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September 04, 2025
 

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Elizabeth Beattie
Lotte Holdings President Genichi Tamatsuka (left), Lotte hotels Japan head Tomoya Fukui (center) and Hotel Lotte CEO Jung Ho-suck (right) at a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday. The companies unveiled plans to open 20 hotels in Japan by 2034.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2025
Lotte’s sweet deal aims to capitalize on Japan’s tourism boom
Confectionery giants Lotte Holdings and Lotte Corporation plan to draw on South Korea expertise and in-house products to create more hotels in Japan.
The latest version of Tamagotchi, called Tamagotchi Paradise, is awarded the best digital toy at Tokyo Toy Show on Aug. 28.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 2, 2025
Tamagotchi hatches 100 million shipments worldwide thanks to ’90s nostalgia
Fueled by nostalgia and "kidults," the Tamagotchi boom shows no sign of slowing.
"It's not just about sales. It's about system change," said Marty Pomphrey, general manager of Patagonia Japan, on Aug. 6.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 1, 2025
‘Cool’ Patagonia wants to take used items into the mainstream
The American outdoor brand is looking to make the offering of secondhand goods alongside new products the next step of its evolution.
Visitors look at paper cranes hung at Peace Park in Nagasaki on Aug. 8, a day ahead of the 80th anniversary of the World War II atomic bombing of the city.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 25, 2025
Japan ranked one of the most peaceful places in Asia as global tensions rise
Japan’s geography places it in close proximity to some of the biggest current geopolitical tensions and conflicts, but it still ranked highly in the Global Peace Index 2025.
Workations were a burgeoning trend in the corporate world for years before the COVID-19 pandemic turbocharged it.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 19, 2025
Tokyo crowned No.1 'workation' spot
Japan’s capital topped the rankings for its “exceptional broadband speeds, transport infrastructure, safety, culture, and new digital nomad visa.”
The streets of Tokyo's Ginza district in April. The number of foreign residents in Japan hit a record high at 3.76 million as of the end of last year, comprising just over 3% of the population.
BUSINESS
Aug 14, 2025
Welcoming foreign residents benefits Japan, three quarters of economists say
Some highlighted the need to avoid conflating foreign nationals who may be in Japan temporarily with long-term foreign residents.
The number of Japanese students who applied to the National Taiwan University in Taipei in 2025 is more than 60% higher than last year due partly to affordability and proximity.
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2025
Japanese students who want to study abroad looking at options in Asia
Amid a weak yen, students are increasingly picking more affordable schools in the region, such as Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines.
A mushroom cloud from the atomic bombing on Hiroshima taken from a U.S. military aircraft on Aug. 6, 1945. Copying the photo without permission is prohibited.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Aug 6, 2025
80 years on, a Japanese American hibakusha recalls the day the bomb dropped
As a 7-year-old boy in Hiroshima, Howard Kakita was hoping to catch the vapor trail of a B-29 bomber. A sudden blast knocked him out.
The University of Tokyo. International students are increasingly flocking to Asia, with affordability being a particularly important metric.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 25, 2025
Tokyo is the No. 2 choice for international students
Amid rising costs of living, affordability is a key factor for students when deciding where to study abroad.
Japanese passport holders have visa-free access to 190 destinations out of 227 globally.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 24, 2025
Japan ties with South Korea for second most powerful passport
Japan continues to hold the world’s second most powerful passport — tied with South Korea — according to a new global ranking.
McKinsey’s 2025 Technology Trends Outlook, published Wednesday, says that the use of “sovereign AI” is a trend gaining significant global traction, including in Japan.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 23, 2025
Japan leans into homegrown AI amid rising competition
Japan is among the countries aiming to develop localized artificial intelligence models to target national priorities.
Tokyo ranks among the world's top tech talent hubs alongside Beijing, the San Francisco Bay Area, Bengaluru, Paris, New York and Dublin, according to Colliers' newly released global tech markets report.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 16, 2025
Tokyo emerges as a top market for global tech talent
As the search for tech talent intensifies, companies are deciding to invest more in regions that offer “more abundant and affordable tech talent.”
