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Japan’s national sport made its second foray into Western Europe, and first to the U.K., with a five-day tournament at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall in October 1991.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Dec 11, 2024

London calling: Sumo's U.K. trip brings back memories of 1991

Such was sumo’s popularity in the U.K. in the late '80s and early '90s that all five days at the 5,000-seat Royal Albert Hall sold out quickly.
Japan's success isn't rooted in mystical Eastern wisdom; it's driven by practical public policies, social standards and education, not secret life hacks.
COMMENTARY
Dec 10, 2024

Two words for current ‘ancient Japanese wisdom’: think again

Japan's success isn't rooted in mystical Eastern wisdom; it's driven by practical public policies, social standards, and education, not secret life hacks.
Actor Sadao Abe accepts the 2024 U-Can New Word and Popular Phrase Award for ふてほど (futehodo), the abbreviated title for his series, “Futekisetsu nimo Hodo ga Aru!” (“Extremely Inappropriate!”).
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 12, 2024

How often do Japan's buzzwords make it into the vernacular?

We crown a new one every year, but trendy terms tend to disappear from public consciousness if they're related to pop culture.
A handout photo shows Kosuke Nozaki (right), who was found dead of a drug overdose, and Saki Sudo, who was his wife.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 12, 2024

28-year-old widow of ‘Don Juan of Kishu’ acquitted of his murder

Prosecutors had argued that Saki Sudo, 28, somehow caused her wealthy 77-year-old husband Kosuke Nozaki to ingest drugs, resulting in a fatal overdose.
Brooks Koepka watches his shot from the 10th tee during a Liv Golf event in Carrolton, Texas, on Sept. 20.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Dec 12, 2024

Brooks Koepka envisions Liv and PGA staging Ryder Cup-style event

Koepka said a competitive match next week "could transcend golf."
In a year of anime hits, Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s “Look Back” stood out from the bunch.
CULTURE / Film / 2024 in Review
Dec 13, 2024

Big franchises and bold voices dominated anime in 2024

In a year of major box-office hits such as “Conan” and “Haikyu!!,” smaller animators used nontraditional tools to stand out from the rest.
Former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will coach North Carolina next season, the school announced on Wednesday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Dec 12, 2024

Bill Belichick announced as head coach of North Carolina

Financial terms were not disclosed, but the Athletic reported that the five-year contract could be worth up to $30 million.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s factory (left) in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Feb. 23, the day before it was officially opened
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 22, 2024

Chip cities rise in Japan’s fields of dreams

Injections of cash are transforming once-sleepy areas, lifting stagnant house prices and triggering construction booms.
Carlos Sainz finished second for Ferrari at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Dec 12, 2024

Carlos Sainz motivated by new challenge with Williams

Sainz jumped in his Williams car for end-of-season testing on Tuesday, and posted the second-fastest time behind Charles Leclerc.
Juan Soto joined the Mets on a record $765 million deal.
BASEBALL
Dec 14, 2024

Yankees’ post-Juan Soto plan has a powerful echo

The Yankees began their pivot away from Juan Soto by reaching an eight-year, $218 million contract agreement with lefty Max Fried
Numbered evidence markers indicate where bullet casings were located at the crime scene outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot, Dec. 4.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 13, 2024

Suspect in UnitedHealthcare shooting visited Japan, then vanished

New details are emerging about Luigi Mangione’s growing impatience with "a capitalist society” and his search for refuge in the mountains of Japan.
Photographs of (clockwise from top left) South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, Justice Minister Park Sung Jae, former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo are displayed on a screen during a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 13, 2024

Five minutes to martial law: Yoon stunned his Cabinet with snap move

As South Korea waits for another bid to impeach President Yoon, more details are emerging of what happened in the hours surrounding his declaration of martial law.
England captain Ben Stokes waits for the start of play on Day 2 of the second test against New Zealand in Wellington on Dec. 7.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 13, 2024

Stokes wary of Ashes distractions as England aims for sweep

England begins its 17th and final test of the year at Seddon Oval on Friday.
Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Japan's same-sex marriage ban, along with their lawyers and supporters, hold signs saying the court ruled the ban as unconstitutional on Friday in front of the Fukuoka High Court.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 13, 2024

Fukuoka High Court rules ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional

It is the third such high court ruling so far in Japan after the Sapporo High Court in March and the Tokyo High Court in October.
Despite ongoing struggles, 2024 had plenty of bright spots for Japan's sake industry.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 15, 2024

Glass half full: Japan’s sake industry celebrates a brighter 2024

Despite a general decline in consumption, new openings and greater awareness gave Japan’s sake lovers reason to cheers this year.
Yutaka Mataebara (second from left) dines with his managerial colleagues at an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of The Japan Times.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 13, 2024

Here's to Yutaka Mataebara, the 'iron man' of The Japan Times

Mataebara was a pillar of the JT: During his 44 years at the paper until he retired in 2006, he worked in a variety of departments, including as the editor in chief.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen speaks during an event in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday alonside FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Dec 14, 2024

Verstappen collects his F1 trophy at ceremony in Rwanda

Verstappen, one of only six drivers to have won four or more titles, said he was proud of his season and everyone in the team.
Tour guides wait to collect tour groups from Hong Kong outside the Shenzhen Bay border crossing in Shenzhen, China
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2024

Educated young Chinese turn to tour guiding as job market wavers

Tour guiding is becoming an increasingly popular fallback option in a China rife with employment instability as the economy slows.
People holding K-pop idol sticks attend a rally to protest South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, in Seoul on Dec. 8.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 15, 2024

'Into the New World': the K-pop song that became South Korea's protest anthem

The Girls' Generation track has a history of being used to give young South Koreans a voice in politics.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts at the end of his team's loss to Juventus on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Dec 15, 2024

Man City boss Pep Guardiola says no regrets over contract extension

Following a series of disappointing Premier League performances, City finds itself in fifth place with 27 points, trailing leader Liverpool by nine points.
Lekh Juneja, chairman and CEO of Kameda Seika, at the company's headquarters in the city of Niigata in August
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 15, 2024

Indian-born CEO of Japanese company says nation needs immigration to thrive

Japan has very few foreign-born CEOs, and boardrooms are overwhelmingly male.
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo takes the ball to the hoop during the first quarter of Milwaukee's NBA Cup semifinal win on Saturday in Las Vegas.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Dec 15, 2024

Bucks beat Hawks to reach NBA Cup final against Thunder

Greek star Antetokounmpo scored 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to spark the Bucks over the Atlanta Hawks.
Crystal Smith, the elected chief of the Haisla people, stands on the shoreline of the Douglas Channel in Kitamaat, British Columbia, Canada, on Oct. 1.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 15, 2024

Indigenous people in Canada weigh costs of a gas windfall

The promise of billions of dollars of gas investment has renewed a generations-old debate over Indigenous identity and environmental stewardship.
A rebel fighter inspects writings on a jail cell wall at the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) Branch 251, also known as Al-Khatib branch, in the capital Damascus on Saturday.
WORLD
Dec 16, 2024

'Torture after torture': Turkish inmate recalls time in Syria's jails

The man said he paid the price for the hatred Syria's authorities bore for Turkey's president, who early in the war urged the Syrian president to leave.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is hit by Browns linebacker Devin Bush during the second half in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Dec 16, 2024

Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes injured during win over Browns

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes sustained a right ankle injury in the fourth quarter of a 21-7 road win over the Cleveland Browns and was replaced by veteran signal-caller Carson Wentz on Sunday.
An Afghan midwife prepares a report in the nursery section at a private hospital in Kabul on Dec. 10.  The Taliban's supreme leader is reportedly behind a ban on women studying midwifery and nursing at training institutes across the country, already among the worst in the world for deaths in childbirth.
WORLD / Society
Dec 16, 2024

Afghan student nurses crushed as Taliban block last hopes of a job

Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban have barred women from university and most jobs, and imposed tight restrictions on their lives.
Satoyo Kojika, who has run a barbershop inside the parliament building for more than half a century
JAPAN / Politics / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Dec 23, 2024

Woman who ran a parliament barbershop for half a century retires

The shop has been run by Satoyo Kojika, 85, a native of the village of Kawauchi in Fukushima Prefecture.
Children walk past shelters at a makeshift camp for displaced Palestinians in the Nahr al-Bared area of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Dec. 9.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Dec 25, 2024

Will stability rise from the Middle East rubble?

If done well, focusing on ending ongoing conflicts and building a basis for stability and security will reestablish a foundation for peacemaking.
Members of the Orthodox community of Latakia attend a Sunday Mass at St. George's Cathedral in Latakia, Syria, on Sunday.
WORLD
Dec 16, 2024

Syrian Christians attend services, schools reopen a week after Assad's overthrow

Some Syrian Christians remain jittery at the prospect of an Islamist government.
Ryan Garcia celebrates in the ring after his win over Romero Duno in November 2019.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Dec 16, 2024

Ryan Garcia-Rukiya Anpo exhibition postponed after American injures wrist

Promoters said Sunday the event would be rescheduled for sometime in early 2025.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan