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Yukana Inoue

The Nihon University football club dormitory in Tokyo

JAPAN / Society

Oct 31, 2023

Nihon University staff downplayed drug use problem, report says

The report shows how the university’s system of governance led to the delay in taking action against the American football team’s culture of drug use.

Takuya Matsunaga (right), who lost his wife and daughter in a 2019 crash in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district, attends a news conference on Friday along with his father-in-law, Yoshinori Uehara.

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

Oct 27, 2023

Ex-Japan bureaucrat ordered to pay damages over fatal 2019 crash

Kozo Iizuka had already been sentenced to five years in prison, after the car he was driving crashed into Mana Matsunaga, 31, and her daughter Riko, 3.

Major supermarket chain Daiei opened a checkout-free, walk-through store in the CeeU Yokohama mall on Friday.

BUSINESS / Tech

Oct 27, 2023

At new Japan supermarket outlet, high tech runs the store

The system replaces cash registers with a network of cameras, weight sensors and a smartphone app.

A poster for Uber displayed at a Tokyo subway station reads: "Meeting inbound demand together with Japan's taxis." It also notes that its service is used in 71 countries.

JAPAN / Society

Oct 26, 2023

Japan weighs allowing ride-hailing amid taxi industry opposition

The taxi industry is opposed to any change, arguing that allowing ride-hailing is just a temporary fix that will take jobs from taxi drivers.

BUSINESS / Companies

Oct 19, 2023

Beverage company Ito En taps AI actress for TV commercial

The commercial is receiving mixed reviews from netizens, with some praising the quality of the tech while others worry about job loss.

The majority of tourists in Japan tend to stay in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, resulting in overcrowding in popular tourist spots and a strain on transportation systems.

JAPAN / Society

Oct 18, 2023

Japan unveils new overtourism countermeasures

The tourism ministry unveiled its overtourism prevention plan, summarizing the various efforts that have begun to be made in areas around the nation.

Ayuko Kato, minister in charge of child policies, talks to children in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Sunday.

JAPAN / Politics

Oct 17, 2023

Japan resumes babysitter discount coupon program amid high demand

The babysitter coupon system was implemented in 2016 as part of the government’s efforts to offer financial aid to working families with children.

Booking.com has issued a statement on their website apologizing for “updates to their payment system” that are causing issues for some of their partners, including many hotels in Japan.

JAPAN / Society

Oct 15, 2023

Japanese hotel owners plan to sue Booking.com over payment failure

Hotel owners say that over the past few months, Booking.com has failed to promptly transfer customer payments to hotels.

Shogi player Sota Fujii holds a card that says "eight titles," in the city of Kyoto on Wednesday.

JAPAN / Society

Oct 12, 2023

Sota Fujii becomes first player to win all eight major shogi titles

The 21-year-old took the Oza crown, having won Game 4 to finish the best-of-five match against 31-year-old Takuya Nagase.

Ayuko Kato, minister in charge of child policies, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.

JAPAN / Politics

Oct 4, 2023

Children's agency chief Ayuko Kato vows to tackle falling birthrate

One of the aims of the agency is to help implement the Children's Future Strategy, a plan that was announced as a way to reverse the declining birthrate.

A meeting to discuss how to prevent the use of kiken drugs (hazardous drugs), is held at the health ministry on Friday.

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

Sep 29, 2023

As drug use rises in Japan, government eyes prevention plans

The ministry reported that by the end of August, around 300 stores in the country were found to be selling quasi-legal products known as “kiken drugs.”

The University of Tokyo ranked 29th in the latest World Universities Rankings, up from 39th in last year’s report.

JAPAN / Society

Sep 28, 2023

Japanese universities move up in global rankings

The overall improvement is due to a change in methodology by Times Higher Education.

Tsushima Mayor Naoki Hitakatsu addresses the city's municipal assembly on Wednesday, announcing his decision not to take part in the government's preliminary survey to assess the suitability of a location as a nuclear waste disposal site.

JAPAN / Society

Sep 27, 2023

Tsushima mayor turns down request for nuclear waste site survey

The mayor expressed his decision at a municipal council meeting, saying that “there is not enough consensus building among citizens.”

Yahoo News is currently the most popular news portal site in Japan, with the highest number of partnerships with news providers.

BUSINESS / Tech

Sep 26, 2023

Yahoo News considers reviewing contracts with news providers

The announcement follows a report by the JFTC last week that warned that the platform's operator, Yahoo Japan, may be in a superior bargaining position.

Mitsubishi Chemical’s plan for a new semiconductor materials plant comes as the government makes investments in the domestic sector.

BUSINESS

Sep 25, 2023

Mitsubishi Chemical to open new semiconductor materials plant

Details on when or where it will be built or how much it will cost have not been decided, but Fukuoka Prefecture is reportedly a candidate location.

Leaves of marijuana plants from which hemp fibers are extracted at Japan's largest legal marijuana farm in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, on July 5, 2016

PODCAST / deep dive

Sep 21, 2023

Does a university cannabis scandal point to a larger trend?

A drugs scandal at Japan’s biggest university draws attention to a troubling statistic: Cannabis use among young people is on the rise.

Studio Ghibli President Toshio Suzuki (left) and Nippon TV Chairman Yoshikuni Sugiyama shake hands during a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday afternoon.

BUSINESS / Companies

Sep 21, 2023

Studio Ghibli set to become subsidiary of Nippon TV

Studio Ghibli President Toshio Suzuki will assume the position of chairman while Hayao Miyazaki will be its honorary chairman.

Yoshikazu Higashitani, known as GaaSyy, at Narita Airport in June

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

Sep 19, 2023

In first court hearing, ex-lawmaker GaaSyy apologizes for defamation

Yoshikazu Higashitani admitted in court Tuesday to making defamatory remarks toward celebrities in videos he posted on social media.

Masanobu Ogura (center left), then-minister in charge of policies related to children, receives a petition from Hiroki Komazaki (center right), founder of nonprofit organization Florence, in Tokyo on Sept. 1.

JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS

Sep 18, 2023

Debate grows in Japan over proposed background checks for teachers

The Children and Families Agency is proposing to make screening for criminal convictions mandatory for people looking to work in schools or nurseries.

Fuji TV quoted tech journalist Yo Mikami as saying there is a chance that the suspect opened one of the victim's eyelids so he could unlock the smartphone.

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

Sep 15, 2023

Two men arrested in Tokyo over alleged theft using Face ID

A 27-year-old Tunisian man allegedly used the victim’s smartphone to send ¥500,000 to the bank account of his 25-year-old friend.

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

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

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