China snubs Asia’s largest defense forum as tensions with US simmer - CNN
China will not send its defense minister to this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, shunning a chance to meet his US and Asian counterparts as tensions simmer with Washington.
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Apple conference, Thaksin court case, Tokyo campaign starts
Get the best of our coverage of Asia and much more by following us on X, @NikkeiAsia.We are also now on Bluesky. Our handle is @asia.nikkei.com.. MONDAY. Apple Worldwide Developers Conference ...
Japan Super Budget Dining – What’s the best way to spend 1,000 yen at Saizeriya?
Eleven locals showcase their idea of the most satisfying meal at one of Japan’s cheapest restaurants.If your stomach has decided to imitate a tiger, demanding to be satiated with food, but things are looking a little tight at the moment, there’s one option in Japan that will leave you feeling completely satisfied upon exiting: Saizeriya. With its incredibly low prices, it’s a perfect place to have a meal without breaking the bank.Our Japanese-language team has tackled many of Japan’s popular cha
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Seiji’s stroll in Okutama takes a dark turn.With a fierce heat wave hitting east Japan, our Japanese-language reporter Seiji Nakazawa had the idea to flee to the coldest place in Tokyo that he could find. That escape plan was a success, as you can read about here, but it was on Seiji’s trip back that he ran into trouble.To recap, Seiji’s quest for the cold had taken him to Nippara Limestone Cave in Okutama, at the northwestern edge of the Tokyo city limits. The cave is located high in the mounta
“I should not have gone out naked” admits man arrested at shrine in Japan
Some 20-20 hindsight about wearing zero clothing.When caught acting inappropriately, it’s important to show remorse. Obviously, you can’t turn back the clock and undo what’s been done, but expressing that you now understand your behavior was inexcusable is a necessary step towards rehabilitation, since it carries the implication that you’ll try to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future.And so it perhaps provides some measure of reassurance to know that the completely nude man who
Domino’s releases new “Crispizzaburger” in Japan
Pizza chain jumps on a viral trend with fried sandwiches to new extremes. It’s been a tough time for pizza chains in Japan, with Domino’s recently closing a number of its stores due to rising prices, which have impacted the business while also forcing customers to tighten their purse-strings. In order to stay ahead of the competition, the chain now aims to streamline its lunchtime options, reducing its “solo lunch” menu options from 60 to just 9, and rebranding it as “DomiLunch”, with a br
KFC Gundam bucket is here to celebrate 30th anniversary of franchise’s breakout overseas hit
I just feel chicken emotion.Though Gundam has always been a big deal in Japan, Gundam Wing was when the franchise really found its foothold among overseas anime fans. Prior to Wing, just about every Gundam anime was a sequel or spinoff of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, meaning that to get the most out of them, you had to be familiar with the complex storyline of a 1979 TV show with a high episode count that already very much looked its age.Then along came Gundam Wing, which was a breath of fre
Crazy huge Hololive plushies for crazy huge VTuber fans are on the way【Photos】
Hololive’s 3rd Generation stars are getting ready to take over part of your home.The whole deal with virtual YouTubers is that they don’t exist in physical space. However, as part of the otaku media sphere, popular VTubers do cross over the digital divide in the form of character merch, and if you’re a fan of Hololive’s stars, you might want to start clearing out a whole bunch of physical space in your home.That’s because the production company’s 3rd Generation quartet are getting the giant plus
Suntanned Hello Kitty Happy Meal toys on their way to McDonald’s Japan【Video】
Hello Kitty heads to the Golden Arches, the sunny beach, and summer festivals.Though the whole world knows Sanrio’s superstar cat as Hello Kitty, that’s actually her nickname. The character’s official “real” name is Kitty White, with her surname likely meant to evoke the snowy shade of her fur.However, while she’s always Kitty White, Hello Kitty is also sometimes brown, like in her upcoming batch of McDonald’s Japan Happy Meal toys.That’s because Kitty-chan periodically develops a “suntan” while
Japan Railway-affiliated Tokyo shopping centers issue warning over point card scam
