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A field study by elementary school students takes place in the Izawa River basin in Shiso, Hyogo Prefecture.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 24, 2023

Unveiling Shiso, a hidden gem of nature and coexistence

With 90% of its area covered by forest, the Hyogo city boasts picturesque streams and a bounty of access points to refreshing natural spring water.
A pharmacist holds a box of Novo Nordisk A/S Wegovy brand semaglutide medication.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 7, 2023

Can Wegovy fight alcoholism? For Big Pharma, this isn’t a priority

Reluctance underscores reasons why no new treatment has been approved for alcoholism in nearly 20 years.
Remains of a Yayoi Period building found on the former British Embassy property in Tokyo
JAPAN / Society
Dec 7, 2023

Yayoi Period village remains found on former British Embassy grounds

Despite the discovery, construction on the site is set to continue after the excavation of the area concludes in March.
After becoming a TikTok trend in Japan in 2022, artist imase’s song “Night Dancer” found popularity abroad in 2023, particularly in South Korea, where it became the first Japanese song to ever enter the nation’s Melon Top 100 Song Chart.
CULTURE / Music / 2023 in Review
Dec 8, 2023

J-pop's global ambitions came closer to reality in 2023

Duo Yoasobi's "Idol" was a true international breakout, while a viral trend turned imase into a pop ambassador between Japan and South Korea.
Beet carpaccio served with fresh cream and caviar, the signature dish of three-Michelin-star chef Mauro Colagreco, features at Cycle, his much-anticipated new restaurant in Otemachi.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 9, 2023

Tokyo dining finally kicked the pandemic blues in 2023

The further we got into 2023, the more it really started to feel like COVID-19 had finally dissipated like a malodorous mist.
The destruction of tunnels is advancing Israel’s stated aim of dismantling Hamas infrastructure so the group can’t repeat its deadly Oct. 7 assault. At the same time, it is reducing much of Gaza to rubble.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 8, 2023

Israeli warning on Hamas tunnels means months of destruction

The devastating outcome of a drawn-out campaign against the militant group is likely to leave many of about 2.2 million Palestinians homeless.
New Year's celebrations in Japan and Western countries can differ wildly, but Tokyo offers plenty of ways for you to ring in 2024 in any way you prefer.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 9, 2023

A Tokyoite’s guide to a Western-style New Year’s Eve

Typically, Ōmisoka (New Year’s Eve) is a family affair — even in the global metropolis that is Tokyo.
Cinema at Sea film festival entry “God Is a Woman,” directed by Andres Peyrot, examines the complex feelings the Kuna, indigenous people living on Panama’s San Blas Islands, have about an unreleased documentary made about them in 1975.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 9, 2023

Cinema at Sea festival highlights diversity and unheard voices

The inaugural event for the film festival in Naha, Okinawa, boasted a strong lineup of features from places and peoples underrepresented in world cinema.
The problems afflicting Afghan society today, such as the repression of women’s rights and conflict, are also global issues.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 13, 2023

Neglecting Afghanistan could have global repercussions

The problems afflicting Afghan society today, such as the repression of women's rights and conflict, are a reflection of those facing the wider world.
Natalia Yermakova is a volunteer in the 'Family Battalion' organization producing camouflage netting and assembling food parcels for Russian army needs.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 14, 2023

In Moscow, soldiers' wives make camouflage nets and minefield signs

Believer's in Moscow's "special military operation" against Ukraine provide Russian President Vladimir Putin with a strong support base.
A deal was reached at the eleventh hour of COP28 in Dubai on Wednesday, with countries committing to transition away from fossil fuels to meet climate goals.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2023

It’s time to kick our addiction to fossil fuels

The COP28 deal is historic in that it calls for a transition away from fossil fuels for the first time, but it's too weak to tackle the climate emergency.
Mori Building CEO Shingo Tsuji speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Nov. 30.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 15, 2023

Mori’s CEO eyeing the next Roppongi Hills, casino resort in Tokyo

The real estate developer behind the towers that have reshaped central Tokyo’s skyline isn’t done yet.
From left: Naho Sato, President Masamichi Idemitsu and Naoki Tajima
ESG CONSORTIUM
Dec 18, 2023

Mita Kosan develops real estate, community in central Tokyo area

Mita Kosan Co. Ltd., a real estate developer and leasing company, is housed in an office building right across the road from Keio University’s East Gate in the Mita district of Tokyo’s Minato Ward. The area has a uniquely mixed atmosphere: premium and academic, yet homey with a lot of small local...
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the start of a bilateral meeting in Tokyo on Saturday
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 16, 2023

Japan-ASEAN summit aims to advance 'security cooperation'

Japan is also expected to use the summit to push energy cooperation as it seeks to export emissions-reducing tech that critics have questioned.
Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking is set to buy Australian data manager Link Administration Holdings for 1.11 billion Australian dollars.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2023

MUFG to buy Australia’s Link in ¥106 billion deal

The unit of Japan’s largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, will pay AU$2.10 per share, a 23.5% premium to Friday’s closing stock price.
A volcano spews lava and smoke as it erupts in Grindavik, Iceland, on Monday.
WORLD
Dec 19, 2023

Volcano erupts near evacuated town in Iceland

The eruption near capital Reykjavík has not affected flights in the country's main international airport.
A climate activist arranges artwork expressing opposition to fossil fuels at Dubai's Expo City during the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai on Dec. 12.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 19, 2023

COP28 deal on fossil fuels puts new focus on 'just transition'

From coal miners to offshore oil rig engineers, 32 million people who work in the fossil fuel industry face losing their livelihoods.
In Hayao Miyazaki's films, characters often experience life-changing revelations in midair, such as Haku and Chihiro in "Spirited Away."
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2023

How Hayao Miyazaki’s films continue to take us to the skies

When characters take flight in the films of the master animator, there is always a deeper meaning.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet in Hanoi on Dec. 13.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2023

Everyone is trying to woo Vietnam. Why Hanoi’s ‘bamboo policy’ works.

It makes sense to court Vietnam, one of the region’s most dynamic economies. This year, it is expected to post about 5% growth, better than many others.
Buildings in Xiamen on mainland China across the Taiwan Strait from anti-landing barriers on a beach in Kinmen, Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 20, 2023

Taiwan’s ability to defend against Chinese invasion questioned

For all the support given by Washington, the reality is that when it comes to both civil and military defense, Taiwan still has a lot to do.
Foreign tourists take pictures in Tokyo's Asakusa district in November.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2023

Japan’s post-pandemic tourists shift spending to crafts and jewelry

Average spending on traditional handicrafts per visitor was ¥13,338 ($92) in the July-September quarter, up 80% from the same period in 2019.
The Shimbashi area of Tokyo's Minato Ward is crowded with office workers on Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2023

Pubs in Japan thriving again as year-end parties return

On Friday night, many drinking places in the Shimbashi district of Tokyo's Minato Ward were packed with customers.
Author Yasunari Kawabata’s “The Rainbow” seems to suggest it is never too late to heal, so long as we face our pain rather than run away.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 21, 2023

‘The Rainbow’: Artistic world underscores truths of the human heart

Despite resonant themes, this translation of Nobel Prize-winner Yasunari Kawabata’s novel about lingering grief and regrets feels strangely distant.
Shoppers at a market in Kyiv on Tuesday
WORLD / Politics
Dec 21, 2023

With Ukraine’s aid in doubt, companies say they’re the Plan B

Ukrainian companies making products are ensuring their survival while contributing to the war effort.
Well-wishers light candles as people mourn the lives lost in Thursday's mass shooting, outside Charles University in Prague on Friday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 23, 2023

After Czech mass shooting, shock, grief and a focus on guns

As police Friday scrutinized online threats of copycat attacks, students at Charles University proposed a simple way to prevent any recurrence: ban guns.
Jargal Lhagvasuren practicing an aerial routine at the Mongolian Circus School in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on May 18. Contortionists and acrobats with celestial skills train in squalid conditions as the promise of a former sumo wrestler to restore the national circus to its past glory has gone mostly unfulfilled.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 26, 2023

Mongolians are circus stars all over the world, except at home

The promise to return state circus in Ulaanbaatar to its former glory remains unfulfilled, forcing trained performers abroad.
An image from Dec. 9 appears to show the Russian container ship Angara, sanctioned by the U.S., unloading cargo at Najin port while containers from North Korea await loading at an adjacent pier.
WORLD
Dec 27, 2023

Ghost ships at reawakened North Korea port put Ukraine in peril

The vessels are suspected to be delivering arms to Russia that eventually make their way to the frontlines of Vladimir Putin's invasion.
Tokyo prosecutors raid lawmaker Yasutada Ono's local office in the city of Hashima, Gifu Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 29, 2023

LDP lawmaker's local office raided over funds scandal

The special squad of the Tokyo Public Prosecutor's Office raided lawmaker Yasutada Ono's local office in the city of Hashima, Gifu Prefecture.
A person looks at the first sunrise of the year on the beach in Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Monday.
WORLD
Jan 1, 2024

World rings in 2024 after war, bots and 'Barbie'

Jubilant crowds bid farewell on Sunday to the hottest year on record, closing a turbulent 12 months marked by clever chatbots, climate crises and devastating wars.
A Luckin Coffee store in Beijing on Dec. 8
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 2, 2024

China's new thirst for coffee spurs cutthroat cafe competition

Analysts expect China's growing thirst for coffee to be a key driver of future demand for the beans as coffee shops expand.

Longform

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