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July 04, 2025
 

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SHOGI

Held from June 7-8, the Japan Rapid Chess Championships is the latest major event put on by the country's chess supporters who hope to capitalize on the game's global momentum.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 14, 2025
Under shogi’s shadow, Tokyo’s chess lovers make their move
Japan has long resisted the lure of chess, but the stage is being set for the country’s first-ever grandmaster, one expert says.
Yarn shortages are a sign that hobbies like knitting and crochet are gaining in popularity.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 4, 2025
‘Granny hobbies’ are the new self-care
Pastimes long associated with Japanese grandparents are booming on social media as young people look for new (old) ways to relax.
Shogi star Sota Fujii holds a board with his new title "eisei Kisei" after a match in Nagoya on Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2024
Shogi star Fujii becomes youngest winner of 'Eisei' status
Fujii gained the eisei Kisei status at the age of 21 years and 11 months by winning the title for five straight years, starting with his first win in July 2020.
Sota Fujii (right) and Takumi Ito in the city of Kofu, in Yamanashi Prefecture, on Thursday after Fujii was beaten by his challenger for his Eio title.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2024
Shogi star Sota Fujii loses major title for first time
Fujii, 21, gave up the Eio title in his 23rd title match in Yamanashi Prefecture. The challenger, Takumi Ito, 21, won his first crown with three wins and two losses.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 29, 2024
The vocabulary of shogi can help you make moves in your conversations
The world of shogi, a game that is often described as a form of Japanese chess, has given us much more than just checkmates.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2024
Shogi star Fujii renews record for title match winning streak
Fujii holds all eight major titles for the traditional Japanese board game.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visit the cenotaph for atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima on May 21 during the Group of Seven summit. Zelenskyy’s visit to one of the two cities attacked with a nuclear weapon came amid Russia’s veiled threats to use its nuclear arsenal in its war against Ukraine.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2023
Images of 2023: Japan
Outside of the successful G7 summit, the year was not kind to PM Fumio Kishida's unpopular administration. A kickback scandal provided one final headache.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 12, 2023
Sota Fujii becomes first player to win all eight major shogi titles
The 21-year-old took the Oza crown, having won Game 4 to finish the best-of-five match against 31-year-old Takuya Nagase.
An inside page of The Japan Times from 1973 carried a story about the discovery of some old Japanese chess pieces.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Aug 1, 2023
Japan Times 1973: 8 'oldest' shogi pieces found in castle's ruins
An ancient discovery and moments that mark the atomic bombings fill past August pages of Japan Times.
CULTURE
Feb 9, 2021
Amid a global chess boom, shogi eyes its own winning moves
The game has seen a surge in interest during the pandemic, with children and adults alike dusting off their boards or joining online communities.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 31, 2021
Analog activities that will get (and keep) you off your phone
We all know too much screen time is bad for us. So hit the off button and consider picking up one of these Japanese hobbies instead.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2018
Shogi master Yoshiharu Habu goes titleless for first time in 27 years
Shogi master Yoshiharu Habu lost his Ryuo title to 31-year-old challenger Akihito Hirose, leaving him without a major shogi title for the first time in 27 years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 29, 2018
'The Miracle of Crybaby Shottan': It's never too late to make your move
Chess pops up in a surprising number of feature films. Just look at all the documentaries and dramas about the outrageously gifted Bobby Fischer. Shogi, or Japanese chess, is a different and smaller story, though "Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow," a 2016 film about prodigy Satoshi Murayama, garnered awards...
JAPAN
May 19, 2018
Shogi whiz Fujii becomes youngest promoted to seventh dan
The young genius continues his meteoric climb by earning the Japanese chess game's third-highest rank at the age of 15 years and 9 months.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2018
Shogi showdown pits 'god' against 'genius'
The match of the century. The battle between a "god" and a "genius." The faceoff between the undisputed champion of shogi and his touted successor.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2018
Pair become first board game players to receive Japan's People's Honor Award
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday officially decided to bestow the prestigious People's Honor Award on professional shogi and go champions, making the pair the first board game players to bag the award.
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2017
Accomplishments of shogi and go champions
The performances of shogi and go champions Yoshiharu Habu and Yuta Iyama show why AI programs will never dominate those games even as they rack up victories against top players.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2017
Government mulls conferring national award to Japanese shogi, go champions
Japan considers conferring the People's Honor Award to two shogi and go champions after the pair won all major titles in their respective games.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 8, 2017
Shogi: A measure of artificial intelligence
Though last Sunday's Tokyo assembly elections garnered the most media attention, another contest came in a close second, even if only two people were involved. Fourteen-year-old Sota Fujii's record-setting winning streak of 29 games of shogi was finally broken on July 2 when he lost a match to 22-year-old...
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Jul 3, 2017
Shogi prodigy sets new record with 29th straight win
The youngest professional shogi fourth-dan player, Sota Fujii, 14, set the all-time record for most consecutive wins — 29 official matches.
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Onosato's yokozuna promotion causes rare quirk in new sumo rankings
Newly promoted yokozuna Onosato holds a copy of the latest banzuke ranking in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, on Monday.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Over 900 earthquakes strike Tokara islands in space of two weeks
A screenshot shows many quakes occurring in the Tokara islands over the past 30 days, in this image taken from the U.S. Geological Survey website.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

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