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April 07, 2025
 

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An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Longform
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it
Outdated government policy, changing diets and even an earthquake scare have had an impact on the national food staple.
LIFE / Food & Drink
‘Japanese pastry has matured into its own distinct identity’
“There’s been a shift over the years where Japanese pastry chefs are moving away from simply replicating French techniques,” says chef Koichi Katsumata.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
In Los Angeles, Courtney Kaplan says sake is having a moment
Los Angeles has no shortage of Japanese restaurants, but Ototo makes the country's national drink an easy sip.
At Japan's top cocktail bars, ice is as important an ingredient as any bottle you'll see on the shelf.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 30, 2025
The cold complexity of 'pure' Japanese cocktail ice
By Phoebe Amoroso
To some Japanese bartenders, the secret to a great cocktail lies not just in the mixologist's skills but also the quality of the ice.
Sachiyo Harada's latest cookbook is filled with simple recipes alongside step-by-step pictures that would make cooking a fuss-free affair for beginners.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 30, 2025
Feast your eyes on 'The Complete Illustrated Guide to Japanese Cooking'
By Simon Daly
In “The Complete Illustrated Guide to Japanese Cooking,” Sachiyo Harada has put together an uncomplicated book that appeals to both home cooks and seasoned chefs.
Japan's ancient capital is now home to 16 two-Michelin-starred restaurants, while nearby Osaka claims 11.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 28, 2025
Michelin awards stars to 172 restaurants in Kyoto and Osaka
By Owen Ziegler
Ten restaurants join the two-starred rank, while Milpa earns Japan’s first-ever star for Mexican cuisine.
Brooklyn Kura's Catskills, a "junmai daiginjō" (sake with rice polished down to at least 50%), is made with water from the New York region of the same name.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 28, 2025
New York's Brooklyn Kura becomes first U.S. sake exporter to Japan
By Weiwen Lin
The brewer’s initial exports are “relatively small,” but it hopes drinkers in Japan are "open to trying" American-made sake.
At No. 4, three-Michelin-starred Sezanne took home the title of best restaurant in Japan in this year's Asia's 50 Best Restaurants rankings.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 26, 2025
11 in Japan win Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant honors, but Gaggan is tops
By Robbie Swinnerton
The modern French cuisine of Sezanne was good enough for best in Japan and No. 4 in all of Asia.
"Udo" (Japanese spikenard) is one of the many vegetables that reach their peak of flavor right as spring comes around.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Washoku Essentials
Mar 23, 2025
Now is the time to discover this Japanese mountain vegetable
By Elizabeth Andoh
At its most flavorful now, the oddly shaped Japanese spikenard adds a juicy and crisp element to salads.
The peculiar combo of curry with green tea over rice topped with a pork or chicken cutlet is Haraiso Sparkle's signature dish.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 23, 2025
At Osaka's Haraiso Sparkle, curry with a side of city pop
By Eric Millman
What began as a simple spice curry shop has now morphed into an offbeat, funky eatery.

Nissan says it will not take new U.S. orders for Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs
A Nissan manufacturing complex in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Nissan says it will not take new orders from the United States for two Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs following new auto tariffs levied by the U.S.
Nikkei plunges in third-biggest daily loss ever amid Trump tariff concerns
Pedestrians stand in front of an electronic board showing the numbers of the Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange along a street in the Japanese capital on Monday.
Ride-hailing services spreading in Japan
Vehicles used for ride-hailing services in the city of Kiryu, in Gunma Prefecture
Japan digs deep to address 'national crisis' caused by Trump tariffs
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on April 1. He has said that Japan is facing a "national crisis" following the introduction of new tariffs by the United States.
'Hang tough, it won't be easy': Trump defiant on tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he walks to deliver remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden entitled "Make America Wealthy Again" at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
‘Let’s make it practical’: NATO chief eyes greater defense-industrial ties with Japan
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte plans to visit Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday — his first to the Indo-Pacific region since taking office in October, as he seeks to implement lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Tottori takes a bold leap forward in the arts
The city of Kurayoshi in Tottori Prefecture celebrated the opening of its public art museum with festivities such as a parade that drew 1,000 revelers.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it
By Alex K.T. Martin

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BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)
BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

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