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Japan news from Japan Times

• Thailand keen to host F1 race on streets of Bangkok

  Formula One fans could be treated to the sight of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton roaring around the steamy streets of Bangkok, with Thailand keen to host a race.

• IAEA begins second review of tainted water release from Fukushima plant

  The International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday began its second review of operations to discharge into the sea treated water containing tritium from the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.

• Japanese minister Takaichi visits Yasukuni Shrine

  Economic security minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday visited war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo during its three-day spring festival from Sunday.

• Use of disaster monument symbols expanding five years after launch

  The use of symbols for natural disaster monuments on the government's digital maps is expanding five years after their launch, as the nation aims to apply lessons learned from past calamities.

• Tokyo issues strong warning on yen intervention as currency dips further

  Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki has said that last week's meeting with his U.S. and South Korean counterparts laid the groundwork for Tokyo to act against excessive yen moves, issuing the strongest warning to date on the chance of intervention.

• North Korea holds first 'nuclear trigger' drills as U.S. and South set for cost-sharing talks

  North Korea conducted its first drills simulating a nuclear counterattack under its “nuclear trigger” management system in an exercise overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, state-run media said Tuesday, as Washington and Seoul were set to begin talks on cost-sharing for hosting U.S. troops in South Korea.

• Top U.S. diplomat returns to China, but breakthroughs unlikely

  When Secretary of State Antony Blinken sets off on his second trip to China in less than a year, the top U.S diplomat will have his work cut out for him as he tries to deliver a message of both cooperation and competition amid growing disagreements between the rival superpowers.

• Cash shortages and attacks take toll on Ukraine's growing arms sector

  Hundreds of Ukrainian businesses making weapons and military equipment have sprung up since Russia's full-scale invasion, but some are struggling to fund production and all are concerned about being targeted in intensifying Russian missile strikes.

Asia/Pacific news from Japan Times

• North Korea holds first 'nuclear trigger' drills as U.S. and South set for cost-sharing talks

  North Korea conducted its first drills simulating a nuclear counterattack under its “nuclear trigger” management system in an exercise overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, state-run media said Tuesday, as Washington and Seoul were set to begin talks on cost-sharing for hosting U.S. troops in South Korea.

• Top U.S. diplomat returns to China, but breakthroughs unlikely

  When Secretary of State Antony Blinken sets off on his second trip to China in less than a year, the top U.S diplomat will have his work cut out for him as he tries to deliver a message of both cooperation and competition amid growing disagreements between the rival superpowers.

• China’s small towns thrive as more opt out of demanding megacity life

  Zhao Xiaowei did what would have been unthinkable just a few years ago: He quit his Beijing barista job and returned to his northeastern rust-belt hometown for a better future.

• Modi calls Muslims ‘infiltrators’ who would take India’s wealth

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called Muslims "infiltrators” who would take India’s wealth if his opponents gained power — unusually direct and divisive language from a leader who normally lets others do the dirtiest work of polarizing Hindus against Muslims.

• Unseasonal floods batter 'factory floor of the world' in China

  Rescuers on boats in China's flood-hit Guangdong province raced to evacuate trapped residents, carrying some elderly people by piggyback from their homes and deploying helicopters to save villagers caught in landslides.

• North Korea fires off salvo of several short-range ballistic missiles

  North Korea fired several short-range missiles from the Pyongyang area on Monday, the South Korean military said, in the latest salvo launch by the nuclear-armed country.

• Pro-China leader's party in Maldives win in a landslide

  Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu's party won control of parliament in a Sunday election landslide, results showed, with voters backing his tilt toward China and away from regional powerhouse and traditional benefactor India.

• U.S. and Philippine troops kick off drills as China tensions mount

  Nearly 17,000 Filipino and American troops kicked off a three-week joint combat training exercise in the Philippines on Monday that includes maritime drills in the South China Sea where Manila and Beijing have sparred over territorial claims.

Culture news from Japan Times

• The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

  Right outside the north exit of Chofu Station in western Tokyo is Shinko Syoten, a brick-and-mortar bookstore that Hideharu Yahata’s father-in-law opened in 1968 — back when Japan was on one of the most rapid economic growth trajectories the world has ever seen.

• Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins

  Kyoto, in all its centuries-old splendor, is not known for being a hub of dynamic change. Save for the occasionally news-making animosity between locals and tourists, its value lies in its ability to preserve. But every spring, a flood of contemporary art invades the city, bringing with it global and socially minded works and themes from the outside world.

• Japanese dancer Yuna Yamada wins first place in U.S. ballet contest

  Japanese dancer Yuna Yamada won first place on Saturday in the women's pre-competitive age classical division at this year's Youth America Grand Prix international ballet contest in New York.

• Japanese acts seize Coachella's spotlight — and this ain't your typical J-pop

  Near the climax of Yoasobi’s energetic Friday-night set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival’s Mojave Stage last weekend, vocalist Ikura excitedly addressed the crowd.

• Ryusuke Hamaguchi ponders the dangers of disrupting the rural idyll

  How do you follow up an Academy Award-winning film? If you’re Ryusuke Hamaguchi, the director of 2021’s “Drive My Car,” the answer is: with a little help from a friend.

• Cannes announces honorary Palme d’Or for Studio Ghibli

  The Cannes Film Festival has announced it will award an Honorary Palme d’Or to Studio Ghibli at its 77th film festival next month.

• ‘Beyond the Fog’: Evocative mood piece leaves a dreamy impression

  The Japanese countryside is teeming with stories of communities in decline, but few are as sobering as that of Kawakami. Once home to more than 8,000 people, the village in southeastern Nara Prefecture now has a population of just over 1,000, the majority of them senior citizens.

• 'Tatsumi’: Gang life drama goes for violence overkill

  Hiroshi Shoji made his feature debut in 2015 with “Ken and Kazu,” a gritty action film whose title punks are conflicted about their budding careers as outlaws. It won the best film award in the Tokyo International Film Festival’s Japanese Cinema Splash section and was widely screened abroad.

Sports news from Japan Times

• Thailand keen to host F1 race on streets of Bangkok

  Formula One fans could be treated to the sight of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton roaring around the steamy streets of Bangkok, with Thailand keen to host a race.

• Scheffler and Korda take men's and women's golf by storm

  Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda, the two leading players in the men's and women's games, respectively, have produced the most dominant run that professional golf has seen in years and neither appears ready to slow down.

• Independent regulator a big risk, warns Premier League chief

  The introduction of an independent regulator for English soccer represents a big risk that could have unintended consequences, according to Premier League chief executive Richard Masters.

• South Korea's Son Jun-ho joins fifth-tier side after China release

  South Korean international soccer player Son Jun-ho has joined an amateur fifth-tier club on his comeback from 10 months' detention in China.

• Iconic Mount Fuji 100 enters new era with World Trail Majors

  For the iconic Mount Fuji 100, Friday marks the start of 3,400 runners’ grueling slogs around Japan’s highest peak — and the dawn of a new era.

• WADA rejects cover-up charge over investigation into Chinese swimmers

  The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Monday rejected accusations of a cover-up during its investigation into Chinese swimmers testing positive for a prescription heart drug and said it would take "whatever action necessary" in response to the allegations.

• Shohei Ohtani signs deal with sports technology company Rapsodo

  Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has signed a deal to become the technology ambassador for Rapsodo, the company announced on Monday.

• Thunder hold off Pelicans in Game 1 thriller

  Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drained a go-ahead basket with 32.5 seconds left on the Oklahoma City Thunder, the top seed in the Western Conference, earned a 94-92 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans in their NBA playoff opener.

Life news from Japan Times

• A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives

  In Japan, it’s still technically illegal to brew anything in your own home above 1% ABV. How the craft beer scene ever took off is a wonder, but whether budding brewers disobey the law to hone their craft or jet overseas to learn lessons in the art of beer production, who can say.

• Before Murakami’s English release, try him in Japanese one more time

  A new Haruki Murakami novel, the first in six years, is getting its English release this autumn. Described as bewildering and moving in equal measure, “街とその不確かな壁” (Machi to Sono Futashikana Kabe, "The City and Its Uncertain Walls") is an enigma. It may be no more than a rehashing of the 1985 novella of a similar title that was later adapted into “世界の終わりとハードボイルド・ワンダーランド” (Sekai no Owari to Hādo Boirudo Wandārando, "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World"); it may be Murakami’s pandemic-era masterpiece.

• The unexpected ways in which Japanese words 'make it' into English

  Have you scrolled to the end of the emoji keyboard, looking for those peskily faraway hearts, and accidentally sent a mysterious “NG”? Asked a friend in Japan if they want to go out for hibachi and been met with a blank stare? As a language shifts and evolves, it’s wont to take absurd and arbitrary twists and turns. (Consider that inflammable means flammable, or that peruse means both to examine in close detail and browse superficially.) But when two languages get together, things can get extra weird.

• Salone del Mobile’s Maria Porro: ‘Italy and Japan share many things’

  Centuries-old palazzos. Modernist villas. Intimate galleries. Wisteria-filled courtyards. Industrial warehouses. Chic showrooms. Railway arches. A 1930s lido. A vast fairground space spanning close to 210,000 square meters.

• Kyoto’s demon night parade lives to haunt another day

  One thousand years ago, demons marched through the streets of Kyoto.

• Minka Summit returns for third year of home design, talks and more

  In the mountainous heart of Kyoto Prefecture, the Minka Summit 2024 sets the stage for an ambitious exploration of Japan's architectural past with a keen eye on future sustainability.

• For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on

  If you were to exit the main train station in Kotohira earlier this month, you would have been greeted by thousands of colorful nobori (banners) lining the streets that lead to the town’s famed Konpira Shrine.

• How Gen Zers made the crossword their own

  30-Across: "___ and dry food (categories I will now be using to describe human food. Oh, so suddenly it’s weird?)”

 

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