Yahoo News was Japan’s fourth-most visited website overall.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 15, 2025
Yahoo News Japan beats NYT and BBC as most popular news website worldwide
While traditional media are still viewed as the most trustworthy sources, news aggregation site Yahoo New Japan nets the most eyeballs in Japan and abroad.
Ichiro Kanai, founder and president of Tokyobike, is developing a niche but a new customer base who want to cycle as part of a lifestyle.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 15, 2025
Tokyobike founder believes in taking in sights of dynamic cities slowly
There's no use having a wonderful bike if you don’t have a thrilling city to explore, with Tokyobike's founder believing stylish products can only complement a compelling city.
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 9, 2025
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Today, more than half of Netflix’s global users watch anime on its service, with shows such as “Sakamoto Days” proving to be massive hits.
Tokyo ranked second after New York and ahead of Dubai and Singapore in a ranking of the top global cities for nighttime tourism.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 4, 2025
Tokyo and Kyoto feature among top ‘noctourism’ destinations
Both cities rank highly in an emerging trend of nighttime tourism, according to a recently released report.
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 30, 2025
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
There is plenty of room for Lego to grow in Japan, but the low birth rate is undeniably a challenge.
Australian singer Donna Burke in Tokyo on May 29. People comment on how familiar her voice is when footage of Burke performing shinkansen announcements go viral online.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 27, 2025
A trained star: The Australian singer who became the voice of the shinkansen
The “JR voice” has built a career that encompasses voice work for prominent game franchises including Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy.
Following domestic economic instability after the real estate market’s 2020 collapse, and global geopolitical uncertainty, wealthy Chinese have sought to establish bases in other countries, including Japan.
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2025
Japan among most attractive Asian nations for uber-wealthy
The standard of living, health care, and safety and security make Japan attractive to wealthy Chinese expatriates, with Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe their main destinations.
Japan showed improved performance in the category of “no poverty” but did worse in fields like “zero hunger” and “press freedom” in the latest SDG Index.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2025
Japan ranks in the top 20 on SDG index
Japan was rated 19th this year, behind Estonia and Belgium and above Portugal and Hungary.
More sweltering days forecast for September after hottest summer on record
By the end of August, 8,341 people had been transported by ambulance for heatstroke in Tokyo alone.
‘Mount Fuji Lawson’ becomes a symbol of Japan’s overtourism problem
A couple poses for a wedding photo in front of a Lawson in the town of Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 25.
Surrounded by Chinese bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm
A Philippine Navy sailor looks at a China Coast Guard vessel just off the coast of Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea last month.
Woman dies after possible knife attack in Setagaya
Police investigate the scene where a woman was found bleeding on a street in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Monday.
Suntory CEO Takeshi Niinami resigns over alleged possession of illegal drugs
Takeshi Niinami, then-chief executive officer of Suntory Holdings, in May 2024
Xi — joined by Kim and Putin — delivers stark warning at military parade
Chinese leader Xi Jinping walks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing on Wednesday.
Tamagotchi hatches 100 million shipments worldwide thanks to ’90s nostalgia
The latest version of Tamagotchi, called Tamagotchi Paradise, is awarded the best digital toy at Tokyo Toy Show on Aug. 28.
Why Stalin didn’t invade Hokkaido still largely unknown, 80 years after WWII
During a survey to collect the remains of victims from the Taito Maru, one of the vessels involved in the Three Ships Incident, a metal helmet was found near the stern of the vessel on Aug. 5, 1984, at Rumoi Port. No human remains were discovered.
More sweltering days forecast for September after hottest summer on record
By the end of August, 8,341 people had been transported by ambulance for heatstroke in Tokyo alone.
Surrounded by Chinese bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm
A Philippine Navy sailor looks at a China Coast Guard vessel just off the coast of Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea last month.

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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