Japan

World News

Japan's prime minister arrives in Ukraine for talks with President Zelenskyy

3:25am March 21, 2023

by The Associated Press

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began a surprise visit to Ukraine early Tuesday, hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in neighboring Russia for a three-day visit.

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (right) shakes hands with South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol during the ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Nov. 13, 2022. The two leaders will meet in Tokyo on Thursday in the first bilateral summit between Japan and South Korea in more than a decade, in hopes of overcoming tensions that date back more than 100 years.

World News

Leaders of Japan and South Korea will meet Thursday to try and mend ties

10:43pm March 15, 2023

by Anthony Kuhn

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are hoping to overcome historical feuds and domestic politics that have sent relations to their lowest point in decades.

Japanese Nobel Prize winning author Kenzaburo Oe poses in March 2012 during the inauguration of the 32nd Paris Book Fair, which focused on Japanese writers.

Japan's Kenzaburo Oe, a Nobel-winning author of poetic fiction, dies at 88

8:46am March 13, 2023

by The Associated Press

Oe's works, including The Catch and A Personal Matter, were built from his childhood memories during Japan's postwar occupation and from being the parent of a disabled son.

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, center, leaves after a briefing announcing a plan on Monday to resolve a dispute over compensating people forced to work under Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea Monday, March 6, 2023.

World News

U.S. allies South Korea and Japan move closer to resolve forced labor feud

5:10am March 06, 2023

by Se Eun Gong

South Korea announced on Monday a plan to compensate victims of forced labor under Japan's colonization through a government foundation with funds from South Korean companies.

The Japanese flag and Olympic rings are seen at the Japan Olympic Museum near the National Stadium in Tokyo on Feb. 17.

Japan ad giant and other firms indicted over alleged Olympic contract bid-rigging

12:25pm February 28, 2023

by Anthony Kuhn

The complaints allege that Japan advertising giant Dentsu, its main rival Hakuhodo and four other firms and seven individuals rigged bids for Olympic test events.

Japan conducted a recount of its number of islands amid criticism that the figures weren't correct. Geographers are expected to add more than 7,000 islands to the count.

Japan recounted its islands. Now geographers say there may be 7,000 more of them

5:01am February 17, 2023

by Roshan Fernandez

Japan conducted a recount of its islands amid criticism that the data was old and inaccurate. Geographers took another look and the number of islands is expected to more than double.

Customers dine at a Japanese conveyor belt sushi restaurant restaurant in Tokyo on Jan. 22, 2020.

Japan's conveyor belt sushi industry takes a licking from an errant customer

10:08am February 02, 2023

by Anthony Kuhn

The public's reaction to reports of one customer defiling utensils at sushi eateries suggests it's a brazen assault on two things of which Japanese are very proud, their sushi and their manners.

A lunch at Onigiri Bongo includes mustard green and salmon flake onigiri, miso soup, pickles and green tea.

World News

People in Tokyo wait in line 3 hours for a taste of these Japanese rice balls

5:01am January 05, 2023

by Anthony Kuhn

Onigiri Bongo has served the humble onigiri, or rice ball, for 60 years. The current owner is the widow of the original owner, whom she married after discovering the restaurant as a newcomer to Tokyo.

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Arata Isozaki arrives at the Élysée Palace in Paris on May 24, 2019. The Pritzker-winning Japanese architect has died at 91.

Pritzker-winning architect Arata Isozaki dies at 91

10:58am December 30, 2022

by The Associated Press

The Japanese architect was known as a post-modern giant who blended culture and history of the East and the West in his designs. He won the Pritzker Prize, the highest honor in the field, in 2019.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen on March 17. Japan on Thursday adopted a new policy promoting greater use of nuclear energy to ensure a stable power supply amid global fuel shortages and reduce carbon emissions — a major reversal of its phaseout plan since the Fukushima crisis.

World News

After the Fukushima disaster, Japan swore to phase out nuclear power. But not anymore

3:29pm December 22, 2022

by The Associated Press

Japan adopted a plan to extend the lifespan of nuclear reactors, replace the old and even build new ones, a major shift in a country scarred by the Fukushima disaster.