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Teammates swarm Daiki Hashimoto after his gold medal-clinching performance on the horizontal bar on Monday.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jul 31, 2024

How Japan's gymnasts picked each other up and toppled China

With hope of a gold medal fading, the Japanese men's gymnastics team rallied around each other and simply refused to give up.
Kuninori Matsuda, Japanese ambassador to Ukraine, speaks during an interview in Kyiv on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 31, 2024

Japanese ambassador to Ukraine urges continuing of aid

Kuninori Matsuda said that Japan should not feel that it has no direct stake in the conflict, as Ukrainian aid helps protect the international order.
Japan midfielder Yui Hasegawa is challenged by Nigeria's Rasheedat Ajibade during their Olympic group stage match on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS
Aug 1, 2024

Japan to face U.S. in women's soccer after both nations advance

Japan finished second in its group after beating Nigeria 3-1 in Nantes, with Maika Hamano, Mina Tanaka and Hikaru Kitagawa scoring goals.
Members of the Nuclear Regulation Authority discusses regulatory screening of the Tsuruga nuclear power plant's No. 2 reactor, in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2024

Japanese nuclear regulators to hear from operator over reactor

The standards do not allow important nuclear facilities such as reactor buildings to be built on active faults.
Yuto Horigome defended his Olympic title in men's street skateboarding on Monday to continue Japan's dominant run in the event.
OLYMPICS / Skateboarding
Aug 1, 2024

Why Japan is so dominant in street skateboarding

Skateboarding has only been a part of the Olympics for two editions, but the sight of Japanese skaters on the podium in the street competition is already a familiar one.
People cross a street in Tokyo's Harajuku district on Wednesday. In July, the deviation from the average temperature between 1991 and 2020 — a period when warming was already well underway — was 2.16 degrees Celsius.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Aug 1, 2024

Japan experienced its hottest July on record

The number of “extremely hot days” — those where the highest temperature hits 35 C and above — was the largest figure for a July.
A health ministry panel has approved Eli Lilly's donanemab drug for Alzheimer's patients.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 2, 2024

Japan's health ministry set to approve second Alzheimer's drug

Donanemab, developed by U.S. pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly, has been backed by a ministry panel.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government is working hard to enhance Japan's global and regional influence through strategic defense reforms and international partnerships.
EDITORIALS
Aug 2, 2024

Japan’s defense reforms and diplomacy boost regional security

Considerable progress was made this week in a series of meetings with Tokyo's counterparts in various endeavors, the heart of which is the Japan-U.S. alliance.
Japan's Yuki Kawamura goes to the basket in the men's preliminary round group B basketball match between Japan and Brazil during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, northern France, on Friday.
OLYMPICS / Basketball
Aug 3, 2024

Japan's 'Slam Dunk' fans upstaged by 'Brazilian chapulines'

The Brazilians crushed Japan 102-84 in men's Group B to end the Asian side's Olympic dreams.
South Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min is interviewed in Tokyo on July 19.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 4, 2024

South Korea's outgoing envoy pushes for joint declaration on history recognition

Yun Duk-min reiterated that a declaration could be announced in 2025 to mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral diplomatic ties.
The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has said the 50-50 control of LY, the operator of the Line app, by SoftBank and Naver leaves the messaging app vulnerable to cyberattacks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 4, 2024

SoftBank and Naver to sell down stake in Japan’s Line app

The tender comes as the capital structure of the operator of Japan’s biggest messaging app Line threatens to become a diplomatic flash point with South Korea.
Fuka Nagano (left) and Hinata Miyazawa after Japan was eliminated from the Olympic soccer tournament by the U.S. on Saturday in Paris.
OLYMPICS
Aug 4, 2024

For Nadeshiko Japan, the quarterfinals prove to be a stumbling block — again

The team fell 1-0 to the U.S. after also losing in the last eight at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and at the Women’s World Cup in 2023.
From left: Gymnastics men's team gold medalists Takaaki Sugino, Kazuma Kaya, Wataru Tanigawa, Shinnosuke Oka (who also won gold in men's all-around) and Daiki Hashimoto at Champions Park in Paris on Thursday. The gymnastics team was one of the highlights of a successful first half of the 2024 Games for Team Japan.
OLYMPICS
Aug 4, 2024

Gymnastics and skateboarding highlight a solid first half of the Paris Olympics for Japan

Japan ended Saturday with eight gold, five silver and nine bronze medals and sat seventh on the medal table.
From left to right: Yudai Nagano, Takahiro Shikine, Kyosuke Matsuyama and Kazuki Iimura celebrate after winning in the Olympic men's foil team gold medal bout against Italy at the Grand Palais in Paris on Sunday.
OLYMPICS / Fencing
Aug 5, 2024

Japan wins historic gold in men's foil team event in Paris

It was Japan's fifth fencing medal in Paris, and its eighth medal overall in Olympic fencing.
Japan's Koki Kano (right) battles Yannick Borel of France in the gold-medal bout of the men's individual epee at the Paris Olympics on July 28.
OLYMPICS / Fencing
Aug 5, 2024

How a grassroots push helped Japan's fencers become world-beaters

Japan bagged five fencing medals in Paris to put it atop the medal table in the sport, the first time a non-European nation has done so.
Ngun Nei Par, the general manager at Ginshotei Awashima in Numata, Gunma Prefecture, graduated from a university in Myanmar with a degree in geography.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 6, 2024

Japan needs foreign workers, but it might not want them to stay long

Japanese politicians remain reluctant to create pathways for foreign workers, especially those in low-skill jobs, to stay indefinitely.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara speaks on July 30 during a parliamentary inquiry into a series of scandals involving the ministry and the Self-Defense Forces.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 6, 2024

The wider international and domestic implications of the SDF scandals

The problems have put the spotlight on Japan’s ability to convince its partners that it’s ready to shoulder a larger security role.
Japan's Yuki Ishikawa cheers during the match on Monday.
OLYMPICS / Volleyball
Aug 6, 2024

Heartbreak for Japan's volleyball team after narrow loss to Italy

Japan started off strong, winning the first two sets thanks to rock solid defense, but couldn't close out the Italians.
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.
A lot of female fans of Japan's men's team caught volleyball fever at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where Japan qualified for the quarterfinals for the first time in 29 years.
OLYMPICS / Volleyball
Aug 7, 2024

Tears and broken hearts: Japan's female volleyball fans react to tough Olympic loss

Japan’s fierce love for volleyball has been on display for all the world to see in Paris, but it was not meant to be for the men's team in 2024.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend the Japan-U.S. Extended Deterrence Dialogue in Tokyo on July 28.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 7, 2024

Japan-U.S. alliance transforms with concrete 'two-plus-two' talks

Despite the long and challenging history of Japan-U.S. two-plus-two meetings, this year's Tokyo meeting was truly groundbreaking.
The Japanese figure skaters who competed in the team event at the Beijing Olympics pose for a photo during a ceremony at the Paris Games on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS / Figure skating
Aug 8, 2024

Japan figure skaters finally get medals two years after team event at Beijing Olympics

Japan earned silver in the team competition in Beijing.
A bulletin board shows the day's highest temperature in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, on July 29.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Aug 8, 2024

From Naha to Nemuro, how Japan’s cities are responding to more heat

Municipalities are reaching for everything from automated misting systems to anime to help cool residents and educate them about the risks of heat.
Japan, once a secondary player in Southeast Asian regional integration, now needs to balance strengthening ties with ASEAN while navigating its position between the U.S. and China.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 8, 2024

Japan takes a soft diplomatic approach to ASEAN ties

Shifting dynamics in Southeast Asia are compelling Japan to carefully navigate its role amid intense U.S.-China competition.
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Boiling Point
Aug 10, 2024

Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun

There are easily affordable ways to work some more cooling elements into your runs.
Across Japan, sports fans are sacrificing a good night’s sleep to catch their favorite Olympics events and beloved athletes.
OLYMPICS
Aug 9, 2024

Sleepless in Japan: How to recover from ‘Olympic fever’

The Paris Olympics are just about done, so sleep-deprived sports junkies can take comfort in the fact that they’ll soon be able to get a full night’s rest.
Gold medalists Wang Manyu (left), Sun Yingsha (center) and Chen Meng celebrate on the podium after winning gold in the women's table tennis team event at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
OLYMPICS / Table tennis
Aug 11, 2024

China completes golden sweep of table tennis with women's team win over Japan

China has now won 37 of the 42 golds since table tennis debuted at the Summer Olympics in 1988.
Robert Read (second from left), an executive of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, at a rally held in front of the the Embassy of Denmark in London last week
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2024

Japan will face condemnation if it convicts Sea Shepherd founder, ally says

Founder Paul Watson was placed on an international wanted list in 2010 on suspicion of obstructing Japan's research whaling. Last month, he was detained in Greenland.
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Aug 11, 2024

Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom

For over half a century, Japan has been a sizable buyer of LNG, and its government, banks and energy companies have played a key role in continued investment.
Yuka Kagami celebrates with her medal after winning the women's 76-kg freestyle wrestling event on the final day of the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
OLYMPICS
Aug 12, 2024

Japan finishes third on medal table after strong showing at Paris Olympics

Japan won 20 gold medals at the Paris Olympics for its best showing at an overseas Games.

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