Search - 2019

 
 
The town of Futaba is still dealing with the effects of 3/11, but that isn't stopping some residents from looking forward.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 7, 2024

Futaba pivots to 'hope tourism' to revive its fortunes

Whether you’re a long-term resident of Japan or flying in for a holiday, the message is clear: Futaba welcomes you.
Koichi Katsumata is the first chef to receive a Michelin star in Japan for an 'assiette dessert' (dessert course) restaurant
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 8, 2024

Welcome to Yama, Japan’s first Michelin-starred dessert restaurant

“We don’t just serve food — we serve memories, stories and a sense of place,” says chef Koichi Katsumata.
Passengers at the check-in counters of Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Jan. 3. The average budget for domestic trips during the upcoming year-end and New Year holiday period is estimated to hit a record high for the second straight year.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2024

Domestic travel budget for holiday period projected to hit record

The increase reflects soaring accommodation costs and growing demand for travel to distant destinations, JTB said.
The Topix and the yen have been largely moving independently over the past two months, shifting away from Japanese stocks’ past tendency to rise on a weaker yen.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 6, 2024

Cheap yen boost for Japan’s stocks shrinks to nil on hawkish BOJ

The Topix and the yen have been largely moving independently over the past two months.
Miho Nakayama rose to stardom in 1985 after the release of her first single “C,” which established her popularity as an idol.
CULTURE
Dec 9, 2024

Miho Nakayama, known for 'Love Letter' and her music, dies at 54

Nakayama had a solo Christmas show scheduled in Osaka on Friday, but had canceled the show in the morning, citing health reasons.
Starbucks Coffee Japan will replace paper straws with plant-based biomass plastic straws from next month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 6, 2024

Starbucks in Japan to ditch paper straws for plant-based biomass plastic in 2025

The coffee company says the new straws are fully biodegradable in seawater and soil, and will not soften like paper ones.
Crowds gather in front of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Friday, a day ahead of its official reopening.
WORLD
Dec 7, 2024

Notre-Dame Cathedral reopens on Saturday, five years after fire

The 860-year-old medieval cathedral has been meticulously restored, with a new spire and rib vaulting.
Makoto Uchida, President and CEO of Nissan, holds a press briefing at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 in Tokyo on Oct. 25, 2023. Uchida is under presser to deliver a turnaround and to keep his job at the troubled carmaker.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 8, 2024

Nissan boss Uchida races to save the automaker — and his job

Makoto Uchida is under pressure to reverse Nissan’s fortunes after years of turmoil following the 2018 arrest of former chairman Carlos Ghosn.
Yankees outfielder Juan Soto hits a solo home run against the Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series in Los Angeles on Oct. 26. Soto reportedly agreed to a contract with the New York Mets on Sunday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 9, 2024

Star slugger Juan Soto to join Mets on record deal worth $765 million

None of the money in the deal is deferred, and the contract could end up being worth over $800 million.
Destruction left in the wake of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine in the city of Hulyaipole, in the country's Zaporizhzhia region, in September 2022
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2024

Does a savage war of partition await Ukraine?

Donald Trump appears bent on striking a “peace” deal with Russia that involves Ukraine’s dismemberment.
Students at Hiroshima University’s School of Dentistry offer silent prayers for the donors of bodies before they practice anatomy on the cadavers in late October.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Chugoku
Dec 16, 2024

In death, body donors become silent teachers for medical students

Practical training on cadavers significantly increases the understanding of the human body, says one professor.
Yurie Collins is a bilingual comedian based in Tokyo. In addition to being a prize-winning roast comic, her dating-themed "Tokyo Hoe Tales" shows have proven to be a hit with women of all nationalities.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 10, 2024

Yurie Collins: ‘Everyone seems sedated, fed-up … that’s why they turn to comedy’

Yurie Collins is a bicultural stand-up comedian who has opened for comedian Atsuko Okatsuka and the upcoming Iliza Shlesinger show in Tokyo.
Roki Sasaki delivers a pitch during the first inning of the World Baseball Classic semifinal against Mexico in Miami in March 2023.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 10, 2024

45-day negotiation window set to begin as Marines post Roki Sasaki

The right-handed flamethrower has until 7 a.m. (JST) on Jan. 24 to sign with an MLB team.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to a press conference in Jerusalem on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 10, 2024

Netanyahu to take the stand in his corruption trial for the first time

Charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, Netanyahu will testify three times a week, despite the war in Gaza.
The French headquarters of Huawei Technologies in Boulogne-Billancourt near Paris in 2020. Companies that maintain business ties with Huawei could lose access to work for the Pentagon, which committed nearly $460 billion on contracts in fiscal 2023.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 10, 2024

Huawei suppliers to face further U.S. limits under defense bill

The bill's language effectively bars Pentagon contractors from selling chips and the equipment for making or designing them to Huawei or its affiliates.
A person holds a sign while standing on the roadside near the McDonald's restaurant where a suspect in the killing of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, identified as Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Monday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 10, 2024

Killing of UnitedHealthcare exec ignites patient anger over insurance

The attack called fresh attention to deepening frustrations faced by Americans in their struggle to receive and pay for medical care.
The defense lawyer of Kentaro Kitagawa, former head of the osaka District Public Prosecutors Office, speaks at a news conference on Tuesday in Osaka City.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 10, 2024

Former chief prosecutor of Osaka to plead not guilty over rape in shift

During his first trial hearing in October, Kentaro Kitagawa said he would not contest the rape allegation, expressing deep remorse.
“Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron" provides an in-depth look into the octogenarian auteur’s creative process and personal reflections.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 11, 2024

‘Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron’ documentary meditates on auteur's creativity and legacy

Filmed with unparalleled access to Studio Ghibli, director Kaku Arakawa captures the vulnerability and genius behind master animator Hayao Miyazaki’s latest feature.
A firefighter sprays water as the Franklin Fire burns in Malibu, California, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Dec 11, 2024

Malibu fire explodes in size and forces thousands to evacuate

The Franklin fire has swelled to more than 2,700 acres and remained completely out of control as of Tuesday afternoon.
In 2024, Scottie Scheffler won seven PGA Tour events, including the Masters, and took home the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Dec 11, 2024

Scheffler voted PGA Tour Player of the Year for third straight time

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are the only players beside Scheffler to win the award three or more times.
The United Steelworkers union claims that Nippon Steel's latest offer is tantamount to bribery.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 11, 2024

Union blasts Nippon Steel’s $5,000 per worker bonus in U.S. Steel deal

The United Steelworkers called Nippon Steel's move “a classic union-busting tactic” and a “desperate attempt to win over support for its doomed acquisition.”
People in the U.S. live with illness for 12.4 years on average — up from 10.9 years in 2000, according to a study published by the American Medical Association.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 12, 2024

Americans spend more years sick than rest of world, study finds

Mental and substance-use disorders are the biggest factors to blame in the U.S., along with musculoskeletal diseases.
Fans in Saudi Arabia celebrate after the nation was confirmed as host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 12, 2024

Saudi Arabia awarded 2034 FIFA World Cup despite human rights concerns

FIFA also confirmed that Morocco, Spain and Portugal will be joint hosts of the 2030 World Cup, in which three games will also be played in South America.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands ahead of their bilateral meeting during the Group of 20 leaders summit in Osaka in June 2019.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 12, 2024

Trump invites Xi to attend inauguration, report says

The invitation signals an effort by Trump to court his Chinese counterpart on the heels of threats of fresh tariffs against China.
A protester wears a mask depicting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during a rally calling for his impeachment, in Seoul, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / ANALYSIS
Dec 12, 2024

South Korea's soft power gains at risk from extended political crisis

How the country — a top global destination for medical and plastic surgery tourism — gets through the period of uncertainty will impact foreign visitor numbers.
A projection mapping display illuminates the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building during a tourism promotion event in April.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 13, 2024

20 LDP Tokyo assembly members underreported fundraising party sales

A similar scandal involving slush funds from unreported fundraising party revenues has plagued LDP parliament members.
A man checks a tunnel found under a mosque in Tadamon district, which is littered with bones, in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 13, 2024

At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors and seek answers

After Bashar Assad's ouster, residents hope the site in Damascus' Tadamon district can be cordoned off for those responsible to be held accountable.
The Mets' Juan Soto poses for photos at Citi Field in New York on Thursday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 13, 2024

Juan Soto hoping to build dynasty with Mets

Mets fans are eager to see their team end a World Series championship drought that stretches back to 1986.
Carlos Sainz finished second for Ferrari at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Dec 12, 2024

Carlos Sainz motivated by new challenge with Williams

Sainz jumped in his Williams car for end-of-season testing on Tuesday, and posted the second-fastest time behind Charles Leclerc.

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition