In-depth News Features | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

Take a stroll through any Japanese city—you'll be hard-pressed to go a few blocks without passing a convenience store. The one-stop shops dot streetscapes everywhere. So ubiquitous are konbini, as they are known to locals, that it's difficult to imagine life in Japan without them.

When disaster strikes, spreading information in multiple languages is vital. But sometimes people lack confidence in their proficiency. An associate professor at a Japanese university is now training volunteers about how to effectively communicate in English during emergencies. She says beyond language competency, speaking from the heart is most important when it comes to helping others.

Yamada Yoji has directed many of Japan's most beloved films, including the long-running series "Otoko wa Tsurai yo" ("It's Tough Being a Man"). His career spans decades, but he's not resting on his laurels. At the age of 92, he's helping coastal communities in Fukushima Prefecture recover from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

With Russia's invasion of Ukraine entering its third year, a more detailed picture has emerged of the devastation and suffering in one occupied city.

Two years after Russia launched its ground invasion into Ukraine from the Belarus border in the north, NHK World visited the area to document the effort to prevent another incursion.

The grandson of Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who led the United States' development of nuclear bombs during World War Two, spoke in the country attacked with those weapons and called on the world to learn from history.

Matsumoto Castle has overtaken Kumamoto Castle in Instagram followers, topping the list of Japan's historic fortresses for the first time.

Sarah Brayer arrived in Japan in 1979, thinking it was just a stop on an international backpacking trip. But the country became her home where she’d become an acclaimed visual artist, whose work with washi paper is celebrated around the world. Her most recent project offered an opportunity to examine the role her art can play in supporting and reinvigorating cultural institutions in her adopted home.

Many students in Japan play baseball after class. Others practice shogi, or dance. But at one new school in Okinawa Prefecture, they dabble in the stock market. They're in the red so far, but the experience is expected to pay dividends for years to come.

The fifteen days of the Grand Sumo Tournament ended in Tokyo on May 26. Due to the absence of so many injured top-rankers, the tournament turned into a showcase for new talent. Those who took center stage made things really exciting all the way to the finish. When the final act had ended, a star was born.