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Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 29, 2025

Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air

Linking mountainous Matsumoto and coastal Kanazawa, this clunkily named route includes nonetheless fantastic sites.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (left) meets with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Malacanang palace in Manila on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 28, 2025

U.S. to deploy more advanced defense capabilities to Philippines

The move comes as Washington seeks to reassure its oldest treaty ally in Asia of its “ironclad” defense commitment amid heightened tensions with China.
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.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (left) and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo ahead of their talks Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 30, 2025

In Tokyo, Pentagon chief provides assurances that Japan-U.S. alliance remains robust

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described Japan as an “indispensable partner” in confronting China and sought to dispel lingering unease in Tokyo.
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.
Rescue personnel work at the site of a building that collapsed following a strong earthquake, in Bangkok on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 30, 2025

In Bangkok, grim vigils as people seek word of relatives at collapsed building

Eight bodies were recovered from the scene Friday but only one Saturday.
Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Mar 31, 2025

The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan

A growing industry quietly erases the final traces of those who die alone, exposing deep societal fractures.
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 31, 2025

A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime

Since 2009, Ken Theriault has been keeping himself busy maintaining Costco's American charm and catering to the needs of the Japanese consumer as the wholesaler's boss in Japan.
Anxieties about inflation, debt and the U.S. dollar’s stability — combined with high gold prices — are fueling renewed skepticism, raising the possibility of a Fort Knox audit to confirm if America's gold is still there.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2025

What’s fueling America's gold bar conspiracy

The U.S. is right where it needs to be for Trump and Musk to tap into a decades-old fear about the country’s precious bullion stored in Fort Knox.
Shohei Ohtani jerseys displayed for sale at an MLB pop-up store in Tokyo on March 6.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 1, 2025

Dodgers' Ohtani has most popular jersey in MLB

The reigning National League MVP has led sales in the U.S., Japan and globally for 18 consecutive months
A drone view shows a coffee plantation in Guaxupe, Brazil, on Feb. 17.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 1, 2025

Brazil's coffee farmers turn to costly irrigation to quench global demand for the brew

Most farms in the western part of Bahia — a new frontier for coffee growing in Brazil — are now irrigated.
Nottingham Forest midfielder Anthony Elanga (right) runs to score the opening goal during an English Premier League match against Manchester United in Nottingham, England, on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Apr 2, 2025

Elanga wonder-goal sinks Man Utd as Forest eye Champions League berth

Forest are within touching distance of reaching the Champions League for the first time since 1980-81.
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Apr 2, 2025

A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers

Syndicates are increasingly targeting middle- to upper-class individuals from across the world through something as harmless as online video games.
Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, speaks to reporters after surpassing the record for the longest Senate speech at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD
Apr 2, 2025

Cory Booker condemns Trump’s policies in longest senate speech on record

Cheers broke out in the chamber when the senator passed Strom Thurmond's record for longest speech.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 3, 2025

At summit, NATO eyes growing industrial collaboration with Asian partners

The summit comes as the military alliance seeks to step up ties with its Indo-Pacific partners.
New students of the University of Tokyo attend an entrance ceremony at the Budokan Hall in Tokyo in April 2023.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2025

Half of college students in Japan worry about living costs

Some students have said they refrain from buying things more often than they have previously.
Seiji Adachi, a former member of the Bank of Japan's Policy Board, says there is a chance of a May rate hike.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 3, 2025

Ex-board member who just left BOJ sees chance of May rate hike

Seiji Adachi, whose five-year term ended last week, said he would probably vote for a rate hike in the central bank's May meeting if one was proposed.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Wednesday. The return of scandal-tainted Liberal Democratic Party members could make life tougher for Ishiba within the party.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 3, 2025

Ishiba to face more political headaches with return of scandal-hit LDP members

For an already-unpopular administration, the return of party members implicated in a slush funds scandal will create further political headaches.
Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda speaks during a news conference for the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Apr 3, 2025

Yuki Tsunoda feeling relaxed ahead of blockbuster Red Bull debut 

The veteran of 89 Formula One races appeared at ease in his new colors, exuding the quiet confidence that he’s had since making his debut in the series in 2021.
The community pool is a great place for exercise and meeting your neighbors.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 31, 2023

Figuring out the rules at a Japanese community pool can be an ongoing education

If you’re headed for the community pool, be prepared: Japanese pool rules are an ongoing education.
The mushroom cloud caused by the Trinity nuclear test is seen on July 16, 1945. A new study, released on Thursday ahead of submission to a scientific journal for peer review, shows that the cloud and its fallout went farther than anyone in the Manhattan Project had imagined in 1945.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 22, 2023

Trinity nuclear test’s fallout reached 46 states, Canada and Mexico, study finds

The research shows that the first atomic bomb explosion’s effects had been underestimated, and could help more “downwinders” press for federal compensation.
Max Verstappen leaves the podium with his broken trophy after the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix in Mogyorod, Hungary, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Jul 24, 2023

Max Verstappen dominates field to win Hungarian Grand Prix by wide margin

Verstappen's 44th career win was the ninth in 11 races so far this season for the Dutchman and his seventh in a row.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 26, 2023

A tale of two Fujis: Bullet climbs, crowds and Lizzo

With the borders fully open, Mount Fuji is all booked up and Fuji Rock is back in full force. Drew Damron and Patrick St. Michel join us on the podcast to discuss Japan’s two favorite Fujis.
Yoshiko Hara (left) plays basketball with members of her Fukushima Club basketball team.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jul 31, 2023

Pioneer in basketball for disabled people looks to inclusiveness

Through basketball, Yoshiko Hara aims to have players in her club acquire physical strength and stamina, as well as learn about group rules and manners.
Contrary to some news reports, the movie "Oppenheimer," starring (left to right) Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh, has not been banned in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 27, 2023

'Oppenheimer' spurs debate on the atomic bombings

Christopher Nolan’s biopic has triggered a debate on the rights and wrongs of dropping the bomb. It could lead to a more useful discussion in Japan — assuming it’s ever released here.
Cameron Lew, the 27-year-old behind the California-based music project Ginger Root, crafted a detailed city-pop-inspired universe with a 1980s idol storyline for last year’s “Nisemono” album.
CULTURE / Music
Jul 28, 2023

Ginger Root's modern spin on Showa nostalgia

The California-based project is set to bring its distinct interpretation of city pop to Fuji Rock Festival this weekend.
Australia's Cameron McEvoy (right) and France's Florent Manaudou compete in the men's 50-meter freestyle heats during the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka on Friday.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 28, 2023

Cameron McEvoy hails dawning of new golden era of Australian swimming

McEvoy said this year's "exceptional" vintage was on par with the best the country had ever produced.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Jul 28, 2023

Atsuki Taneichi set to step into spotlight in Roki Sasaki's absence

Taneichi is often overlooked because he pitches in the same rotation as Roki Sasaki, but the 24-year-old righty is a solid pitcher in his own right.

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