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Giant African snails are unpopular among local residents and are referred to as an alien species that shouldn’t be touched, as they damage crops and sometimes hosts rat lungworms.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 19, 2024

Giant African snails mark 90 years of history in Okinawa

The snails, one of the world’s largest of the kind, are native to East Africa, and their shells can grow to as high as 20 centimeters.
Flags fly at Union Station in Washington on June 27. With the U.S. presidential election approaching, caution is being urged over the widespread proliferation of propaganda.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 13, 2024

The battle to tackle U.S. election propaganda heats up

The race is set to become more and more intense amid increased political polarization and pluralistic values.
Japanese fans of Taylor Swift take a selfie before entering Tokyo Dome for the pop star's Eras Tour show in Japan on Feb. 7.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Feb 7, 2024

Taylor-mania hits Tokyo as Swift resumes tour before Super Bowl

Excited fans from countries such as Australia, Thailand and China joined the vast crowd at Tokyo Dome ahead of the megastar's Eras Tour show on Wednesday.
Kazuyuki and Yuki Shimamoto are the executive chef and head patissier chef at Mimi’s Restaurant and Bar in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 10, 2024

Kazuyuki and Yuki Shimamoto: 'When you make things you love, you naturally just get better at it'

A culinary couple share their thoughts on a career in the kitchen and how they approach life in one of Japan's major tourist towns.
In the quest for immortality, some researchers believe mind uploading will be our ticket to an eternal existence.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 8, 2024

Japan’s take on immortality; problems in Palworld

As scientists and technologists attempt to tackle the problem of aging and death, we discuss Japanese ideas about immortality.
Kotaro on Sunday, found more than a month after going missing following a New Year's Day earthquake in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture
JAPAN / Society
Feb 9, 2024

Missing cat reunited with owner over one month after Noto quake

"I thought I'd never see him again. I can't believe it," said Eriko Matsuda, the cat's owner.
The Japanese government forecast that number of digital workers in 2026 will fall short of projected needs by 2.3 million.
EDITORIALS
Feb 9, 2024

Japan struggles with digital transformation

Japan's general tendency toward risk aversion reduces the readiness to adopt new policies, procedures and technologies.
Taylor Swift kicked off her four-night stint at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday while Lionel Messi played at the Japan National Stadium, just a few kilometers away.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 9, 2024

The Taylor Swift and Messi moment shows Tokyo is back

On Wednesday, Swift and Messi wowed their respective fans, just 5 km away from each other. Their overlap in Tokyo is proof of the city's great resurgence.
Chiefs fans gather in Kansas City, Missouri, prior to the start of the Super Bowl on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Feb 14, 2024

Super Bowl smashes U.S. viewership record, highest since moonwalk broadcast

The game averaged 120.3 million viewers on CBS alone on Sunday, topping last year's audience for the Super Bowl, which drew a record 115.1 million viewers.
Military personnel conduct raid operations in the area surrounding Guayaquil, Ecuador on Jan. 27. President Daniel Noboa’s new war on gangs has received widespread support in a nation overwhelmed by violence, but experts warn it could endanger civil liberties.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 14, 2024

Terrorized by gangs, Ecuador embraces the hard-line ‘Noboa way’

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa's war on gangs is popular among citizens in spite of activists warning of human rights violations.
A Ukrainian soldier walks next to a howitzer while waiting for it to fire toward Russian positions, in the Donetsk region last month.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 15, 2024

Democracy slides amid wars and political polarization, study says

Standards across the world fell amid the spread of wars, authoritarian crackdowns and declining levels of trust in mainstream political parties.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the aid package for Ukraine, from the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 15, 2024

Biden pushes Republicans on Ukraine aid bill amid Trump opposition

The bill would also fund U.S. troops in the Middle East, humanitarian aid in Gaza and defense companies and submarine manufacturing in the United States.
Naoko Motooka began hunting 10 years ago. Her hobby is one way Hokkaido hopes to curb a current boom in the deer population.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 15, 2024

Hunting in Hokkaido; Taylor Swift comes to Tokyo

You probably don’t think of guns when you think of Japan, but Hokkaido’s hunters do.
Established in December 2021 in the middle of the pandemic-fuelled gaming craze, Sega Sapporo Studio is remarkable for growing amid a recent slump in the industry.
LIFE / Digital
Feb 17, 2024

Sega developers say new Sapporo studios lead to better lives

Aside from quality-of-life benefits that come from living outside a major metropolis, Sapporo also has a history of game development.
Diagnosed at a young age with a rare variant of glycogen storage disease type IV, Mark Bookman went on to distinguish himself in academia in both the United States and Japan.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Feb 19, 2024

