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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris might maintain some of the economic policies of former President Donald Trump.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 30, 2024

A President Harris might be decidedly Trumpy in approach to Asia trade

The efforts to contain China economically is a common theme that is likely to be maintained after the election.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (left), U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (second from left), Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo (second from right), and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro pose for a photo ahead of the allies' "two-plus-two" meeting at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 30, 2024

Philippines gets 'unprecedented' aid — and reassurances — during talks with U.S.

Manila will receive $500 million in security assistance, months before the U.S. votes in a contentious presidential election.
Israel is engaged not only in fighting real wars but also in ideological conflicts that shape its security, existence and global legitimacy.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 1, 2024

Challenged on all fronts: Israel’s five wars

What do those who support Israel's right to self-defense suggest it do to combat an enemy that entrenches itself in hundreds of miles of tunnels beneath civilians?
Founded in the early 2000s, Ichiro's Malt has since become a third pole in Japan's whisky world dominated by beverage giants.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 4, 2024

In sleepy Chichibu, Japan's whisky landscape is quietly shifting

Ichiro’s signature flavor profile of rich, woodsy flavors complemented by a clear fruitiness owes in large part to the tempermental 'mizunara' Japanese oak.
Photographer Gaku Lange says Japan's film photography scene is growing, but it still lags behind overseas communities.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Aug 5, 2024

Looking at Japan’s ‘tribal’ photography scene through a new lens

More young people in Tokyo are ditching smartphones for film cameras, but the old guard isn't necessarily pleased about it.
Women's park skateboarding gold medalist Arisa Trew of Australia celebrates with silver winner Kokona Hiraki of Japan and bronze medalist Sky Brown of Britain on the podium in Paris on Tuesday.
OLYMPICS / Skateboarding
Aug 7, 2024

Australia's Trew, 14, wins skateboard park gold ahead of Japan's Hiraki

Japan was represented on every level of the Olympic podium, as Trew and British bronze winner Sky Brown both have Japanese mothers.
Fukinagashi streamers are displayed in Sendai on Tuesday as the Sendai Tanabata Festival began in the city.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 7, 2024

Sendai Tanabata Festival begins with prayers for Noto on display

The festival, known as one of the three largest in the Tohoku region, features ornaments decorated with wishes for the return of daily life in the quake-hit Noto area.
A Deadpool cosplayer walks outside the convention center during Comic Con International in San Diego, California, on July 26.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 8, 2024

Box-office hero Deadpool could set record at comic-book auction

Cover artwork featuring Deadpool's first appearance in the comics went on sale at Heritage Auctions with an asking price of $7.5 million.
Masahiro Nimura’s “Mommy” features interviews with family members of Masumi Hayashi (right), who was convicted of killing four people and poisoning over 60 others with arsenic-laced curry.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2024

‘Mommy’: A flawed but fascinating dive into a notorious murder case

Masahiro Nimura’s documentary raises reasonable doubts about a crime that gripped the nation over 20 years ago.
The Intel Corporation logo at a temporary office during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, in 2022
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 8, 2024

How spurning OpenAI set chip giant Intel behind in the AI marketplace

OpenAI went on to launch the groundbreaking ChatGPT in 2022 and is now reportedly valued at about $80 billion.
A meeting of the Lao-Lao liquor cooperative held in the village of Xai in Attapeu Province in June.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 19, 2024

Co-op Okinawa nurtures Laos farmers' cooperatives to encourage growth

By setting up cooperatives, farmers can prevent unfavorable price negotiations by sharing information with one another.
“Ghost Cat Anzu” centers on an 11-year-old girl who travels to hell and back with a walking, talking, moped-driving, human-sized cat.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Aug 11, 2024

Two hidden gems hint at a path to more diversity in anime

“Ghost Cat Anzu" and “A Few Moments of Cheers” stand out from blockbuster hits by finding creative partners abroad and embracing techniques old and new.
Gold medalist Imane Khelif celebrates on the podium after her victory in the women's boxing 66-kg class at the Paris Olympics on Friday.
OLYMPICS / Boxing
Aug 11, 2024

Gender row Olympic boxing champion Khelif files complaint for online harassment

Imane Khelif won the women's 66-kg final against China's Yang Liu in a unanimous points decision.
A tourist picks up an aloha shirt at the Samurai Aloha store at Narita Airport in June.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Aug 12, 2024

Aloha shirts made from recycled kimono in Tohoku prove to be huge hit

The shirts, called Samurai Aloha, were launched in the hopes of helping the area recover from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Officials of the transport ministry speak to a driver suspected of engaging in illegal taxi operations at a tourist spot in Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Aug 12, 2024

Gifu struggles to crack down on illegal cabs at tourist hot spots

Cashless payments make it hard to catch such drivers in the act and some are worried they may be mistaken for a legal ride-hailing service.
Designed by Bob Foundation in collaboration with Sugita Ace, the Sonaete series of disaster preparedness kits are packaged in bags, boxes and pouches that look attractive in homes.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Aug 13, 2024

Stylish emergency goods can save precious seconds when disaster strikes

Eye-catching go bags, canary-inspired whistles and more aesthetically pleasing emergency preparedness items you'll want to keep within arm's reach.
J-pop act Atarashii Gakko! is set to deliver a jubilant performance at Summer Sonic this weekend.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 14, 2024

Summer Sonic bets on a more local lineup

The international music festival seeks to boost attendance figures with more domestic and Asian acts such as Atarashii Gakko!, Number_i and Creepy Nuts.
For centuries, Japanese people have been scaring themselves with horror stories as a way of cooling down during the stifling summer months.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 16, 2024

New tales in translation to give you chills and thrills this summer

Recent fright-filled releases with supernatural creatures, shrewd sleuths and creepy killers provide welcome relief from the sweltering heat.
Lakers forward LeBron James knocks the ball away as Timberwolves guard Mike Conley shoots during the fourth quarter of a game in December last year. The two teams will feature in the opening night of NBA action when the 2024-2025 season begins Oct. 22.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Aug 16, 2024

NBA season openers include Timberwolves at Lakers

The 79th NBA regular season tips off with those contests on Tuesday, Oct. 22 and concludes on April 13, 2025, when all 30 teams play.
Tourists line up to board the sightseeing ship Nijiiro Sakana-go at Misaki Port in Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, in June.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 16, 2024

Japanese fishing communities aim to harness appeal

The Fisheries Agency plans to boost its sea industry promotion team to better support regional revitalization across Japan.
Produced by Toei Animation, “Girls Band Cry” follows five young women who form a band and navigate the Japanese rock landscape.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Aug 17, 2024

Prepare for a new wave of anime-born bands

'Girls Band Cry' and its in-real-life band Togenashi Togeari offer the latest evolution of mixed-media music projects.
A man tests his lung function free of charge using a device provided by the Tokushima Prefectural Government at an event organized by companies.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 19, 2024

Japan takes new steps against lifestyle-linked lung disease COPD

A health ministry survey highlighted 16,384 deaths from COPD in 2021, making it the ninth leading cause of death among men.
Participants of Shomeikai’s Type B employment support workshop take part in a training session at a rental meeting room in the city of Fukuoka in May.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Aug 26, 2024

Welfare workshop helps people with disabilities become IT engineers

Shomeikai leverages on a cutting-edge software development methodology that lets users work in a team and support one another.
If there is one person who can tell you all about the building that used to be the Bank of Japan's Hiroshima branch, which survived the atomic bombing, it's Yasuhiro Nanba.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Aug 19, 2024

A building that survived the A-bomb, and the man who tells its story

A security guard's fascination with the Bank of Japan's Hiroshima branch led him to compile personal accounts of people who were there when the bomb was dropped.
A wall mural depicting Nintendo's Super Mario characters in an underground walkway in Kyoto. The company will open the Nintendo Museum in October.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 20, 2024

Nintendo to open museum showcasing video game history this fall

The museum in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, will feature vintage video games and an interactive shoot-em-up with Super Mario characters.
Takako Yamashita, a descendant of a former Japanese resident of the Russian-controlled islands called the Northern Territories, seeks to preserve memories of life on the isles through the creation of pictorial maps.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2024

Memories of Russian-held isles preserved through pictorial maps

The maps feature the names of residents on each house and colorful illustrations of flora and fauna, as well as scenes from daily life.
Kotozakura (left) defeats Terunofuji at Dolphins Arena in Nagoya on July 28.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 21, 2024

NFL-style changes sumo could and should make

Many of the sport’s centuries-old systems and methodologies are an increasingly awkward fit in the modern world.
The departure of the head of Apple's App Store comes as the division is being split into two teams: one overseeing Apple’s own store and another responsible for alternative app distribution.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 22, 2024

Apple’s App Store head to leave in reorganization amid global scrutiny

Matt Fischer, a vice president who has run the App Store business since 2010, will leave the iPhone maker in October.
Kyoto International High School players react after their win over Kanto Daiichi High School in the National High School Baseball Championship final at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on Friday.
BASEBALL
Aug 23, 2024

Underdog Kyoto International High School wins Summer Koshien crown

Kyoto International High School defeated Tokyo’s Kanto Daiichi High School in extra innings.
Keiichi Tanaami died on Aug. 9 after a 60-year career as a Pop Art pioneer. He was 88.
CULTURE / Art
Aug 24, 2024

Remembering Keiichi Tanaami's surreal grotesqueries

The Pop Art pioneer passed away at age 88 on Aug. 9. His posthumous retrospective, “Adventures in Memory,” turns nightmare into fantasy.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami