Japan

[ad_1] KYIV – President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a broad overhaul of Ukraine’s military and civilian leadership was needed to reboot the country’s war effort, suggesting that a major shake-up of his government was imminent.Zelenskyy’s comments, in a broadcast aired Sunday night, indicated that his plans went beyond replacing the top military commander, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhny. Tensions between the military and civilian leadership, which have been building for months, seemed […]

[ad_1] Karolina Shiino, the Ukraine-born winner of last month’s Miss Japan contest, has relinquished her title, the contest organizer said Monday, following a magazine report that she was having an affair with a married man. It is the first time a Miss Japan winner has relinquished their title. The organizer said the post will be vacant for the year. Shukan Bunshun reported on Wednesday that Shiino, 26, was dating a […]

[ad_1] Oita – The success of a Japanese man who took an onigiri (rice ball) sandwich — known for years as the soul food of Okinawa — and turned it into a booming franchise began when his wife cooked the pork and fried egg snack for him one morning at home.Shortly after his culinary revelation about a decade ago, Katsuaki Kiyokawa, 53, started a restaurant specializing in the pork tamago […]

[ad_1] Clashes between ruling and opposition parties over the release of an internal Liberal Democratic Party investigation into the recent political funds scandal continued Monday, causing an hourlong delay to the budget committee session.Opposition parties had demanded that the LDP publish a list of all party members responsible for the underreporting of political funds in the last five years, and voiced their dissatisfaction with the party’s efforts to uncover details […]

[ad_1] New York – A painting made collaboratively by the Beatles during their tour of Japan in 1966 has sold for $1.74 million in an auction at Christie's, according to the auction house. Christie's said the work later titled "Images of a Woman," auctioned in New York on Thursday, is "the only known painting made and signed" by all four members of the renowned British rock band — John Lennon, […]

[ad_1] The Japanese film "Rei" directed by Toshihiko Tanaka won the top Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, an annual event for up-and-coming filmmakers. Tanaka's film, which explores human connections through a woman who embarks on a journey through the mountains and her encounter with a deaf photographer, was selected from 14 titles in the feature competition. Director Toshihiko Tanaka (left) is pictured in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on […]

[ad_1] The global economy is on course to hold up better this year than expected only a few months ago, as an improved outlook in the United States offsets euro zone weakness, the OECD said Monday.World economic growth is expected to ease from 3.1% in 2023 to 2.9% this year, better than the 2.7% expected in November in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's last outlook.In an update of […]

[ad_1] The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) opened its East Asia and Pacific regional office in Tokyo on Monday, aiming to shore up its ability to respond quickly to a future public health emergency.The regional office, located inside the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, will collaborate with 26 countries and territories in the region, including Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Island nations.With the memory […]

[ad_1] Los Angeles – Pop superstar Taylor Swift set another record on Sunday, winning the Grammy award for album of the year for an unprecedented fourth time as women dominated the music industry's top honors.Swift also announced from the stage that she would release a new album in April.The 34-year-old won album of the year for "Midnights," eclipsing music legends Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder, who each claimed […]