

Wildfire roars through a Canadian town popular with tourists

The town is in the heart of Jasper National Park, which is one of Canada’s premier tourist destinations, receiving about 2.5 million visitors each year.
A scientist looks at scans at the Memory Center at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital in Geneva on June 6, 2023.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 29, 2024

A blood test accurately diagnosed Alzheimer’s 90% of the time, study finds

A team of researchers reported that a blood test was significantly more accurate than doctors’ interpretation of cognitive tests and CT scans in signaling Alzheimer's.
Passengers exit trains at Hamamatsucho Station in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 1, 2024

Paternity leave uptake in Japan hits record 30%

The new record represents a 13 percentage point increase from the previous year.
A Goku balloon from the “Dragon Ball” anime series takes part in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan in November 2018. Japan’s creative industries are under threat as AI tools make it easy to mimic anime, manga and other forms of the nation’s artistic output.
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2024

Japan’s soft AI stance is betraying its anime artists

From Studio Ghibli to Pokemon, the country’s creatives have driven its influence and must be protected.
Health minister Keizo Takemi fields questions from reporters in March after a Cabinet meeting to deal with health problems caused by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's beni kōji red yeast rice supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2024

Health Minister Keizo Takemi on how to improve Japan's health care system

Digitalization, hiring high-skilled foreign workers and increasing wages are among the steps that Japan could take.
The volunteer lifesavers of Nishihama Surf Lifesaving Club never know what's in store at the start of their day.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Aug 19, 2024

It's no simple day at the beach for Japan's volunteer lifesavers

Protecting beachgoers from drowning, heatstroke and possible tsunami, lifesavers are seeking formal recognition for what they do.
Traditionally seen as a cautionary tale of collapse due to overpopulation, recent research suggests that Easter Island's population was likely small and that they adapted to environmental challenges through innovative agricultural practices.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2024

Easter Island collapse gets the fresh look it deserves

Once viewed as a cautionary tale of overpopulation, recent research suggests Easter Island's population was small and adapted through innovative agriculture practices.
Divers from the Italian navy's Marina Militare during search operations on Thursday at the site where the Bayesian luxury yacht sank off the coast of Porticello
WORLD
Aug 25, 2024

Italy yacht sinking probed for manslaughter and negligence

Authorities in Sicily have opened a manslaughter and negligent shipwreck probe into the Aug. 19 sinking of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s yacht.
Anna Sawai's performance as Lady Mariko in the FX series "Shogun" landed the actor an Emmy nomination for best actress in a drama.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Aug 29, 2024

In ‘Shogun,’ Anna Sawai drew on the power of silence. And Mozart.

“It gives me confidence,” Sawai says about her first Emmy nomination, for best actress in a drama. “I have such bad impostor syndrome.”
A member of the Self-Defense Forces wipes away sweat as he conducts a search and rescue operation at a landslide site caused by heavy rain in Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture, on July 11, 2018.
ENVIRONMENT / Boiling Point
Aug 29, 2024

Can Japan handle a heat wave and natural disaster at the same time?

Recent typhoons and the Nankai Trough megaquake alert have put the spotlight on how the country would deal with a dual disaster.
An abandoned house in Urayama, Saitama Prefecture. Buying an <i>akiya</i>, which means empty house in Japanese, can be a rewarding experience that yields a unique space and a livable home, competitively priced. Or it could turn out to be a money pit.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 2, 2024

First lesson of Japan’s akiya gold rush: No such thing as a free house.

Renovations are usually the most expensive part of the journey and the laundry list of what needs to be done is long and tends to get longer after the process starts.
Pasocom Music Club’s “Love Flutter” marks an important moment for Japan’s electronic community as project members Aoi Shibata (left) and Masato Nishiyama step into a role other artists once held for them — scene veterans who are inspiring the next generation.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 5, 2024

Pasocom Music Club returns to the pure pleasures of the dance floor

For the Kansai-born duo, new album “Love Flutter” isn’t just an evolution of its sound — it’s the next step in pushing the boundaries of electronic music.
Few in Japan may be more passionate about the 'onigiri' (rice ball) than Yumiko Ukon, owner of an onigiri specialty shop in Tokyo's Otsuka neighborhood.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 8, 2024

‘When I die, I would like to come back as a rice ball’

There’s no denying the cultural significance of the ‘onigiri’ (rice ball). But there comes a point where an onigiri is surely just an onigiri.
When it comes to a career in cuisine, chef Andreas Fuchs thinks newcomers will know within three months whether they want to commit to it or not.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 12, 2024

Andreas Fuchs: ‘I love that no two days are the same’

As the Grand Hyatt Tokyo’s executive chef, Andreas Fuchs is responsible for overseeing extensive menus across multiple venues.
Rory McIlroy has been critical of LIV Golf since it began in 2021.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Sep 12, 2024

Rory McIlroy not trying to send any 'message' with exhibition against LIV Golf stars

McIlroy has expressed his frustration since the creation of LIV Golf, which began in 2021 and has splintered the sport.
Students sit under a misting system during recess at Hikarigaoka Haru no Kaze Elementary School in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, on Sept. 6.
JAPAN / Society / Boiling Point
Sep 16, 2024

Japan’s schools battle to keep kids cool, with or without AC

With extreme heat affecting both health and study, schools are racing to plug AC gaps while experimenting with creative, cheaper solutions.
A person rides a scooter underneath a fallen pole following Typhoon Shanshan in Miyazaki on Aug. 29 in this screengrab taken from a social media video.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Sep 23, 2024

Shanshan study spotlights science linking warming to extreme weather

Scientists are now able to assess the influence of climate change on particular weather events within weeks or even days.
Choi Min-kyong (right), a North Korean defector who said she was deported by China four times before making it to South Korea in 2012, and Shin Ju-ye (left), who fled North Korea in the 1990s and settled in China before defecting to South Korea last year, speak during an interview in Seoul on July 19.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 25, 2024

China cracks down on North Korean defectors with biometric surveillance

Facial-recognition cameras now monitor China's border with North Korea, documents show, while police have collected biometric data of North Koreans in the country.
A tea field in Makinohara, the birthplace of Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, in August. The city in Shizuoka Prefecture, which once thrived on a now-declining tea industry, exemplifies disparities between Japan's struggling rural areas and its bustling megacities.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 4, 2024

In Bank of Japan chief's birthplace, Ueda's policy puzzle is laid bare

Makinohara's mayor says the Shizuoka Prefecture surf town is not keeping pace with Japan's broader recovery.
Toshiko Hamanaka (left), the assistant secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo, and the organization's co-chair, Terumi Tanaka, during a news conference in Tokyo on Saturday, the day after the group was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2024

Nihon Hidankyo members hope surprise Nobel win cements nuclear taboo

Senior members of the group noted that the Nobel committee chose Nihon Hidankyo at a time when the threat of nuclear war is becoming more intense.
A Nepali paramilitary police force office in the village Hilsa, Nepal, on Oct. 12, 2023
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 14, 2024

China’s ‘new Great Wall’ casts a shadow on Nepal

The fortification building spree is placing intense pressure on China’s poorer, weaker neighbors.
As banking's behemoths gather at the COP16 summit, there is much talk about monetizing nature and biodiversity.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 15, 2024

Global banks want to monetize biodiversity

Opportunities to invest in funds that target biodiversity are currently limited

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building