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Francis Tang
Community leaders discuss the role of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in ending the HIV/AIDS threat to public health by 2030 at a seminar hosted by Gilead Sciences in Tokyo on Sept. 25.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 1, 2024
HIV prevention drug remains out of reach for many in Japan despite approval
The drug's high cost together with insufficient knowledge and awareness are hindering efforts to broaden access to it, experts and community leaders say.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday. Koizumi stressed that the granting of the special residency permits to children subjected to deportation orders was a one-time measure.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 27, 2024
Japan fine-tunes issuance of humanitarian visas
The move comes amid a near-tripling of technical intern trainees from Myanmar going missing from their programs in 2023.
Out of a total of 509,373 foreign technical trainees, 1.9% went missing in 2023, according to Immigration Services Agency data.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 27, 2024
Record number of technical trainees go missing in Japan in 2023
Of the total, 1,765 were Myanmar nationals who had fled conflict in their home country.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito after the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly passed a no-confidence motion against him on Sept. 19 
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2024
Hyogo governor to seek reelection after automatically losing his seat next week
Motohiko Saito, who has been at the center of a series of controversies, announced his decision at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
The Justice Ministry said there are now over 250,000 specified skilled foreign workers.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2024
Number of specified skilled visa holders in Japan surpasses 250,000
The government is aiming to attract 820,000 foreign workers under the specified skilled worker program over a five-year period through April 2029.
The Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Thursday. The embassy and other organizations have urged swift and resolute actions to protect Japanese citizens in China.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2024
China works to avoid rift with Japan over killing of schoolchild
Beijing is characterizing the murder as a lone act and downplaying the political implications.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito speaks during a prefectural assembly session on Thursday in Kobe. A motion of no confidence against Saito, who is accused of workplace bullying, was submitted to the prefectural assembly on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 19, 2024
Hyogo assembly passes no-confidence motion against embattled governor
The extremely rare move forces Gov. Motohiko Saito, who is accused of workplace bullying, to either step down or dissolve the assembly within 10 days.
The street where a 10-year-old boy is said to have been stabbed with a knife, on Thursday in Shenzhen in southern China.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 19, 2024
Japanese school student stabbed in Shenzhen dies
The assault echoes an earlier incident of violence in June, when a man attacked a bus used by a Japanese school in Suzhou, China.
Nippon Steel argues that its acquisition of U.S. Steel would be a win-win.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2024
Quiet assurances mooted as U.S. Steel deal shakes global order
Analysts and informed observers have been gaming out the possible outcomes and adding up the potential damage.
Signs expressing opposition to the University of Tokyo's proposed tuition hikes are displayed at the university's Komaba campus in Tokyo in July.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 11, 2024
University of Tokyo plans to raise tuition fees by 20% in 2025
The university expects to make the proposal official by the end of September, barring unforeseen issues.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito, accused of workplace bullying, testifies to an investigative panel in Kobe on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2024
Nippon Ishin calls on Hyogo governor to resign over bullying claims
Nippon Ishin’s move is expected to be a politically fatal blow for Motohiko Saito, as he had the party’s support when he was elected as an independent.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito attends a session of a panel investigating allegations of workplace harassment against him, in Kobe on Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2024
Hyogo governor disputes legal protections for harassment whistleblower
Motohiko Saito said that he didn’t believe it was a problem to allow an investigation into the creator of a document making allegations against him.
The future of 133-year-old remains, which lay buried beneath Kitakyushu for a century, is unclear amid the city's redevelopment plans.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024
Global conservation body calls on Kitakyushu to halt redevelopment plans
The city said the project will proceed as planned as there are no alternative sites and further delays could threaten the provision of public services.
People at the Sensoji temple in Tokyo in July. The three months between June and August were 1.76 degrees Celsius hotter than average in Japan.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Sep 2, 2024
Japan sees joint hottest summer on record
The three months between June and August were 1.76 degrees Celsius hotter than average, matching the record set only last year.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito (center) attends a session before a prefectural assembly investigative panel on Friday in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 30, 2024
Hyogo governor sidesteps accusations of workplace bullying
In the wake of the deaths of two prefectural officials, Gov. Motohiko Saito told an investigative panel that he may have been a "strict boss."
Although Truvada has been used globally as an HIV prevention drug for years, the movement toward expanding its use as preexposure prophylaxis in Japan has been slow.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 29, 2024
Health ministry approves Truvada as HIV prevention drug
Truvada is the first drug approved in Japan for both the treatment and prevention of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
The Todoroki Falls in Amakusa, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Saturday. Seven high school students who had played in a river nearby experienced vomiting and diarrhea.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 28, 2024
Over 100 people fall sick in Kumamoto with river eyed as potential source
The city has set up signs near the river due to the suspected norovirus cases, calling on visitors to refrain from playing in the water.
Remnants of the first Moji station complex are located near the current Mojiko Station in the city of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 27, 2024
Kitakyushu clashes with academics over Meiji Era remains
The city wants to proceed with plans to build a five-story complex to house several aging public facilities on the site of the original Moji railway station.
An electronic signboard at Tokyo Station displays information about a megaquake alert last Saturday. The government lifted the alert on Thursday but urged continued vigilance.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 15, 2024
Japan lifts megaquake alert after no major seismic activity detected
Authorities note that although the alert is lifted, a large-scale earthquake remains a possibility.
A train in Nimi, Okayama Prefecture, on West Japan Railway's Geibi Line in September 2023. The line is among those that have seen rail tracks warped by this summer's extreme heat.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Aug 15, 2024
Japan’s searing summer heat is warping railway tracks more often
West Japan Railway, Kyushu Railway and Shikoku Railway have all been affected.

Longform

Wozme, founded by dancer and choreographer Wakaba Kohei, is composed of Kana Kitty, Ami Ishii, Akane Watanabe and Natsuki. Its aim is to inject elegance and beauty, traits traditionally associated with femininity, into the sometimes grotesque art form of butoh dance.
Wozme, an all-women dance troupe, wants to move the needle in butoh