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August 02, 2025
 

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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 17, 2023

Could the Akutagawa Prize get its first American winner?

Gregory Khezrnejat, whose short story “Kaikonchi” is up for the literary award, sees writing in Japanese as a minor rebellion against English's assumed dominance in global culture.
Hideo Nakata, deputy mayor of Nagoya, waves the Olympic Council of Asia flag as Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura watches during the closing ceremony of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Oct. 8, 2023.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 5, 2025

Organizers to house athletes on 'floating village' during 2026 Asian Games

Organizers will lease a luxury cruise liner that will be docked at Nagoya's port.
Japan is the world's biggest market for Iqos, a heat-not-burn tobacco product marketed by its maker Philip Morris as a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes — a claim not backed by independent scientific research.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 6, 2025

Smoke and mirrors: How big tobacco manipulates science in Japan

In Japan, not only does the tobacco industry have close ties to government, but universities are also vulnerable to its influence. In this equation, public health loses out.
Chinese tour groups visit a waterfront promenade in Hong Kong on May 5.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 9, 2025

Can big stars bring higher-spending tourists back to Hong Kong?

Hong Kong, which once billed itself as Asia’s World City, is now seeking to brand itself as the region’s events capital.
Kenji Shimizu, the incoming president of Fuji Media Holdings, said in an interview in Tokyo on Monday that the company has yet to finalize its long-term strategy.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 10, 2025

Fuji Media keeps real estate spinoff in play as activists circle

"All options” remain on the table, says incoming President Kenji Shimizu.
Security camera footage showed the victim entering a hotel in central Nagoya with a woman whom police believe is an accomplice to his murder.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 10, 2025

20-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder in Nagoya hotel

Investigators believe the suspect killed the man by strangulation, then stole his belongings.
Aichi police have arrested a 19-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man in connection with the discovery of a man found dead in a hotel in Nagoya's Sakae district last Saturday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 12, 2025

Aichi police make two more arrests over Nagoya hotel robbery-murder

Investigators believe the suspects conspired to extort the victim by threatening to report him to the police for alleged sexual misconduct.
The classic red brick arches of Tokyo’s first “gādo-shita,” built in 1910, are what most Japanese people think of when they think about commercial spaces under elevated railways.
LIFE / Style & Design / Longform
Jun 16, 2025

Revitalizing the space under Tokyo’s train tracks

Rail underpasses in big cities are being transformed into vibrant spaces for artisans, foodies and travelers — without erasing their past.
Shion Tsurubo, a member of boy band JO1, allegedly engaged in illegal gambling on an online casino website.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 16, 2025

Boy band member referred to prosecutors over illegal gambling

Shion Tsurubo, a member of JO1, allegedly engaged in illegal gambling on an online casino website.
Citing challenges such as a declining workforce and rising costs, four major newspapers will discontinue their Saturday evening editions from August, in a shift away from a publishing tradition that has endured for decades in Japan.
JAPAN / Media
Jun 18, 2025

Four newspapers in Japan to cease Saturday evening editions from August

The announcements mark a shift away from a publishing tradition that has endured for decades in Japan, where evening newspapers had been a staple of the media landscape.
Masuiyama competes during a tournament in Tokyo in May 1980.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jun 18, 2025

Music star Masuiyama, a former ōzeki who died Sunday at 76, blazed unique trail

Masuiyama was unique in the world of sumo in that he gained as much fame — if not more — for what he did outside of the ring.
WhatsApp interactions involving 11 industry executives from ad agencies operating in India form part of a confidential dossier compiled by India's antitrust watchdog that chronicles how global advertising companies coordinated to rig prices in the world's most populous nation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2025

Dossier of WhatsApp chats shows how ad agencies aligned to fix prices in India

Firms agreed to cooperate on pricing, including not to undercut each other, colluded to deny business to agencies that didn't comply, and discussed financial terms.
From participants on the JET Programme to full-time content creators, Megan and Ben share their lives in Japan on screen. They recently signed with Tokyo-based influencer agency GeeXPlus.
LIFE / Digital
Jun 19, 2025

