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Japan news from Japan Times

• American Coleman believes Bolt's 100 meter record could fall soon

  American sprinter Christian Coleman believes that Usain Bolt's 100-meter record of 9.58 seconds that has stood for 15 years is within reach and said there are several athletes fast enough to break it.

• Air China to buy 100 locally made C919 jets in $11 billion deal

  Air China will buy 100 Comac C919 jets in a deal valued at $10.8 billion based on list prices, giving a boost to the homegrown challenger to Airbus and Boeing.

• Iconic shared Olympic gold moment will not be repeated, Qatari jumper says

  Two athletes sharing Olympic gold in a near-empty stadium in Tokyo caught the imagination of an expectant audience across the world, which was at the time ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Rapidly weakening yen threatens higher power bills

  The yen’s relentless decline risks pushing power prices higher for Japan’s households and businesses.

• Number of homeless in Japan hits record low

  The number of homeless people in Japan fell 8.0% as of January from a year earlier to 2,820, the lowest level since data began in 2003, the health ministry said in a survey report Friday.

• Kishida to visit France, Brazil and Paraguay starting next week

  Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will visit France, Brazil and Paraguay from Wednesday through May 6, the government said Friday.

• Yen swoons in jittery trading in wake of BOJ standing pat

  The yen swung sharply from the day’s low to near its high amid jittery trading in the wake of the Bank of Japan’s decision to keep monetary policy unchanged.

• Avril Lavigne walked so today's influencer tourists could Mario Kart

  A decade ago, pop-punk performer Avril Lavigne came to Tokyo — and drew widespread anger. In hindsight, she simply found herself at a crossroads of how the world viewed Japan.

Asia/Pacific news from Japan Times

• Kim Jong Un tests new rockets that could boost ability to hit Seoul

  Leader Kim Jong Un has overseen tests of a new North Korean rocket system that could bolster his ability to attack Seoul and it may become a weapon he attempts to sell to Russia for use in its assault on Ukraine.

• Images show China harboring ship tied to Russian arms transfers

  China is providing moorage for a U.S.-sanctioned Russian cargo ship implicated in North Korean arms transfers to Russia, according to satellite images obtained by Reuters, as U.S. concerns grow over Beijing's support for Moscow's war in Ukraine.

• First COVID, now heat: Online schooling returns to the Philippines

  Record heat in the Philippines this month has forced schools to send children home for online classes, reviving memories of COVID lockdowns and raising fears that more extreme weather in the years to come could deepen educational inequalities.

• 'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines

  Extreme heat scorched the Philippines on Wednesday, forcing thousands of schools to suspend in-person classes and prompting warnings for people to limit the amount of time spent outdoors.

• Xi’s armada is winning the battle for energy in South China Sea

  This was supposed to be the year that Vietnam reaped the benefits from one of its largest natural gas discoveries.

• 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.

Culture news from Japan Times

• Avril Lavigne walked so today's influencer tourists could Mario Kart

  A decade ago, pop-punk performer Avril Lavigne came to Tokyo — and drew widespread anger. In hindsight, she simply found herself at a crossroads of how the world viewed Japan.

• 'City Hunter' manga hero drops the sexism for new live-action film

  Getting global audiences to watch a live-action adaptation of a classic Japanese manga can be tough, and even more so when the protagonist is a notorious philanderer.

• A star turn isn’t quite enough to make ‘City Hunter’ soar

  Ryo Saeba isn’t exactly a hero for our times. A denizen of Tokyo’s seamy Kabukicho entertainment district, the private investigator is an expert marksman and pugilist, but also an incorrigible pervert. Anyone seeking his services can leave a message on a blackboard in nearby Shinjuku Station, though they should be warned that he only goes for the pretty customers — and he won’t be looking at their faces when he’s talking to them.

• ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ builds its dramatic tension to perfection

  Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” which won the Grand Jury Prize at last year’s Venice International Film Festival, had an unusual gestation, beginning as a short film to accompany the performances of musician Eiko Ishibashi, who scored Hamaguchi’s Oscar-winning “Drive My Car.” Along the way, Hamaguchi decided to turn it into a feature film with dialogue.

• Serani Poji’s retro Shibuya-kei sounds find viral fame

  Sometime in late 2023, users of short-form video platforms such as TikTok and YouTube Shorts sought out a mood booster. They found just the serotonin shot they needed courtesy turn-of-the-millennium music genre Shibuya-kei, in all its smiley wonder.

• 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.

Sports news from Japan Times

• American Coleman believes Bolt's 100 meter record could fall soon

  American sprinter Christian Coleman believes that Usain Bolt's 100-meter record of 9.58 seconds that has stood for 15 years is within reach and said there are several athletes fast enough to break it.

• Iconic shared Olympic gold moment will not be repeated, Qatari jumper says

  Two athletes sharing Olympic gold in a near-empty stadium in Tokyo caught the imagination of an expectant audience across the world, which was at the time ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Nuggets win on road to push Lakers to brink in playoff series

  The Denver Nuggets rallied to push LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers to the brink of elimination from the NBA playoffs on Thursday, while the Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 50 points from Joel Embiid, clawed back a win against the New York Knicks.

• Yukio Kasaya, Japan's first Winter Olympic gold medalist, dies at 80

  Yukio Kasaya, who made history by winning Asia's first-ever Winter Olympic gold medal in 1972, died from heart disease on Tuesday morning at a hospital in Sapporo. He was 80 years old.

• WADA asks 'independent prosecutor' to examine its handling of China case

  The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Thursday it has asked an independent prosecutor to review its handling of the case where 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a prescription heart drug.

• Indonesians celebrate as soccer team moves one step from second Olympic berth

  Indonesians celebrated after their spirited men's team beat South Korea in the Under-23 Asian Cup quarterfinals in a dramatic penalty shootout that left the nation one step away from qualifying for the Olympics for only the second time.

• Bears take Caleb Williams with No. 1 pick to start QB rush at NFL draft

  The Chicago Bears drafted quarterback Caleb Williams out of USC with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday.

• Yoshinobu Yamamoto leads Dodgers to sweep with six scoreless innings

  Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw six shutout innings and Teoscar Hernandez homered as the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 2-1 win on Thursday.

Life news from Japan Times

• Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past

  To reach the city of Hachinohe from Tokyo, even the fastest shinkansen takes the better part of three hours. It’s a long ride — a distance of some 400 kilometers in all, almost as far north as you can go on the Pacific coast of Honshu.

• Recipe: Japan’s diet-friendly ‘salad chicken’

  In most of Europe and North America, the white breast meat of chicken is more popular, and pricier, than the dark meat. In Japan, the opposite is true.

• Getting extremely emotional with grammar ahead of Children's Day

  As much as 桜 (sakura, cherry blossoms) are associated with the start of April, look around at the start of May and you’re likely to see 鯉のぼり (koinobori, carp streamers), which are hung in preparation for こどもの日 (kodomo no hi, Children’s Day) on May 5.

• 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.

 

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