Life & Arts

Uthis Haemamool’s “The Fabulist'' is a small-town family saga that dramatizes -- and challenges -- how official Thai history is written, or fictionalized, and intersects with the lives of common people. (Nikkei montage/Photos courtesy of Uthis Haemamool)
Books

Provincial family tale challenges established Thai 'truths'

Uthis Haemamool's 'The Fabulist' pits small stories against grand narratives

23 November 2023
Film production companies are showing interest in the Forest City development's various attractions as a shooting location. (Photo courtesy of Forest City)
Property

Country Garden's Forest City project in Malaysia gets boost from films

International TV, including Netflix reality series 'The Mole,' drawn by scenery

22 November 2023
A father carries a baby in a sling in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward. More Japanese men are taking time off work to care for their children -- an option that had not always been available to them.
Tea Leaves

Japan's fathers get leave to do their bit

A collapse in the fertility rate prompts a more liberal approach to paternity leave

22 November 2023
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, at a reception to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary in Plains, Georgia, in 2021. 
Obituaries

Former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter dies at 96

Mental health advocate and humanitarian was also president's 'closest adviser'

20 November 2023
Kabuki actor Tamasaburo Bando speaks to Nikkei in a recent interview.
Arts

Kabuki star to lift curtain on kimono exhibition in U.K.

Oxford museum to display Tamasaburo Bando's colorful costumes

19 November 2023
Paul Lorimer at home with jars of the awamori rice spirit. The containers are among a wide range of items produced by the craftsman, who moved to Japan in the 1970s. (Photo by Stephen Mansfield)
Arts

New Zealand potter crafts life in rural Okinawa

Paul Lorimer is a firm advocate of hands-on, labor-intensive working methods

19 November 2023
A scene from "The Wrestler": The Bangladeshi sport of boli is at the heart of the film, which took home an award at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in October. (Courtesy of the Busan International Film Festival)
Arts

Bangladeshi films emerge from Bollywood's shadow

Award for 'The Wrestler' and accolades for other works signal emergence of a new cinema power

18 November 2023
Tadanori Yokoo with some of his paintings at his studio in southwestern Tokyo on Oct. 19. He is currently showing a series of recent works at the Tokyo National Museum.
Arts

Legendary Japanese artist Tadanori Yokoo is still going strong at 87

Painter looks back at legacy of making waves since the 1960s

17 November 2023
Jonny Fowle, global head of spirits at Sotheby's, unveils "The Archer," a bottle of Karuizawa whisky distilled in 1960. Only 41 bottles were made from the cask. (Photo by Rhyannon Bartlett-Imadegawa)
Life

Sotheby's aims for record Japanese whisky sale

1960 Karuizawa bottle expected to fetch over $300,000

16 November 2023
A hiker takes in the view from Mount Fuji. Giving a label to the pursuit of solo activities -- solo katsudo -- has helped destigmatize being alone in Japan.
Tea Leaves

In Japan, you're not alone in being alone

Social embrace of 'solo katsu' shows that to deal with solitude, relish it

15 November 2023
Director Akira Kurosawa on the set of his 1980 historical epic "Kagemusha." The Japanese maestro and his works are the subject of two recent books. (Courtesy of Ian Buruma)
Books

Books: Kurosawa studies offer intriguing new takes on Japanese film great

Writers place renowned director's 30 movies in historical context

12 November 2023
The Viceroy Special steam-powered luxury train: Sri Lanka boasts of a number of scenic journeys by rail. (Courtesy of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau)
Life

Sri Lanka aims to transform tourism

Island nation walks a tightrope in dual drive for income and sustainability

11 November 2023
Amar Chitra Katha comic books are beloved by generations of Indian children. (All photos and illustrations courtesy of Amar Chitra Katha)
Arts

Telling India's history through comics

Publisher Amar Chitra Katha goes digital to stay a must-read for kids

10 November 2023
Cats crowd the harbor on Aoshima, a small island in southwestern Japan where felines outnumber humans by roughly 24 to 1. 
Tea Leaves

Behind Japan's curious obsession with cats

Perhaps feline freedom is the lifestyle model the nation needs

8 November 2023
Lithuania’s Ambassador to Japan Aurelijus Zykas and his wife, Kristina, talk about how "courage" helped Lithuania become the first Baltic state to declare its independence from the Soviet Union. (Photo by Jun Takai)
Life

Beetroot soup diplomacy: Envoy gives Japan taste of Lithuanian culture

Aurelijus Zykas wields fluent Japanese to sell his nation's native food products

5 November 2023
The enthusiasm of Thai youth for K-pop is partly due to the success of Lisa, a member of the popular South Korean girl group Blackpink. 
Business trends

Thailand's youth, economy dance to the beat of Thai-born K-pop stars

Southeast Asia's Korea boom ushers in new era of Thai entertainment

5 November 2023
In "Perfect Days," veteran Japanese actor Koji Yakusho plays a toilet cleaner who takes pleasure in the small joys in life. (Photo by Yuji Sadai)
Arts

Wim Wenders elevates Tokyo toilets into a movie masterpiece

'Perfect Days' seen in Japan as a top pick for best international film Oscar

4 November 2023
The members of team Future Programmer Girls proudly display the online game they developed during the Girls for Coding program in Ulaanbaatar. (Photo by Johan Nylander)
Life

Girl power is helping shape Mongolia's digital future

Coding boot camp reveals country's economic potential to diversify from mining

2 November 2023
Women gather near the main entrance of the University of Tehran on Oct. 24. Despite laws requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, not everyone complies.
Tea Leaves

Life as a woman in Iran, uncensored

Challenges remain, but there has been real change in recent decades

1 November 2023
Kohei Yamashita is pictured with the character he created as the decidedly unusual face of the upcoming Expo. It was selected from nearly 2,000 proposals. (Photo by Takumi Kobayashi)
Arts

'Creepy but cute' Osaka Expo mascot steps forward as quirky hit

Myaku-Myaku character proving popular even as 2025 event grapples with challenges

29 October 2023
"Tiger Stripes" (2023), a coming-of-age horror film, in May became the first Malaysian film to take home the coveted Critics' Week Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. (Courtesy of Akanga Film Productions) 
Arts

Movie successes abroad prompt soul-searching in Malaysia

Awards bring domestic struggles with censorship and finance to the fore

28 October 2023
Characters and scenes from "Princess Mononoke" are recreated at a new section in Ghibli Park, in Aichi prefecture in central Japan. (Photo by Kazumi Saito)
Travel & Leisure

Ghibli Park's new area lets kids slide down a big boar's back

New area based on 'Princess Mononoke' to open Nov. 1

28 October 2023
Li Keqiang, then the Communist Party secretary in China's northeastern Liaoning province, visits an orphanage in June 2007. The late former premier had an unusual reputation for openness and closeness to regular people.
Obituaries

Li Keqiang, a Communist Chinese leader with a 'human face'

Former premier's death leaves Beijing watchers wondering what might have been

27 October 2023
Chinese netizens were shocked at the sudden death of former Premier Li Keqiang. User names have been blurred to protect people's identities. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters and screenshot from Chinese social media) 
Society

Chinese citizens mourn Li Keqiang's sudden death

Online posts recount former premier's openness and closeness to common people

27 October 2023
Then-Premier Li Keqiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in 2017. 
Politics

China's former Premier Li Keqiang dies at 68

CCTV reports he suffered a heart attack just months after retirement

27 October 2023