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April 25, 2025
 

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Kazuaki Nagata

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Kazuaki Nagata
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 19, 2023
Self-driving taxi service set to be launched in Tokyo in 2026
Honda, GM and the American automaker’s autonomous driving unit, Cruise, will establish a joint venture next year to prepare for the robotaxi service.
An attendee tries out the XR Catch game at the Sony Group booth at CEATEC in Chiba on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 17, 2023
Major Japan tech show opens with focus on sustainability
The major trade show kicked off on Tuesday, with firms keen to showcase how their latest technologies could contribute to creating a sustainable society.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters on Tuesday in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Oct 12, 2023
Why are ruling party lawmakers calling for tax cuts?
As the prime minister prepares for a new economic stimulus package, it's members of his own party who are raising a fuss.
Since Prime Minister Fumio Kishida launched his administration in 2021, he has vowed to boost spending by trillions of yen to tackle some deep-rooted issues. But how exactly the government will fund such efforts remains unclear.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 8, 2023
Private group calls for independent body to monitor long-term fiscal policy
The proposal suggests future projections can help citizens think more seriously about how fiscal matters could affect future generations.
An image of an immersive attraction at Immersive Fort Tokyo slated to open next spring in Tokyo's Odaiba area.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 5, 2023
New immersive theme park to open in Tokyo’s Odaiba
The new facility, to be called Immersive Fort Tokyo, will feature 12 immersive attractions along with six shops and restaurants.
An office lobby floor inside the new high-rise building Station Tower at Toranomon Hills
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 4, 2023
Toranomon area continues to rise as Tokyo’s business hub
The massive Toranomon Hills project has helped the area become one of Tokyo's major business centers.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 2, 2023
Zero-commission services intensify brokerage competition in Japan
SBI Holding's decision to scrap commission fees for domestic stock trading threatens to undercut the brokerage industry's profitability.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in New York on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 25, 2023
Kishida outlines new economic measures for 'sustainable wage growth'
Some of the measures are intended to raise earnings by easing workers’ concerns about so-called annual income barriers.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda during a news conference at the central bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Friday
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 22, 2023
BOJ maintains its dovish monetary easing amid policy speculation
Comments by Gov. Kazuo Ueda in an interview earlier this month had sparked speculation that the BOJ might move to change policy at an earlier date.
Toshiba said the Japan Industrial Partners-led consortium had gained 78.65% of Toshiba’s outstanding shares through the bid, which began Aug. 8, paying ¥4,620 per share.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 21, 2023
Toshiba to go private after success of ¥2 trillion takeover bid
The Japan Industrial Partners-led consortium has gained 78.65% of outstanding shares, paying ¥4,620 per share.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 19, 2023
Watchdog starts on-site probe of Bigmotor and Sompo Japan
The investigation aims to dig deeper into the insurance fraud scandal by the leading used-car dealer. The probe is likely to take several months.
Delivery trucks at a parking area along the highway in Chiba Prefecture in April
JAPAN / Society
Sep 14, 2023
Japan set to expand visa framework to tackle driver shortage
The planned expansion of the visa framework is to attract foreign nationals to the logistics industries and to address the driver shortage problem.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 11, 2023
Economists question the wisdom of Kishida's new minimum wage target
Japan aims to lift the minimum wage to ¥1,500 by the mid-2030s, but macroeconomic factors could undermine that target.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Sep 1, 2023
Extended gasoline subsidy risks harming Japan's net-zero efforts
The politically tricky decision on ending the program could hamper the shift to EVs and efforts to reach climate change goals.
Union workers of Sogo & Seibu hold banners which read 'on strike' in front of the company's flagship Seibu Ikebukuro store in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023
Sogo & Seibu labor union begins strike at flagship Ikebukuro store
While the labor union made a strong effort to prevent Seven & I from proceeding with the deal, a decision was made to sell the department store unit.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 30, 2023
Kishida announces extension of measures to bring gas prices down
The subsidy program will be extended until the end of the year and will be beefed up starting next week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 30, 2023
Sogo & Seibu labor union to launch rare strike after talks break down
Around 900 workers at Ikebukuro's flagship will participate in what will be the first strike at a Japanese department store in about 60 years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 28, 2023
Sogo & Seibu labor union plans strike over possible sale
If the strike goes ahead on Thursday, it would be the first in Japan’s department store industry in about 60 years.
Materials derived from cabbage (left), iyokan (center) and onion by Tokyo-based startup Fabula, which is working to develop new materials that can replace concrete.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Aug 27, 2023
Japan’s scrap-and-rebuild culture faces an environmental reckoning
The nation's tendency toward new construction — rather than renovation — is coming under renewed scrutiny amid concerns over sustainability.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 15, 2023
Return of Chinese group tours to Japan to bring economic boost
The average amount of spending by individual Chinese tourists is the second largest at ¥338,238, just behind ¥358,888 by travelers from the U.K.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Japan must correct Trump’s false data for trade talks, says Kono
Former Foreign Minister Taro Kono
Japan wants to 'separate' tariff and security issues. That may be tough.
Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, poses with a "Make America Great Again" cap at the White House in Washington on April 16.
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.
Japan set to fine cyclists on the spot for rule violations from 2026
Under new rules, those who use smartphones while riding a bicycle would be subject to the maximum fine of ¥12,000.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
Japan weighs using U.S. rice imports as tariff negotiation tool with Trump
A restaurant owner pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo
Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
Crow meat, goat tartare: Mauvaise Herbe raises its game
Crow meat, shaped into a ball and attached to a foot of the bird, is one of the peculiar offerings of game at Mauvaise Herbe.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027
Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

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