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August 13, 2026
 

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CHINESE ZODIAC

Crying horse plush toys sit on display ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, at Yiwu International Trade City in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, China, on Jan. 21.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 26, 2026
Accidental ¡®crying horse¡¯ toy wins hearts in China
A manufacturing mistake turned into a viral bestseller for a small shop in Yiwu.
With double fire in play, 2026 favors visibility, creativity and breakthroughs ¡ª but demands balance to avoid burnout.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Jan 2, 2026
Running hot in 2026: What¡¯s in store for the Year of the Fire Horse
2026¡¯s Fire Horse brings speed, passion and opportunity ¡ª but astrologers warn that without restraint, momentum can tip into burnout.
Nintendo¡¯s upcoming film, Super Mario Galaxy Movie, is positioned as a major 2026 soft-power moment for Japan, with expectations it could replicate the franchise¡¯s 2023 $1.36 billion box office success.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 29, 2025
Takaichi, Mario, baseball and the Year of the Fire Horse
2026 marks the Year of the Horse in Japan. It¡¯s one demographers have been awaiting for decades ¡ª the return of the Fire Horse.
While making it to 100 is cause for a celebration, there are a few other ages that get you an extra piece of cake in Japan.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 28, 2025
Â鶹´«Ã½ milestone birthdays: Why 60, 77, 80, 88 and 99 matter so much
A look at Â鶹´«Ã½ milestone birthdays, the traditions behind them and how the grammar pattern ¡°ni totte¡± expresses their personal meaning.
Although the Year of the Wood Snake promised subtlety and adaptation, the U.S., China and Japan delivered strategic blundering, authoritarian overreach and geopolitical instability instead.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2025
Good riddance to the year of the serpent that roared
As 2025 comes to a close, the Indo-Pacific¡¯s three great powers have delivered the exact opposite: strategic blundering, diplomatic bombast and economic turbulence.
Like clockwork, the Year of the Fire Horse has depressed birth rates in Japan due to a stigma associated with girls born in the year.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 20, 2025
Will Â鶹´«Ã½ ¡®fire horse¡¯ curse strike again in 2026?
In 1966, the stigma related to the Chinese sexagenary cycle caused birth rates to plummet.
Takashimaya will sell ?20,260 lucky bags through a lottery that allow customers to experience as if they are a horse owner throughout the year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 10, 2025
Horse-themed lucky bags to hit Japan during 2026 New Year¡¯s sales
Next year¡¯s bags include those providing customers an opportunity to interact with horses as consumers are increasingly prioritizing experiences over goods.
A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Jan 1, 2025
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake
The Year of the Snake is characterized by wisdom, calm and steady progress. It urges introspection, calculated moves and a journey of reinvention.
One Japanese idiom goes, "the drawn dragon is missing an eye." It means that something lacks that crucial finishing touch.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 4, 2024
The Year of the Dragon has arrived along with a slew of idioms
Japanese sayings that involve dragons tend to invoke the powerful characteristics of the mythical creature.
2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, with the year predicted to be a good time for fresh starts.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Jan 2, 2024
Opportunities await the bold in the Year of the Wood Dragon
From February, you can expect a rush of creativity, passion, courage and confidence with the arrival of the Wood Dragon, say astrologers.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Jan 1, 2023
What to expect in the Year of the Rabbit
If 2022 felt a little hectic, the next 12 months could offer opportunities for relaxation, quietness and contemplation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Jan 29, 2018
In dog-loving Japan, a year for the mutts among us to make our marks
Canine-lovers have plenty to celebrate, what with this year being Inu-doshi, the Year of the Dog).
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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