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The larger-than-life hairstyles of Japan's Showa Era are unmistakable — and they're making a comeback.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 12, 2025

Sculpted waves, sleek updos: Showa hairstyles are back in fashion

Television reruns and social media content showcasing Showa idols may be the driving force behind the revival of retro styles.
A 15-year-old boy, arrested for fatally stabbing an elderly woman in the city of Chiba, told authorities he committed the crime in hopes of being sent to a juvenile detention center to escape his difficult home life, according to investigators.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 14, 2025

Teen suspect in Chiba stabbing wanted to escape his home life, police say


The junior high school student allegedly attacked 84-year-old Yayoi Takahashi from behind with a knife at around 5 p.m. on Sunday.
A few tweaks to the conversations you learn in your Japanese class will help you sound like a native when you step out the door.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 16, 2025

Closing the gap between what you learn and what you say in Japanese

When trying to sound natural in Japanese, sometimes you just need to know a single key word or phrase.
Not only is the drawing of each frame an important part of the manga-making process, translation has increasingly demanded more attention as the art form gains popularity overseas.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 23, 2025

Manga translators walk a fine line between meaning and mayhem

Manga translators face linguistic puzzles, cultural minefields and online backlash — all for the love of a perfectly written speech bubble.
The Hotaruan Royal Garden Suite, a renovated traditional "minka" home, will host the second iteration of the Minka Preservation Society's MinkaMeets event.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 31, 2025

Traditional home experts to gather at MinkaMeets event

Roof thatching expert Haruo Nishio is one of several experts scheduled to speak at the June 7-8 event.
Reports claim that children with unusual names were being bullied at school and facing difficulties finding jobs.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 6, 2025

What’s in a name? With new guidelines, the Japanese government wants to know.

Japan now requires official furigana for names in the family register, aiming to limit overly creative "kira-kira" readings.
The Eggplant, Trang Pepper and Mole dish encapsulates Igniv Bangkok's philosophy of weaving Thai ingredients into its creative Swiss food.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 8, 2025

With Igniv Bangkok, the Thai capital’s fine dining scene gets a boost

The progressive Swiss restaurant is emblematic of the city’s evolution toward a diverse gourmet destination that includes choices from modern German to creative Japanese.
More and more older Japanese people are joining health clubs, with Pilates becoming a popular form of exercise.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 11, 2025

So long, gateball. Japan’s seniors are ready to work those core muscles.

Japan’s seniors are trading gateball for Pilates, chasing strength, stability and a new kind of aging — with core control.
Japan has a deep rogues' gallery of age-old "yōkai" (spirits), but a museum on the island of Shodoshima has released a new book collecting yōkai that reflect the uncertainties of the modern world.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 14, 2025

'Rice swindler,' 'Face thief': Worried citizens invent new monsters

A decade-old contest for original "yōkai" art reflects what keeps people up at night in Japan.
Palestinians carry sacks of flour collected from an aid distribution point in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Jun 20, 2025

As death toll rises, Gazans make life-risking journeys to seek food

Like thousands of other Palestinians in Gaza, Hind Al-Nawajha makes a long, dangerous journey every day to try to get food for her family, hoping she makes it back alive.
A worker checks sunscreen products during the final manufacturing process at a factory for the Japanese chemical and cosmetics company Kao in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 23, 2025

Why Japanese sunscreen is going viral — and selling out

Japanese skincare is getting its moment in the sun thanks to the help of beauty influencers on YouTube and other social media platforms.
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.
Japan is mad about pets, and the Interpets trade fair showed to what lengths some owners will go for their furry friends.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 28, 2025

Cats, dogs, meerkats, goats: Interpets trade fair draws furry hordes

From June 19 to 21, a veritable animal kingdom (and their owners) descended on the Intex Osaka convention center to try new foods and meet new friends.
Terry Kilgore, 70, stands in his property where the yard used to be before losing his home to the Eaton Fire in January 2025, in Altadena, California.
WORLD / Society
Jul 4, 2025

Six months after LA wildfires, some adjust to new life in RVs

Many homeowners are crashing with friends and family, or renting during the rebuild, but others have chosen to live in RVs on their properties.
People walk along a promenade in Shanghai on July 10.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 16, 2025

Beneath China's resilient economy, a life of pay cuts and side hustles

China's economy recently posted robust growth, showing its export-heavy model has so far withstood U.S. tariffs. But beneath the headline resilience, cracks are widening.
Lilimi found a new home with the Fukuharas in January and settled in immediately, claiming a spot on the couple’s futon.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Jul 17, 2025

Lilimi settles into a new life

In January, a couple from Tokyo with experience caring for elderly and ailing cats took in Lilimi, whose eyes had already begun deteriorating.
A salesperson livestreams inside a BYD showroom in Shanghai on June 22.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 21, 2025

