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April 25, 2025
 

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Francis Tang
Shizuoka Gov. Yasutomo Suzuki (left) meets with JR Central President Shunsuke Niwa in the city of Shizuoka on June 5.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 7, 2024
Kishida maintains 2037 target for Tokyo-Osaka maglev line
Prime minister pledges support of the central government in helping stakeholders meet the deadline.
To qualify for the advance payment offered by the city of Saitama, the single parent must reside in the city and fulfill several other criteria.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 6, 2024
Saitama aids single parents with advance child support payments
The city will offer a maximum amount of ¥50,000 per month per child to the affected parent for up to three months, and seek reimbursement from the former spouse.
Satoshi Harada, an official at the Meteorological Agency, speaks at a news conference on Monday morning in Tokyo. The agency asked people in the area to remain vigilant for quakes of a similar level for a week.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2024
Strong quake shakes Japan's hard-hit Noto Peninsula area
The magnitude 6 earthquake hit the peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture Monday, just over five months after a powerful temblor rocked the area.
Magnetic paper train tickets have been in use in Japan since the late 1960s.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 30, 2024
Eastern Japan rail operators to introduce QR code tickets by March 2027
JR East and seven other railway operators will replace their decades-old magnetic ticketing system to improve efficiency and sustainability.
Yasutomo Suzuki (second from right) celebrates in the city of Shizuoka on Sunday after being elected governor of Shizuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
May 27, 2024
Opposition-backed Yasutomo Suzuki wins Shizuoka gubernatorial vote
Suzuki’s victory could pave the way for restarting the maglev train line project that had been delayed due to opposition from his predecessor.
The increase in foreign student numbers in Japan came after the government started to gradually lift its COVID-19 travel restrictions in 2022.
JAPAN / Society
May 24, 2024
Foreign student numbers in Japan grew in 2023
A survey found 279,274 foreign students in the country as of May 2023, up 20.8% from a year earlier but still below prepandemic levels.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2024
Japan's revised immigration bill clears Lower House
Permanent residency holders may have their status revoked if they deliberately fail to pay their taxes, impacting only those "with malicious intent."
Osaka Metropolitan University has reviewed its records and interviewed faculty members and students but has been unable to determine the whereabouts of two missing bottles of cyanide.
JAPAN / Society
May 16, 2024
Two bottles of cyanide go missing from Osaka university
A laboratory worker discovered the bottles of deadly compounds were missing during an inventory check on May 2.
Entrepreneurs Yusaku Maezawa (second from right) and Takafumi Horie (third from right) attend a study session on fake social media ads and investment scams at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on April 10.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 16, 2024
Japanese billionaire sues Meta over investment scams using his image
Yusaku Maezawa is suing Meta for its negligence in regulating the use of his name and image in investment scams on its social media platforms.
Police believe it’s highly possible that human bones found in a molten iron pot at Nippon Steel's Oita factory belong to a missing male employee.
JAPAN
May 15, 2024
Human bone-like objects found at Nippon Steel plant’s molten iron pot, with one worker missing
The police said it’s highly possible that the bones belong to an employee who had been reported missing, and are currently conducting DNA tests.
Shoma Uno thanks his fans after a news conference explaining his decision to retire, on Tuesday in Tokyo.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
May 14, 2024
Figure skating champion Shoma Uno says he has 'no regrets' in retirement
The 26-year-old two-time world champion thanked his fans for their support and said that he was excited to move on to the next phase of his career.
Visitors climb the slopes of Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak at 3,776 meters. From May 20, climbers will have access to a new online booking system for Mount Fuji's most popular Yoshida trail in Yamanashi Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
May 13, 2024
Online booking for Mount Fuji climb to open on May 20
Climbers will be able to reserve their places and pay the mandatory ¥2,000 ($13) climbing fee up to a day before their climb on the official website.
The Northern Lights in Nayoro, Hokkaido, on Saturday
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 13, 2024
In a rare event, the Northern Lights show up in Hokkaido
The aurora borealis was also observed across the Tohoku region.
Former Shizuoka Vice Gov. Shinichi Omura announces he is running for the gubernatorial election, on April 12.
JAPAN / Politics
May 9, 2024
Campaigning for Shizuoka's next governor kicks off with all eyes on maglev line
A record six candidates are running for the post after the previous governor resigned over controversial remarks.
“Customer harassment” — in which customers harass front-line workers with aggressive behavior or unreasonable requests — has become a growing problem in the service industry.
JAPAN / Society
May 2, 2024
Japan steps up measures against 'customer harassment'
A 2022 survey found that 67.5% of respondents had experienced some kind of harassment from customers in the past three years.
Japanese fashion designer Yumi Katsura (center) greets guests during the finale of the 2015 Yumi Katsura Grand Collection in Tokyo. Katsura has died at the age of 94.
LIFE / Style & Design
Apr 30, 2024
Yumi Katsura, a pioneer of Japan’s bridal fashion, dies at 94
Katsura developed a unique style combining Japan’s traditional techniques with French motifs throughout a career spanning over half a century.
Health ministry officials enter Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's factory in the city of Osaka on March 30.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 26, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma to cover bills of people who got ill after taking supplements
The Osaka company’s board has also set up a third-party panel to probe the company’s handling of the issue.
Of 1,729 local municipalities nationwide, 744 have been identified as being at risk of disappearing.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 24, 2024
Over 40% of Japan's municipalities at risk of vanishing, study finds
The Tohoku region takes the top spot in both the number and percentage of municipalities at risk of disappearing due to a sharp population decline.
A dealer works in the trading room at a foreign exchange brokerage in Tokyo on March 28. An overwhelming majority of respondents who currently work remotely in some capacity say they wish to continue to do so.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2024
Hybrid work takes root in Japan, survey finds
While remote working has declined with the end of the pandemic, many of those who adopted a hybrid work model are sticking to it.
Rainbow flags were flown through the capital's busy Shibuya and Harajuku areas for Tokyo Rainbow Pride events this weekend as organizers hailed 30 years of one of Asia's largest LGBTQ celebrations.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 21, 2024
Tokyo Rainbow Pride lights up capital as organizers celebrate 30 years
Under the theme “Until it changes, don’t give up,” this year’s Tokyo Rainbow Pride was held after an eventful 12 months for Japan’s LGBTQ movement.
Japan must correct Trump’s false data for trade talks, says Kono
Former Foreign Minister Taro Kono
Japan wants to 'separate' tariff and security issues. That may be tough.
Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, poses with a "Make America Great Again" cap at the White House in Washington on April 16.
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.
Japan set to fine cyclists on the spot for rule violations from 2026
Under new rules, those who use smartphones while riding a bicycle would be subject to the maximum fine of ¥12,000.
Naked man’s rampage in Saitama linked to one fatality and 10 injured
Police believe Daisuke Nishimura may have been involved in roughly 20 incidents in the 90 minutes leading up to his arrest, including a fatal hit-and-run and multiple assaults.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
Japan weighs using U.S. rice imports as tariff negotiation tool with Trump
A restaurant owner pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo
Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
Crow meat, goat tartare: Mauvaise Herbe raises its game
Crow meat, shaped into a ball and attached to a foot of the bird, is one of the peculiar offerings of game at Mauvaise Herbe.

Podcast

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

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones
Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

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