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Kantaro Komiya
Takao Doi, a former astronaut and professor at Kyoto University, holds an engineering model of LignoSat wooden satellite during an interview at the university on Oct. 25.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2024
World's first wooden satellite, developed in Japan, heads to space
The palm-sized satellite is tasked to demonstrate the cosmic potential of the renewable material as humans explore living in space.
The H3 rocket, built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, lifts off from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Feb. 17.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2024
Mitsubishi to provide H3 rockets for France's Eutelsat from 2027
The deal is a major overseas win for Japan's ¥220 billion ($1.55 billion) state-backed H3 rocket project.
Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in April 2023, after the firm's first attempt to land on the moon failed.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 12, 2024
Ispace aims for December launch of second moon landing mission
The Hakuto-R Mission 2 spacecraft will be delivered by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida and attempt a lunar touchdown after four to five months of spaceflight.
The Kestrel I Suborbital Launch Vehicle, operated by AtSpace, sister company of Taiwanese rocket startup TiSpace, at an AtSpace facility in Queensland, Australia, on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Jul 25, 2024
Taiwanese rocket startup may bolster Japan's space hub ambitions
A planned launch has faced regulatory hurdles and delays amid questions over whether Japan should embrace overseas business as it works to grow its space industry.
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), is seen in this handout image taken by LEV-2 on the moon, released on Jan. 25.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2024
Japan's SLIM moon probe unexpectedly survives lunar night
The lander touched down on the lunar surface last month, making Japan the fifth country to put a probe on the moon.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will delay the launch date of the second model of its new H3 flagship rocket from the initially planned Thursday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 13, 2024
Japan delays H3 rocket's second launch due to bad weather
The new launch date will be announced later, but weather conditions at the launch site, Tanegashima Space Center, appear to set recover late Friday.
Tokyo Metro plans to go public in the fiscal year that starts in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 26, 2024
Tokyo Metro to go public as Japan seeks to reap benefits of buoyant stock market
The company, which is owned by the national government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, will be listed in the year that begins in April.
Officials from iQPS celebrate in the city of Fukuoka in June after the successful launch of a rocket carrying a small satellite developed by the firm.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 6, 2023
Satellite imagery startup iQPS surges 82% in Tokyo debut
The stock opened at ¥860 per share versus its IPO price of ¥390, with trading delayed by nearly five hours due to a glut of buy orders.
Trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura (front right) speaks during a meeting of Group of Seven trade ministers in the city of Osaka on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2023
Eyeing China, G7 calls for 'immediate repeal' of bans on Japanese food
The ministers, after meeting in Osaka, did not mention China but denounced what they consider its rising economic coercion through trade.
Core machinery orders, the leading indicator of Japanese business spending, were down 1.1% in July from the previous month in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 14, 2023
Weak machinery orders darken outlook and raise policy challenge
Core orders, the leading indicator of Japanese business spending, were down 1.1% in July from the previous month, Cabinet Office data showed.
A promotional poster for the film "Barbie" in Tokyo earlier this month
CULTURE
Aug 12, 2023
Hollywood blockbuster 'Barbie' opens in Japan after controversy
Tickets sold fast in Japan as fans flocked to the theatrical release, timed to coincide with the start of the Bon holiday period.
Damage to buildings in Naha, Okinawa, seen on Aug. 3, after Typhoon Khanun passed through the area
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2023
Typhoon Khanun kills one, cuts power to a third of Okinawa homes
High winds hit power lines in Okinawa Prefecture and knocked out electricity to more than 200,000 households on Wednesday morning.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 26, 2023
Japan ramps up Russia sanctions and condemns nuclear deployment in Belarus
G7 leaders last week showed their resolve to support Ukraine with additional military aid and sanctions on Russia.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2023
Spending in Japan unexpectedly drops as wages fall for a full year
Household spending fell 1.9% in March from a year earlier, the data showed, against economists' median forecast for a 0.4% rise and following a 1.6% gain in February.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2023
Kishida urges extra inflation-relief steps as Japan's households struggle
The news comes as households grapple with intensifying cost-of-living pressures amid elevated inflation for items such as energy and food, hitting consumption and smaller businesses.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 28, 2023
Japan's factory output posts biggest fall in 8 months on weak autos and chip sector
A fall of 4.6% in January from a month earlier marked the fastest decrease since May 2022.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 7, 2023
Real wages rebound in December on bonuses and household spending falls
Japan's real wages rose 0.1% in December from a year earlier, posting the first gain since March, a labor ministry data showed on Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2023
Japan's fourth quarter economic growth likely rebounded on tourism reopening
Signs of stronger momentum heading into 2023 could influence major companies and workers in Japan as they head into annual labor talks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 22, 2022
Japan revises up growth forecast on higher capital spending and wages
The projections underscore how the country is set to buck a global growth slowdown thanks to robust domestic demand supported by inbound tourism reopening.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2022
Japan's October factory output fell on global slowdown and weak chip demand
The feeble business activity highlights challenges for the world's third-largest economy, which has been lagging behind peers in recovering from the pandemic.

Longform

People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan — but do they work?