TOKYO — They’re your run-of-the-mill “salarymen,” as company workers in Japan are called — hard-working, friendly and, well, rather regular. But the chief executive and general manager at a tiny Japanese security company are among the nation’s biggest TikTok stars, drawing 2.7 million followers and 54 million likes, and honored with awards as a trend-setter […]
International News
Shinzo Abe, powerful former Japan prime minister, leaves divided legacy
July 21, 2022 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — Shinzo Abe was a political blueblood groomed for power. Japan’s longest serving prime minister, he was also perhaps the most polarizing, complex politician in recent Japanese history. Abe, who was assassinated July 8, angered both liberals at home and World War II victims in Asia with his hawkish push to revamp the military […]
Court says ban on same-sex marriage constitutional
June 23, 2022 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — A Japanese court ruled June 20 that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage does not violate the constitution, and rejected demands for compensation by three couples who said their right to free union and equality has been violated. The Osaka District Court ruling is the second decision on the issue, and disagrees with […]
Horie, 83, ready for more after crossing Pacific solo
June 9, 2022 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — Japanese adventurer Kenichi Horie at 83 just became the oldest person in the world to complete a solo, nonstop voyage across the Pacific Ocean — and he says he is still “in the middle of my youth” and not done yet. Horie returned home as he crossed the Kii Strait off Japan’s western […]
U.S. naval officer in Japan faces prison over deadly crash
June 9, 2022 by Leave a Comment
WASHINGTON — For Ridge Alkonis, a U.S. Navy lieutenant living in Japan, a springtime trip with his wife and three children to Mount Fuji was intended as fun and leisurely family time before an expected deployment. What happened next, and why, is a matter of dispute. But it gave rise to a three-year prison sentence. […]
Peace march held in Okinawa ahead of 50th anniv. of return to Japan
May 26, 2022 by Leave a Comment
NAHA, Japan — A peace march calling for the burden on Okinawa from hosting U.S. forces to be reduced was held May 14 in the southern island prefecture, a day before the 50th anniversary of its reversion to Japan. For the first time since taking office in October last year, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited […]
Tokyo same-sex partnership plans highlight road ahead for LGBTQ rights
January 20, 2022 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — Many welcomed Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike’s recent announcement that a same-sex partnership system would be introduced for all of Tokyo in fiscal 2022. But some LGBTQ activists have pointed out that much more work needs to be done to reach true equality in Japan. Currently, 12 of the 62 municipalities in Tokyo have […]
Suspect in Osaka clinic fire may have copied animation studio arson
December 23, 2021 by Leave a Comment
OSAKA — The suspect in a fatal fire at a mental health clinic in Osaka last week might have intended to copy a deadly 2019 arson at an animation studio in Kyoto, which also involved a purchase of gasoline before the incident, investigative sources said Dec. 21. Morio Tanimoto had left in his presumed living […]
Princess Mako marries commoner, loses royal status
October 28, 2021 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — Japanese Princess Mako quietly married a commoner without traditional wedding celebrations Oct. 26 and said their marriage — delayed three years and called unfit by some — “was a necessary choice to live while cherishing our hearts.” The marriage to Kei Komuro cost Mako her royal status and she has taken her husband’s […]
Vaccines, masks? Japan puzzling over sudden virus success
October 28, 2021 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — Almost overnight, Japan has become a stunning, and somewhat mysterious, coronavirus success story. Daily new COVID-19 cases have plummeted from a mid-August peak of nearly 6,000 in Tokyo, with caseloads in the densely populated capital now routinely below 100, an 11-month low. The bars are packed, the trains are crowded, and the mood […]
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