Former Yasukuni Shrine official Hisao Baba, 81, can still remember clearly a conversation he had some 60 years ago with the top priest of the controversial Shinto shrine.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2006/nn20060723a4a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='364'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Emperor Hirohito is accompanied by then Imperial Household Agency Grand Steward Tomohiko Tomita –

in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, in May 1981. KYODO FILE PHOTO

It was only a few years after seven Class-A war criminals, including Gen. Hideki Tojo, were hung in 1948 following Japan's surrender in World War II.

Canada has a new prime minister with a very hard first assignment
Mark Carney, Canada's incoming prime minister (center), during a swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Friday. Carney has been sworn in as Canada's 24th prime minister, bringing the former central banker to power in the middle of an explosive trade war with the U.S.
Despite tough talk, economic woes may force Iran to bargain with Trump
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on during a meeting with students in Tehran on Wednesday.
The U.S. says Japan has a 700% tariff on American rice. Is that the case?
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds up a piece of paper with information about tariff rates at the White House on Tuesday.
As Trump thaws ties, Russia has a new public enemy No. 1: Britain
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he arrives to attend a summit held at Lancaster House in central London on March 2.
Japanese superfans turn dental clinic into Ohtani mini-museum
Japanese dentist Yusuke Kamimura poses for a photograph in front of a private collection dedicated to MLB player Shohei Ohtani, inside his dental clinic in Koshigaya, north of Tokyo, on Feb. 28, 2025.
As pollen season peaks, Japan's allergy struggle emerges from hibernation
Urbanization is amplifying pollen-related allergies as grasslands and soft soil give way to concrete and asphalt.
Japan to get tough on businesses not taking heatstroke countermeasures
A construction site in Tokyo in July 2018. Businesses failing to take measures to prevent severe heatstroke among employees will be subjected to criminal punishment from June.
In a sea of Dodger Blue, Japanese superfan ready to cheer on the Cubs
Takuya “Moby” Okamoto after Game 5 of the 2016 World Series, which the Cubs went on to win in seven games to snap a 108-year drought
Drones, budgets and infighting: Taiwan's daunting defense challenges
Officials from Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), the Ministry of National Defense’s research arm, say the lessons from the Ukraine conflict are clear for the democratic island: drones and other autonomous systems are crucial for its defense.
How Upper House pressure led to Ishiba's stunning reversal on medical cost caps
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends an Upper House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Monday.

Our Planet

Hidetaka Ishii, an official at the Chiba Municipal Government, says close coordination with private-sector operators is key for regional decarbonization efforts.
Japan’s climate heroes show potential and limits of local initiatives
By Tomoko Otake

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

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Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly
By Tomoko Otake

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