A man in a suit sits onstage at a Roppongi theater in May and fires a fart-fueled dart at a balloon. Later, another comedian flips through oversize image boards to tell an increasingly absurd narrative about feeding ever-larger pies to an old lady. The audience responds with bewilderment, laughter and applause. This is Yoshimoto Comedy Night Owarai, an English-language comedy show staged every Monday by Yoshimoto Kogyo, the powerhouse talent agency best known for its comedians. The Osaka-based company also stages a similar event called Nandeyanen every Friday at Yoshimoto…
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The former Shimazu family residence’s main building, located in the capital’s Shinagawa Ward, was designed by British architect Josiah Conder, who is also known for such landmarks as the Rokumeikan in Tokyo. Built of brick and with a building area of approximately 925 square meters, the house was completed and officially opened in 1917. The building has two above-ground floors and one basement level. Today, it serves as the main building of Seisen University, where it is actively used for classes and other university activities while being carefully preserved. A…
SHANGHAI (Kyodo) — Japanese Lolita fashion, with its lace-trimmed dresses, ruffled collars and voluminous skirts inspired by Western dolls, is winning over a growing number of young women in China, fueling demand for Japanese brands and helping turn a niche subculture into a growing consumer market. The style, which emerged in the 1990s in Tokyo’s Harajuku, a trendsetting shopping district and center of youth culture, has become one of the defining symbols of Japan’s “kawaii,” or cute, culture. In China, its popularity has spread through Japanese anime and films, attracting…
When Sanae Takaichi took office in October, Japan’s first female prime minister entered office under a relentless media spotlight. Eight months in, she has hardly faded from public view. But the method by which she reaches the public might be changing. Rather than relying solely on exchanges with reporters or television appearances that shaped some of her predecessors’ public image, Takaichi and her administration have leaned into a more direct form of communication — social media, official messaging and rapid online rebuttals. To her aides, the shift is not merely…
Love hotels (ラブホテル, rabu hoteru) are the Japanese take on a no-tell motel. Although in true Japanese fashion, they can range from perfunctory/outdated box rooms with a bed, to all-out, indulgent apartment-size spaces. While many might stumble upon luxury love hotels in Tokyo during a particularly romantic date, some plan entire dates around visiting one. To set the mood, you need to choose carefully. Generally speaking, cost performance and availability are vital considerations, but factors such as whether the room has an open-air bath are also points to consider. If…
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned President Trump about tensions between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan during their first meeting in Beijing on Thursday, according to China’s Foreign Ministry. “Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the U.S.,” Xi told Trump, according to a post on social platform X from ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. The White House, meanwhile, described the summit as “a good meeting.” Trump signaled in his opening remarks at the meeting that he’s ready to do business with China. The host…
The half-marathon in Beijing’s E-Town economic and technological development zone on Sunday showcased a leap in the capabilities of Chinese-made humanoid robots. The winner of the race, autonomous-navigation robot “Lightning”, developed by Honor, completed the race in an impressive 50 minutes and 26 seconds, despite a minor mishap near the finish line, surpassing the human world record. “Lightning” incorporates Honor’s proprietary integrated joint modules, delivering a peak torque of 400 Nm. Its liquid-cooling system features cooling channels that penetrate deep into the motor’s interior like capillaries to dissipate heat, while…
Aboard USSGerald R. Ford, priced at roughly $13 billion and billed as the most advanced US aircraft carrier in existence, the crew has repeatedly endured some seriously awkward and uncomfortable conditions: dysfunctional toilets, no clean laundry, and no beds. These repeated breakdowns have exposed the profound fatigue now gripping the US Navy, and perhaps the broader structure of American global dominance under sustained high-tempo and long-duration operations. According to a New York Times report published Monday, it took more than 30 hours for sailors to put out the fire aboard…
Organic food is often presented as a healthier, greener or more ethical choice. But when people decide whether to pay extra for organic milk, eggs or vegetables, something else is going on. Organic food belongs to a curious category that economists call “credence goods”. These are the products whose key qualities can’t be verified even after you’ve bought them. There’s no way that you can tell by looking at, tasting or cooking a food item whether it was genuinely produced to organic standards. Instead, you have to take it on…
U.S. and global oil and gas prices surged higher Monday as concerns grew that attacks by Israel and the U.S. on Iran could spiral into a broader war and disrupt global energy supplies. The U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other senior government officials while talks between Washington and Tehran over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program were reported to be ongoing. European benchmark Brent crude oil surged by as much as 13% in early trade on Monday,…