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Despite the potential benefits AI might have for bank customers, like finding the best interest rates, there are concerns about the destabilizing effects it may have on financial stability.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2024

Generative AI is coming for your bank. Maybe.

Tech investors reckon that supersmart agents will soon upend the business model of traditional banks, but there are caveats.
The carp-shaped streamers you see flying in the wind around the start of May are connected to Children's Day. The carp is a symbol of strength and success, which is why it is used in connection to the holiday.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 25, 2024

Getting extremely emotional with grammar ahead of Children's Day

Certain Japanese grammatical structures can help enhance emotions in conversation and writing, conveying the idea of "unbearably."
The Celtics' Jayson Tatum drives the ball against the Cavaliers' Evan Mobley during the third quarter in Game 5 of their playoff series in Boston on Wednesday.
BASKETBALL
May 16, 2024

Celtics finish off Cavs; Mavericks push Thunder to brink

The top-seeded Boston Celtics overpowered the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-98 to reach their third straight Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday.
Artificial chemical scents that come from things like perfume or fabric softener can cause discomfort or even sickness for some individuals.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 7, 2024

Scents and sensitivity: Understanding ‘smell pollution’ in Japan

In the country's crowded urban areas, it is important to be aware of how your deodorant, perfume or fabric softener can affect others.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin leaves a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 4, 2024

China is winning the communications competition

It's a mistake for the U.S. to take for granted that the world sees it as “the good guy” in its competition with China.
Lee Kyoung-hyun, a popular YouTuber shaman, at her shaman parlor in Seoul on May 13
WORLD / Society
Jun 10, 2024

South Korea's young shamans revive ancient tradition with social media

Google Trends shows that searches on YouTube for "shaman" and "fortune-telling" in Korean have nearly doubled over the past five years.
England head coach Gareth Southgate speaks with forward Harry Kane as he comes off during the team's draw against Denmark on Thursday in Frankfurt.
SOCCER
Jun 21, 2024

England is feeling Euro pressure after drab Denmark draw

Southgate's side arrived in Germany as the bookmakers' leading contender to win the tournament, but so far it hasn't met those expectations.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen's National Rally party is expected to win snap parliamentary elections called by French President Emmanuel Macron.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 24, 2024

French elites’ silence on Le Pen is deafening

Despite the economically risky promises of the far right (and far left), France's business leaders are not weighing in on the crucial elections only a week away.
Chipmaker Nvidia’s stellar growth to become the world’s most valuable company masks growing skepticism about AI’s usefulness as a general purpose tool.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2024

Nvidia’s explosive growth masks AI disillusionment

Businesses shouldn't believe tech companies' pitch that AI can solve all problems, everywhere, all at once. Figuring out its niche applications is the recipe for success.
An injured man is brought into the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, following the Israeli bombardment of a residential apartment on June 8.
WORLD
Jun 27, 2024

U.S. health workers describe dire conditions at Gaza's hospitals

A lack of supplies meant many had to make agonizing decisions on who would live and who would die.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington in April. Both leaders face an uphill battle to stay at the helm of their respective parties and countries.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 10, 2024

Japan too is wrestling with a flawed leader

Questions about election prospects plague Biden in the U.S. and Kishida in Japan, with both trying to hang on to their commanding positions despite growing discontent.
The students at Mitaka Municipal No. 7 Junior High School have access to various cooling devices for when they play sports.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / Longform
Jul 26, 2024

Japan's extreme heat is causing a rethink of school sports

At risk of sunburns and heatstroke, principals across Japan are trying to protect students' health as well as their athletic opportunities.
Simone Biles reacts after her balance beam routine during the women's all-around final at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Aug 2, 2024

Peerless Simone Biles wins second Olympic all-around title

Brazilian Rebeca Andrade earned silver for the second straight Games and defending champion Sunisa Lee of the United States finished with bronze.
Americans Simone Biles (left) and Jordan Chiles (right) bow toward Brazil's Rebeca Andrade after Andrade won gold in the floor exercise event at the Paris Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Aug 6, 2024

Brazil's Rebeca Andrade gets her moment of glory after long wait

After playing second fiddle to American superstar Simone Biles for the past week, Brazil's Rebeca Andrade finally rose to the top of the podium.
Polina Oba enjoys the food in Fukuoka, but still finds herself traveling to Tokyo often as that’s where most of the decision-makers are based. 
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 12, 2024

Polina Oba: ‘Try quick, fail quick, learn quick and you need to always pivot’

