The Japanese government has decided to establish its own version of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention next April as part of efforts to improve the mitigation of infectious diseases. Read more
Working remotely from tourist resorts and other vacation destinations is attracting attention, and efforts are growing to turn hot spring inns into offices. Read more
For some, the constant deluge that has peaked in the past year is starting to add up to a new (and previously unthinkable) feeling: Taylor Swift fatigue. Read more
Gabriel, who played at North Carolina State, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989. Read more
Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment, said he’s thrilled to have the model that had graced the desk of his father, who died in 1991 at age 70. Read more
A collaboration between industry, government and academic partners has led to a syrup featuring a new variety of pepper developed in the city of Kawasaki. Read more
A giant cherry blossom tree made of hundreds of thousands of Lego bricks is attracting visitors to the Legoland Japan Resort theme park in Minato ward, Nagoya. Read more
Lively versions of beer and karinto, a deep-fried flour and brown sugar snack, both made using habanero and other extremely spicy chiles, hit the shelves at Michi-no-Eki Hirata, a roadside rest area in Hirata, Fukushima prefecture, in January. Read more
Hugh Grant says he received “an enormous sum of money” to settle a lawsuit accusing the publisher of The Sun tabloid of unlawfully tapping his phone, bugging his car and breaking into his home to snoop on him. Read more
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The Iowa star is in New York for the WNBA draft on Monday night, when she is expected to be the top pick by the Indiana Fever. Read more
Watching “Oppenheimer,” the Oscar-winning biopic about the father of the atomic bomb that opened in Japan in late March, Kako Okuno was stunned by a scene in which scientists celebrated the explosion over Hiroshima with thunderous foot stomping and the waving of American flags. Read more
Mattel has unveiled a double-sided board that features both the classic word-building game and Scrabble Together, a new rendition designed to be accessible “for anyone who finds word games intimidating.” Read more
The Oscar successes of “Godzilla Minus One” and “The Boy and the Heron” are likely to push the Japanese film industry further toward an international strategy. Read more
One Japanese creation that grabbed attention at the Oscars wasn’t a movie: It was the kitsch shoes that seemed to be clenched in Godzilla’s claw. Read more
The Cultural Affairs Agency is examining the conditions of original drawings by leading manga artists in Japan and researching methods for preserving them. Read more
Pottery artisan Genji Shimizu, 78, creates each piece of his kyusu (teapots) one by one in a fluid motion that wastes no energy. Read more
Hart, 44, has honed a signature style that combines his diminutive height, expressive face and motor-mouth delivery into a successful stand-up act. Read more
“If you’re successful, you have to give back. That was my mantra in 1980 when I got sober, and it’s been my mantra ever since,” John told The Associated Press on Wednesday night. Read more
Gibier cuisine, which features game meat from such animals as deer and wild boar, is rising in popularity. Read more
A giant mural of dinosaurs is on display near Fukui Station, where a new high speed train, the Hokuriku Shinkansen, is set to stop beginning Saturday. Read more
Kuwabara’s dilemma is one an increasing number of American consumers face: With shrimp the leading seafood eaten in the United States, the largest supplier in this country is India, where the industry struggles with labor and environmental problems. Read more
