Search - i

 
 
Rainbow flags were flown through the capital's busy Shibuya and Harajuku areas for Tokyo Rainbow Pride events this weekend as organizers hailed 30 years of one of Asia's largest LGBTQ celebrations.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 21, 2024

Tokyo Rainbow Pride lights up capital as organizers celebrate 30 years

Under the theme “Until it changes, don’t give up,” this year’s Tokyo Rainbow Pride was held after an eventful 12 months for Japan’s LGBTQ movement.
Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Apr 21, 2024

Hearing the impact of climate change in Okinawa, one bird call at a time

From Okinawa to Australia, “passive acoustic monitoring” projects are feeding scientists with data about changes to ecosystems and biodiversity.
The Nikkei stock market rally has paused, but the market has an upside potential toward the end of the year, according to Allianz Global Investors.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 22, 2024

Allianz says Japanese stocks will defy geopolitics and yen volatility

The asset manager expects support from solid corporate fundamentals and the long-term outlook for artificial intelligence.
Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
CULTURE / Books / Longform
Apr 22, 2024

The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

Shops without staff, shelves for rent, cafes and meetups are some of the ways the country's dwindling bookstores are trying to survive.
Chinese swimmer Zhang Yufei poses with her gold medal after winning the women's 200-meter butterfly during the Tokyo Games.
OLYMPICS
Apr 22, 2024

Chinese doping case sends swimming world into uproar and exposes bitter rifts

The disclosure of an incident that had been a secret for more than three years has drawn strong reactions from athletes, coaches and others.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a Lower House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 22, 2024

LDP to present political reform plan this week as pressure grows

The move will lay the groundwork for an amendment of the political funds control law in the current session of parliament slated to end June 23.
Giants starter Tomoyuki Sugano pitches against the Tigers at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on April 18.
BASEBALL / Sac Bunts
Apr 22, 2024

Resurgent Tomoyuki Sugano off to strong start on mound for Giants

Sugano is off to a 2-0 start in three outings this season.
Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N. Riyad Mansour speaks at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday after a resolution calling for the recognition of Palestinian statehood failed when it was vetoed by the U.S.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2024

The urgency of Palestinian statehood

The U.N. Security Council rejected Palestine's membership bid last week. But Palestinian statehood remains the only viable path to peace, for Israel too.
Demolition work is seen underway on a house damaged by the Noto Peninsula earthquake in Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, last week.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2024

Quake-hit Ishikawa sees slow progress in housing demolitions

As of April 16, only three demolitions had been completed, despite 78,000 homes in the prefecture being damaged.
A rally in support of Ukraine outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Saturday, the same day the House of Representatives approved a $61 billion aid package supporting Kyiv's war effort.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2024

Ukraine aid shows MAGA hasn’t cowed Johnson

The U.S. House speaker rejected the isolationism that has come to dominate his party, extending a lifeline to Kyiv by approving a long-debated aid package.
Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks during a news conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on March 14.
WORLD
Apr 22, 2024

Poland 'ready' to host nuclear weapons, president says

Discussions about nuclear cooperation between the U.S. and Poland have been in the works for some time.
Chinese athletes take part in the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Games in July 2021.
OLYMPICS
Apr 23, 2024

WADA rejects cover-up charge over investigation into Chinese swimmers

Reports claimed that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine ahead of the Tokyo Games.
The dollar's resurgence has come on the back of a slew of signs that the U.S. economy avoided the slowdown many anticipated.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 23, 2024

U.S. dollar’s extended reign delivers stark wake-up call to markets

Global investors are talking about "U.S. exceptionalism” after a predicted slowdown to the nation's economy didn't transpire.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters (left) stands with the Premier League trophy in Manchester on May 21.
SOCCER
Apr 23, 2024

Independent regulator a big risk, warns Premier League chief

Amongst its tasks, the regulator would set up a licensing system for the top five tiers in English soccer.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks during a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on the sidelines of IMF and G20 meetings in Washington last week.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 23, 2024

Tokyo issues strong warning on yen intervention as currency dips further

Comments by Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki came after the dollar rose to ¥154.85, its strongest levels against the Japanese currency since 1990.
Sicily and organized crime have been synonymous since at least the 19th century. The island's mafia infiltration is extending beyond violence, manifesting in subtle economic coercion and sophisticated tax evasion schemes.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 23, 2024

