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While Biden and Kishida exchange praise in Washington, Japan is asking ‘what if Trump’?
Despite warm words from the US and Japanese leaders during their summit this week, back in Japan the spectre o…
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Pioneering Hawaiian-born sumo champion Akebono dies aged 54
Tributes paid to wrestler, who was born Chad Rowan and became the sport’s first non-Japanese grand champion in…
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Everyone in Japan will be called Sato by 2531 unless marriage law changed, says professor
Sato will become the only option by 2531, suggests modelling as part of campaign to overturn outdated law requ…
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Bonsai trees and a royal birthday: Japan’s imperial family dips a careful toe in world of Instagram
Meme-worthy content appears in short supply, at least initially, as world’s oldest royal family embarks on its…
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‘Ruining my career’: calls grow for Japan to change law on married surnames
Japan is the only country in the world that requires spouses to use the same name, but after decades of inacti…
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North Korea’s spy satellite is a big deal, regardless of how advanced its technology is
Rocket launch underlines Kim Jong-un’s ability to sidestep UN sanctions and suggests ballistic missile buildin…
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Japanese kabuki actor gets suspended sentence for assisting parents’ suicide
Ennosuke Ichikawa was part of apparent family pact to take their own lives after he learned he was to be accus…
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‘Pachi pachi’ or ‘kachi kachi’? Japan launches foreigners’ guide to tricky world of onomatopoeia
As foreign population reaches record levels, the western prefecture of Mie has compiled a guide for those who …
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Japan gets a new island after undersea volcano erupts
New landmass about 100 metres across pops up above the waves near Iwoto island after eruptions began last mont…
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South Korea launches campaign to squash bedbugs after outbreak takes hold
Bedbugs were almost eradicated via nationwide campaign in 1960s but thanks to lifting of travel restrictions a…
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Osaka’s baseball underdogs hope one more win will lift curse of KFC
Many in the city have put the Hanshin Tigers’ lack of success down to an unusual Colonel Sanders-based superst…
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Costs, delays and labour shortages threaten the Osaka world expo
Japan hopes the fair in 2025 will reconnect it with the global community after Covid but calls are growing to …
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The Vladimir Putin-Kim Jong-un summit: five things we learned
Meeting in Russia’s Far East could mean worrying weapons developments in Ukraine and the North Korean leader’s…
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Pink leather armchairs and bomb-proof floors: inside Kim Jong-un’s armoured train
The North Korean leader’s preferred mode of transport is slow-moving but luxuriously appointedJoe Biden has Ai…
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Head of Johnny Kitagawa’s J-pop agency resigns over sexual abuse scandal
Julie Fujishima, niece of late pop mogul, apologises and acknowledges agency founder’s abuse for first timeThe…