The success story of Dewi Rachmawati may hold the key to coping with Japan’s declining population and quickly aging society. The struggles the Indonesian nurse has endured during her four years living in the country are what the government must rapidly remedy. “It was ...

Makoto Tonami was born in 1948 in Aichi Prefecture and graduated from the prestigious Kyoto University with a degree in agriculture. Upon graduation he went to work for trading house Itochu Corp., a job that would take him on business trips around the globe. ...

Stocks are up, the yen is easing and there is a new prime minister pledging to splash trillions of yen to breathe life into the country’s moribund economy: Last year ended on a high note for Japan Inc., and 2013 looks even more promising ...

The new government will continue working closely with the Bank of Japan, at least more frequently than the previous administration did, in order to fend off deflation, newly appointed Finance Minister Taro Aso said Friday. Speaking during a joint interview with The Japan Times ...

Tokyo’s Chuo Ward and local merchants have unveiled their plan to create a new marketplace near the site of the soon-to-be-relocated Tsukiji fish market. The aging fish market is set to be transferred to the Toyosu district in Koto Ward by the end of ...

AIJ Investment Advisors Co. President Kazuhiko Asakawa on Wednesday pleaded guilty to charges of defrauding pension fund clients out of ¥24.8 billion while concealing trading losses, but denied intending to line his own pockets. “I apologize from the bottom of my heart to the ...

Privatization of Japan Post was the focal point in the 2005 general election. The 2009 election ended in a lopsided victory for the Democratic Party of Japan and the ouster of the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party. This Dec. 16, voters will go to the ...

Travel agencies and transport companies scrambled to deal with cancellations and rerouting Monday after the deadly Sasago Tunnel accident closed off the Chuo Expressway in Yamanashi Prefecture — a major east-west artery. “We’ve had about 100 reservations canceled since the incident occurred,” a spokesman ...

The Tokyo gubernatorial election campaign kicked off Thursday, with three main contenders vying for the post: Naoki Inose Thanks to the backing of former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, Inose appears to be the front-runner in the gubernatorial race. Before serving as vice governor under ...

Not satisfied with bending Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to its will for a snap election, the Liberal Democratic Party has set its sights on Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa, at No. 36 the highest-ranked Japanese on Forbes magazine’s 2011 list of the world’s ...