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The protagonist of “The Colors Within” is Totsuko (voiced by Sayu Suzukawa), a cheerful young woman who views the world in a unique way: Everyone she sees gives off their own distinct color that represents their personality.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 30, 2024

'The Colors Within' tunes into everyday moments of love

Director Naoko Yamada's new anime film, which explores themes of acceptance and communication without words, was born from a creative relationship of complete trust.
Pasocom Music Club’s “Love Flutter” marks an important moment for Japan’s electronic community as project members Aoi Shibata (left) and Masato Nishiyama step into a role other artists once held for them — scene veterans who are inspiring the next generation.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 5, 2024

Pasocom Music Club returns to the pure pleasures of the dance floor

For the Kansai-born duo, new album “Love Flutter” isn’t just an evolution of its sound — it’s the next step in pushing the boundaries of electronic music.
Ronald Rowe, the acting Secret Service director, speaks during a news conference regarding the apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday.
WORLD
Sep 17, 2024

U.S. Secret Service, the agency with a 'no fail' mission

The Secret Service provides lifelong protection for current and former presidents, vice presidents and their families.
Comedian Yuriyan Retriever takes on the role of Japan’s most hated heel, Kaoru “Dump” Matsumoto, in “The Queen of Villains.”
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Sep 20, 2024

Yuriyan Retriever is Japan's biggest heel — and proud of it

The comedian takes on the role of Kaoru “Dump” Matsumoto, a real-life rule-breaking brawler in women’s professional wrestling, in Netflix's “The Queen of Villains.”
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola addresses a news conference in Bratislava on Monday.
SOCCER
Oct 1, 2024

Guardiola promises strong City side in Slovan Champions League tie

Team will play without Rodri, who will miss the rest of the season after suffering a serious knee injury.
Dul Saroth (left) and Soeum Samrach, deminers with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, practice using the Advanced Landmine Imaging System in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province in August.
JAPAN / Longform
Oct 7, 2024

The Japanese tech that could one day make Southeast Asia landmine-free

The Advanced Landmine Imaging System being tested in Cambodia promises to speed up landmine clearance work and save lives.
Rafael Nadal bites the trophy after winning the French Open in Paris on June 5, 2022. Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam winner, said he will retire following this year's Davis Cup.
TENNIS
Oct 10, 2024

Rafael Nadal to retire at end of season

"It has been some difficult years, these last two especially," the 38-year-old, who won a record 14 French Open titles, said in a video.
President of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) Hun Sen (center), Honorary President of the CPP Heng Samrin (left) and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet (right)
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 14, 2024

The son almost rises: Cambodia's Hun Sen the power behind throne

More than a year after inheriting power from his father, Cambodian PM has yet to hold an open news conference to explain how he will navigate challenges.
Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto talks to his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of outgoing Indonesian President Joko Widodo while delivering a speech during an event showing the quick-count results of the general election in Jakarta on Feb. 14.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 15, 2024

How Indonesia's outgoing president steered his son to the vice presidency

Insiders describe how Joko Widodo steered his introverted son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, into politics as part of an effort to maintain influence after leaving office.
A young woman named “Chacha” (Marika Ito) defies the rules of Japanese society in the romantic drama “Cha-Cha.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2024

‘Cha-Cha’: Romantic drama doesn’t take itself too seriously

Mai Sakai’s twisty and quirky film features a protagonist who is about as untethered from conventional roles and rules as it is possible to be in Japanese society.
Vending machine enthusiast Kenzaburo Ishida
JAPAN / Society
Oct 24, 2024

Useful even in disasters: Japan's ever-evolving vending machines

Vending machine enthusiast Kenzaburo Ishida breaks down their unique appeal, evolution and crucial role in times of disaster.
Violin, a day care center for the elderly, is housed in a building that used be an office of the Kudokai crime syndicate in the city of Kitakyushu. It retains the original look of the Kudokai facility, with its thick steel-plated front door, glittering chandelier and marble floor.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Oct 28, 2024

Former yakuza office repurposed to become elderly care facility

The building that houses Violin, a day care center for the elderly, was once one of the main facilities for the Kudokai syndicate.
Supporters react as Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Novi, Michigan, on Saturday.
WORLD
Oct 28, 2024

Will Trump's unbridled rhetoric cost him the U.S. election?

Kamala Harris is increasingly pointing to Donald Trump's ramblings as evidence he isn't fit for the presidency.
While Donald Trump is typically seen as the instigator of the slide in America’s standing and credibility as a global leader, in truth, questions about U.S. commitment and resolve have persisted long before his administration. 
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 29, 2024

This election won’t — can’t — solve U.S. foreign policy woes

While Trump is typically seen as the instigator of this slide, in truth, questions about U.S. commitment and resolve predate his administration.
Early voters at a polling site during early voting in Queens, New York, on Oct. 27. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia is behind a video that appeared on social media this week falsely claiming that Haitians illegally voted multiple times for Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 2, 2024

U.S. spy agencies issue new warning on Russia’s election misinformation campaign

Three recent videos have sought to undermine confidence in the security of the vote.
Shohei Ohtani speaks during the Dodgers' World Series celebration on Friday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 2, 2024

In pictures: Dodgers fans fete World Series title with party fit for Hollywood

The party has hardly let up since Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers clinched the World Series on Wednesday.
The film character Godzilla poses on the red carpet during a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California, in November 2004.  
COMMENTARY
Nov 6, 2024

After nearly three-quarters of a century, Godzilla’s monstrous empire is thriving

The famed Japanese monster went from serious metaphor for nuclear destruction to a kitschy pop culture icon.
The Democrats focused on issues like racial and gender inequality and overlooked the economic and social struggles of the working class, allowing Donald Trump to tap into this resentment.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 12, 2024

Voters to elites: Ignore the working class at your own peril

The redistribution of respect saw those who climbed the academic ladder celebrated with accolades, while those who didn’t were rendered invisible.
Chinese police have signed cooperation agreements with countries across Asia, Latin America, the Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa, offering embedded officers, training, joint patrols and exporting security equipment, especially to developing economies.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2024

China’s cops are coming to a city near you

When asked about covert overseas police outposts, China either denies their existence or claims they are service centers for overseas citizens.
Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s “The Making of a Japanese” is an even-handed portrait of elementary school in Japan, where the citizens of tomorrow are forged.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 5, 2024

‘The Making of a Japanese’: A warm and engaging portrait of Japanese schoolchildren

Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s documentary is a candid and heartfelt glimpse of elementary school in Tokyo.
Jean-Pierre Charriton
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Dec 2, 2024

President of L’Oreal Japan leverages innovation

Entered L’Oreal in 1991, in charge of the Biotherme products. After a career path in many countries, he arrived in Japan in 2021.
Kim Seongmin, president of Free North Korea Radio, edits content for the station at his home on Ganghwa Island, west of Seoul, on Nov. 21. Kim has cancer and was recently told that he has months to live.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 3, 2024

A North Korean voice that Kim Jong Un would like to silence

North Korean defectors have been infiltrating the North with outside media for two decades, through balloons floated across the border or radio broadcasts.
Satoko Shisai
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Dec 15, 2024

Forging a career through digital transformation and mindset change

Backed by a strong belief in career ownership, Satoko Shisai built her own success at IBM Japan and Chugai.
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.
Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Dec 16, 2024

The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition

A year after disaster devastated the region, brewers have turned to nationwide partnerships and new technologies to sustain their culture.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of South Korea's Democratic Party, speaks to members of the media on the steps inside the National Assembly after an impeachment vote against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul on Dec. 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 16, 2024

Yoon’s fall gives nemesis surprise path back to lead South Korea

The impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is giving his biggest political rival, Lee Jae-myung, a chance to finally win the country's top job.
Jay Rubin’s new translation of Haruki Murakami’s “End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland,” in part set in a walled city where inhabitants’ shadows are forcibly removed, speaks to the author’s quirky, exhaustive attention to detail when rendering his imaginative world on the page.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 16, 2024

Jay Rubin takes us back to Haruki Murakami's world

A new translation of “End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland” brings the fan favorite closer to the original Japanese text.
Inter Milan "ultras" merchandise is displayed outside San Siro Stadium in Milan before a Champions League match on Nov. 26.
SOCCER
Dec 19, 2024

Italy combats spread of mafia among soccer fan groups across country

Ultra groups at Inter and AC Milan, two of the biggest names in Italian soccer, have allegedly been infiltrated by the mafia.
A falconer during the Suwa Falconry Preservation Society's event in Tokyo on Friday. Falconry predates recorded history, originating, scholars believe, when nomadic herders observed birds of prey hunting and recognized their potential as partners.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 5, 2025

Tokyo falconers keep ancient traditions soaring

While a recent showcase was all about fun and education, like other sports involving animals, falconry is also serious business for competitors at the upper echelons of the sport.
Hideki Matsuyama set a PGA Tour scoring record on his way to a win at The Sentry in Kapalua, Hawaii, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jan 9, 2025

Hideki Matsuyama going for Hawaii sweep at Sony Open

Matsuyama won The Sentry on Sunday with a 35-under-par 257, the lowest 72-hole score in relation to par in PGA Tour history.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji