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Roars echoed through Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan arena as karate made its Olympic debut. Just as Wimbledon enjoys iconic status as a venue for tennis, the Budokan is at the heart of martial arts, and for many Olympians, appearing there was a dream come true. France’s Alexandra Feracci is one of the karate practitioners who had…
You know the world is churning out some depressing headlines when news that Takara Tomy has created a robotic talking grandchild to provide comfort and companionship to Japan’s elderly isn’t anywhere near the saddest news of the week—but it definitely comes close. Using robots to give the elderly something to engage with is far from…
Whisky fans around the world will be thrilled to hear that age-marked Yamazaki is back with a bang. This week, Japanese distillery Suntory has announced the return of a classic, in the form of a new Reformulated Yamazaki 25 years aged. With the global appetite for Japanese whisky as high as ever, this new release…
(CNN) — High temperatures during the Tokyo Olympics have been making headlines around the world. In fact, the event may go down as one of the hottest and most humid in the history of the Games. Last week, the current world No. 2 tennis player Daniil Medvedev said the heat and humidity were “some of…
Madeline BuianoJuly 20, 2021, 4:15 AM. After being postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Tokyo Summer Olympics are finally here. The games begin on July 23 and close on August 8. If you’ve been eagerly awaiting the quadrennial event’s arrival, chances are you’re ready to kick back with a cold beer…
This weekend, Disney announced Star Wars: Visions, an anime anthology of original shorts. Seven anime studios are putting their unique spin on the world of Star Wars, a first for the franchise. Yet, it feels like Star Wars has finally come full circle. “Japanese animation inspired a lot of the people at Lucasfilm over the…
We’ve seen love dolls taken to high levels of seriousness before, with some people adopting them as a family or investigating their kidnappings. But usually, those were always a few eccentric individuals, without any sort of official organizations playing a part. Until now. Japanese YouTuber Tanaka Natsuki typically makes videos about visiting hot springs and…
A Japanese restaurant operator has started using dried bonito flakes certified as caught and processed in an eco-friendly way as part of efforts to maintain both the country’s culinary culture and fishery resources. Kijima Co. based in Yokohama near Tokyo on June 8 began serving at all of its six restaurants dishes using special bonito…
A travel buddy told me that he had heard about “fugu” (pufferfish), and that eating it is good for one’s health. But because it’s also poisonous, he wouldn’t dare try it. During the Shogunate Era, around 270AD, there were reports of samurais dying after eating fugu. As such, at the end of the 16th century,…
Vegan McRib sandwiches may not be on the McDonald’s menu anytime soon but Japanese startup Next Meat Co. is giving Americans the next best thing. On June 19, Tokyo-based Next Meat Co., in collaboration with fast-food chain Wayback Burgers, will offer free samples of two vegan sliders made with Yakiniku Short Ribs—the startup’s tender vegan…
