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November 21, 2024
 

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Mai Yoshikawa
Sanwa Koutsu's Kuroko Taxi service has drivers dressed in traditional stagehand garb communicate with passengers only through gestures and written messages.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 9, 2024
The sound of silence: Japan's no-conversation services
“Constant social interaction can feel like torture for us introverts,” one customer says. "I think it’s a pretty smart business move."
Fans watch Game 5 of the World Series at Fields, a sports bar in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, on Thursday morning.
BASEBALL
Oct 31, 2024
Fans gather early at Shibuya bar to watch Shohei Ohtani's big night
Game 5 of the World Series started at around 9 a.m. on Thursday for fans in Japan.
Japanese comedian and Shohei Ohtani impersonator Aki Teriyaki has been to every MLB game Ohtani's teams have played since 2022.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 28, 2024
Meet the tiny, but mighty, Shohei Ohtani impersonator who went to 500 MLB games
Japanese comedian and Shohei Ohtani impersonator Aki Teriyaki has been to every MLB game Ohtani's teams have played since 2022.
A guest room decked out in Shohei Ohtani and Dodgers gear at Yuko Hattori's Ohtani-senshu Ouen Minpaku (Guesthouse for Ohtani Fans) near Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 27, 2024
Los Angeles couple gives Japan guests a lodging experience fit for Ohtani superfans
A unique lodging near Dodger Stadium may be the ideal home base for anyone making the trip to Los Angeles to see the Japanese superstar.
Nanako Fujita competes during a race in 2019. The recent news of Fujita quitting after her suspension for breaking horse racing's strict phone rules shows that bad habits related to smartphone use don't discriminate.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
Oct 25, 2024
Horse racing in Japan has a smartphone problem
Nanako Fujita's recent retirement over breaches of smartphone rules put a spotlight on a big issue for horse racing in Japan.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his dog, Dekopin, who delivered the ceremonial first pitch prior to a game against the Orioles on Aug. 28
MORE SPORTS
Oct 6, 2024
The furry performance-enhancers that are sweeping the world of sports
Athletes from Shohei Ohtani to Naomi Osaka are using dogs to reduce stress and help enhance performance before and during high-stakes competitions.
A climbing wall at a kindergarten in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture. The sport has been on the rise in Japan, mainly due to the popularity it gained from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and new climbing walls are popping all over the place.
MORE SPORTS / Sport climbing
Sep 24, 2024
People of all ages and sizes scale new heights amid climbing boom in Japan
The sport gained a boost from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and new climbing walls are popping up all over the place.
Students sit under a misting system during recess at Hikarigaoka Haru no Kaze Elementary School in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, on Sept. 6.
JAPAN / Society / Boiling Point
Sep 16, 2024
Japan’s schools battle to keep kids cool, with or without AC
With extreme heat affecting both health and study, schools are racing to plug AC gaps while experimenting with creative, cheaper solutions.
Akari Fujinami leapt into the arms of her father and coach after she became an Olympic champion in the women's 53-kg freestyle wrestling class on Aug. 8.
OLYMPICS
Aug 15, 2024
The emotional highs — and lows — of competing for Japan at the Olympics
From golden celebrations like that of wrestler Akari Fujinami to crushing defeats of stars like Uta Abe, Japanese athletes let it all out during the Paris Games.
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.
Fans wave French flags at Champions Park in Paris on Aug. 1. Olympic fever has swept through the city during the Games and some Parisians who went on vacation to avoid the hoopla are now expressing some jealousy over those who stayed.
OLYMPICS
Aug 8, 2024
Parisians who left during Olympics are now 'a little jealous' of those who stayed
Olympic fever has taken over the French capital, leaving some of the Paris residents who fled feeling a tinge of jealousy.
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.
Members of the Romanian Olympic women's gymnastics team check their smartphones during a training session early last month.
OLYMPICS
Aug 2, 2024
Social media trolls beware: Olympic athletes have had enough
Online abuse has become such an issue that the Japanese Olympic Committee released a statement asking fans to mind their manners on the internet.
Japan's Ryuju Nagayama (right) refuses to shake hands with Spain's Francisco Garrigos after a controversial decision in their under-60 kg quarterfinal bout at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
OLYMPICS / Judo
Jul 30, 2024
What’s in a handshake? In Olympic judo, quite a lot
In a sport that emphasizes respect, Japanese judo star Ryuji Nagayama made headlines after refusing to shake his opponent's hand after a controversial bout.
Japan's Shoko Miyata withdrew from the gymnastics team herself over her drinking and smoking, although it had already appeared as though the association was prepared to send her home from the team’s training camp in Monaco.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jul 26, 2024
Ahead of the Olympics, Japan is still talking about the gymnast who won't be there
At a time when sports fans in Japan are usually united in support of the nation's athletes, one issue is proving divisive: Shoko Miyata's withdrawal.
Team France celebrates after winning gold in the judo mixed team event at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo in July 2021.
OLYMPICS
Jul 25, 2024
Is it too early to celebrate gender equality at the Olympics?
In both Japan and abroad, women are far from achieving equality in the ranks of coaching and at the administrative level.
Misaki Nobata competes at the World University Games in 2023. A hero in her hometown of Oita, Nobata is one of three Japanese shooters who will compete at the upcoming Paris Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Shooting
Jul 19, 2024
‘Sniper from Oita’ sets her sights on Paris Olympics target
In a country with strict anti-gun laws, 20-year-old university student and rifle shooter Misaki Nobata is not your typical Olympian.
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.
OLYMPICS
Jul 14, 2024
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
While news sites have suggested that being a volunteer is a way to attend the Games for “free,” that doesn’t apply to international volunteers like Mai Tarumi.
Japanese businessman Kazunori Takishima, seen at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, has attended four Summer Games and four Winter Games since his first in 2006.
OLYMPICS
Jul 12, 2024
Japanese superfan with Olympic-sized wallet eager to make new memories in Paris
The 48-year-old Tokyo native spends large chunks of his disposable income on Olympic tickets.
Japan's men's and women's gymnastics teams pose for photos during a news conference to announce the team's uniforms for the 2024 Games.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jun 24, 2024
Leotard vs. unitard debate in gymnastics still raging ahead of Paris Olympics
The German gymnastics team took a stand against sexualization in the sport in 2021, but heading into Paris, the leotard is still very much in vogue in Japan and abroad.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

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