Search - new

 
 
The Kia Tigers' cheerleaders a racking up millions of views on social media with one of their dance routines.
BASEBALL
Aug 29, 2024

Korean baseball team's cheerleaders taking over TikTok with viral dance

The dance has spawned numerous imitators, who, smitten by the cutesy number and its accompanying ear worm, mimic the cheerleaders’ blank stares and hip swivels.
Wang Yi, the director of the Communist Party's Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office (right), speaks before talks with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan at Yanqi Lake in Beijing on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2024

U.S. and China agree to leaders’ call but keep talking past each other

Although the two sides agreed to a "leader-level call" in the coming weeks, disagreements on the most contentious issues suggest ties will remain rocky.
Former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is the second CDP lawmaker to join the leadership contest after party veteran Yukio Edano announced his decision to run last week.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 29, 2024

Noda announces CDP leadership bid with eye on a comeback for the opposition

The former prime minister emphasized that a certain degree of experience is required to tackle the challenges Japan is facing.
A poll shows that many Israelis support expanding the war to confront Hezbollah in Lebanon, though this poses risks of involving Iran and other international actors.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2024

Should Israel want a bigger conflict with Iran now?

A poll shows that many Israelis support expanding the war to confront Hezbollah, though this poses risks of involving Iran and other international actors.
Waves break against protecting walls as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Keelung, Taiwan, on July 24.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 29, 2024

Climate change fueled deadly Typhoon Gaemi, study finds

Typhoon Gaemi's wind speeds were 7% more intense due to human-caused climate change, and its rainfall was 14% heavier in Taiwan and 9% heavier in Hunan.
Although Truvada has been used globally as an HIV prevention drug for years, the movement toward expanding its use as preexposure prophylaxis in Japan has been slow.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 29, 2024

Health ministry approves Truvada as HIV prevention drug

Truvada is the first drug approved in Japan for both the treatment and prevention of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2024

Japan raises view of economy for first time in 15 months

The Cabinet Office said in its August report that the economy is recovering at a moderate pace, and only parts of it are pausing.
Toyota Motor's global sales — including subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors — rose 0.7% to 924,918 units in July.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2024

Toyota sales overcome U.S. woes for first growth in six months

Toyota Motor’s sales eked out growth for the first time in six months on strong demand in Europe and Japan.
Tomy's "Photogenic LiccA" dress-up dolls are exhibited at the International Tokyo Toy Show 2024 that opened Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2024

Toys targeting 'kidults' featured at Tokyo Toy Show 2024

About 35,000 toy items from 190 Japanese and foreign companies are being showcased at International Tokyo Toy Show 2024.
Verdi took some time to warm up to ARK volunteers, but you'd never know to watch him now.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Sep 2, 2024

Verdi is looking for a home as affectionate as him

No wallflower, Verdi has proved himself a star among ARK personnel.
Since arriving in Japan, Adrian Bianco has dedicated himself to exploring the country’s many subcultures at the website sabukaru.online.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 30, 2024

Adrian Bianco: ‘Leaving your comfort zone keeps you alive’

Upon relocating in Tokyo after a stint with the Vice empire in Germany, Adrian Bianco has explored Asia's underground via his website Sabukaru Online.
A remote-controlled BurnBot RX1 prototype produces a containment line during a prescribed burn operation in Paicines, California, on Aug. 12.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 30, 2024

Robots are starting (good) fires in California

BurnBot's robot keeps combustion within its burning chamber, where propane torches and air blowers bring flame temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius.
Naomi Osaka hits a return against Karolina Muchova during the second round of the U.S. Open in New York on Thursday.
TENNIS
Aug 30, 2024

Naomi Osaka reflects after losing to Karolina Muchova in second round of U.S. Open

Osaka, who won the title in 2018 and 2020, missed last year's edition after the birth of her daughter.
Chung Pui-kuen, the former chief editor of now-shuttered Hong Kong pro-democracy news outlet Stand News, leaves the district court in Hong Kong on Thursday after he was found guilty of conspiracy to publish seditious materials.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 30, 2024

Hong Kong editors convicted of sedition in blow to press freedom

Local news outlets in Hong Kong already self-censor to survive and some foreign news organizations have left or moved out staff.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris applauds during a campaign event in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

Harris widens lead over Trump with boost from women and Hispanics

Harris leads Trump 45% to 41% in the poll published Thursday.
Ukrainian F-16 jets. Ukraine received its first batch of F-16s this summer after the country’s leaders argued to the White House and allies in Europe for many months that they were essential to the war effort.
WORLD
Aug 30, 2024

