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August 25, 2025
 

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Shoko Oda
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 21, 2022
Surging gasoline costs unsettle Asia as inflation poses challenge
South Korea has taken steps to ensure a steady supply of the key fuel while tracking prices, and Japan may soon hand aid to local refiners.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 19, 2022
Japan’s LNG inventories slump to seven-month low on cold weather
The country has also received 10% fewer LNG deliveries in the one-month period through Monday compared to last year.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2021
Former vaccine chief Taro Kono says Japan should hasten booster rollout
Kono's comments came just after Japan confirmed the first cases of community transmission of the omicron variant.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 16, 2021
Goldman-founded energy firm says Japan must do more on climate
There is an ongoing struggle in Japan as the country aims to fulfill ambitious climate change goals while maintaining a secure and stable energy system.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 22, 2021
From bathhouses to fisheries, hidden inflation is creeping across Japan
Gasoline prices soared to a seven-year high this month and the government is expecting the tightest power supply in a decade this winter.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2021
Soul food photo boosts Twitter profile of Japan's next leader
The politician set to become Japan's next prime minister may not be all that savvy on social media — but a photo of his favorite food struck a chord with Twitter users.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 30, 2021
Having secured Japan's top job, Kishida must now win over its voters
While the ex-banker is almost guaranteed to be made prime minister by his party at a special session Monday, within weeks he will need to face a skeptical public in a general election.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 30, 2021
What Japan’s middle-of-the-road new leader means for investors
For good or ill, Kishida is seen by investors as a continuity choice — stable, but unlikely to energize markets much.
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2021
Japan's GPIF, world’s top pension fund, won’t invest in China’s sovereign debt
As Chinese debt is being added to the FTSE Russell global bond index, the Japanese fund will instead use a version of the World Government Bond Index that excludes Chinese government bonds.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 3, 2021
Tokyo Stock Exchange plans to extend trading day by 30 minutes
The report comes after the exchange formed a working group earlier this year to discuss extending trading hours past the current 3 p.m. close.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2021
Warren Buffett has made $2 billion so far with bet on Japan's trading houses
The gain of more than 30% across the five firms has outpaced the benchmark Topix index's 21% rise, without accounting for dividend income.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2021
Japan’s post-Olympics stock bounce depends on controlling COVID-19
The Nikkei usually rises when Japan hauls in gold medals, but all bets are off during the pandemic.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2021
Surprising stocks see windfall as Japan tops Olympic medal table
The nation's haul of 11 gold medals is lifting everything from real estate stocks to the shares of seafood vendors with the most tenuous of links to the medalists.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2021
Japanese skateboard stocks jump after host claims gold medals
Shares in Morito Co., which distributes skateboarding gear, were among those that surged Monday after Momiji Nishiya's victory in the Olympic women's street skateboarding event.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2021
GPIF copycat fund bucks the trend to invest in Chinese debt
The move involves the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan, or PMAC, which provides pension services to private school workers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 16, 2021
Japan’s cult outdoor brand wants you to test its high-end tents
Snow Peak's president acknowledges the company's price point may deter some shoppers, but says it reflects the goods' quality and lifetime warranty.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 6, 2021
Tokyo bourse chief optimistic on extending five-hour trading day
The Tokyo Stock Exchange has formed a working group to debate if trading hours can be lengthened past the current 3 p.m. close, which would be the first extension in more than a decade.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2021
Shohei Ohtani's baseball skills help his sponsors outperform the market
As the U.S. takes note of Ohtani's prodigious ability, some market watchers in Japan are eyeing a third skill — the ability to boost share prices.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 29, 2021
Beware of ‘ESG bubble,’ says ex-chair of world’s biggest pension fund
Eiji Hirano says the Government Pension Investment Fund needs to 'think about how to analyze if ESG is really profitable, as well as how to evaluate and standardize ESG.'
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2021
Japanese stocks slide as rate concerns damp cyclical appeal
The figures came as hawkish comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve crushed the reflation trade that had driven the market earlier this year.
Japan to revise romanization rules for first time in 70 years
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is recommending replacing the government’s long-standing Kunrei system with more widely used Hepburn-style spellings.
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
At meeting rich in symbolism, Ishiba and South Korea's Lee agree to steadily build ties
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shake hands at joint press announcement after summit talks in Tokyo on Saturday.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
Japan to boost support for joint ride-hailing services
Tatsuaki Igarashi, mayor of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, exits a ride-sharing vehicle at Tsukuba Station in January.
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
Reigen, Germany's first sake brewery, makes a diverse, nontraditional range of sake that includes fruit-flavored sips and wine barrel-aged renditions.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
Is the LDP’s catch-all approach to politics still effective?
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi visits Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15. Political commentator Toru Hashimoto has suggested that Takaichi ought to lead a group of like-minded hawkish politicians out of the Liberal Democratic Party and form their own party.
Fingers sore from too much phone time? You might have ‘sumaho yubi.’
A catch-all term for tendonitis and arthritis caused by excessive smartphone use, 'sumaho yubi' may be difficult to treat for gadget-crazy Japan.
As farm minister, Koizumi is held ‘hostage’ by Ishiba
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi (center) attends a Lower House session on Aug. 1. Locking Koizumi into the Cabinet is Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s way of turning a potential rival into a team player, according to one expert.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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