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Protesters demonstrate demanding justice for drug war victims, after the arrest of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, in Quezon City, the Philippines, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Mar 12, 2025
Philippines sends former President Duterte to ICC over drug war killings
Human rights groups and families of victims said his arrest was a step toward accountability for a brutal campaign that targeted the poorest of Filipinos.
Netflix reality show “K-foodie meets J-foodie” follows South Korean YouTuber Sung Si-kyung and Japanese actor Yutaka Matsushige as they share meals in their respective countries.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 6, 2025
Can a meal make you besties? ‘K-foodie meets J-foodie’ says yes.
The new Netflix show pairs a Korean crooner and a Japanese food icon for a cross-cultural food rally.
Yarn shortages are a sign that hobbies like knitting and crochet are gaining in popularity.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 4, 2025
‘Granny hobbies’ are the new self-care
Pastimes long associated with Japanese grandparents are booming on social media as young people look for new (old) ways to relax.
The new Nippon TV series “The Hot Spot” follows an alien superhero navigating rural Japanese life but focuses more on dialogue than splashy, action-packed plot points.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Feb 10, 2025
‘The Hot Spot’: Close encounters of the mundane kind
Japanese dramas have been taking bolder risks recently, and Bakarhythm’s new sci-fi series surprises by centering its high-concept ideas on trivial occurrences.
An ocean vista at a resort in Thailand on Dec. 26
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2025
'The White Lotus' is already driving a travel boom in Thailand
Ahead of the HBO show’s third season premiere, Thai tourism authorities, hoteliers and travel agents are readying for a surge in visitors.
Sepp Straka celebrates with the trophy after winning the The American Express in La Quinta, California, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jan 20, 2025
Sepp Straka shakes off nerves to win The American Express
Former world No. 1 Justin Thomas finished second.
Those who lived in Japan’s Nara Period, which lasted from the year 710 to 794, by and large knew themselves to be blessed. It wasn’t just those in power who felt it, either. From nobles to commoners, the poets seemed to have democratized joy itself.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jan 17, 2025
From Genji to 'hikikomori,' how we make peace with disappearing
Japan’s reverence for impermanence reveals a profound connection between beauty and loss, from poetic musings to spiritual retreats, echoing in modern expressions of solitude.
Hideki Matsuyama celebrates after winning The Sentry at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii, on Sunday
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Jan 6, 2025
Hideki Matsuyama breaks PGA Tour scoring record on way to win at The Sentry
The win was the 11th for Matsuyama on the PGA Tour
Hogwarts Castle at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California. There are influential American works of fantasy like “The Wizard of Oz” and “American Gods,” but they lack the cohesive, enduring impact of European counterparts such as the “Harry Potter” and “The Chronicles of Narnia” series.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2025
America needs a 'Great American Fantasy'
There is a lack of a distinctly "Great American Fantasy" in literature and popular culture.
World leaders meet at the United Nations in New York in September to adopt the Pact for the Future. One of its key annexes is the Global Digital Compact, a framework to secure an open and human-centered digital future for all.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2024
To serve humankind, AI must be shaped by U.N. values
The U.N.'s Global Digital Compact is the first universal agreement on the international governance of AI. It seeks to ensure an open and equitable digital future for all.
Despite impressive visuals that hark back to Peter Jackson’s live-action trilogy from the early 2000s, Kenji Kamiyama’s “The War of the Rohirrim” falls flat in its storytelling as a standalone film.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 26, 2024
‘The War of the Rohirrim’: Striking visuals, insipid storytelling
Kenji Kamiyama's anime addition to J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" universe has impressive qualities, but lacks the magic of Peter Jackson's film adaptations.
“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.
“Shogun,” created by American channel FX and made by a joint American-Japanese team, utilized the strengths of both Japan and Hollywood to create a bona fide smash that critics adored. 
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / 2024 in Review
Dec 7, 2024
2024 was the year Japanese TV found its prestige
The triumph of “Shogun” at the Emmys served as an exclamation point for an industry taking big swings and opening up to trans-Pacific partnerships.
Video game music has come a long way from its humble origins.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Dec 7, 2024
Beyond beeps and boops: Video game music has grown up
Video game music has gone from 8-bit chiptunes to fully realized productions that bring the gamer’s experience to life.
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 19, 2024
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
“The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” newly translated into English, is an explicit rerun of the author’s older works with an alternate ending.
Matt Groening (right), creator of the show "The Simpsons," attends the premiere of the "The Simpsons Movie" along with characters from the series in Springfield, Vermont, in July 2007.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 2024
‘The Simpsons’ has become a parody of itself. That’s a good thing.
With the "The Simpsons" viewership down to just 10% of its peak, the show is often in the news for controversies rather than content.
In the April-September period, Nintendo logged net profit of ¥108.7 billion ($710 million), down 60% from the same period a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2024
Nintendo lowers sales forecast as first-half profits plunge
The video game giant now expects sales of ¥1.28 trillion, down from the previous estimate of ¥1.35 trillion, and also issued a less optimistic operating profit forecast.
Muhammad Ali (left) fights George Foreman in Kinshasa, in what was then known as Zaire, in a bout better known as The Rumble in the Jungle, on Oct. 30, 1974.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Oct 30, 2024
Rumble in the Jungle remembered after 50 years
The bout between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali is still fondly remembered in Kinshasa.
The Tokyo Ballet’s 60th anniversary program includes Maurice Bejart’s famous shorts, such as “Bolero.”
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 13, 2024
The Tokyo Ballet marks year of rebirth with tributes to history and innovation
Long-time collaborator Bejart Ballet Lausanne brings masterworks to Japan for The Tokyo Ballet's 60th anniversary celebrations.
A survey showed the use of terminal care and attended deaths at home kept increasing after surging in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 11, 2024
Terminal care at home surged in Japan during COVID-19 pandemic
Cases of terminal care at home grew for clinics certified to meet standards for supporting home care, such as having doctors available to make house visits.

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly