Japan

[ad_1] K-pop is betting that it can reverse its slowing global growth by becoming less Korean. This is a mistake: Without the "K,” the music is plain pop, undistinguishable from — and unable to compete with — the dominant American kind.There is no question the K-pop wave is waning. Bang Si-hyuk, whose Hybe Co. is behind such acts as BTS and NewJeans, believes the industry is in crisis. South Korean […]

[ad_1] A Japanese startup known for developing hover bikes inspired by "Star Wars" has filed for bankruptcy with ¥1.17 billion of debt, according to a report by credit research firm Tokyo Shoko Research.Tokyo-based A.L.I. Technologies had aimed to play a key role in an expected “air mobility society” and raised its profile with its drones, artificial intelligence and flying bikes, but apparently struggled to secure the necessary cash to maintain […]

[ad_1] SYDNEY – China has a strategy to help Pacific Island nations with policing, not defense, and its growing presence in the region should not alarm Australia, China's ambassador to Australia said on Wednesday.Ambassador Xiao Qian also told reporters that Nauru's decision this week to form diplomatic relations with China at the expense of Taiwan was "their own choice" and would not impact Australia's ties with Nauru, a tiny nation […]

[ad_1] The extensive scope of Johnny Kitagawa's decadeslong sexual abuse has made it difficult to identify what has been done to whom, with almost 1,000 individuals claiming to be victims.As a result, Smile-Up, formerly known as Johnny & Associates, is struggling to compensate victims of the late founder's sexual abuse.During a news conference Monday, a victims' group demanded more transparency on the criteria for compensation. They also asked that the […]

[ad_1] Japan Airlines (JAL) named its first female president on Wednesday, a former flight attendant who rose through the ranks to senior management, taking a deeply symbolic step in a country struggling to close a vast gender gap at work.Mitsuko Tottori, a senior managing executive officer who joined JAL in 1985, the year it suffered one of the worst crashes in airline history, will become president from April 1, the […]

[ad_1] Japanese lawmaker Mito Kakizawa was indicted Wednesday for violation of the election law, prosecutors said, following the former Liberal Democratic Party member's arrest over illegal campaign financing allegations related to a Tokyo ward election last April.The 52-year-old former senior vice justice minister and his four secretaries, who were also arrested on Dec. 28, initially denied that the money they offered ahead of the Koto Ward mayoral election was intended […]

[ad_1] Almost lost in the flood of storylines that emerged at the start of the ongoing Grand Sumo Tournament was news that Hidetoshi Tanaka — the former head of the International Sumo Federation (IFS) — passed away Saturday.Current IFS President Kazufumi Minami released a statement to national sumo federations on Jan. 16 announcing the death, adding, “Mr. Tanaka made great contributions to the development of amateur sumo, including establishment of […]

[ad_1] No. 2 maegashira Midorifuji toppled yokozuna-promotion-chasing Kirishima at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday, handing the ozeki his first defeat of the 15-day meet.Kirishima (3-1) was on the receiving end of an incessant attack from the deminutive Midorifuji (1-3), whose sharp opening drive had the ozeki backpedaling before Kirishima eventually looked to have grabbed hold of the agile rank-and-filer's arms.But Midorifuji did not give Kirishima any breathing […]

[ad_1] Nir Oz, Israel – Kfir Bibas, with his red hair and pink stuffed elephant, was less than nine months old when Hamas militants snatched him from his bed in an Israeli kibbutz on Oct. 7.The youngest hostage to be kidnapped by the Palestinian Islamist group was born on Jan. 18 and — if still alive — would be celebrating his first birthday this week.His family marked the occasion with […]