Networking is at the core of Polina Oba's GourmetPro startup. Not only is it great meeting new people but you'll never know where those connections may lead.
Yuzuki Komiya (left) competes in the first national high school sumo tournament for girls in Tachikawa, western Tokyo, on Saturday.
SUMO
Aug 14, 2024

Women's sumo takes big step forward with first high school championships

Athletes from all over the country took part in the historic meet, with many expressing hope that the tournament would lead to greater exposure for women’s sumo.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is being held in France in a preliminary investigation into alleged offenses including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and promotion of terrorism.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 28, 2024

Durov's Telegram: 'Weapon of war' under increased scrutiny

Both Russia and Ukraine use Telegram, known for its encryption, with Russian troops even relying on the messaging app in the battlefield.
McLaren driver Lando Norris during the Italian Formula One Grand Prix in Monza, Italy, on Sunday
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 2, 2024

McLaren boss says both F1 titles now on and orders may follow

McLaren is only eight points behind Red Bull in the constructors' standings.
The U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Sep 10, 2024

U.S. House passes bill to blacklist some China biotech firms

China hawks in the U.S. House passed legislation that would blacklist Chinese biotech companies and their U.S. subsidiaries.
Before Shohei Ohtani created the 50-50 club on Thursday, just two players in MLB history had hit 50 homers and stolen 50 bases in a season, but not in the same one.
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 21, 2024

Others who had 50 steals or 50 homers admire Ohtani's feat

Before Shohei Ohtani created the 50-50 club on Thursday, just two players in MLB history had hit 50 homers and stolen 50 bases in a season, but not in the same one.
A climbing wall at a kindergarten in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture. The sport has been on the rise in Japan, mainly due to the popularity it gained from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and new climbing walls are popping all over the place.
MORE SPORTS / Sport climbing
Sep 24, 2024

People of all ages and sizes scale new heights amid climbing boom in Japan

The sport gained a boost from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and new climbing walls are popping up all over the place.
Japan's flag flies at half mast at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Thursday after a Japanese schoolboy was stabbed to death in the southern city of Shenzhen.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 24, 2024

The death of a Japanese school student: Is this just a tip of an iceberg?

Despite the fact that an innocent 10-year-old boy was brutally murdered, the reaction of the Japanese government and media was predictably restrained.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner ahead of a practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 25, 2024

Red Bull building back from Monza low point, Horner says

While McLaren believes the drivers' championship is on, the mathematical reality is that Norris still has a mountain to climb.
Digital minister Taro Kono, who is contesting the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, shows a board saying "accomplishment of reformation" during a debate in Tokyo on Sept. 14.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 25, 2024

How Taro Kono lost his mojo

Recent polls have shown the digital minister trailing behind his eight other rivals in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race.
Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman celebrates after hitting a grand slam home run in the 10th inning against the New York Yankees during game one of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 26, 2024

Dodgers' deja vu: Freddie Freeman mimics Kirk Gibson's homer heroics in Game 1 win

Down 3-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning, the Dodgers' Freddie Freeman ended the game in dramatic fashion, smacking a walk-off grand slam.
Gary Perlman has developed a kabuki adaptation of “Madame Butterfly” that he hopes will be performed 100 years from now.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 7, 2024

Gary Perlman: ‘Kabuki is pure entertainment … the characters and themes are universal’

In adapting "Madame Butterfly" for kabuki, the man behind the production hopes to reframe the tale with stronger female characters.
Outgoing German Finance Minister Christian Lindner receives his dismissal certificate after being sacked by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, following a coalition crisis in the government, in Berlin on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2024

Germany’s government puts itself out of its misery

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sacked his Finance Minister Christian Lindner over deep rifts within the government on how to revive Germany’s ailing economy.
Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal celebrates after closing out an inning during Detroit's playoff series with Cleveland last month.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 21, 2024

Braves' Chris Sale and Tigers' Tarik Skubal collect Cy Young honors

Both left-handers won the pitching Triple Crown and were the clear favorites in Cy Young Award voting.
While the U.S. referenced China 20 times in its October announcement of semiconductor export controls targeting Chinese companies, Japan has chosen broad equipment controls not specifically aimed at its bigger neighbor.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2023

As Japan aligns with U.S. chip curbs on China, some in Tokyo feel uneasy

Tokyo remains worried that targeting China will provoke damaging retaliation, such as a ban on Japanese electric cars.
Like other martial arts, aikido takes the concept of 気 (ki, spirit/mind) and incorporates it into the philosophy of the sport.  
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 28, 2023

Physically, spiritually and linguistically speaking, 'ki' is all around us

Often used to mean energy or spirit, the Japanese word "ki" can be seen in many different types of idioms and phrases.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?