Asahi Shimbun

1 month ago | asahi.com | Yoshihiro Makino

Hiroshi Hikawa is affectionately known as “Father” by more than 3,000 needy Vietnamese students who have come to Japan to study Japanese and pursue higher education through a newspaper scholarship program. Hikawa, 77, understands the challenges these students face. After graduating from evening high school in Hokkaido, he moved to Tokyo and supported himself by delivering newspapers through a similar scholarship program while attending university.

1 month ago | asahi.com | Atsushi Ohara

BERLIN—Director Satoko Yokohama’s artistic, dreamlike children’s film “Umibe e Iku Michi” (Seaside Serendipity”) received a Special Mention prize at the recent 75th Berlin International Film Festival. Her film was selected for recognition in the festival’s “Generation KPlus” category, which features movies for and about children, on Feb. 22. Moreover, it captured the attention of the toughest critics of all—a large audience of young viewers—despite its unusual 2-hour-and-20-minute running time.

1 month ago | asahi.com

WASHINGTON—Trade minister Yoji Muto failed to secure assurances from senior U.S. administration officials that Japan would be spared potentially crippling tariffs planned by President Donald Trump.

1 month ago | asahi.com | Daisuke Igarashi

BRIGHAM CITY, Utah—Eighty years later, Norio Uyematsu returned to the land of his youth here to thank a local farm owner who gave his family a home and life after their incarceration during World War II. The 94-year-old Japanese-American waited a lifetime to return the favor. Recently, his long-held wish came true in the form of a historical exhibition at a local museum.

1 month ago | asahi.com | Kazutaka Ito

Far away from her embattled homeland, Ukrainian researcher Maya Sobchuk is doing her part in the war, researching Russian propaganda and information operations and spreading a warning. Sobchuk, 24, is based at the University of Tokyo. She is researching in Russian, English and Ukrainian languages about how Russia is spreading disinformation and propaganda and waging an information war against the West and Japan. Sobchuk was born in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.