The Nikko native is hoping to repeat his stellar offensive production from last season when he tallied 58 points for the Nikko Ice Bucks.
From the Brave Blossoms to Shohei Ohtani, Japanese sports teams and their fun-loving, always impeccably tidy fans create a huge amount of goodwill.
The head of the UN warned the ASEAN nations in Jakarta about mounting crises while Mr Kishida offered regional partners help with infrastructure and security.
Wang Yi is trying to divide the West's Asian allies in racially charged speech. The real clash, however, is between free democracies and revisionist states.
The facts of the comfort women history are sometimes uncomfortable, which makes the issue all the more deserving of free and open academic inquiry.
Tourism in Japan is bouncing back to near pre-pandemic levels and Hoshino Resorts is meeting that demand with a new hotel in Tokyo's popular Asakusa district.