In 1904 the Japanese introduced caning to Taiwan. As a punishment, caning was applied by the Japanese to Taiwanese and Chinese subjects, never to the Japanese themselves (it had been outlawed in Japan in 1882). An imperial and colonial act, caning thus functioned to define and display social class b
A US Marine stationed on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa was arrested on suspicion of the murder of a Japanese woman, police said yesterday. The suspect “killed the 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Naha and stole her wallet on Saturday,” a local police spokesman said.US Ambassador George Glass pos
Taiwanese tennis players Hsieh Su-wei and Chan Hao-ching on Saturday revived their feud at the Asian Games, with Chan fuming at Hsieh for a handshake snub at the end of their women’s doubles final in Nagoya, Japan. The pair last month did not shake hands following a tense US Open doubles match in wh
Ducati’s Marc Marquez won the Japanese Grand Prix sprint yesterday to shave five points off Aprilia rider Jorge Martin’s lead in the MotoGP championship standings.Marquez made a scorching start and held the inside line on the first turn of the opening lap to surge past Martin, who had set a lap reco
One of sport’s fiercest rivalries descended on a sleepy corner of Japan yesterday as India and Pakistan clashed in the men’s cricket final at the Asian Games on a converted baseball field, which India won 211-6 over 192-6. The neighbors only meet in international tournaments because of long-running
The First Island Chain is one of the most powerful geopolitical features in the Indo-Pacific region. It is also an incomplete one. Drawn as a strategic line stretching from Japan through Taiwan toward the Philippines, it highlights military geography while largely overlooking the islands, ports and
More than 601,000 people received a flu vaccine in the first two days since public-funded vaccination began on Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that flu activity is at a peak in Taiwan and increasing in Japan, a popular travel destination for Taiwanese, so getti
North Korea yesterday said it test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile that it claimed has maneuverable flight capabilities designed to evade missile defenses in South Korea and Japan. The latest test comes amid heightened tensions between the two Koreas over border land mine blasts.Kim Yo
Vietnam’s Ngoc Tuyet Sang Chau, left, competes against South Korea’s An Hyang-sik in the mixed individual virtual taekwondo round of 16 during this year’s Asian Games at the Toyohashi Gymnasium in Japan yesterday. Virtual taekwondo made its sporting debut at the Games, which officials say is as athl
Japanese judo officials said they had never seen anything like it after eventual champion Rin Maeda appeared to be bitten by her Chinese opponent at the Asian Games.Maeda was awarded victory in the quarter-final bout in Nagoya when Tang Jing was disqualified just over a minute into the contest.Tang
The US military is planning to deploy an advanced anti-ship missile system to a Japanese island close to Taiwan for the first time during a major training exercise later this month.The Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System is slated to be moved to the island of Yonaguni during the bilat
Japan yesterday toughened requirements for foreigners wanting to obtain permanent residency, as part of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push to tighten immigration controls.Under new rules that would come into effect in stages, foreign residents wishing to stay in Japan permanently will hav
Kei Nishikori’s final match before retirement yesterday ended in a 6-4, 6-4 loss to American Frances Tiafoe in the first round of the Japan Open, as an adoring crowd in Tokyo rose to salute the former world No. 4 and Japanese trailblazer.The 36-year-old was the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam
Mu Xinyue called it “the happiest moment of my life” after she became the first woman to win an Asian Games gold medal in e-sports.The 20-year-old played a pivotal role as China beat hosts Japan to win the final of horror survival game Identity V in Nagoya.“When the national anthem was played and th
World champions India are to face archrivals Pakistan for Asian Games men’s cricket gold after both yesterday won their semi-finals with ease in Japan.India hammered Sri Lanka by 124 runs after Pakistan beat Bangladesh by six wickets to set up a mouth-watering final tomorrow at the Korogi Athletic P
Taiwan’s Chang Cheng-wei yesterday added a silver medal to his quiver in the men’s compound archery, while Wu Jung-cheng paddled to second place in the men’s individual canoe slalom, helping bring Taiwan’s medal count at the Asian Games in Japan to 42.Seventh seed Chang, who on Wednesday won a bronz
Japan has started its first nationwide survey of animal cafes amid concerns over animal welfare, hygiene and public health, a government official said, bringing greater scrutiny to the popular but lightly regulated sector. The desktop survey, which began this month, will examine the number of facili
The transition from a busy hospital to the international court might surprise some, but Japan’s padel pioneer Kotomi Ozawa finds a striking resemblance between the pressure of elite sport and her previous career — as a midwife.As padel makes its Asian Games debut, the former Keio University Hospital
Reigning champions South Korea yesterday struck with eight minutes left to seal a 2-1 win over a “proud” China to reach the Asian Games men’s soccer final.The South Koreans are to face either hosts Japan or Uzbekistan for gold on Saturday as they pursue a fourth consecutive title.Uzbekistan and Japa
Taiwan yesterday picked up two more bronze medals at the Asian Games in Japan, bringing their medal total to 39, including three golds and 10 silvers, to rank 14th in the overall standings.Lin Yu-ting guaranteed herself at least a silver medal in boxing after she outclassed Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdi
Last year, a Taiwanese-Japanese team of scientists described a new species: the Yuchi music frog (Nidirana shyhhuangi), an amphibian previously thought to be an isolated population of the Ryukyu music frog (Nidirana okinavana).Careful comparison of body sizes, patterning, and vocalizations convinced
Japanese volleyball player Rui Takahashi yesterday came out as gay, saying that he wanted to help others struggling with their sexuality in a country where openly LGBTQ athletes are extremely rare. The 26-year-old Takahashi, who plays in the top division of Japan’s professional volleyball league, po
South Korea were victims of another Asian Games transport mix-up in Japan when the bus carrying their men’s volleyball team went to a venue an hour away from where they should have gone. The Games in Aichi-Nagoya have been dogged by organizational problems, with accommodation and transport for the m
Among the world’s top fuel-consuming nations, Japan is the most energy insecure. Its import-dependency ratios are scary: It buys overseas 99.9 percent of the oil it needs; 99.7 percent of the coal; and 97.8 percent of the natural gas. So Tokyo springs into action after every major energy shock to re
Japanese cantaloupes, fresh black truffles from Bulgaria and Thai bird’s nest drinks were among eight imported food products found to contain excessive pesticide residues, heavy metals or sweeteners, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.The list also included celery from Vietnam and