F-16 fighter jet, recently supplied to Ukraine, crashes

The jet, one of just a handful, crashed while defending against a large Russian aerial assault on Monday, killing the pilot, Ukraine’s military said.
Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris waves during a campaign rally in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

In CNN interview excerpts, Harris defends ideological shift to center

In her interview, Kamala Harris sought to stake out political ground that would appeal to swing voters even as she assured progressive supporters she was still with them.
Sahra Wagenknecht (center), the leader of left-wing party BSW, stands on stage with members after being sprayed with red paint during a campaign event for the upcoming state elections, in Erfurt, eastern Germany, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

Far-left rebel seeking peace with Putin rocks German politics

Sahra Wagenknecht, 55, also calls for an end to the government's support for Ukraine and a radical crackdown on immigration.
Attendees play the For All Time mobile game on smartphones at the NetEase Games booth at the Tokyo Game Show in the city of Chiba in September last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 30, 2024

Tencent and NetEase rethink Japan approach as game strategy stalls

The companies are reconsidering or scaling back many of their investments in Japanese studios, after years of spending yielded few hit games.
The number of children on nursery waiting lists as of April dropped 4.2% from a year before, marking the lowest level since records began in 1994.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 30, 2024

Number of children on nursery waiting lists in Japan hits new low

The figure apparently reflects a decrease in the number of preschool children, stemming from the country's low birth rate.
The Foreign Ministry in Tokyo
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

Japan's Foreign Ministry seeks ¥66.2 billion to fight false info

The total amount of funds sought in the budget request for fiscal 2025 is ¥814.6 billion, up 12.3% from the initial budget for the previous year.
The protagonist of “The Colors Within” is Totsuko (voiced by Sayu Suzukawa), a cheerful young woman who views the world in a unique way: Everyone she sees gives off their own distinct color that represents their personality.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 30, 2024

'The Colors Within' tunes into everyday moments of love

Director Naoko Yamada's new anime film, which explores themes of acceptance and communication without words, was born from a creative relationship of complete trust.
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Zibqin, in southern Lebanon, on Sunday. AFP-JIJI
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2024

The Middle East remains on a precipice

Israel's retaliations in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran have not led to a wider conflict. But neither Iran nor its proxies seem eager to expand the fighting either.
Digital minister Taro Kono announces his intention to run in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Aug 30, 2024

Is Kono, the only faction-backed candidate to lead LDP, still a maverick?

It's unclear whether his recent call for the return of slush funds pocketed by former faction members represents his true beliefs or a strategic move.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito (center) attends a session before a prefectural assembly investigative panel on Friday in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 30, 2024

Hyogo governor sidesteps accusations of workplace bullying

In the wake of the deaths of two prefectural officials, Gov. Motohiko Saito told an investigative panel that he may have been a "strict boss."
Yoko Ogawa’s latest novel to be translated into English, “Mina’s Matchbox,” is like a playground for the author’s interest in particular details: the subtleties of striking matches, playing volleyball and searching for typos, to name a few.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 1, 2024

Yoko Ogawa's 'Mina’s Matchbox' sparkles with quiet intimacy

The latest novel in translation from one of Japan's most eclectic writers leans toward magical realism while reveling in the minutiae of an affluent family's life.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Aug. 14.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2024

Kishida to skip U.N. General Assembly speech during U.S. visit

Kishida would be the first Japanese prime minister to skip a general debate speech since September 2007.
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown (left), Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele (second left), Tongan Prime Minister Hu'akavameiliku (second right) and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Baron Waqa, announce the Pacific Resilience Facility decision at a meeting in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 31, 2024

Pacific bloc scrubs Taiwan from document after China complaint

A new joint declaration by Pacific leaders was reissued Saturday morning after China slammed an earlier version as a "mistake" that "must be corrected."
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump dances during a campaign rally at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania,  on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 31, 2024

Trump moves to contain fallout of abortion and IVF rows

The ex-president has been under fire from conservatives over an announcement that in a second term he would ensure free in vitro fertilization.
China's Xia Zhou celebrates after crossing the line to win gold in the women's T35 100-meter final on Friday at the Paris Paralympics.
PARALYMPICS
Aug 31, 2024

China extends lead in Paralympic medals table after track success

The Chinese, who have topped the medal standings at every Paralympics since Athens in 2004, finished the second day of competition with 12 gold.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.