Search - features

 
 
Dul Saroth (left) and Soeum Samrach, deminers with the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority, practice using the Advanced Landmine Imaging System in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province in August.
JAPAN / Longform
Oct 7, 2024

The Japanese tech that could one day make Southeast Asia landmine-free

The Advanced Landmine Imaging System being tested in Cambodia promises to speed up landmine clearance work and save lives.
Players on Nintendo Switch game consoles. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is reportedly weighing deploying more capital to Nintendo and its sector peers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 7, 2024

Nintendo jumps after Saudi fund expresses interest in bigger stake

The Saudi government is keen to mold the kingdom into a global gaming industry player and diversify its oil-heavy portfolio.
A new U.N. report claims that use of the Telegram messaging app by criminal networks in Southeast Asia has enabled a fundamental change in the way organized crime operates.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Oct 8, 2024

Southeast Asian crime networks thriving on Telegram, U.N. reports

Scrutiny of the app has brought attention to the criminal liability of app providers and the debate on where freedom of speech ends and enforcement of the law begins.
Attendees stand in front of the Google Play booth during the Tokyo Game Show in September 2018 in Chiba.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 8, 2024

Google Play must allow rival Android app stores, judge rules

Epic Games argued that Google Play rules and fees stifled competition and blocked app marketplaces launched by developers.
Japan's has experienced a significant decline in global economic power, with its share of global gross domestic product dropping from 18% in the 1980s to an anticipated 3% by 2050.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 8, 2024

Japan needs more than mere economic strength

Japan, a country that has long relied on its economic prowess for international stature and standing, must change its perspective.
Shinobi, one of Sega's most popular video game series, is to be made into a movie.
LIFE / Digital
Oct 9, 2024

Sega's ninja game Shinobi to get the movie treatment

Sega did not give a target date for the movie's release.
The wellness amenities at Six Senses Kyoto are just the latest example of hotels in Japan bolstering their relaxation offerings to attract guests.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 12, 2024

Can't choose a Kansai hotel? Perhaps a wellness screening will help you decide.

The holistic offerings at Six Senses Kyoto and Four Seasons Osaka are part of a growing wellness travel trend sweeping Japan.
The Specialty Coffee Association of Japan's World Specialty Coffee Conference and Exhibition runs through Oct. 12 at Tokyo's Big Sight convention center, where Ogawa Coffee Laboratory is one of many companies showing off advances in coffee roasting and brewing.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 11, 2024

On the ground at Japan's biggest coffee conference

The biggest impact the java-centric event will have on most people might be how their local brewers make their lattes and pour-overs in the near future.
People engage in discussions during a program of School for Life Compath in Biei, Hokkaido, in August 2021.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 11, 2024

Danish-style 'schools for life' gaining popularity in Japan

The schools promote personal growth and lifelong learning, covering topics such as self-discovery, societal exploration, modern art and forest adventures.
Kodai Senga will get the ball for the Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Sunday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 13, 2024

Mets hurler Senga ready to take on Dodgers in game one of NL Championship Series

New York Mets pitcher Kodai Senga says he'll "go at it 100%" when he takes the mound against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
A man searches through the rubble of a wrecked house in the Turkish town of Cankiri after a strong earthquake hit central Turkey in June 2000.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 13, 2024

Earthquakes, hurricanes and other disasters will shape our future cities

The progress of Antakya’s renewal bears watching. However it proceeds, there will be lessons to learn.
A building that houses a museum of penises and an H&M in Reykjavik, Iceland, has become the virtual home to some of the world’s worst perpetrators of identity theft, ransomware, disinformation, and other wrongdoing.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 14, 2024

Some of the web’s sketchiest sites share an address in Iceland

The street address of the Icelandic Phallological Museum is also the registered address for a company that allows people to shield their identities online.
Renault R4 E-Tech electric cars are displayed during the media day at the 2024 Paris Motor Show on Monday.
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2024

China-Europe rivalry heats up at Paris car show as EV tariffs loom

Struggling European automakers need to prove they are still in the game, while Chinese rivals are aiming to get a foothold in a competitive market.
Nearly two-thirds of parents of Australian teenagers reported concerns about their children's social media use, according to a 2024 survey by youth service ReachOut.
WORLD / Society
Oct 16, 2024

Australia's planned social media ban raises teen isolation fears

For teenagers from migrant, LGBTQIA+ and other minority backgrounds, an age block could cut off access to essential social support.
A pig bone is hung at the entrance to the Shiokawa district in the village of Tamara, Okinawa Prefecture, in August 2021.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Oct 21, 2024

Okinawan pig slaughter ritual blocked by public health authorities

The ban presents a dilemma to residents who say making changes takes away the practice's meaning.
Silver Rathalos was among several monsters in the Monster Hunter universe that debuted at an in-person Monster Hunter Now event in Shibuya hosted by developer Niantic on the weekend of Oct. 13.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 16, 2024

Gamers hunt for monsters in Tokyo as Niantic searches for a hit

In Monster Hunter Now, the San Francisco-based company behind Pokemon Go is looking to emulate the success of the immensely popular 2016 game.
The Tokaido Shinkansen platforms at Nagoya Station are packed with passengers on Aug. 9, when the operator ran a record 483 trains in a single day.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Chubu
Oct 21, 2024

Timetable planners form backbone of Tokaido Shinkansen's 60-year journey

Timetables based on precise demand predictions and the efforts of staffers on the ground have been integral to the evolution of bullet trains.
A young woman named “Chacha” (Marika Ito) defies the rules of Japanese society in the romantic drama “Cha-Cha.”
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2024

‘Cha-Cha’: Romantic drama doesn’t take itself too seriously

Mai Sakai’s twisty and quirky film features a protagonist who is about as untethered from conventional roles and rules as it is possible to be in Japanese society.
Pagers on display at a meeting room at the Gold Apollo company building in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on Sept. 18
WORLD
Oct 17, 2024

How Hezbollah came to possess bulky pagers with concealed explosives

The pager attack, and a second on the following day that activated weaponized walkie-talkies, killed 39 people and wounded more than 3,400.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba greets voters in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, on Tuesday, as campaigning for the Oct. 27 Lower House election kicked off.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 17, 2024

Parties pledge household support without debates on funding

Almost all the parties made pledges to raise the minimum wage.
NHK President Nobuo Inaba speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in September.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 17, 2024

NHK to resume contracting former Johnny's performers

The broadcaster's president said the decision was based on the agency’s clear efforts to compensate Johnny Kitagawa's sexual abuse victims.
Vending machine enthusiast Kenzaburo Ishida
JAPAN / Society
Oct 24, 2024

Useful even in disasters: Japan's ever-evolving vending machines

Vending machine enthusiast Kenzaburo Ishida breaks down their unique appeal, evolution and crucial role in times of disaster.
Japanese firm Space Entertainment Laboratory is showcasing a model of its fully autonomous, battery-powered Hamadori 3000 amphibious drone at this week's Japan International Aerospace Exhibition in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 18, 2024

Drone solutions take center stage in Tokyo aerospace show

A flurry of dual-use unmanned aerial vehicles are being showcased, a testament to their growing popularity and the Defense Ministry’s increasing demand for them.
Stays at Aman Kyoto start at around $2,500 (about ¥375,000) and increasing to $4,000 (about ¥600,000) per night, but for the right traveler, it's not money entirely wasted.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 19, 2024

Kyoto’s most expensive hotel offers inner peace — for a price

Aman Kyoto is one of the most luxurious options for stays in Japan’s ancient capital — but is it worth the hefty price tag?
For Designart 2024, 130 (one thirty) is exhibiting its first furniture collection of 100% recyclable 3D-printed works at Issey Miyake Ginza.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Oct 19, 2024

117 creative exhibits take over Tokyo for Designart 2024

Designart’s official exhibitions at the World Kita -Aoyama Building in Minato Ward are always well-rounded displays of both established and up-and-coming designers.
The dining room at Ca'enne is as authentically rustic as the ingredients — all from Nagano Prefecture's Yatsugatake region — that chef Noriyuki Usui cooks with.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Oct 20, 2024

Ca’enne: Into the Yatsugatake mountains for Nagano’s freshest produce

For a restaurant that only uses ingredients from a landlocked region, there is a surprising amount of excellent fish on chef Noriyuki Usui’s menu.
Group of Seven defense chiefs attend the grouping's first-ever defense ministers' meeting in Naples, Italy, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 20, 2024

G7 defense chiefs voice concern over Chinese military drills around Taiwan

The defense chiefs singled out China over a number of concerns, though their decision to emphasize Taiwan, in particular, is unlikely to go over well in Beijing.
A battery charge technology display at the Engie pavilion at the Paris Motor Show on Tuesday. Japan's EV market share remains significantly lower than in other countries, with only 2.2% of cars sold being battery EVs, compared to 18% in France and 25% in China.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 18, 2024

Japan hopes electric cars are just a bad dream

Automakers face many setbacks in electrification, but Japan uniquely argues that the shift is not only logistically challenging but fundamentally misconceived.
“The Secret Lives of Numbers” co-author Kate Kitagawa discovered the power of storytelling as a research assistant for a professor in Japanese history. Since then, Kitagawa has been dedicated to using storytelling to show that humans are able to unlock the greater secrets of the universe through collaboration, not competition.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 21, 2024

'The Secret Lives of Numbers' reveals the unsung figures of mathematics

The book’s core message of creative collaboration leading to great discoveries is the brainchild of co-author Kate Kitagawa, a leading expert on the history of math.
A collage made of undated handout pictures released by the Yamagata University Institute of Nasca shows 10 of 303 new geoglyphs discovered by scientists at the university in Japan.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Oct 21, 2024

The Japanese researcher uncovering the mystery of Peru’s Nazca Lines

Masato Sakai has dedicated his career to the collection of desert etchings. AI is starting to make his work much easier.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?