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May 05, 2024
 

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The number of children 14 years old or younger fell for the 43rd straight year to around 14.01 million as of April 1.
JAPAN / Society
Japan’s record-low children population weighs on growth
The number of children 14 years old or younger fell for the 43rd straight year to around 14.01 million as of April 1.
JAPAN / Society
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A Sapporo court ruled last month that an Ainu group only has the right to engage in salmon fishing for cultural — but not commercial — reasons.
JAPAN / Society
Local info magazine in quake-hit Noto region set for revival
The New Year's Day quake struck just as the latest edition was about to be printed.
Jiro Suzuki, head of Kosaka Railroad Railpark in Kosaka, Akita Prefecture, stands next to a retired Akebono sleeper train that is now being used as a lodging facility, on April 22.
JAPAN / Society
May 3, 2024
Lodging in 'blue train' to resume in Japan after five-year hiatus
Services using the retired sleeper train are set to restart Saturday after five years of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Customer harassment” — in which customers harass front-line workers with aggressive behavior or unreasonable requests — has become a growing problem in the service industry.
JAPAN / Society
May 2, 2024
Japan steps up measures against 'customer harassment'
By Francis Tang
A 2022 survey found that 67.5% of respondents had experienced some kind of harassment from customers in the past three years.
The Shimane Nuclear Power Plant in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture
JAPAN / Society
May 1, 2024
Chugoku Electric delays restart of nuclear reactor at Shimane plant
The No. 2 unit will be the first boiling-water reactor to be restarted in Japan since the 2011 accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
Masayuki Fukasawa (left), chief editor of Diario Brasil Nippou, and Kimiko Aso, of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, in Sao Paulo in April
JAPAN / Society
May 1, 2024
Brazil's last Japanese-language newspaper innovates to stay in print
Behind the difficulties facing Diario Brasil Nippou is declining numbers of subscribers, but the daily hopes to stay afloat by stressing its cultural role.
Mitsunobu Inoike talks about the Kanakura district of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, known for its terraced rice fields, on Friday.
JAPAN / Society
May 1, 2024
Noto quake survivors face tough choice: leave or remain
In the disaster-hit areas, many damaged houses are being left as they are.
The Ibaraki Prefectural Government has introduced an optional four-day workweek to serve as a model for work style reform.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 30, 2024
Are local governments in Japan ready to embrace a four-day workweek?
Several municipalities are testing the waters by allowing employees to opt for longer workdays in exchange for an extra weekday off.
The processing plant and warehouse of Minamidani Yoshie Shoten in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, are seen damaged due to cracks on the ground left behind by the New Year's Day earthquake.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 29, 2024
Wajima market's youngest stallholder taps crowdfunding to preserve heritage
A woman is looking to revive her family's fish sauce business and preserve the culinary heritage of her hometown in the wake of the Noto Peninsula quake.

With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Japan's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass
Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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