New film honors life and legacy of disability pioneer Mark Bookman

Free screenings of THE new documentary on Japan-based disability rights advocate Mark Bookman will be held around Tokyo on Feb. 24, 25 and 27.
A new report by the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility estimates that it could take up to 320 years for Black Americans to catch up to their white counterparts in quality of life.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 8, 2024

Black Americans gain no ground on income and wealth

One study estimates that it could take up to 320 years for Black Americans to catch up to their white counterparts' in quality of life.
Donald Trump's recent remarks on defense spending by allies, which were highly criticized, highlight the complexities of U.S. foreign policy.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 16, 2024

Trump's defense spending critiques: Valid concerns or political rhetoric?

Do U.S. allies need to step up defense spending? What do the numbers really say?
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow in August 2013. Navalny, the most outspoken domestic critic of President Vladimir Putin, has died in prison, Russian state media said Friday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 17, 2024

Alexei Navalny's death deprives Russia's opposition of a leader and hope

His death leaves the groups that oppose Russian President Vladimir Putin with no obvious candidate to try to turn any discontent into mass protests.
A Palestinian woman stands at al-Najar Hospital in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 17, 2024

Fears grow for crucial Gaza hospital after Israeli raid

Several patients had died there from a lack of oxygen at one of Gaza's main hospitals after Israeli troops raided the facility.
Shoppers walk past an ID Hub, a Volkswagen showroom for electric cars, at a mall in Shanghai on Dec. 3, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2024

Firms with deep roots in China reconsider their Xinjiang ties

Volkswagen Group is reviewing the future of its joint venture in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China
The International Olympic Committee denied Manny Pacquiao's request to compete in the Paris Games due to his age.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 19, 2024

Manny Pacquiao gives up Olympic dream after being denied spot in Paris

Pacquiao conceded that his Olympic boxing dream was over after being denied a berth at this year's Paris Games.
An Ishikawa prefectural official gives information on new places to stay for earthquake evacuees lodging at hotels and inns during a meeting in Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Feb. 7.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2024

Departure deadline approaching for Noto quake evacuees in hotels

The extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen on March 16 is expected to lead to a surge in bookings in hotels that have acted as secondary evacuation sites.
Doosan Bears fans during a game in Seoul in April 2022
SPORTS
Feb 21, 2024

Women outnumber men in South Korea’s sports stadiums

Women in South Korea make up 55% of fans at professional sporting events, including baseball, basketball, soccer and volleyball.
Indian farmer groups have taken to the streets this month to press their demands for debt relief and crop price guarantees.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 21, 2024

With cranes and excavators, Indian farmers march on New Delhi

Similar protests two years ago forced Narendra Modi's government to repeal a set of farm laws.
Sanfrecce will play its first regular-season match against Urawa on Friday at the brand-new Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima.
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 22, 2024

The J. League is back with a top flight that's bigger than ever

Hiroshima has eyes on the title as the club raises the curtain at a new stadium, but Urawa will be looking to spoil the party starting Friday.
Intuitive Machines' Odysseus spacecraft passes over the near side of the moon following lunar orbit insertion on Wednesday.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2024

Why it took the U.S. 51 years to get back on the moon

Intuitive Machines has landed a robotic spacecraft on the moon, becoming the first private firm to place a vehicle intact on the lunar surface.
Hideo Shimoju points to a possible site that his fellow neighbors may relocate to. Such relocations have happened before, but not preemptively.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / Longform
Feb 24, 2024

In disaster-prone Japan, some communities consider major moves

Rural communities are considering collective relocation as a means to deal with worsening climate disasters.
According to the latest data, new COVID-19 cases reported in the week to Feb. 11 stood at 13.75 per institution.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 24, 2024

Number of COVID-19 and flu cases remain high in Japan

Per-institution new flu cases in Japan came to 23.93 in the week to Feb. 11, up for the fifth straight week.
Customers shop at the GU store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York. The brand's operator Fast Retailing hopes to expand its share in markets in the United States and Europe.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2024

Uniqlo’s sister brand GU takes aim at market in U.S. and Europe

International sales made up more than half of Uniqlo’s revenue in the latest fiscal year, GU has mostly only flourished domestically.
Koichi Kondo plays the harmonica. Playing harmonica was like life itself for members of the Bluebird Band, according to his words.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 4, 2024

Harmonica melodies of Hansen's disease patients live on

A band featuring the instrument was founded in 1953, at a time when prejudice against the disease was still strong

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell