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Japan news from Japan Times

• Trump approval holds at 40%, lowest level of his term, poll finds

  The latest poll showed Hispanics, a group that swung toward Trump in last year's election, have also soured on the president.

• Hong Kong scientist puts hope in nest boxes to save endangered cockatoos

  Their future now hangs in the balance, due to habitat loss and, some suspect, a black market for the rare birds.

• All is not quiet on the Western front

  The Trump-Putin Alaska summit is further evidence that the U.S. and its NATO partners are drifting further apart with each passing month.

• Kyoto University group successfully creates jawbone from iPS cells

  The team expects that its method will be applied to regenerative medicine and drug discovery.

• Global soccer players' union urges India to revive top league

  The fate of the Indian Super League, which is usually played between September and April, hangs by a thread.

• Tokyo stocks hit a fourth all-time high in six trading days

  Nikkei 225 ekes out another record and then falls back to end the day down.

• Masaharu Fukuyama admits to attending Fuji TV dinner

  The singer-actor said he was the “powerful male cast member” referenced by a third-party panel investigating the broadcaster, but denied involvement in any harassment.

• Tokyo crowned No.1 'workation' spot

  Japan’s capital topped the rankings for its “exceptional broadband speeds, transport infrastructure, safety, culture, and new digital nomad visa.”

Asia/Pacific news from Japan Times

• Survivors claw through rubble after deadly Pakistan cloudburst

  "A huge bang came from the top of the mountain, and then dark smoke billowed into the sky," a 46-year-old local laborer said.

• New Zealand posts slowest population growth in three years

  New Zealand’s economy has struggled to sustain a recovery from a deep recession in 2024 even as interest rates fall.

• North Korea's Kim threatens rapid nuclear expansion amid U.S. war games

  The call by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un comes amid escalating tensions with the U.S. and South Korea as the allies conduct joint military drills.

• Modi hails ‘friend’ Putin and boosts China ties in tilt from U.S.

  The move is another sign the South Asian nation is tilting away from the U.S. in the face of Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

• Military court finds New Zealand soldier guilty of attempted espionage

  The soldier was caught offering to pass military base maps and photographs to an undercover officer posing as an agent for a third country.

• Women-only communities flourish in China

  A growing number of co-living spaces in the country are providing their exclusive clientele with a haven from social pressures and male judgment.

• Hong Kong democrat Jimmy Lai given heart monitor for final stretch of marathon trial

  Lai's lawyer told the court last Friday that Lai had some episodes where he felt that he was collapsing and had heart "palpitations."

• Flash floods kill hundreds in northwest Pakistan district after rare cloudburst

  Officials say global warming has changed the pattern of the annual monsoon, pushing it around 100 kilometers west of its normal path.

Culture news from Japan Times

• 'Kokuho' rakes in over ¥10 billion at the box office

  "Kokuho" is now the third-highest-grossing Japanese live-action movie ever after the 2003 film "Bayside Shakedown 2" and the 1983 movie "Antarctica."

• Sho Miyake's 'Tabi to Hibi' wins top prize at Locarno Film Festival

  This is the first Japanese movie to receive the award since 2007, when "Ai no Yokan" ("The Rebirth"), directed by Masahito Kobayashi, was given the prize.

• Atsushi Kitagawara’s exhibition finds poetry in architecture

  Award-winning architect Kitagawara's work is displayed at the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection museum he designed, making it both a venue and a centerpiece of the exhibition.

• Osaka Asian Film Festival gets an expo boost

  In a rare double bill, the Osaka Asian Film Festival will stage a special summer edition to make the most out of interest in the ongoing world's fair.

• Samansa bets on commuter cinema

  As attention spans get shorter, a Japanese startup is banking on short films as easily digestible entertainment.

• ‘Yukikaze’ turns fabled warship into floating snoozefest

  The story of a “lucky” Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer that survived World War II is given a lightly fictionalized treatment in Toshihisa Yamada's first feature.

• The early bird gets the bangers at this year’s Summer Sonic

  This year’s festival makes its biggest moves before noon, with Japan’s top acts and K-pop stars commanding early slots.

• ‘Natasha’ distills global zeitgeist on the opera stage

  An original work commissioned by the New National Theatre, Tokyo, “Natasha” is a multilingual opera with a multinational cast from Japan, Germany and Belgium.

Sports news from Japan Times

• Global soccer players' union urges India to revive top league

  The fate of the Indian Super League, which is usually played between September and April, hangs by a thread.

• Shane Bieber to make Blue Jays debut on Friday in Miami

  Bieber has not pitched in the major leagues since April 2, 2024, following Tommy John surgery.

• Javelin star Kitaguchi finds new home in small Czech town

  The 27-year-old Japanese athlete is getting ready for next month's world championships in Tokyo in the western Czech town of Domazlice.

• Thompson out of sprint showdown with Lyles in Lausanne

  Thompson won the much-anticipated rematch with Noah Lyles at Saturday's Diamond League meeting in Silesia.

• Nmecha penalty gets Leeds up and running on Premier League return

  James Tarkowski's handball gave the hosts the opportunity to snatch victory six minutes from time.

• Home hero Piastri to have Australian F1 grandstand named after him

  The naming of a grandstand is an honor typically reserved for sporting legends with a long line of achievements.

• Lakers' Luka Doncic cleared to play for Slovenia after injury scare

  Doncic initially appeared to be in severe pain before walking off the court and to the locker room with a noticeable limp.

• Alcaraz and Swiatek clinch Cincinnati Open titles

  World No.1 Jannik Sinner retired due to illness in the first set of the men's final.

Life news from Japan Times

• From a piquant paste to a crisp crust, sesame shines in many forms

  Packed with historical nuggets and inspirational recipes, Rachel Simons' debut cookbook offers a rich, entertaining dive into the Japanese kitchen staple.

• In preserving Japanese hospitality, ‘details are everything’

  As part of a new UNESCO initiative, the elite Relais & Chateau hospitality group will empower its Japan-based members to preserve the country’s “omotenashi” culture.

• A seaside hotel built on competitive Japanese cycling

  Naoshima is known for art, but this coastal hotel in Tamano, Okayama Prefecture, focuses on Japan’s competitive cycling scene.

• In Paris, chefs Chizuko Kimura and Kei Kobayashi make their mark

  One is the world’s first Michelin-starred female sushi chef, while the other is France’s only three-Michelin-starred Japanese chef.

• Reading the Japanese clock: Are times a-changin'?

  Learn how the Japanese tell time — from zero o’clock to 27 o’clock, and why 10 minutes "before" isn’t always clear.

• In a coffee-mad neighborhood, a gin distillery is a clear alternative

  Located in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, Fukagawa Distillery wants residents to “think of gin as their local drink."

• A walk through Kokura, the city spared nuclear destruction

  Now part of the industrial sprawl of Kitakyushu, the city was originally meant to suffer the destruction that would eventually befall Nagasaki to the south.

• At Himawari Shokudo 2, Italian food with a Japanese soul

  Punching above its own weight, the intimate restaurant is one of the growing number of quality establishments that are helping to cement Toyama's status as a dining destination.

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