The Hitobito's Megan and Ben uncover the real Japan, one video at a time

The couple moved to Japan to be teachers. Now, their YouTube clips are viewed by millions.
MUFG Bank said Monday that a former employee in his 60s has defrauded a customer out of ¥39.84 million by suggesting fictitious financial products and issuing forged deposit receipts.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2025

Ex-MUFG bank worker defrauds customer of ¥39.84 million

The Niigata District Public Prosecutors Office indicted the former worker at the major Japanese bank's Niigata branch.
Since its introduction in 1985, Sega's UFO Catcher machine has come to define crane games in Japan.
LIFE / Digital
Jun 24, 2025

King of Japan’s arcades, Sega’s UFO Catcher turns 40

Where would Japan’s arcades be without the rows and rows of crane games that Sega’s influential machine helped popularize?
Many recent video games, including Breath of the Wild and Planet of Lana, have borrowed from the pastoral aesthetic of Studio Ghibli films like “Princess Mononoke.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 25, 2025

Studio Ghibli’s majestic sensibility is drawing imitators

Forty years after the Japanese animation studio was founded, game creators are embracing its legacy of moral integrity.
A customer buys a Nintendo Switch 2 in Tokyo on June 5. Online outrage over the gaming console’s price, terms and features was loud but meaningless, as record-breaking sales showed once again that internet backlash rarely reflects real consumer behavior.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 25, 2025

The 'internet' hated Switch 2 — consumers bought it anyway

The internet gives consumers a voice they once didn’t have. But separating signal from noise is a challenge — just look at the Switch 2.
A clip of fans getting rowdy to see J-pop outfit Fruits Zipper prompted criticism about the idol fandom’s dark side.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jun 26, 2025

Why are idol fans throwing hands at the racetrack?

A recent Fruits Zipper fan frenzy stirred online criticism, raising questions about the line between passion and obsession in J-pop idol culture.
Apartment rents in the capital climbed 1.3% from a year earlier in April and May for the largest gains since 1994, government data shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 26, 2025

Tokyo rents rising at fastest pace in 30 years backs case for BOJ rate hikes

Bigger outlays for accommodation are likely to further fuel a change in inflation expectations and behavior among households of all sizes.
An illustration of a scene from the fourth act of "Aoto Zōshi Hana no Nishiki-e" by Toyokuni Utagawa III (1862).
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 26, 2025

Take your first steps into the world of kabuki with these basic terms

The language of Japanese theater is full of double — even triple — meanings. Knowing the terminology is the first step in understanding it.
The Japanese version of the U.K.’s Disclosure and Barring Service aims to ensure a safe learning environment for children by facilitating checks for records of sexual offenses for those working in jobs involving contact with children such as education or child care.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 1, 2025

Japan expands scope of background checks amid child safety concerns

The expanded guidelines will apply not only to schools and kindergartens, but also to community spaces such as children’s cafeterias and talent agencies.
World famous halftime act Red Panda performs during halftime of Game 5 of the 2023 NBA Finals in Denver, Colorado on June 12, 2023.
BASKETBALL
Jul 2, 2025

Halftime entertainer Red Panda injured during WNBA performance

Rong "Krystal" Niu has delighted basketball fans in numerous NBA, college basketball and WNBA venues since her debut in 1993.
Donald Trump addresses the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, in July last year.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 6, 2025

Cashing in on his comeback, Trump rescues frail finances

Contrary to the president’s assertions, records filed in a fraud case against him suggest that his riches were not the product of a steady and strong empire.
After nearly shuttering earlier this year, the Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society continues its work to save the early history of Japanese gaming.
LIFE / Digital
Jul 12, 2025

‘Our ultimate goal is to save every single Japanese video game’

The Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society almost shuttered earlier this year, but a flood of support has buoyed efforts to save games on extinct media.
Spanish forward Lamine Yamal prior to a match between Spain and Portugal in June.
SOCCER
Jul 16, 2025

Barcelona star Yamal faces probe into dwarf entertainers at 18th birthday

Guests were not permitted to film at the birthday party but a video emerged of a group of people with dwarfism heading into the event.
Misa Kimura is the main producer for Kawaii Lab, a project by entertainment agency Asobisystem whose groups have found success by pairing a social media-first strategy with a fresh perspective on traditional idol-pop tropes.
CULTURE
Jul 17, 2025

Kawaii Lab redefines idol pop for the TikTok generation

The idol-pop project's main producer, Misa Kimura — a former idol herself — is giving her performers more control over their image and sound.
One of the entrances to Pao Compound, a nine-story Silk Road-inspired complex in Tokyo's Higashinakano neighborhood
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 19, 2025

Touring the Silk Road — without leaving Tokyo

Located near Higashinakano Station, Pao Compound is an eclectic mix of restaurants, event spaces and an affinity for cultural exploration.
In Junglia’s Dinosaur Safari attraction during a media preview on Thursday, a casual drive through a habitat for the prehistoric creatures goes haywire when several Tyrannosaurus rexes break out of containment.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2025

Junglia, Japan’s newest theme park, opens in northern Okinawa

Open from July 25, the new Junglia theme park turns an old golf course into 22 dinosaur- and adventure sports-themed attractions.
Hulk Hogan tears his shirt during a rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, at Madison Square Garden, in New York City on Oct. 27, 2024.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 25, 2025

Hulk Hogan, shirt-shredding superstar of pro wrestling, dies at 71

Hogan was the face of pro wrestling for decades, with his blond hair and horseshoe mustache, colorful bandannas and massive biceps, which he referred to as "24-inch pythons.”
At Panorama Dining, one of Junglia’s two proper restaurants that also doubles as the rooftop Inifinity Terrace overlook, guests can pay extra to sit in balcony tables made to look like birds’ nests overlooking the park grounds.
LIFE / Travel
Aug 1, 2025

Junglia brought dinos back to Okinawa. But will it bring tourists?

If you’re set on visiting Okinawa’s newest theme park, the biggest threat isn’t dinosaurs — it’s long lines and a remote location.
Why did such a powerful earthquake produce such a weak tsunami?
A person records images of waves following a tsunami advisory generated by local authorities after an earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, prompting warnings and evacuations stretching across at the South Pacific, in Vina del Mar, Chile, on Wednesday.
Last soldiers of Imperial Japanese Army have a warning for younger generations
Kunshiro Kiyozumi, 97, who was the youngest crew member of the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58 in World War II, on his way to a restaurant to have lunch in Matsuyama, Japan, on April 29.
80 years on, former teacher conveys history of hidden island in World War II
Masayuki Yamauchi teaches junior high school students about the history of Okunoshima, an island in Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture, in May.
1,010 food and beverage prices to rise in Japan in August
The price increases in August will be especially noticeable for dairy products, including milk and yogurt, according to the research firm Teikoku Databank.
GTN takes a chance on newcomers to Japan
Hiroyuki Goto, president of GTN. The company started after Goto personally co-signed leases for around 20 non-Japanese people, including some friends and friends of friends.
GTN takes a chance on newcomers to Japan
Hiroyuki Goto, president of GTN. The company started after Goto personally co-signed leases for around 20 non-Japanese people, including some friends and friends of friends.
Artist Chiharu Shiota weaves a hidden marvel on Teshima
“Memory of Lines” is Chiharu Shiota’s second art installation on Teshima as part of the Setouchi Triennale.
How the Japanese TV industry is changing
Fuji TV headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward. Fuji TV came under fire over the manner in which it handled a case of “sexual trouble” involving former boy band member Masahiro Nakai and a female announcer.
Last soldiers of Imperial Japanese Army have a warning for younger generations
Kunshiro Kiyozumi, 97, who was the youngest crew member of the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58 in World War II, on his way to a restaurant to have lunch in Matsuyama, Japan, on April 29.
Why Ishiba refuses to quit even amid intense pressure for him to go
Supporters of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba take part in a rally across the street from the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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
By Jason Coskrey

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