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At Japan's top cocktail bars, ice is as important an ingredient as any bottle you'll see on the shelf.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 30, 2025

The cold complexity of 'pure' Japanese cocktail ice

To some Japanese bartenders, the secret to a great cocktail lies not just in the mixologist's skills but also the quality of the ice.
Sachiyo Harada's latest cookbook is filled with simple recipes alongside step-by-step pictures that would make cooking a fuss-free affair for beginners.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 30, 2025

Feast your eyes on 'The Complete Illustrated Guide to Japanese Cooking'

In “The Complete Illustrated Guide to Japanese Cooking,” Sachiyo Harada has put together an uncomplicated book that appeals to both home cooks and seasoned chefs.
A firefighting helicopter carries water during an operation as a wildfire burns in Yeongyang, South Korea, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 28, 2025

South Korea hopes to use break in weather to contain deadly wildfires

At least 28 people have died and more than 45,000 hectares of largely forest land in the country's southeast have been charred or are burning.
Rohingya refugees hold up signs at a camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on March 14.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 28, 2025

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh fear U.S. aid cuts will deepen crisis

The U.S. had been the largest provider of aid to the Rohingya refugees, contributing nearly $2.4 billion since 2017, according to a State Department website.
Kazuki Morohashi showcases rice "kōji" at a Japanese sake fair held in Chongqing, China, in November.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2025

Data science helps sake break into wine-dominated market

To preserve the environment for sake production, some breweries are endeavoring to expand their sales channels overseas.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba emphasizes the need to consider measures to help Japanese companies with financing while the government tries to grasp the entire scope of the impact on the nation’s key industry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 28, 2025

Ishiba pledges measures to protect jobs from Trump’s car tariffs

Ishiba emphasized the need to consider measures to help Japanese companies with financing while the government tries to grasp the entire scope of the tariffs' impact.
Alexandra Eala waves to the fans after her defeat in the semifinals of the Miami Open on Thursday.
TENNIS
Mar 28, 2025

Eala's dream run ends as Pegula sets up final with Sabalenka

In an enthralling battle over nearly 2½ hours, fourth-seeded American Pegula emerged with a 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3 win over Eala.
A screenshot of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Ghibli-style profile picture on X
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2025

Copyright questions loom as ChatGPT's Ghibli-style images go viral

The images raised questions about copyright infringement by OpenAI, which already faces lawsuits regarding the use of source material without permission.
Learning the ropes of Japan’s online marketplaces can yield hidden treasures and also help you freshen up your home or closet from time to time.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Mar 31, 2025

How to navigate Japan’s e-commerce platforms and online flea markets

Looking to refresh your wardrobe or home with the arrival of spring? Check out our tips for how to make the most of Japan’s online marketplaces.
Basilio is believed to be a Kai Ken, one of the six dog breeds native to Japan.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Mar 28, 2025

A tawny Kai Ken discovers his courage

Rescued from a hoarder’s home, Basilio is easing up and learning to enjoy life again.
A guard tower at Manzanar Internment Camp in Independence, California, in July 2013. Nearly 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were removed from their homes on the West Coast by the U.S. Army and sent to Manzanar and nine other internment camps between March 1942 and November 1945.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 26, 2025

Use of wartime powers revives internment camp memories

It took more than 40 years for the U.S. government to officially set the record straight that abusing the Alien Enemies Act during World War II was both illegal and immoral.
Yuki Tejima, who runs the Instagram account booknerdtokyo, hesitated to try her hand at literary translation until she won an award at the International Translation Contest.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 29, 2025

Yuki Tejima's metamorphosis from bookworm to literary translator

An Instagram “bookfluencer” and professional translator for over 10 years, Tejima’s love of books was, strangely enough, a hurdle to working in literary translation.
People gather near a collapsed building in Bangkok on Friday after a strong earthquake.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 28, 2025

Panic on the streets of Bangkok as skyscraper collapses in quake

In the aftermath of the quake, a cloud of dust and debris swept through the streets as panicked residents ran for their lives.
Graduation ceremonies in Japan will usually include a performance of the Japanese national anthem, “Kimigayo.”
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 28, 2025

Attempting the classics: The world of waka poetry

The origins of this poetry style stretch back to at least the seventh century, when one of the emperor's wives composed it at court ceremonies.
Masao Omori, mayor of the city of Okayama, the capital of the western prefecture of the same name, announces that a wildfire there had been contained Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2025

Okayama wildfire contained as Ehime eyes similar declaration

A forest fire in Okayama Prefecture has been contained, officials said, while another wildfire in Ehime Prefecture could also be brought under control early next week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks at a news conference in Kyiv on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 29, 2025

Zelenskyy cautious on dramatically expanded U.S. minerals deal

The U.S. proposal would require Kyiv to send Washington all profit from a fund controlling Ukrainian resources until Ukraine had repaid all U.S. wartime aid, plus interest.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s actions are rekindling long-simmering discussions about whether overseas governments will accelerate efforts to rely less on the dollar.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 29, 2025

Trump is eroding the dollar’s dominance in world markets

The U.S. president's escalating fusillade of tariffs and bid to roll back decades of globalization is shaking confidence in the U.S. currency.
A Chinese H-6 bomber flies east of the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 29, 2025

Satellite images show fresh Chinese bomber deployment in South China Sea

The move was Beijing's latest to assert sovereignty over the hotly disputed atoll in the South China Sea.
Billionaire Elon Musk said the value of his X social media network is $45 billion when including $12 billion of debt, describing his xAI artificial intelligence startup's purchase of X as an all-stock transaction.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 29, 2025

Musk’s xAI startup swallows up X social network in surprise deal

Elon Musk said his xAI artificial intelligence startup has acquired the X platform, which he also controls, at a valuation of $33 billion.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent his condolences to Myanmar and Thailand after a huge earthquake rocked the countries, his office said Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 29, 2025

Japan sends condolences to Myanmar and Thailand after quake

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent a message to Thailand, while Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya sent messages to both Thailand and Myanmar.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney greets colleagues after at a news conference at the Port of Montreal in Montreal on Friday.
WORLD
Mar 29, 2025

Trump and Carney talk about new deal and plan meeting after Canada election

The Canadian election campaign has turned into a contest in which U.S. threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty have become the dominant issue.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance tours the U.S. military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 29, 2025

Vance accuses Denmark of not keeping Greenland safe from Russia and China

He suggested the territory would come to see the benefit of partnering with the U.S., in remarks the Danish prime minister called unfair.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani pose for a photo on Ioto, the far-flung Japanese island known widely as Iwo Jima, on Saturday for an event honoring those who died in bloody fighting there 80 years ago during World War II.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 29, 2025

Pentagon chief joins war memorial ceremony on first visit to Japan

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the alliance with Japan key to peace in the region, a view he said “will continue.”
Gold medalist Alysa Liu (center) is flanked by silver medalist Kaori Sakamoto and bronze medalist Mone Chiba during the medal ceremony for the women's singles event at the World Figure Skating Championships in Boston on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Mar 30, 2025

Resurgent Liu wins women's figure skating world title over Sakamoto

Liu, who walked away from the sport in 2022 at the age of 16 and returned just a year ago, defied the pressure Sakamoto piled on with a brilliant free skate of her own.
Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at a rally in Surrey, British Columbia, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 30, 2025

Trump drama drowns out Canadian Conservatives’ election message

Trump has drowned out the debate on domestic issues with his barrage of tariffs and proclamations that the country should be the 51st U.S. state.
An 81-year-old apple farmer who lost her crop walks past the remains of her neighbors' homes after a wildfire swept through the area, in Andong, South Korea, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 30, 2025

South Korea's 'heartbreaking' wildfires expose superaged society

The inferno has also laid bare South Korea's demographic crisis and regional disparities.
Fluffy, low-hanging clouds generally have a cooling influence. They are big and bright, blocking and bouncing back incoming sunlight.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 30, 2025

Clouds changing as world warms, adding to climate uncertainty

Cloud behavior is notoriously complex to predict and remains a great unknown for scientists trying to accurately forecast future levels of climate change.
Yoshiharu Kanai speaks during an interview in Fuchu, Hiroshima Prefecture, on March 6.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2025

Son of soldier killed on Iwo Jima continues collecting remains

Yoshiharu Kanai, 80, has been working to collect remains for over 20 years, wishing to return them to mainland Japan swiftly.
A meeting of the Lower House Special Committee on Political Reform is held at the Diet in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 30, 2025

Interparty talks sought over Japan corporate donation rules

Officials from the LDP, Komeito and the DPP are stressing the need for continued interparty talks over the issue.
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2025

Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan

The agency warned that large volcanic rocks could reach areas within 4 kilometers of the crater of the volcano, which is located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan