Japan

[ad_1] The title of Yuki Saito’s penetrating yet overplotted debut feature, “Sin and Evil,” stands out; Japanese humanistic dramas generally paint everyone in shades of moral gray — even the ostensible bad guys. To borrow the title of Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s new film, evil does not exist.Based on Saito’s original script, the film depicts a small town in the director’s native Fukui Prefecture as a hotbed of corruption, with a cynical […]

[ad_1] MOSCOW – In the late 18th century, Catherine the Great planned a tour of Crimea, which her court favorite, Count Grigory Potemkin, had conquered a few years earlier. But while Potemkin had managed to seize the agriculturally rich peninsula from the Ottoman Empire, he had failed to achieve the promised colonization.To save face, Potemkin ordered the construction of a row of painted pasteboard facades beside the river along which […]

[ad_1] Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday vowed to conclude a peace treaty with Russia after resolving a territorial row over four northwestern Pacific islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan."Although Japan-Russia relations are in a difficult situation, we will stick to our policy of resolving the territorial issue and concluding a peace treaty," Kishida said at a government-sponsored rally in Tokyo campaigning for the return of the Russian-held islands […]

[ad_1] Controversy over Lionel Messi’s failure to play in a soccer match in Hong Kong is showing no sign of ending, with many in China taking to social media to vent their frustration over his no-show.Comments by Hong Kong sports lawmaker Kenneth Fok accusing Messi and his U.S. club Inter Miami of disrespecting local fans were among the top trending topics on Weibo on Wednesday. Another popular topic was partly […]

[ad_1] LONDON – Red Bull Formula One team principal Christian Horner will face a company hearing on Friday after an unspecified complaint was made against him.Sources indicated the hearing would be at the team's factory in Milton Keynes, England.There was no official confirmation from the reigning world champions or the Austrian energy drink giant that owns the team as well as sister outfit Visa Cash App RB (previously AlphaTauri). [ad_2] […]

[ad_1] GLENDALE, Arizona – Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was seen working out at the Los Angeles Dodgers' Arizona spring training facility Tuesday as he prepares for his first season in North America. The 25-year-old Yamamoto, who achieved nearly unprecedented success in the final three years of his seven seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, arrived at around 8:30 a.m. and spent around five hours at the facility outside Phoenix. Yamamoto, whose […]

[ad_1] Major telecom carrier KDDI is planning to raise its stake in Lawson to 50% to jointly run the convenience chain with the aim of taking advantage of the latter's nationwide retail store network and customer base while offering technology to transform its business model, the two firms said Tuesday.KDDI currently holds 2.1% of Lawson shares but will invest about ¥500 billion ($3.4 billion) to increase its stake through a […]

[ad_1] Inter Miami's Lionel Messi pleased Tokyo fans on Wednesday in a friendly match that ended in a 4-3 penalty shootout loss to Vissel Kobe after the game ended goalless.It came days after his absence on the pitch in a recent Hong Kong friendly had angered fans there.He started on the bench in Inter Miami's pre-season game against the 2023 J. League champions, worrying 28,614 spectators at National Stadium, who […]

[ad_1] Nippon Steel is on track to finalize its planned $15 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by the end of September as it steps up talks with key stakeholders, particularly labor unions, an executive said on Wednesday.The deal by the world's No.4 steelmaker to buy U.S. Steel has drawn criticism from some Democratic and Republican U.S. lawmakers and the powerful United Steelworkers (USW) union.Former U.S. President Donald Trump, whose protectionist […]