Topic: Nagano Prefecture

The price of gold: as influential as a global power

The record price of gold and the universal obsession with the sparkling metal make it a parallel global power.

Sounding together at the Spring for Music festival

The now-annual Spring for Music festival is a place for orchestras to showcase their talent and inventiveness and was held at Carnegie Hall.

South Korea's Olympic effort to win an Olympic bid

South Korea is pulling out all the stops in its third bid to host a Winter Olympics. Can it beat out iconic, Alps-filled Germany and France for the 2018 Games?

What's Kim Yuna wearing around her neck? A history of Olympics medals.

Vancouver Olympics medals have an undulating pattern meant to evoke Canada's terrain. Others say it resembles a microwaved frisbee or a warped old music record.

USA vs. Canada: Is this heaven? No, it's Olympic hockey

USA's 5-3 upset of Canada showcased everything that is good about hockey – and made a case for why NHL players should come back for the Winter Olympics in 2014.

Super Sunday: US vs. Canada tops day of hockey grudge matches

The men's hockey competition kicks into high gear on Super Sunday – a day that will see replays of the past three Winter Olympic gold medal finals, including a US vs. Canada game.

Snowboarding

With a stacked team, US snowboarders could well repeat their 2006 feat of capturing more medals than any other US team – making them key to the overall medal count.

Chinese President Hu's visit to Japan boosts warming trend

Hu Jintao will play ping-pong and talk pandas and energy. The visit comes as strains over interpretations of history appear to be easing.

Reporters on the Job

Ikebana with a samurai swagger