Life atop China’s car market is starting to look shaky for BYD

BYD’s monthly sales have stagnated of late and with the summer months being a traditionally slower time, that trajectory isn’t expected to reverse any time soon.
Israeli settlers swim in the Ein Samiyah spring near the village of Kafr Malik, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on July 15. The spring, which feeds the pumping station, is the main or backup water source for some 110,000 people, according to the Palestinian company that manages it — making it one of the most vital in the West Bank, where water is in chronic short supply.
WORLD
Jul 21, 2025

'No life without water': settler attacks threaten West Bank communities

Israeli settlers have been accused in several recent incidents of damaging, diverting or seizing control of vital Palestinian water sources.
"Simit," a Turkish bagel, is one of the Turkish-style breads found at Pide, a small bakery that also specializes in sourdough.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 27, 2025

Communal knead: A Turkish baker in Kamakura draws queues

Encouraged by the warmth of the local community, Burcu Alkurt opened Pide, a bakery that specializes in sourdough and a variety of Turkish and Nordic-style breads.
At Himawari Shokudo 2, chef Hozumi Tanaka serves Italian-inspired fare with a focus on Toyama produce, such as this appetizer of lightly blanched "hotaru ika" (firefly squid) served atop mixed wild plants and a crepe prepared from "yamato-imo" yam.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Aug 8, 2025

At Himawari Shokudo 2, Italian food with a Japanese soul

Punching above its own weight, the intimate restaurant is one of the growing number of quality establishments that are helping to cement Toyama's status as a dining destination.
Beniya Mukayu, a traditional "ryokan" inn located in Ishikawa Prefecture, considers itself at "the heart of onsen towns, local residents, farmers, fishermen, sake brewers and artisans" — all of which need new, sustainable methods of serving visitors to survive into the future.
LIFE / Travel
Aug 16, 2025

In preserving Japanese hospitality, ‘details are everything’

As part of a new UNESCO initiative, the elite Relais & Chateau hospitality group will empower its Japan-based members to preserve the country’s “omotenashi” culture.
Chef Kei Kobayashi is France's only Japanese chef with three Michelin stars.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 15, 2025

In Paris, chefs Chizuko Kimura and Kei Kobayashi make their mark

One is the world’s first Michelin-starred female sushi chef, while the other is France’s only three-Michelin-starred Japanese chef.
Rachel Simons' debut cookbook, “Sesame: Global Recipes + Stories of an Ancient Seed," is filled with fun, inspirational ideas, such as the tahini cream cheese frosting with carrot cake encrusted with sesame seeds.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 17, 2025

From a piquant paste to a crisp crust, sesame shines in many forms

Packed with historical nuggets and inspirational recipes, Rachel Simons' debut cookbook offers a rich, entertaining dive into the Japanese kitchen staple.
Hiroyoshi Takizawa looks at pictures from his days in wartime Manchuria as a child during an interview in Nagano in June.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2025

A life upended by wartime mass suicides

Hiroyoshi Takizawa's life in Manchuria was comfortable at first. But when the Soviet Union invaded, his father, fearing the worst, chose mass suicide.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping after a group photograph before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 3, 2025

Hot mic catches Xi and Putin talking about organ transplants and immortality

The Chinese and Russian leaders, both 72, spoke of technology that could help humans live up to 150 years.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby is the latest overnight success to come from the world of Japanese video games — never mind it was originally released in 2021.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Sep 6, 2025

Racehorses, anime girls and gambling: Umamusume’s recipe for success

The latest overnight hit from Japan’s gaming world relies on a quirky mix of elements from the worlds of pop culture and sports.
The fuss-free, no-cook mulberry matcha oats are a great alternative to cereal.
LIFE / Food & Drink / The Recipe Box
Sep 7, 2025

Overnight mulberry matcha oats are the perfect answer to a busy morning

An alternative to cereal, the everyday oatmeal gets a healthy boost with the addition of tea powder and the fermented “amazake” rice drink.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch (left) and his son, Lachlan. The Murdoch family has reached a deal that will see Lachlan Murdoch cement control of the family media empire.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 9, 2025

Real-life 'Succession' ends: Lachlan Murdoch takes control, siblings take cash

A deal announced on Monday that will see Rupert Murdoch's politically conservative eldest son cement control of the family media empire.
Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce kisses partner — now finacee — Taylor Swift as they celebrate after his team won Super Bowl LVIII in 2024.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 10, 2025

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s announcement hits all the right notes in Japan

Japanese culture is in the depths of a nostalgia wave, and the engagement announcement for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce fits in with it nicely.
Shigeko Kagawa, Japan's oldest person at 114, in Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture, on July 30
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025

Aging Japan’s centenarian population nears 100,000

The number has grown steadily in recent years and comes as the birth rate continues to plummet.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes