Japan

Expo 2025 Visitors Endure Sweltering Night After Osaka Train Shutdown

A sudden suspension of the sole train to Japan's Expo 2025 stranded more than 30,000 visitors, with some forced to spend a sweltering night near the station and more than 30 people sent to hospitals by Thursday morning. A power outage abruptly shut the metro line in Osaka on Wednesday night while a crowd was packed into the Expo site's ...

Asian Cup: Lebanon Defeats Japan and Advances to Quarterfinals

With their backs against the wall, the reigning Asian vice-champions rose to the occasion. On Tuesday evening at King Abdullah Sports City, Miodrag Perisic’s men silenced “Akatsuki Japan” and imposed their will on both sides of the court. A Decisive Match, a Resounding Response Dedric Lawson recorded a double-double (24 points, 10 ...

Hiroshima Marks 80 Years as Us-Russia Nuclear Tensions Rise

Japan marked 80 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Wednesday with a ceremony reminding the world of the horrors unleashed, as sabre-rattling between the United States and Russia keeps the nuclear "Doomsday Clock" close to midnight. A silent prayer was held at 8:15 am (2315 GMT), the moment when US aircraft Enola Gay dropped ...

Climate Disruption Drives Up Grocery Costs

There was a time when fuel prices were the main concern. Today, it’s the cost of food that’s raising eyebrows. What ends up on our plates is no longer determined solely by supply, demand or inflation. Temperature has become a key factor. Behind the sharp rise in food prices, a quieter but increasingly decisive force has emerged: climate ...

Huge Quake off Russia Sparks Pacific Tsunami Warnings

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia's sparsely populated Far East on Wednesday, causing tsunamis up to four metres (12 feet) high across the Pacific and sparking evacuations from Hawaii to Japan. The magnitude 8.8 quake struck off Petropavlovsk on Russia's remote Kamchatka peninsula, and was the largest since 2011 ...

'Demon Slayer' Movie Smashes Box Office Records in Japan

The latest movie adaptation of hit manga and anime series Demon Slayers breaking records in Japan, becoming the fastest film to gross 10 billion yen ($67 million), an industry body said. The film was released on July 18 and reached the 10-billion-yen mark after eight days. The previous record-holder was the last installment of the series, which ...

Sony Buys Stake in ‘Gundam’ Owner to Grow Anime Business

Sony has bought a strategic 2.5 percent stake in Japanese game franchise giant Bandai Namco, which owns "Gundam" and arcade classic "Pac-Man", with a view to growing its anime business. Booming global appetite for Japanese animation has become a money-spinner for Sony, which acquired online anime library Crunchyroll in 2021. "As two of the ...

Trump Secures "Massive" Trade Deal with Japan as Deadline Looms for Global Tariff Threats

Donald Trump announced Tuesday a "massive" trade deal with Japan, marking a key breakthrough for major US trade partners as they scramble to strike agreements before the end of the month. In an attempt to slash his country's colossal trade deficit, the US president has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive "reciprocal" tariffs if they do ...

What If AI Could Let You Watch Your Dreams Like a Movie?

Sleep, dream… and soon, wake up and watch your dreams like a movie? While it may still sound like science fiction, this technology is taking shape in research labs. At Kyoto’s ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, neuroscientist Yukiyasu Kamitani and his team have created an AI system that decodes brain activity during REM sleep—the ...

Nintendo Announces Lead Cast for Epic "Legend of Zelda" Movie

Two British actors will play the lead roles in the hotly anticipated live-action film adaptation of the Legend of Zelda video game franchise, Japan's Nintendo announced. The film's release is set for May 2027, joining a stream of game adaptations from Super Mario to Sonic the Hedgehog that have stormed the box office in recent years. Bo Bragason ...

Trump Pushes Japan to Import More American Rice, a Major Political Challenge for Tokyo

Donald Trump’s demand that Japan, described as “spoiled”, buy more American rice is creating additional pressure for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is already facing a tough election that could bring his time in office to an end after less than a year. Japan is one of more than 20 countries receiving letters this week from the US ...