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Yukana Inoue
Nobuyo Oyama
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 11, 2024
Long-time 'Doraemon' voice actor Nobuyo Oyama dies at 90
Oyama voiced the nation's beloved blue cat-robot in her own inimitable way from the time the show debuted in 1979 until 2005.
Commuters at Tokyo Station in July. In Tokyo, cases of mycoplasma pneumonia, characterized by prolonged cough and fever, rose to a record high of 2.96 per medical facility in the fourth week of September.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 8, 2024
Mycoplasma pneumonia cases reach record high in late September
The disease, which commonly affects children and is usually accompanied by a fever and cough, typically surges in the transition from fall to winter.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks to a reporter on Sept. 27. Aggressive acts toward front-line workers, dubbed "customer harassment," have become a growing problem.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 4, 2024
Tokyo passes nation's first customer harassment ordinance
The ordinance, however, does not include any criminal punishment for those accused of harassment.
Mobile phone numbers with a 060 prefix could be available as soon as December.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 3, 2024
Japan considers new 060 mobile number prefix as 070 runs low
Numbers starting with 060 could be available as early as December, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Visitors take photos of Shin Shin at Ueno zoo in Tokyo on Saturday. Saturday was the last chance for Japan's panda-lovers to see Shin Shin and Ri Ri before their return to China.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2024
Japan's legions of panda-lovers bid farewell to beloved pair in Tokyo
Avid fans of the pandas congregated outside Ueno zoo overnight to secure a spot in line to see the pair for one minute each.
Digital minister Taro Kono, who is contesting the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, shows a board saying "accomplishment of reformation" during a debate in Tokyo on Sept. 14.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 25, 2024
How Taro Kono lost his mojo
Recent polls have shown the digital minister trailing behind his eight other rivals in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race.
A shopper browses through locally caught seafood at a fish market in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, in August 2023. China has not imported any seafood from Japan since September last year.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2024
Japan agrees to stricter monitoring of Fukushima plant's treated water
Tokyo's nod to greater involvement of third-party inspectors — a key demand from Beijing — paves the way for a lifting of China's ban on Japanese seafood imports.
East Japan Railway plans to run driverless shinkansen by the mid-2030s.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 11, 2024
JR East unveils plans for driverless shinkansen by mid-2030s
The company said it first aims to realize driverless operations for the Joetsu Shinkansen line between Niigata and Tokyo stations.
Redevelopment of the Meiji Jingu Gaien district has trees in the area marked according to their status — trees marked in red were to be cut down in the original plan while those in blue were to be transplanted. In the updated plan, trees marked in red will no longer be felled, and those in blue will remain where they are.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 9, 2024
Updated Meiji Jingu Gaien redevelopment plan to keep more trees
Fewer trees will be felled and more new ones planted, while construction will also take place further away from the park's iconic ginkgo trees.
Seven & I Holdings, operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, said on Friday it has rejected Alimentation Couche-Tard's takeover bid as not being in the interest of shareholders.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2024
Seven & I pans value of offer as it rejects Canadian takeover bid
Seven & I said that Alimentation Couche-Tard had “grossly” undervalued the target company and that the takeover attempt was timed “opportunistically.”
People walk in front of closed ticket gates for the Tokaido Shinkansen in Tokyo Station as train operations between Tokyo and Nagoya remain suspended due to Tropical Storm Shanshan on Saturday.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2024
Tropical Storm Shanshan soaks Japan as flood and landslide risks rise
Shanshan was moving slowly south-southwest of Wakayama Prefecture on Saturday afternoon, bringing widespread torrential rain to much of the country.
A submerged area of Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on Thursday after Typhoon Shanshan dumped torrential rain throughout the Kyushu region.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2024
Alerts issued for Tokyo area cities as Shanshan crawls across Japan
Multiple rivers in and around Tokyo threatened to spill their banks as the storm brought torrential rain.
Vehicles are stranded on flooded road on Thursday following heavy rains from Typhoon Shanshan in the city of Tamana, Kumamoto Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2024
Heavy rain batters Japan after Typhoon Shanshan makes landfall in Kyushu
Later Thursday, Shanshan was downgraded to a severe tropical storm, but it was still bringing heavy rain and strong winds to the region and beyond.
A satellite image shows Typhoon Shanshan south of Kyushu on Wednesday afternoon
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2024
Typhoon Shanshan batters Kyushu ahead of likely landfall
Shanshan could make landfall later Thursday while still a very strong storm, and its slow movement means it will deliver dangerous impacts over a prolonged period.
Sensoji Temple in the Asakusa district of Tokyo. The lack of opportunities to meet people was the biggest hurdle for marriage for both married and unmarried respondents, which may explain the rise in popularity of dating apps.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 27, 2024
Around 1 in 4 married couples in Japan under 40 used dating apps, survey finds
The lack of opportunities to meet people in-person was the biggest hurdle for marriage for both married and unmarried respondents.
Typhoon Shanshan is expected to become more powerful and hit western Japan on Tuesday, after which it is forecast to make its way north throughout the week.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2024
Typhoon Shanshan to hit western Japan on Tuesday
By Wednesday, the maximum wind speed is expected to reach up to 162 kilometers per hour around Amami Oshima island and southern Kyushu.
A construction worker in Akasaka-Mitsuke, Tokyo, on Wednesday. High temperatures are projected to linger on past the summer.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2024
High temperatures expected to continue in Japan through October
The warm fall will follow what has already been a particularly hot summer, with July’s average temperature coming in at a record high for the month.
A supermarket worker puts up a sign asking purchasers to buy only one bag per person, in Tokyo on July 25.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024
Why it's hard to find rice at Japan's supermarkets right now
In recent weeks, store shelves have often been barren, with many shops displaying signs asking purchasers to stick to one bag per person.
Climbers converge in front of Mount Fuji's 5th Station, which leads to the popular Yoshida trail, in Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 11.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2024
Mount Fuji’s new measures bear fruit in tackling dangerous 'bullet climbing'
Restrictions implemented on the popular Yoshida trail have significantly reduced the number of "bullet climbers" and reduced bad behavior associated with the practice.
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 13, 2024
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
Concerns over a potential disaster have prompted many visitors to cancel their plans and city's to cancel events.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go