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Google new quantum computing chip Willow. Though the technology isn’t yet ready for widespread use, the competition to build error-free quantum computers is heating up, promising significant breakthroughs in the near future.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2024

Google is pushing quantum computing closer to reality

The Willow chip should focus investor attention on an industry that has been quietly making great strides toward developing quantum machines with practical uses.
People walk past a Dior shop in Rome on Dec. 18.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 26, 2024

Luxury labels bulk up on lower-priced goods to broaden appeal

After more than two years of sharp price hikes, luxury labels are finding themselves at risk of alienating the middle class.
Hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts' uptempo “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” quickly became a TikTok favorite after its release days into 2024, which helped turn the song into a Billboard Japan Hot 100 topper for 19 weeks before rising up viral streaming charts around the world.
CULTURE / Music / 2024 in Review
Dec 27, 2024

Bling-Bang, baby: The J-pop soundtrack of 2024

Japanese music made waves globally, fueled by Coachella debuts, TikTok virality and unexpected hits like Creepy Nuts' "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born."
One of conductor Seiji Ozawa’s most enduring contributions is the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, which brings together young musicians and seasoned artists. The maestro passed away in February.
CULTURE / Entertainment news / 2024 in Review
Dec 27, 2024

The cultural luminaries we lost in 2024

While Japan’s culture marked notable triumphs at home and overseas, the year also saw the passing of many greats in the arts.
OnlyFans CEO Keily Blair gestures during the Axios BFD event in New York on Oct. 12, 2023.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 30, 2024

How OnlyFans turned into a global empire bent on redefining porn

For all its ambition and influence, the inner workings of OnlyFans remain opaque.
A person walks down a street in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the days following a magnitude 7.6 earthquake, which struck off the coast of the Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, 2024. More than 500 deaths have been attributed to the event, which was the worst quake since the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011.
JAPAN / 2024 in Review
Dec 31, 2024

Japan news images of 2024: Upheaval, resilience and breakthroughs

Earthquakes and extreme heat made the headlines alongside a low yen and minority government.
After a dramatic 2024, where Japan saw political upheaval, a record stock market, a major quake and a plane crash and dramatic escape, 2025, with events like major anime sequels, the Osaka World Expo, rising foreign acquisitions, we should expect a transformative year.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 2, 2025

Anime, M&A and the expo: What to watch for in Japan’s 2025

No doubt 2025 has more surprises in store for Japan after an unusually intense 12 months.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland (left) moves past Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (center) during their match in Manchester, England, on Dec. 26, 2024.
SOCCER
Jan 3, 2025

Premier League chief concerned about impact of Club World Cup's impact on Man City and Chelsea

The two clubs will be England's representatives in FIFA's expanded 32-team event in the United States, with players' unions threatening legal action on welfare grounds.
Retirees dance at a park in Beijing
BUSINESS
Jan 6, 2025

Singapore hospital operator targets wealthy boomers in China

The company is building similar projects in major Chinese cities, investing 31 billion yuan in medical and eldercare.
The cast of "The Brutalist" celebrate the show's best movie drama win at the Golden Globes in Beverly Hills, California.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 6, 2025

'The Brutalist,' 'Emilia Perez' take home Golden Globes' top film honors

The two films received the first major movie prizes of Hollywood's awards season on Sunday.
Runaway youths have recently been gathering in areas such as the Toyoko area of the Kabukicho entertainment district in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, where they often get into trouble.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2025

Japan to allow youths to stay at shelters without parental consent

Those under the age of 18 will be able to use shelters even if obtaining prior consent from those with parental authority is expected to be difficult.
Masahiro Nakai in Tokyo in October 2017
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2025

TV networks drop Japan boy band star over sex allegations

Reports say that Masahiro Nakai, a former member of SMAP, paid a woman a lump sum of ¥90 million.
On Dec. 31, rock duo B’z appeared on NHK's year-end "Kohaku Uta Gassen" music extravaganza for the first time in a career spanning more than three decades.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jan 10, 2025

An explosive B’z set on ‘Kohaku’ hints at a strategy to win over viewers

Japan’s best selling act delivered one of the biggest moments of the year-end music blowout and reinforced the importance of catering to a more middle-aged market.
Dana White, the CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, speaks during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 18.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 11, 2025

UFC seeks more than $1 billion a year in next TV rights deal

The UFC’s deal with Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN expires at the end of 2025, and the two sides are entering an exclusive negotiating window later this month.
In season two of "Squid Game," protagonist Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) returns to put an end to the deadly competition.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Jan 12, 2025

The unnervingly timed return of ‘Squid Game’

The show’s themes of wealth disparity and exploitation of power resonate far beyond South Korea, tapping into a universal vein of unease about the unstable systems we live under.
The Fuji TV building in Tokyo's Odaiba district. In a letter to Fuji Media Holdings' board of directors, Dalton Investments expressed outrage over the “serious flaws” in the broadcaster’s corporate governance in relation to its handling of the uproar sparked by TV star Masahiro Nakai, a former member of boy band SMAP.
JAPAN / Media
Jan 15, 2025