Atre Cards are still good, but their QR codes might take you someplace bad.For a while there, “Everything lasts forever on the Internet” looked like it was going to become common sense. However, as time has gone by, we’ve learned that that’s not always true. Online permeance only extends so far as the constancy of server and domain maintenance, which brings us to a little problem involving East Japan Railway Company, or JR East.Like a lot of rail companies in Japan, JR has its fingers in a lot o
Pokémon Center Online tells all customers to change their passwords after fraudulent log-ins
Gotta change ‘em all.The Pokémon Center Online should be a place of pure happiness. It’s a massive selection of Pokémon merchandise, made available even to those who can’t make the trip to one of Japan’s physical Pokémon Center superstores. Just put the items you want in your cart, place your order, and wait for your package of Poké-joy to be delivered to your doorstep.Unfortunately, though, it’s not all fun and smiles right now, because while fans have had their eyes on the Pokémon they want to
Japanese company president arrested for making employee take the fall for his hit-and-run
He should get about five to 10 years’ overtime for this.I know the mass media tends to skew our perception of the real world, but I swear, with the number of reports I hear about people driving without a license, it’s almost as if one-third to one-half of everyone on the road doesn’t even have a license. It’s certainly possible since as long as you follow the rules and stay safe, you can drive for a very long time without anyone ever asking to see it.However, when an acci
Man arrested for threatening a shrine in Kyoto because they used AI art
Sometimes you have to ask yourself, “Am I acting like a demon?”AI remains a divisive technology, especially on social media, and any company that attempts to use it in its promotions risks considerable blowback. A Shinto shrine, however, wouldn’t seem as susceptible to that. It’d be like telling off your grandma for posting an AI image on Facebook.And yet, last March Kurumazaki Shrine in Kyoto City caused a bit of an uproar online when they changed their Twitter profile p
4th International Conference on Financing for Development Debt and Climate — II
Sadly, unlike the lack of media coverage, and very little discussion of policy circles on this – both on the government, and ...
Saudi minister: Israel blocking Ramallah meeting proof of 'extremism' - The Jerusalem Post
On Saturday, Israel said it would not allow a planned meeting on Sunday that would have included ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
As nations build ‘sovereign AI,' open-source models and cloud computing can help, experts say
Panelists at CNBC’s East Tech West 2025 in Thailand discussed how emerging nations can begin to build their own “sovereign AI ...
Asia markets mixed ahead of July 9th trade deadline
Asia market update: Asia markets mixed ahead of July 9th trade deadline and amid quiet trading ahead of key US data Thursday.
Godiva at revolving sushi? Luxury chocolatier crafts desserts for kaitenzushi chain
A little luxury for dessert, at prices that aren’t so big.In Japan, there’s a whole class of restaurants, called kaitenzushi, whose name has become kind of inaccurate. Kaiten means “revolve,” and the zushi part is an alternate pronunciation of sushi, and once you know that, you can probably guess that kaitenzushi restaurants are those places where plates of sushi go around and around on conveyor belts and customers grab whatever they want to eat as it passes by.But here’s the thing: a lot of “ka
Starbucks Japan adds a Shine Muscat Grape Frappuccino to the menu for a limited time
Three Muscateers showcase a special Japanese fruit in a trio of ways.Starbucks has gone totally fruity this summer, kicking off the season with strawberries before moving onto mangoes, and now, for its third installment, grapes.These are no ordinary grapes however, as they’re Shine Muscat, a large, premium, yellow-green, seedless cultivar developed in Japan. Known for its distinctive aroma and sweet flavour, this grape is now stealing the show at Starbucks, with a release called “Thr
Good-cop interrogation part of the menu at new restaurant in Japan
“Hey, this must be really hard for you. How about some katsudon?”Japanese diners have famously high standards for restaurants. Not only should the food be tasty, it should also be pleasing to the eye, and the establishment’s atmosphere has to be appealing as well…which is why one restaurant opening later this month will offer the experience of eating lunch while being interrogated by the police.That may sound like an odd ambiance to aim for, but this restaurant will serve only one dish: ka