A home-run robbery, terrific pitching, momentum-squashing catches, a game-tying three-run home run, punching back, and ear-splitting noise and commotion: The World Baseball Classic semifinal between Mexico and Japan had it all. (foxsports.com)

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addressed the 41st Sapru House lecture on "Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)" in Delhi on March 20. (ANI News)

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is on his way by train to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a trip that coincides with a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow. (Al Jazeera)

Sometimes newfound flower species are lurking where scientists least expect to see them — in parks, gardens and even in planters on balconies. (CNN)

Whether you call it coriander or cilantro, “pakuchi”, as it’s known in Japan, is a divisive herb at the best of times. Those who hate the pungent plant won’t go anywhere near it, while those who love it just can’t get enough of it. (soranews24.com)

Today, we are traveling on Hokuto Limited Express from Hakodate to Sapporo in Hokkaido for 4 hours. Please relax and enjoy the Japan's northenmost island train. (travelgeek)

Japan’s marquee international festivals are heralding a return to form with lineups featuring some of the world’s biggest stars. (iq-mag.net)

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday announced a new plan to promote an open and free Indo-Pacific, promising billions of dollars in investment to help economies across the region in everything from industry to disaster prevention. (Reuters)

Gotta love Japanese commercials! (Japanese commercials HD ツ)

It sounds completely crazy, but in Japan it is actually legal to kidnap children. (60 Minutes Australia)

The Yoshino cherry trees in Tokyo are likely to reach their peak soon with the Japan Meteorological Agency expected to report the flowers are in full bloom as early as Monday afternoon. (TV Asahi News / NOJ)

Tokyo residents are being told to prepare for X Day. That’s the day when a potential massive earthquake could strike the city. (SBS)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in Tokyo for a trip aimed at strengthening economic ties with Japan. Scholz has been meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The pair have been discussing ways to strengthen economic security and reduce dependence on Chinese raw materials. (DW News)

Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653 – 1725) is widely considered the most important playwright in Japanese history, and in particular, in the 12 plays originally written by him that continue to be performed on the kabuki stage. (Kabuki In-Depth)

In Japan, as some 80,000 people go missing every year, according to data from the National Police Agency. Some are later found, but others vanish completely, becoming what’s described as an "evaporated person" or johatsu-sha. (South China Morning Post)

A 32-year-old man was arrested Saturday for arson after a fire gutted the house where he lived in the central Japan prefecture of Nagano, apparently killing three of his family members, police said. (Kyodo)

Spending an hour or more in front of digital devices each day has a more limited effect on 2-year-olds’ growth and development than previously thought, a recent study by Japanese researchers has shown, providing fresh insight into the possible risks of the use of digital devices on toddlers. (Japan Times)

Twenty-year-old Sota Fujii became only the second player in the history of the shogi board game to hold six major titles Sunday when he took the Kio crown from Akira Watanabe. (Kyodo)

A list of our top 10 useful phrases that you should know before coming to Japan. (TabiEats)

The Bank of Japan's paper loss on Japanese government bond holdings grew more than 10 times at the end of last year from three months earlier as rises in long-term rates undercut the value of the assets. (Nikkei)

Critically endangered species and ones banned from international trade are among the hundreds of types birds, reptiles and mammals that researchers identified at 142 animal cafes. (nytimes.com)

Japanese prosecutors have charged three former members of the Ground Self-Defense Force with indecent assault of a female colleague, reversing a previous decision not to indict them. (NHK)

The Japanese government has set a target of having 400,000 foreign students studying in the country by 2033, hoping to encourage them to work in the country after they graduate. (Nikkei)

Retired Japanese wheelchair tennis star Kunieda Shingo has received the People's Honor Award. (NHK)

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has laid out his vision to reverse Japan's plummeting birth rate, a key pillar of which is boosting parental leave benefits. (NHK)