U.S. investment firm demands Fuji TV probe Nakai's alleged sex misconduct

Dalton Investments expressed outrage over the “serious flaws” in the broadcaster’s corporate governance amid the uproar sparked by the former member of boy band SMAP.
The U.S. Supreme Court has signaled it's likely to uphold a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it isn't sold by its Chinese parent company by Jan. 19. U.S. politicians in both major parties, however, are seeking ways to keep the video-sharing app accessible for Americans.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 16, 2025

TikTok allies close to Trump and Biden race to delay ban

The app, owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd., faces a deadline of Jan. 19 to find a U.S. buyer in order to continue operating in the country.
SpaceX's Starship rocket after launching from South Padre Island near Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2025

SpaceX's Starship breaks up in space, forcing flights to divert

Video footage showed orange balls of light streaking across the sky over the Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince, leaving trails of smoke behind.
Alberto "Beto" Carrasco" (center) and his compatriots in Namnam Space
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Jan 20, 2025

Namnam reborn: A queer, anarchist space resettles in Tokyo's Koenji

After previous incarnations in Shinjuku Ni-chome and Kawasaki, Namnam is bringing art, music and camaraderie to a new neighborhood.
The SpaceX Starship rocket's Super Heavy booster lands, as seen from South Padre Island near Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 18, 2025

U.S. grounds SpaceX's Starship after fiery midair explosion

Under established procedures, SpaceX will now be required to carry out a "mishap investigation."
Donald Trump speaks at a Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 27, 2024.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 20, 2025

Cocktails and Snoop Dogg — crypto industry celebrates Trump inauguration

The crypto gala marks a stunning turnaround for an industry that has been in the Biden administration's crosshairs.
This year's Oscar nominations were unveiled on Thursday, with transgender cartel musical "Emilia Perez" earning 13 Oscar nods and breaking the record for most Academy Award nominations for a non-English-language movie.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 23, 2025

'Emilia Perez' tops Oscar nominations in fire-hit Hollywood

Jacques Audiard's Mexico-set musical shattered the record for the most Academy Award nominations for a non-English-language movie.
With abundant rains and formidable humidity in summer, Japan does not seem to be an ideal land for wine, but winegrowers in Yamanashi Prefecture have gradually been able to adapt.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 26, 2025

Of sake and spirits: Indulging in Yamanashi’s best

Visits to Grace Wine’s vineyard and the Suntory Hakushu Distillery turn a tour of the mountainous prefecture into a gourmet treat.
Naoya Inoue throws a punch against Kim Ye-joon during their world super bantamweight title bout in Tokyo on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Jan 25, 2025

After racking up another KO, 'Monster' Inoue set for bright lights of Las Vegas

There may also be a big payday in Saudi Arabia on the horizon as Inoue takes his thrilling style overseas after a long run of bouts on home soil.
Police officers from the Metropolitan Police Department conduct a search at the premises of Natural, one of Japan's biggest sex worker scout groups, on Monday in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 28, 2025

Tokyo police arrest members of major sex worker scout group

The group had up to about 1,500 scouts nationwide, and its annual revenue is believed to have reached about ¥5 billion.
Shiori Ito (right) speaks outside the Tokyo District Court in December 2019 after hearing the ruling on a damages lawsuit by her, accusing a former TV reporter of rape.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 29, 2025

Japan #MeToo survivor says media are failing in wake of Fuji TV scandal

Despite several high-profile cases, Japan has never seen an outpouring of #MeToo allegations.
Even before U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office this month, uncertainty motivated businesses to rush shipments.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Jan 31, 2025

Companies race to ship goods to the U.S. ahead of potential tariffs

Even before Trump returned to office, uncertainty motivated many businesses to rush shipments to the U.S.
Nintendo Switch controllers for sale at a game shop in Tokyo on Jan. 16.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 1, 2025

Mario Kart may help Nintendo rally outlast flight from AI tech

The Mario Kart creator’s focus on success in games, while leveraging its intellectual property into movies and theme parks, makes it look like a safe bet for tech investors.
Bollywood faced a challenging year in 2024, with box-office collections dropping significantly, leading to concerns about a return to lawlessness in Mumbai.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2025

Bollywood’s dark past is threatening to return

When everything starts bombing for Bollywood, things take a sinister turn in Mumbai.
Mizuho’s sustainability report for 2024
ESG CONSORTIUM
Feb 4, 2025

Mizuho report aims to spur action to move into alternative energy

To achieve carbon neutrality in an increasingly uncertain world, Japanese companies should focus on innovations for alternative energy and shift their business models toward building a carbon-neutral economy, Mizuho Financial Group says in a recent report.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear