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Australian Tayler Paulsen and her Kiwi husband Neil managed to purchase a fully-equipped lodge in Myoko, Niigata Prefecture, for only AU$110,000 (about ¥10 million).
COMMUNITY / The Foreign Element
Jan 29, 2024

In Niigata, a winter (and real estate) wonderland

For Australians and New Zealanders facing expensive prices back home, Japan’s snow country is a hotbed for cheap real estate.
A suicide helpline worker takes calls in Tokyo. Health ministry officials say that comprehensive countermeasures are needed to realize a society in which people do not feel suicidal.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 26, 2024

Suicides in Japan decreased slightly to 21,818 in 2023

The decrease marks the first decline in the number of suicides in two years.
A photo taken by SLIM's camera, released by JAXA on Monday, shows the moon's surface
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 29, 2024

Japan’s lunar probe regains power more than a week after landing

JAXA said Monday that the agency was able to reestablish communications with the SLIM probe on Sunday evening.
A Palestinian girl sits on bags of flour distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2024

In dossier, Israel accuses 190 U.N. staff of being 'hardened killers'

Over 10 countries, including major donors the United States and Germany, have halted their funding to the agency, which employs 13,000 people in Gaza.
Business people, diplomats and academics are watching developments in Hong Kong closely, saying the prospect of new laws targeting espionage, state secrets and foreign influence could have a deep impact on the global financial hub.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 30, 2024

Hong Kong leaders start push to tighten national security laws

New legislation could sharpen the 2020 regulations imposed by Beijing on the territory in response to months of pro-democracy protests.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House in Washington in January 2023. Some Japanese businesses are keenly waiting for the results of the U.S. presidential election in November.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 1, 2024

Japanese firms seek political stability and stronger alliance: survey

A possible Taiwan contingency is just one of the issues on the minds of companies in the country.
Elon Musk
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 31, 2024

Musk’s $55 billion Tesla pay package struck down, threatening status

Worth some $51.1 billion, Musk's Tesla options were one of his most valuable assets. Without them his net worth would drop to $154.3 billion.
Terunofuji (left) defeats Kirishima at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Saturday.
SUMO / Inside Sumo
Jan 31, 2024

Ninth title puts Terunofuji on cusp of joining all-time greats

His most recent victory puts him ahead — in terms of silverware won — of all but eight wrestlers to have made their debut in the past 65 years.
Following the death of manga artist Hinako Ashihara, X users are going in search of clues, treating the internet as a virtual crime scene — and appointing themselves the arbiters of law and order.
CULTURE / Wide Angle
Jan 31, 2024

The internet goes in search of blame after the death of Hinako Ashihara

To piece together what happened, social media users are going in search of clues, treating the internet as a virtual crime scene.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a Lower House plenary session in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 31, 2024

Kishida faces heat from all sides over political funds scandal

The prime minister finds himself in hot water not only with the main opposition party, but also with his own ruling party.
At the heart of European Union thinking about economic security is fear that economic dependencies will be weaponized.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 30, 2024

EU’s dilemma: balancing national and economic security

At the heart of EU thinking about economic security is fear that economic dependencies will be weaponized.
Valentine's Day in Japan is one way when it comes to chocolate, but the sweets are reciprocated on White Day in March.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 2, 2024

Prepare for date night by practicing reservations in Japanese

Whether its chocolates or a full-course meal, food is the language for Valentine's Day.
The Tokyo Kiki Lounge is a queer pageant, dance competition and party, known in the ball culture as a “kiki ball.”
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 1, 2024

You're free to be yourself at the Tokyo Kiki Lounge

The pageant, dance competition and party is a thriving safe space for Japan's queer community.
A soldier stands in front of the grave sites of fallen soldiers in Kinmen, Taiwan, on Aug. 23, 2023. Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered his military to be ready to take Taiwan by 2027, though many analysts see that as an attempt to galvanize his military rather than a timeline for invasion.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 1, 2024

How Washington is preparing for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan

It is looking at a key vulnerability — military logistics — and is setting up hubs in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure supplies are readily available.
Police officers escort Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan (center) upon his arrival at the high court in Islamabad on May 12, 2023. Khan and his wife have been sentenced to 14 years' jail after being convicted of illegally selling gifts he received while he was premier.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2024

Pakistan's ex-PM Imran Khan gets another 14-year jail sentence

His conviction for illegally selling state gifts follows a separate charge of leaking state secrets, for which he was jailed 10 years a day earlier.
A protester throws a portrait of a politician after demonstrators broke into the government headquarters in Hong Kong on July 1, 2019, on the 22nd anniversary of the city's handover from Britain to China.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 1, 2024

Hong Kong court convicts six over 2019 legislature storming

Judge found them guilty on charges including entering the legislative chamber, rioting and causing criminal damage.
Tractors block the A6 highway during a protest by French farmers in the Chilly-Mazarin district of Paris on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2024

Farmers angry with green policy rebel against EU ahead of vote

Blockades and pickets by farmers are exposing a clash between the EU's drive to cut carbon dioxide emissions and its aim of becoming more self-sufficient.
A fundraising event for the LGBTQ+ community in New Delhi in 2022. Sexual minorities say it is hard enough being openly gay or transgender in India, and the pressure only mounts in the online world.
WORLD / Society
Feb 2, 2024

Gay, teenaged and online: LGBTQ+ Indians fight for safe space

Sexual minorities say it is hard enough being openly gay or transgender in India, with the pressure only increasing in the online world.
Houthi tribesmen gather to show defiance after U.S. and U.K. airstrikes on Houthi positions near Sanaa, Yemen, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 5, 2024

U.S. promises more Mideast strikes while trying to avert wider war

Officials framed the U.S. strikes as a necessary and inevitable response to the killing of three U.S. soldiers in a drone strike in Jordan a week ago.
The Fugaku supercomputer at Riken Center for Computational Science in Kobe in June 2020. Many companies leverage its simulation capabilities to streamline processes, saving labor on experiments and calculations crucial for the development of large products.
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2024

Fugaku supercomputer tops predecessor in corporate usage

While Fugaku has primarily garnered attention for academic applications it has also proved instrumental in product development.
Eisai's Alzheimer's drug Leqembi
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2024

Eisai sees 'huge' growth potential for Alzheimer's drug in China

The Japanese pharmaceutical firm aims to roll out its groundbreaking Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi to 1,500 people in China later this year.
A man walks through panels at a solar power plant under construction in Aksu, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, in 2012.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2024

Banned Chinese solar goods worth billions find route to U.S. via India

Amid a solar boom, India’s largest panel-maker has sent millions of panels to the U.S. made with parts from a Chinese firm denied entry to the U.S. market.
Cars and homes destroyed by a Russian missile that fell between a residential building and a public preschool in Kyiv on Dec. 13, 2023. In January, the White House said it had evidence that North Korea had provided ballistic missiles used by Russia.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 6, 2024

A Russian bank account may offer clues to North Korean arms deal

Russia has allowed the release of $9 million in frozen North Korean assets from a Russian financial institution, according to intelligence officials.
Onosato (top) battles Tamawashi during the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament last month in Tokyo.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Feb 7, 2024

In the world of sumo, a mock draft reflects the sport's generational shift

Here's a look at who might go No. 1 overall if sumo's stables conducted a North American-style draft.
Education minister Masahito Moriyama (right) responds to questions from Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Chinami Nishimura in the Lower House on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 7, 2024

Education minister under fire for unreported ties to Unification Church

Masahito Moriyama said he could not remember 2021 meeting with the group or the agreement he signed with it for electoral support.
Women workers demand equal pay during a protest in Melbourne.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2024

Asia is fighting off the diversity backlash

Gender equality is at a crossroads amid a corporate backlash that is threatening progress in in workplace diversity.
People walk past a billboard promoting Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia's defense minister and a presidential candidate, and his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who is the eldest son of Indonesian President Joko Widodo and current Surakarta's mayor, in Jakarta on Jan. 12.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 8, 2024

Generative AI faces major test as Indonesia holds election

Front-runner Prabowo Subianto is using AI tools to create campaign art, track social media sentiment, build interactive chatbots and target voters.
Customers look for Valentine's Day chocolate at Kintetsu Department Store's flagship outlet in the city of Osaka in January.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 8, 2024

Japan’s Valentine’s Day chocolate budget sees 34% rise

About 22% of survey participants said they would purchase chocolates for themselves — 3.4 times more than those buying for a romantic partner.
In the quest for immortality, some researchers believe mind uploading will be our ticket to an eternal existence.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 8, 2024

Japan’s take on immortality; problems in Palworld

As scientists and technologists attempt to tackle the problem of aging and death, we discuss Japanese ideas about immortality.
At the new teamLab Borderless museum, the crowd-favorite room of lamps from Borderless 1.0 has evolved into a room of light bubbles, which interact with each other and the bodies passing by.
CULTURE / Art
Feb 8, 2024

Have we reached teamLab saturation?

The art collective re-opens its Borderless museum in Azabudai Hills. But the experience is starting to feel stale.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat