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A 24-year-old convenience store worker (Erika Karata) is drawn out of her shell thanks to a renewed friendship in “When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty.”
CULTURE / Film
Dec 21, 2023

‘When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty’: Hidden strengths emerge despite daily grind

With an unhurried pace, Yuho Ishibashi’s drama quietly portrays the pressures of modern work culture and the importance of friendships.
LGBTQ activists take part in a protest in Moscow.
WORLD / Society
Dec 21, 2023

LGBTQ+ Russians ask: Should I stay or should I go?

Rights activists fear the ruling could open the door to arrests and prosecutions.
Holiday classic "Tokyo Godfathers" centers on three homeless people who have formed a makeshift family.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 23, 2023

Satoshi Kon’s unexpected anime classic for the holidays

The late director and animator's "Tokyo Godfathers" celebrates 20 years with new screenings.
A young woman (Hana Sugisaki) slips through the cracks of Japan’s family register system in “Ichiko.”
CULTURE / Film
Dec 24, 2023

‘Ichiko’: Hana Sugisaki transfixes with career-high performance

Akihiro Toda’s impressive drama shows different sides of its slippery protagonist without passing judgment.
The Rev. Munther Isaac lights a candle next to an improvised crèche in Bethlehem on Dec. 13. The baby Jesus is lying not in a makeshift cradle of hay and wood, but among the rubble of broken bricks, stones and tiles that represent Gaza’s destruction.
WORLD / Society
Dec 24, 2023

‘God is under the rubble in Gaza’: Bethlehem’s subdued Christmas

The Israel-Hamas war has cast a pall over the birthplace of Jesus.
Watanabe has made shapes of (from left) a monkey, an elephant and a giraffe by folding oak leaves with his hands.
CULTURE / Art / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jan 8, 2024

Kumamoto artist embodies re-evaluation of 'outsider art’ in Japan

Dubbed a "genius autistic paper cutout artist," Yoshihiro Watanabe's works are now being alongside those by trained artists.
A Ukrainian soldier looks out from a tank as he holds his position near to the town of Bakhmut, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, on Dec. 13.
COMMENTARY / The Year Ahead
Dec 28, 2023

The battles Ukraine has already won

Many of the nation's key victories began long before Russia’s latest assault.
An Afghan woman holds her newborn child at a maternity hospital in Khost, Afghanistan. According to the latest World Health Organization figures, from 2017, 638 women die in Afghanistan for every 100,000 viable births, compared with 19 in the United States.
WORLD / Society
Dec 28, 2023

For women in Afghanistan, every birth carries heavy risks

Afghanistan is among the worst countries in the world for deaths in childbirth, "with one woman dying every two hours," according to the U.N.
A woman points at a Glock handgun during the annual National Rifle Association convention in Dallas in 2018.
WORLD / Society
Dec 28, 2023

Gaston Glock, inventor of cult guns, dies at 94

His gun, wielded by police and outlaws alike, certainly made its mark worldwide, matched by few other weapons.
A Khudi Bari tiny home in Char Shildaha, Bangladesh
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 30, 2023

Bangladesh's tiny houses tackle giant flood challenge

The Khudi Bari — resilient tiny homes made on bamboo stilts rising out of the floodwaters that are also easy to move to safer locations when needed — offers hope to millions.
Aleksandra Popova, an activist whose husband was a co-defendant in Yegor Shtovba's trial, outside Butyrka prison in Moscow on Dec. 21. Shtovba, who has spent the past 15 months in pretrial detention, married Nadezhda Shtovba last month in a short ceremony in a prison in downtown Moscow.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 2, 2024

Young love meets Russian repression. They said ‘I do’ in a Moscow prison.

Nadezhda Shtovba did not wear a white dress to her wedding. She and her husband did not exchange wedding bands either — rings are banned in Butyrka prison.
Wrestlers with the Shikoroyama stable after a training session in Tokyo late last month.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 3, 2024

Opportunities abound for sumo's governing body as centenary nears

Much progress has been made in Japan’s national sport in recent years, but there's still work to be done to better cater to foreign fans.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands inside an enclosure for defendants during a court hearing on espionage charges in Moscow on Oct. 10.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2024

Remember the world’s political prisoners. One could be you.

Hostage diplomacy and arbitrary arrests by autocratic governments are a growing threat.
Tsumugi-nen is artificial intelligence talent agency Pictoria's most popular AI Vtuber that has garnered thousands of fans through her content, including streaming for five days straight — something a human can not do.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 5, 2024

Is AI a friend or foe of the Japanese entertainment industry?

While proponents tap the technology's potential, others are worried about the possibility of losing their jobs.
Fiction such as Asako Yuzuki’s “Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder” and nonfiction like Robert Whiting’s "Gamblers, Fraudsters, Dreamers & Spies: The Outsiders who Shaped Modern Japan” are just a taste of 2024's exciting releases.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 11, 2024

Anticipated translations and books about Japan to brighten your 2024

From debut novels to classic crime thrillers, the year ahead promises a wealth of must-read titles to add to your reading list.
Clara Kumagai’s young adult debut, “Catfish Rolling,” follows a teenager who lost her mother during a major earthquake caused by the movements of a powerful catfish, which fractured Japan into different “time zones.”
CULTURE / Books
Jan 13, 2024

Genre-defying novel 'Catfish Rolling' navigates grief in a fractured land

Mixing folklore, science and philosophy with magical realism, Clara Kumagai’s impressive young adult debut explores the emotional aftermath of a powerful earthquake.
China's economy grew 5.2% last year, more than most major economies. But for many in the country, the world's second-largest economy feels like it's shrinking.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 18, 2024

For many in China, the economy feels like it is in recession

A crisis of confidence is keeping Chinese consumers from spending and businesses in the world's second-largest economy from hiring and investing.
The concerns over artificial intelligence have parallels with historical apocalyptic movements, which have often been exploited for political purposes.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2024

AI apocalypse now? Only in our fevered dreams

The real question is why are cataclysmic prophets sometimes attract big followings. Understanding this can help us avoid the paths they may lead us down.
Aryna Sabalenka with the winner's trophy on Sunday, a day after she defended her Australian Open title.
TENNIS
Jan 28, 2024

Sabalenka hails team for adding madness to her method after Melbourne triumph

The Belarusian became the first woman since her compatriot Victoria Azarenka in 2013 to retain the Australian Open title.
International rules governing the ethical conduct of war prohibit the direct targeting of civilians but permit striking military targets, even when it is known that the strikes will kill some civilians.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2024

The killing of innocents in the Israel-Gaza conflict

Unmasking the true horrors in Hamas' raid into Southern Israel and the Israeli response in Gaza.
Rory McIlroy does not think LIV Golf players who return to the PGA Tour should be punished.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 1, 2024

Rory McIlroy changes tune on punishment for LIV players returning to PGA

Rory McIlroy concedes he has "changed his tune" on the issue of LIV golfers returning to play on the PGA Tour.
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.
“Metallic Rouge” centers on android assassins on Mars and explores classic science fiction tropes like whether robots have souls.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Feb 4, 2024

You're spoiled for choice with new anime to watch this winter

From the fantasy series "Delicious in Dungeon" to the sci-fi offering "Metallic Rouge," nearly 50 new shows are airing this season.
A Beijing court heard Yang Hengjun's trial in secret in May 2021 and the case against him has never been publicly disclosed. He has denied working as a spy for Australia or the United States.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 5, 2024

Beijing court gives Australian writer suspended death sentence

Yang Hengjun had been accused of spying for a country China has not identified and the details of the case against him have not been made public.
Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift arrives for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Feb 5, 2024

Taylor Swift makes Grammys history as women rule music's top honors

Winning for her album "Midnights," Taylor Swift has won the best album prize a total of four times, eclipsing Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.
Opening up to foreign workers may ultimately be Japan’s best hope for stemming a rapid population decline.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 7, 2024

Record 2 million foreign workers are changing the face of Japan

Opening up to job seekers from abroad may ultimately be the country's best hope of stemming a rapid population decline.
Today’s Russia is nothing like the citadel of stability and satisfaction nor the bastion of prosperity that the Kremlin tries to claim it is.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 7, 2024

Preparing Russia for permanent war

Today’s Russia is nothing like the citadel of stability and satisfaction nor the bastion of prosperity that the Kremlin claims it to be.
Kazuyuki and Yuki Shimamoto are the executive chef and head patissier chef at Mimi’s Restaurant and Bar in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 10, 2024

Kazuyuki and Yuki Shimamoto: 'When you make things you love, you naturally just get better at it'

A culinary couple share their thoughts on a career in the kitchen and how they approach life in one of Japan's major tourist towns.
Shiki Nakayama at a snow-covered baseball field in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, last month. Nakayama grew up watching her older brother’s exploits on the diamond and first picked up a bat and ball in elementary school.
BASEBALL
Feb 9, 2024

Meet the Gen Zer in Japan who is forging a path for girls in baseball

For 16-year-old Shiki Nakayama, it's no big deal that she's the only girl on her high school baseball team.
The hippocampus is a part of the brain that controls memory, learning and emotions. Stressful life events such as disasters and terrorist attacks are known to lead to post-traumatic stress disorder and result in its shrinkage.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 9, 2024

Tokyo teens were less stressed during first COVID emergency: study

Increases in the volume of the hippocampus in their brains suggest reduced stress, according to research conducted by the University of Tokyo.

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