Latest Tokyo News
South Korea will not attend Sado mines memorial event in Japan amid lingering historical tensions
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s government said Saturday it will not attend a memorial service near Japan’s Sado Island Gold Mines due to disagreements with Tokyo over the event, which stirred longstanding tensions over the abuse of Korean forced laborers at the site before the end of...
Japan will hold first memorial for 'all workers' at Sado gold mines but blurs WWII atrocity. Why?
SADO, Japan (AP) — Japan will hold a memorial ceremony on Sunday near the Sado Island Gold Mines, which were listed this summer as a UNESCO World Heritage site after the country moved past years of historical disputes with South Korea and reluctantly acknowledged the mines' dark history. ...
Japan says it will watch China's military activity after Beijing admits violating Japanese airspace
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese officials said Wednesday they are closely watching to see if China keeps its promise to prevent further violations of Japan's airspace after explaining that an incursion by a Chinese military aircraft nearly three months ago was unintentional and caused by turbulence. ...
Japanese poet Shuntaro Tanikawa, master of modern free verse, dies at 92
TOKYO (AP) — Shuntaro Tanikawa, who pioneered modern Japanese poetry, poignant but conversational in its divergence from haiku and other traditions, has died. He was 92. Tanikawa, who translated the “Peanuts” comic strip and penned the lyrics for the theme song of the...
An Australian on trial for drugs in Japan says she's the victim of a romance scam
CHIBA, Japan (AP) — An Australian accused of smuggling amphetamines in a suitcase appeared in a Japanese court on Monday nearly two years after her arrest, saying she is innocent and that she was tricked into carrying them as part of an online romance scam. Donna Nelson from Perth,...
Uniqlo's chief says fast fashion must change with the times
TOKYO (AP) — Forty years after its founding, Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo has more than 2,500 stores worldwide. Sales at its parent company, Fast Retailing Co., recently topped 3 trillion yen ($20 billion) annually for the first time. The name Uniqlo comes from joining the...
Japanese Princess Yuriko, wartime Emperor Hirohito's sister-in-law, dies at 101
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Princess Yuriko, the wife of wartime Emperor Hirohito’s brother and the oldest member of the imperial family, has died after her health deteriorated recently, palace officials said. She was 101. Yuriko died Friday at a Tokyo hospital, the Imperial Household...
Olympic champion wrestler Gable Steveson ends retirement, returns to University of Minnesota
Gable Steveson, who won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, said Tuesday he is coming out of retirement and will return to the University of Minnesota for a fifth and final season of college wrestling. Steveson won gold as a freestyle heavyweight in Tokyo at age 21, then won...
Ishiba survived a rare runoff to remain Japan's prime minister but will face turmoil
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, battered in parliamentary elections last month, has survived a rare runoff vote against the opposition to remain the country's leader but he still faces turmoil ahead. One of his top priorities is dealing with the aftermath of a...
Japan's SoftBank returns to profit after gains at Vision Fund and other investments
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments. Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7...