Sicily's mafia is expanding its white collar crime

Economic inequality fuels mafia exploitation, with wealthy enclaves thriving while impoverished areas provide fertile ground for criminal activity.
People backing Ukraine gather outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. The Senate on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to approve a long-stalled $95 billion package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 24, 2024

Congress passes Ukraine aid bill in boost to Kyiv — and Taipei — after long delay

The package, which had been delayed amid objections from Republican hard-liners, could be signed into law as soon as this week.
Ryu Shionoya, former chairman of the General Council of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks at a news conference at the parliamentary building on Tuesday after he left the party.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 24, 2024

Ryu Shionoya quits LDP, ending scandal-linked punishment process

With the acceptance of the resignation, the LDP's process of punishing party lawmakers involved in the political funds scandal concluded.
Buyers inside an exhibition hall at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou on April 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2024

China’s prices are just too low for buyers to sweat about tariffs

Many buyers at China’s biggest trade event in the southern city of Guangzhou shrugged off the risk of an escalating trade war with the U.S.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Taro Aso, vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in New York on Tuesday. The Japanese government’s top spokesman on Wednesday played down the meeting as one conducted "in the capacity of one lawmaker" and “without the government’s involvement.”
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 24, 2024

Japan's former PM Aso meets Trump for talks on security and economy

The visit highlights behind-the-scenes moves by Tokyo to cultivate ties with the Trump camp ahead of November’s U.S. presidential election.
Toshihiro Nikai, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, announced in March that he would not run in the next Lower House election to take responsibility for the political funds scandal that rocked his party and his own faction.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 24, 2024

LDP veteran Nikai's youngest son expected to succeed him in Wakayama

Nobuyasu Nikai, who serves as secretary to his 85-year-old father, has been asked to stand for election by local leaders in the prefecture.
Sanrio is marking Hello Kitty's 50th anniversary this year. The character's rise mirrors that of kawaii culture globally, and her longevity offers important clues as to the future of cute culture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 22, 2024

Hello Kitty turns 50. What will the next cat's meow be?

The global rise of Hello Kitty, who turns 50 this year, tracks that of Japanese culture. What, then, does the next half-century of kawaii have in store?
Taylor Swift's new album "The Tortured Poets Department" was released on Friday. The rush for immediate reviews in this digital age is undermining the listening experience.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2024

Taylor Swift is proof that how we critique music is broken

In the age of half-baked hot takes on online forums, anyone with a smartphone can word-vomit their thoughts into the ether.
The plaintiff in the case against Mizuho Bank had sought about ¥33 million in damages, including wages he should have received.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 24, 2024

Mizuho ordered to pay ¥3.3 million to ex-employee over labor dispute

The bank had — citing problematic behavior — told him to stay home at reduced pay without any work for five years.
Mitsuko Tottori became Japan Airlines’ first female CEO on April 1, having risen through the ranks as a flight attendant and heading the flight attendant and customer experience divisions.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2024

New JAL chief concerned about yen’s ‘excessive’ weakness

While a weaker currency helps spur inbound tourism, it is curbing demand for overseas travel for people in Japan, Mitsuko Tottori says.
Marinos players celebrate after winning a shootout against Hyundai on Wednesday to advance to the Asian Champions League final.
SOCCER
Apr 25, 2024

Marinos edge Ulsan in thriller to reach first Asian Champions League final

Marinos won a pulsating semifinal that ended 3-3 on aggregate to reach the Asian Champions League final for the first time.
Race walker Nanako Fujii wears thick-soled shoes during a national race walking event in Kobe on Feb. 18.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 25, 2024

Japanese race walkers slow to embrace thick-soled shoes

The key benefit of athletes wearing thick-soled shoes is that they are propelled forward by the bounce generated by the soles of the shoes.
Palestinian women in Gaza sit amid the rubble of a residential building they once lived in, which was destroyed by an Israeli raid earlier this month.
COMMENTARY
Apr 25, 2024

Biden must prove he doesn't have a double standard for Israel

If the U.S. wants to convince the world that it doesn't have a double standard, it should condition military aid to Israel on its use of American weapons.
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Apr 26, 2024

Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past

Chef Ryohei Ikemi will open dinner with a warming soup featuring vegetables from Aomori's Lake Towada and close with a local Kyogoku apple gelato.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida rides on a forestry processor during an inspection of afforestation in Hitachiomiya, Ibaraki Prefecture, in October.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024

Japan groups eye online market to promote use of domestic lumber

The process of reforestation has faced obstacles, primarily stemming from the considerable burdens placed on forest owners.

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