Life & Arts

Mizuki Nishimura, half of the comic duo Viking, spends time on a plot of land he bought in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture. (Screen grab from Nishimura's YouTube channel)
Property

Japan's outdoor enthusiasts set off mountain land rush

Turned off by crowded campsites, some buy their own slice of wilderness

5 June 2022
Kenichi Horie stands on the deck of the Suntory Mermaid III in the early hours of June 4, successfully sailing across the Pacific from San Francisco to Japan's Kii Peninsula on a 69-day voyage.
Life

Kenichi Horie becomes oldest person to cross Pacific solo at 83

Japanese yachtsman follows up 1962 feat as first to make crossing alone

4 June 2022
One of the students at Aajibaichi Shala, a school in the western Indian village of Phangane where women aged 60 to 94 come to learn reading, writing, arithmetic and other skills. (All photos courtesy of Aajibaichi Shala)
Life

Learning is old hat at India's 'school for grannies'

Maharashtra initiative combats widespread illiteracy among elderly women

3 June 2022
Eighties pop superband Duran Duran perform during their "Red Carpet Massacre" tour in 2008, when the author saw them play in Seoul.   
Tea Leaves

When sport and music collide in Asia

Regional fans of imported acts should take a critical look at 'value for money'

1 June 2022
Organizers of this year's edition of the Borneo Jazz Festival hope to broaden the event's appeal by inviting such performers as Switzerland-based DJ Estephe, pictured, and local hip-hop artists. (Courtesy of Borneo Jazz Festival) 
Arts

Borneo segues back into international music groove

Sarawak returns to the arts limelight after COVID-19 lockdowns

1 June 2022
A bonsai tree, left, in a pot made by ceramic artist Masanobu Ando, was part of an exhibition in Gifu Prefecture that came together out of a sense of crisis Ando feels as the rest of the world takes the Japanese art in fresh directions. (Photo by Akira Takemura)
Arts

Bonsai: Japan's living art evolves as it emigrates to rest of Asia

In its home country, young artists try to free the craft from ancient traditions

29 May 2022
Song Kang-ho accepts the award for best actor for "Broker" during the awards ceremony of the 75th international film festival, Cannes, southern France on May 28.
Arts

Korea's Song Kang-ho named best actor at Cannes

The star performed in Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda's film 'Broker'

29 May 2022
A buyer checks a jade stone near a mine in resource-rich Kachin State, Myanmar, in 2015. The "self-reliant revolution" of Myanmar's Kachin ethnic minority is made possible by taxes on jade, gold, timber, opium and other resources that stream into China.
Life

Inside Myanmar's strategic 'land of jade'

Military takeover has triggered a fresh drive for Kachin autonomy

27 May 2022
Tamaki Osaka, right, mother of tennis star Naomi Osaka, says that she and daughter Naomi are exactly alike (Source photo by Kyodo)
Sports

Books: Like mother, like daughter, Tamaki Osaka fights for freedom

Mother of Japan's best-known tennis star looks back on her turbulent life

26 May 2022
Lanterns diffuse the light in the Omoide Yokocho alleyway near Tokyo's Shinjuku Station. (Photo by Stephen Mansfield)
Tea Leaves

Japan sheds light on shadows of the past

How the country's 'dark valley' of 1930s paved the way for a brilliant future

25 May 2022
Chocolate and cocoa seeds from Kad Kokoa, a Thai company that specializes in the "bean-to-bar" process valued by chocolate aficionados, using beans of Thai origin. (Courtesy of Leo Sebag)
Life

Thailand sweetens menu of gourmet offerings

Aficionados pioneer quality chocolate-growing and making

25 May 2022
Brunch in Singapore can be anything a foodie might dream of. (Photo by Arabelle Zhuang)
Life

Five of Singapore's best places for brunch with a difference

Refreshing twists to the city-state's ubiquitous weekend dining experience

24 May 2022
Myanmar poet San Nyein Oo -- now living in exile -- reads a statement of condolence from the local poets' union for Thet Naing Win, who was shot and killed by security forces during protests against the military takeover, in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Feb. 23, 2021. (Getty Images)
Life

Myanmar poets speak out from the front lines of protest

Repression burnishes survivor's guilt and creative resistance

20 May 2022
People light incense sticks at a Buddhist temple in the Chinese city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, on Jan. 1, 2021. The country's image as "nonreligious" does not always match the reality. 
Tea Leaves

Same, same but different: curse of the stereotype

Generalizing about Asia's national complexities is fraught with danger

18 May 2022
The newly reopened Maya Bay -- famously featured in the Leonardo DiCaprio movie "The Beach" (2000) -- limits the number of visitors per hour to 300. (All photos by Tom Vater)
Life

Two decades on, 'The Beach' faces fresh problems

Thailand's iconic Maya Bay, battered by mass tourism, attempts a comeback

18 May 2022
In Southeast Asia, home to some of the world's most authoritarian and straight-laced societies, heavy metal, punk and hip-hop music still functions as a loudspeaker for protest. (Nikkei montage/Source photos from Defying Decay, Terror, YouTube)
Arts

Rebel music is alive and kicking in Southeast Asia

Musicians are still making risky protests against repressive governments

13 May 2022
Military helicopters fly near the Taipei 101 building during a rehearsal ahead of National Day celebrations in Taiwan's capital in October 2021.
Tea Leaves

In China's shadow, Taiwanese keep calm and carry on

For Taipei, this is the best and worst of times

11 May 2022
On the Myanmar side of the border with Thailand, the ordination hall at the Wah Fah Waing Inn monastery now sits atop a fortified base. (All photos by Lorcan Lovett)
Life

Guns, not monks, at monastery on Myanmar's Thai border

Refugees and orphan monks live meters from the army they escaped

11 May 2022
At the time of completion in 1964, the cable-suspension roof at Kenzo Tange's Yoyogi National Gymnasium was the largest of its kind. (Photo by James Hand-Cukierman)
Life

12 glorious highlights in Tokyo's constellation of starchitecture

The mind-bending vision of Japan's world-leading architects

10 May 2022
A statue of Indonesian President Joko Widodo on a motorbike at the entrance of the Mandalika MotoGP course on the resort island of Lombok. (Photos by Ian Neubauer)
Sports

Indonesia wins with return of the motorcycle Grand Prix

Race offered a much-needed boost for the local economy

8 May 2022
A Moken fisherman returns with a sea turtle. (Courtesy of E. Bouvet,1992)
Books

Books: Understanding Southeast Asia's sea nomads

Misjudged group has played a major role in regional economic development

6 May 2022
In one shop’s hodgepodge display of merchandise that spills onto the sidewalk, a plush creature lounges among dishes and old-movie DVDs. (Photo by Edward M. Gomez)
Tea Leaves

Japan's flea markets offer more treasure than trash

Unassuming secondhand stalls are ready for their breakthrough moment

4 May 2022
"Designing Modern Japan," by historian and design expert Sarah Teasley, has much to offer readers interested in Japan's cultural history. The image on the right is a line drawing of an electric percolator from 1946. It was part of a project to produce household goods for the Allied Occupation. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Masayuki Hayashi/courtesy of Sara Teasley)
Books

Books: How design revolutionized Japan

Innovators used form and aesthetic sense to reform country's economy and social system

4 May 2022
Former Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta makes remarks after his swearing in ceremony as former President George W. Bush listens in 2001.
Obituaries

Norman Mineta, transportation secretary in 9/11 era, dies

First Asian American to serve as a Cabinet member

4 May 2022
Ivica Osim, then the manager of Japan's national soccer team, gives instructions to players in October 2007. He trained the players by offering a different regimen every day.
3 May 2022