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November 27, 2024
 

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Passersby holding parasols walk through Tokyo on July 9 amid a heatstroke alert in the capital and other prefectures.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Jul 19, 2024

Boiling Point

This special series focused on this year’s scorching summer will also lay the groundwork for enhanced heat coverage in future years.
Qatari and French officers patrol on horseback down a street in central Paris on Friday, a week ahead of the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics.
WORLD
Jul 20, 2024

France races to head off Islamic State group threat to Paris Olympics

The outreach comes in the wake of two major attacks this year that authorities say were carried out by Tajik members of the militant group.
Pedestrians walk past fences closing off access to the Trocadero in Paris on Friday.
OLYMPICS
Jul 21, 2024

The bickering and 'cold sweat' as Paris built its Games

Following the horse-trading to win the Games came the French infighting over how to host them.
Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jul 21, 2024

As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals

Can a 700-year-old dance have an effect on extreme heat or torrential rain? Probably not. When you're feeling powerless, though, any little thing helps.
Fuji Rock Festival's smaller stages such as the Field of Heaven offer a number of younger acts that demonstrate the thrilling new directions Japanese music is taking in the 2020s.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 21, 2024

Domestic acts at Fuji Rock's smaller stages are not to be missed

From Summer Eye to Nene, this year’s gathering offers one of the strongest collections of Japanese music present at a large-scale festival in recent times.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, gives his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2024

Emerging narratives: Trump is 'a lion’ or he’s 'a lyin’

Is Donald Trump a "man of destiny," as some conservatives are now claiming or a "con man of destiny"? ("Napoleon in a golf cart,” The Free Press called him.)
A plastic bag carrying various objects including what appeared to be trash that crossed inter-Korean border with a balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea is pictured in Seoul, in this picture released by the South Korean Defense Ministry on June 2.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 21, 2024

South Korea steps up propaganda broadcasts after new trash balloons from North

South Korea will ramp up propaganda broadcasts to the North in response to Pyongyang sending more trash-carrying balloons across the border, Seoul's military said Sunday.
Paul Watson, leader of the environmentalist association Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, speaks at a news conference in Paris in December 2015.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 22, 2024

Greenland arrests anti-whaling activist on Japan warrant

Paul Watson's arrest is believed to be in connection with an Interpol Red Notice related to Watson's previous anti-whaling interventions in the Antarctic.
Starbucks mobile app shows an error message on Friday. A botched software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike crashed countless Microsoft Windows computer systems globally.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2024

CrowdStrike meltdown and the price of real security

Catastrophic system failure isn’t part of the equation — until it happens. Which will be occurring with increasing frequency in our deeply interconnected world.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle enters a House of Representatives Oversight Committee hearing on the security lapses that allowed an attempted assassination of Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 24, 2024

Secret Service director resigns following Trump shooting

Kimberly Cheatle is stepping down after taking responsibility for security failures at a campaign rally where the former president was shot.
Hedwig Schreck is a third-generation Tokyoite whose grandfather first arrived in Japan from Germany in 1920 as a submarine engineer.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 24, 2024

Hedwig Schreck: ‘Art has always been part of my life’

A third-generation Tokyoite, the former TV producer has pivoted to teaching others about Japanese culture in her retirement.
Experienced festivalgoers know it always rains at Fuji Rock. But don’t let that scare you away from a weekend of fun at one of Japan’s largest annual music events.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 24, 2024

Heading to Fuji Rock? Make sure to bring these essentials.

Before traveling to Niigata Prefecture for a weekend of music, check your bags for these handy items.
A nefarious fraudster (Etsushi Toyokawa, left) and his protege (Go Ayano) engineer a multibillion-yen property scam in Netflix’s “Tokyo Swindlers.”
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jul 25, 2024

Netflix’s ‘Tokyo Swindlers’ is this summer’s guiltiest pleasure

The flashy new series about real estate scammers is a ridiculous treat to watch.
Nakazakicho may be just a few minutes outside the major commercial district of Umeda, but it certainly doesn't feel that way.
LIFE / Travel
Jul 27, 2024

The dancer keeping Osaka’s Nakazakicho indie

Nakazakicho’s transformation is more than the success story of a small neighborhood turning the tide against inner-city decay.
More tourists than ever are guided around Japan based on the content they consume online, but can those same creators help direct them to less-populated areas of the country?
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Jul 29, 2024

Influencers helped cause overtourism. Can they help fix it?

“I don't want to use filters or put out content just for the sake of views and followers,” one content creator says. “I want to show people what the real Japan is.”
A medical technician selects eggs for an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure Paris in 2019.
WORLD / Society
Jul 25, 2024

IVF mistakes are opening a new front in the fight over reproductive rights

The $40 billion U.S. industry is expected to triple in size over the next decade as more people delay having babies until later in life.
A substitute teacher (Nagisa Shibuya, center front) at a junior high school finds herself caught up in strange goings-on with violent outcomes in “Who’s That Girl?”
CULTURE / Film
Jul 26, 2024

‘Who’s That Girl?’: Junior high school antics just got scarier

J-horror master Takashi Shimizu’s latest offers familiar genre elements with a practiced hand and fresh twists.
A vengeful spirit threatens the residents of Edo Castle’s maze-like women’s quarters in “Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain.”
CULTURE / Film
Jul 26, 2024

‘Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain’: A fast and furious visual spectacle

Kenji Nakamura’s cinematic sequel to his “Mononoke” anime series is an overwhelming onslaught of sights and sounds.
Ukrainian artist Nikita Kadan’s “The Objects from Another Place,” erected at a former power station, was created in the likeness of structures that appeared in children’s playgrounds all over the former Soviet Union.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 27, 2024

Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale's quiet expansion of hyper-local art

The event’s ninth edition doesn’t offer new bangers, but its detailed installations in the verdant mountains of Niigata Prefecture still present a unique experience.
U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, addresses a crowd of supporters during a campaign event at Radford University in Radford, Virginia, on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 27, 2024

J.D. Vance’s ‘cat ladies’ insult sparks criticism of Trump’s VP pick

Comments JD Vance made in 2021 disparaging "childless cat ladies” are drawing criticism from not only Democrats, but also some members of his own party.
Torchbearers Teddy Riner and Marie-Jose Perec light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Paris Games on Friday.
OLYMPICS
Jul 28, 2024

Upset bishops and mixed reviews for Paris Olympics ceremony

The show's artistic director Thomas Jolly, who is gay, had pledged earlier this month that the ceremony would celebrate "diversity" and "otherness."
While traditional hybrid vehicles use gas to turn the wheels, a new crop of cars are burning it exclusively to charge a large onboard battery.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 28, 2024

A new wave of electric vehicles are ready to charge at 70 mph

But while fossil fuels may be a curious catalyst for sparking EV sales, the strategy is arguably far greener than it looks.
Actors Kento Kaku (left) and Ryoma Takeuchi star in Amazon Prime Video's new show "Like A Dragon: Yakuza," which is based on a hugely popular Sega video game series about Tokyo crime gangs.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jul 29, 2024

Japan TV can catch 'Shogun' wave, says 'Like A Dragon' star

Kento Kaku says it is important for Japan to seize the opportunity to create more shows that are recognized internationally.
Samsung has won the long-awaited approval from artificial-intelligence giant Nvidia for a version of its high-bandwidth HBM3 memory chips.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 30, 2024

Samsung begins closing gap in making AI memory chips for Nvidia

The advances that include winning approval from artificial-intelligence giant Nvidia come after months of stumbles for Samsung.
The emphasis on lifting earnings is prompting more Japanese companies to boost investments abroad.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 30, 2024

Japan corporate cleanup fuels appetite for record debt sales

Japanese corporate dollar bonds have been outperforming U.S. peers, and borrowers have piled into the market with record issuance in recent months.
Two people in Tokyo walk past a poster meant to evoke a cooling feeling the summer heat.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 31, 2024

Sunscreen bans, UV-cuts and the language of summer skincare in Japan

Get to know Japanese terms for products that will help you protect your skin in the scorching sun.
Hungary, which has increased its birth rate since 2010, has adopted policies that support those who want or have children, including financial incentives, housing subsidies and better work-life balance.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 31, 2024

Why do young people in Hungary want kids more than in Japan?

Marriage and birth rates are plummeting in Japan, while many young people in Hungary want families thanks to measures that support their choices in life and at work.
Takashi Yuki (left) directs and stars in “Dito” as an aging boxer living in Manila who is reunited with his 17-year-old daughter (Momoko Tanabe, right).
CULTURE / Film
Aug 1, 2024

‘Dito’ aims for authenticity rather than originality

Takashi Yuki’s Philippines-set boxing drama can be corny and it tends to telegraph its punches, but there’s also no denying its charms.
Hakushi Hasegawa places their emotive vocals and dexterous keyboard work at the center of the music on their latest album, “Mahogakko” – reminding listeners that there’s a very human presence at the controls.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 2, 2024

Electronic wiz Hakushi Hasegawa pulls back the curtain

The musician's latest album, “Mahogakko,” strikes a delicate balance between the dazzling and the downright baffling.
Photographer Gaku Lange says Japan's film photography scene is growing, but it still lags behind overseas communities.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Aug 5, 2024

Looking at Japan’s ‘tribal’ photography scene through a new lens

More young people in Tokyo are ditching smartphones for film cameras, but the old guard isn't necessarily pleased about it.
Bluesky is booming in Japan — mainly for reasons other than U.S. politics
According to Similarweb, average monthly user numbers for Bluesky on Android in Japan quintupled in the 12 months to October.
Trump pledges 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, deeper levies on China
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, on Nov. 19. Trump on Monday threatened to slap China, Mexico and Canada with hefty tariffs upon his return to the White House.
AI boom makes 139-year-old cable maker Japan’s hottest stock
Fujikura's headquarters in Tokyo's Koto Ward. The company's share price has surged by more than 400% this year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat
Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Kotozakura unburdened by weight of history after claiming first title
Kotozakura speaks during a news conference in Fukuoka on Monday
Bluesky is booming in Japan — mainly for reasons other than U.S. politics
According to Similarweb, average monthly user numbers for Bluesky on Android in Japan quintupled in the 12 months to October.
How Japan can exit the fossil fuel subsidies it can’t seem to quit
A man walks past a gasoline station in Tokyo on Thursday.
Are you leaving your loved ones digital legacies or headaches?
The National Consumer Affairs Center reports a growing number of consultations regarding "digital legacies" — data and online services left behind when people die.
Rayssa Leal and Chloe Covell on Japan’s teen skaters: We are friends, not rivals
Brazil’s Rayssa Leal celebrates after winning the women's Street League Skateboarding competition on Saturday in Tokyo.
An iconic 32-foot doughnut might give Randy’s an edge in Japan
Randy's Donuts in Inglewood, California. Replicas of the giant doughnut sculpture will be installed, where possible, at shops in Japan.

Podcast

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

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
By Greg Dvorak

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