More than 20 Japanese reportedly detained in Cambodia
Sources told NHK that dozens of foreign nationals have been taken into custody by local authorities in northwestern Cambodia near the Thai border. They reportedly include more than 20 Japanese. Sources say the building where they were found may have been played as a key place for online scams.
Japanese police are looking into details.
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Japan Times
20 minutes ago
- Japan Times
How to bring back the mojo in ‘old old old rice'
You'd have noticed in your local supermarket or heard from the news that rice prices have nearly doubled year-on-year. To combat this, the government is releasing bichikumai or stockpiled rice to select retail outlets across the country . By law, rice that is produced between Nov. 1 of the previous year and Oct. 31 of the current year is known as shinmai (new rice), while rice that was produced the year before is komai — the kanji character for "ko" means 'old' while "mai" means 'rice'; bichikumai is also generally known as komai. Each older batch of rice is simply tagged with an additional 'ko' to its name, for example, kokomai (old old rice). Kokokomai (old old old rice) or the 2021 crop, along with older rice, is now available on the market, a rare offering that has prompted concerns over its quality from some locals. When cooked, Japanese rice is prized for its moistness, slight stickiness and a subtle sweetness — qualities that shinmai has in abundance. But the older the rice gets, the drier it becomes, losing a little of its sweetness and umami. Stay updated on Japan's rice crisis. Quality journalism is more crucial than ever. Help us get the story right. For a limited time, we're offering a discounted subscription plan. Unlimited access US$30 US$18 /mo FOREVER subscribe NOW Is kokokomai bad? Whether you'll discern a difference or not depends on your palate — and how the rice is cooked. You'll notice it as plain rice, but, just to give two examples, if it is served as takikomi gohan (rice mixed and cooked with other ingredients), or sprinkled with furikake (Japanese seasoning of sesame seeds, seaweed and dried fish), chances are you won't find much of a difference. You can also offset the loss of moisture by adding more water or other liquids when you cook the rice. Adding a little sake to it may also improve its taste, while a little oil will make the grains shiny like shinmai. Some dishes like fried rice require rice that's drier than shinmai, in which case kokokomai may actually be more suitable. For my takikomi gohan recipe below, I give it a boost of umami by adding shirodashi (concentrated dashi base) and cooking it in a pot to produce delicious okoge (burnt or browned bits). Adding more water to "kokokomai" (old old old rice) will help offset some of its lost moisture. | GETTY IMAGES Serves 4 Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes (does not include rice-soaking time) Ingredients: 400 grams kokokomai 6 thin asparagus shoots 150 grams boneless skinless chicken thigh 600 milliliters water 2 tablespoons shirodashi 1 tablespoon light soy sauce 2 tablespoons sake Salted butter to taste Coarsely ground black pepper to taste Directions: 1. Measure the rice and rinse it in four to five rounds of water. Then soak the grains in water for 30 minutes to an hour. 2. While the rice is soaking, cut the asparagus into 2-centimeter-long pieces, and cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. 3. Transfer the drained and soaked rice to a heavy cooking pot and add 600 milliliters of water, shirodashi, soy sauce, sake, asparagus and chicken. Start cooking the rice over high heat until the liquid comes to a boil. Put on a tight-fitting lid, turn the heat down to low and cook for another 13 minutes. 4. Raise the heat to high and cook until you hear crackling sounds from the pot. Turn off the heat and let the rice steam for 15 to 20 minutes. 5. Fluff up the rice to distribute the asparagus and chicken evenly. Serve the rice topped with coarsely ground black pepper and a pat of butter.
Kyodo News
21 minutes ago
- Kyodo News
U.S. asked Japan to raise defense spending to 3.5% of GDP
KYODO NEWS - 12 hours ago - 20:15 | All, Japan, World U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has asked Japan to raise its defense spending to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product, a request that will likely prompt Tokyo to call off a planned high-level meeting with Washington, a Japan-U.S. diplomatic source said Saturday. The request was made recently by Elbridge Colby, U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, the Financial Times has reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Colby, a seasoned strategist, had previously pressed Japan to increase its defense spending to 3 percent of its GDP. The increased demand will likely lead Japan to cancel a planned meeting of the countries' foreign and defense chiefs, which was scheduled in Washington before Japan's House of Councillors election, expected on July 20. The meeting would have been the first since Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump took office in October and January, respectively. Kyodo News reported in late May that Japan and the United States were considering holding the so-called two-plus-two security talks in Washington this summer. Japan and the United States had not formally said such talks, as held in July last year in Tokyo, would take place. In 2022, after Trump's first term, Japan decided to double its annual defense budget to 2 percent of GDP by 2027, a dramatic move in postwar security policy under the country's war-renouncing Constitution. But Trump continues to complain that the U.S.-Japan security treaty is one-sided, with his administration apparently planning to ask Tokyo to pay more for American troops based in the Japanese archipelago once bilateral negotiations over his tariffs proceed.
Kyodo News
an hour ago
- Kyodo News
FOCUS: Japan returns Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander remains to Australia
By Rachael Bayliss-Chan, KYODO NEWS - 1 minute ago - 07:29 | World, All Japan has returned the remains of 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to Australia in the country's first such repatriation, marking the latest move in a global movement to return the human remains of indigenous peoples once taken abroad for research or collection. The remains, taken in the 19th and 20th centuries and held by three Japanese research institutions, were handed over to representatives of the Australian government and Aboriginal communities in a ceremony at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo last week, before being flown home, according to the government. At Australia's request, Japan's education ministry surveyed holdings of Indigenous Australian remains in the country and identified those held by the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University and the National Museum of Nature and Science. Seven of the 10 sets returned came from the University of Tokyo, including the remains of an ancestor of the Kaurna people of South Australia, whose community was represented at the handover ceremony. The government statement quoted Mitzi Nam as saying the return of the remains to country means "pathways to healing can start for all generations." "For many years the ancestral remains of Kaurna Old People were collected by museums and universities without consent, which caused great sadness and anger, and these feelings have been carried for generations," she said. Responding to a request for comment, the University of Tokyo said, "We have become keenly aware of the necessity to sincerely face the fact that research institutions around the world, including Japan, have kept the remains of Indigenous peoples." Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said the first repatriation from Japan "reinforces the continuing shift by collecting institutions internationally to righting some of the past injustices carried out against First Nations people." According to the government, Australia has been working with collecting institutions across the globe to secure the return of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's remains for over 30 years, with more than 1,785 sets so far repatriated from overseas collections, including those kept in Japan. Of those, over 1,300 were from institutions and private holdings in Britain, including the Natural History Museum in London. Indigenous people's remains and personal belongings were taken from burial sites and communities across Australia, often without consent, for more than 250 years since Australia came under colonial rule in the late 18th century. Many were collected for so-called scientific research aimed at classifying human biological differences, often under 19th-century theories that placed Indigenous Australians at or near the bottom of a racial hierarchy used to justify European superiority and colonial domination. In other cases, remains were obtained by private collectors and sold, passing through many hands before ending up in museums. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have long called for the return of their ancestors' remains, with the movement initially gaining momentum in the 1970s and 1980s. Remains of indigenous peoples in other countries have also been taken from their homelands for research and other purposes. According to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo repatriated 10 remains of native Hawaiians to Hawaii last year. Remains of indigenous Ainu people in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four main islands, had been taken abroad for anthropological research since before World War II. They have been found in Australia, Germany, Britain and the United States. In 2023, Australia returned four sets of Ainu remains to Japan, more than 80 years after they were acquired.
