Life & Arts

Khin Reth, 35, carries his 3-year-old son in rural Cambodia in 2003. The former soldier lost his leg to a land mine. (Getty Images)
Tea Leaves

How ghost of Khmer Rouge haunts a Cambodian holiday

Beyond Siem Reap's ancient temples, sobering reminders of land mines and past traumas

1 February 2023
Afghan journalist Salma Niazi, founder of The Afghan Times, attends an International Peace Conference in Peshawar, Pakistan, in November 2021. She fled Kabul last year to escape life under an increasingly restrictive Taliban government. (Courtesy of Salma Niazi)
Life

Female Afghan journalists continue their fight from abroad

Staffed by women, The Afghan Times seeks to hold the Taliban to account

1 February 2023
A leather upper fitted to a wooden shoe last: "Japanese shoemakers have a strong sense of curiosity, taking much time and effort to find prewar materials about shoemaking," a magazine editor says. (Photo taken at Orma, in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture)
Arts

Passion and precision: Japanese artisans conquer the shoe world

How law and architecture students plus consumers reshaped a hot fashion trend

29 January 2023
Sunrise in Mrauk U, an ancient town in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine. In recent years, the state has been wracked by fighting between Rakhine Buddhists and Myanmar's military regime, with the Rohingya Muslims trapped in the middle.
Life

History haunts Myanmar's 'triangle of death'

Buddhists, Muslims, central government in three-way struggle in Rakhine state

27 January 2023
Mickey Rooney's portrayal of the Japanese character Mr. Yunioshi in the 1961 movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" leaned into ugly stereotypes, prompting one reviewer to write, "The role is a caricature and may be offensive to some." (Getty Images)
Tea Leaves

Hollywood's skewed view of Japan

Caricatures and lurid plot lines have shaped Western attitudes

25 January 2023
Shinichi Suzuki with young students: The Suzuki Method of music education brought a universalizing and inclusive approach to what had once been regarded as a strictly Western art form. (Courtesy of Talent Education Research Institute)
Arts

How Suzuki Method conquered the music world

Despite global success, Japanese teacher dreamed even bigger, wanting to transform society at large

25 January 2023
Sophisticated AI technology can now produce images from text that are difficult to distinguish from works created by a human. 
Technology

Interactive quiz: How does AI generate images?

Image generative AI paints images from noise

21 January 2023
A detail of a poster for "Sri Asih," the second film in the Bumilangit Universe of superheroes created by writer and producer Joko Anwar. (Courtesy of Upi Avianto)
Arts

Indonesia's first female superhero is back

Cinematic rebirth of 'Sri Asih' coincides with women's rights crisis

20 January 2023
Left: Bilums from the author's collection made of traditional bark and sisal fibers, with the odd daub or strip of modern color in two cases. Right: A bilum trader at Port Moresby's Four Mile handicraft market makes a bilum out of modern materials while waiting for customers. (All photos by Hamish McDonald)
Tea Leaves

Papua New Guinea's 'bilums' weave together function, fashion

Traditional string bags find buyers in Sydney and New York

18 January 2023
Isna Marifa's novel "Mountains More Ancient" relates the history of Southeast Asians enslaved in Africa, treading a path of graceful reconciliation with history's complexities. (Nikkei montage/Courtesy of Isna Marifa) 
Books

Books: Author highlights Asian slavery at Cape of Good Hope

Isna Marifa's novel tells powerful, painful story through rare insights into everyday events

18 January 2023
Arata Isozaki at the Elysee Palace in Paris in May 2019. The rebel smuggled art-world trends into architecture.
Obituaries

Arata Isozaki, architect warned of the death of architecture

Japanese Pritzker Prize-winner rebelled against the mainstream

14 January 2023
SKA-Low prototype antennas on-site at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Western Australia. The SKA project has been compared in importance to NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. (Courtesy of the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research)
Life

Australia and partners ramp up search for alien life

Giant radio telescopes aim to probe secrets of the universe

13 January 2023
The tea ceremony encourages us to slow down and appreciate the beauty in everyday life. (Nikkei montage/Photos by Getty Images)
Tea Leaves

Japan's life lessons in a cup of tea

Traditional tea ceremony remains relevant to contemporary life

11 January 2023
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, left, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, center, and Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha pose for a photo on the sidelines of the 35th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in November 2019. China has worked hard to build influence in Southeast Asia, but it has struggled to win trust in the region.
Books

Books: China's influence campaigns fail to build trust

Joshua Kurlantzick's book offers comprehensive view of how Beijing attempts to sway global opinion

11 January 2023
In "A Catalog of Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On," Hong Kong novelist Dung Kai-cheung deftly evokes the inner emotions of recent college graduates, office workers, gang members and lonely singles in search of rescue from anonymity as much as love. (Courtesy of Dung Kai-cheung, Columbia University Press)
Books

Books: Urban chronicler turns purchased objects into prose

Dung Kai-cheung's catalog of consumerism brings recognition to Hong Kong writers

9 January 2023
Starting with tickets for admission in May, sales with begin three months in advance on the 10th of each month.
Travel & Leisure

Ghibli Park tickets go on sale for overseas visitors from Tuesday

First batch will be for entry in period between March 15 and April 30

8 January 2023
Japanese idol group JO1 performed to a national Japanese audience on NHK's New Year's Eve songfest, one of the year's biggest televised events.. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura)
Media & Entertainment

Blending K-pop and J-Pop, Tokyo boy band JO1 aims for global stage

11-member group thrills Japan on New Year's Eve with touch of Seoul music

8 January 2023
Arata Noguchi's apartment in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward does not have a bath, which fits well with his desire for a simple life. (Photo by Shihoko Nakaoka)
Property

No-bath apartments win over Japan's minimalist youth

Preference for simplicity and social interaction fuel trend

8 January 2023
Paintable stamps can turn everyday events into special memories.
Business trends

Japanese stationery has a new star: paintable stamps for diaries

Stickers add color to pages, tug at emotions and offer a break from smartphones

7 January 2023
Chihiro Kanagawa: The chairman of Shin-Etsu Chemical died on Jan. 1.
Obituaries

Shin-Etsu Chairman Chihiro Kanagawa dies at 96

His fast decision-making helped Japan company become key semiconductor supplier

5 January 2023
Visitors admire three paintings by Vincent Van Gogh on display at Tokyo's Sompo Museum of Art in 2003. 
Arts

Japan's Sompo faces $750m lawsuit over Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers'

Heirs of former owner argue insurer ignored Nazi role in painting's history

5 January 2023
"Emperor," the latest novel by former journalist and intelligence agent John Fullerton, is a gripping tale packed with details that could have been lifted from the international media's front pages. (All photos courtesy of John Fullerton) 
Books

Books: Doing laps with the Chinese 'emperor'

Espionage novel takes a close look at Beijing's ambitions in Taiwan

4 January 2023
The Confetti furniture series ranges from planters to umbrella stands, from sofas to kitchen tables. (Photo by Fumi Matsumoto)
Climate Change

Australians clamor to sit around and eat off recycled plastic

Sydney company's recycled materials furniture combines design and durability

2 January 2023
Terraced paddies in the Hoshitoge area of Tokamachi, a city in Niigata Prefecture, gleam next to crimson foliage in late autumn.  (Photo by Tomohide Yamaguchi) 
Life

How terraced rice paddies bring Japan's inhabitants together

'Tanada' evoke a nostalgia that grips city dwellers and villagers alike

31 December 2022
An aerial view of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ new building, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architects SANAA. (© Iwan Baan)
Arts

Sydney Modern bursts on art scene with daunting challenges

Visually dazzling, the city's new gallery leans heavily on inclusive sloganizing

30 December 2022