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Elizabeth Beattie
Product shipments at Asahi Group Holdings companies have been suspended due to a system failure caused by a cyberattack, with the holding company saying they have no estimated timeline for recovery.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 30, 2025
Asahi suspends orders and shipments following cyberattack
The beverage company is working to restore its operations and has confirmed there has not been any leak of personal information or customer data.
Pokemon said it has not given permission to use its upbeat theme music and imagery for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's deportation video posted on X and TikTok.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 26, 2025
U.S. Department of Homeland Security doubles down on Pokemon-themed deportation video
The Pokemon Co. said they had no involvement in the Pokemon-themed arrest and deportation video.
Apple is reopening its redesigned store in Ginza, Tokyo, on Friday. The location holds special importance for the company — it was its first overseas store, which originally opened in 2003.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 24, 2025
Tim Cook arrives in Tokyo as Apple prepares to reopen Ginza store
The Ginza location holds special importance for Apple — it’s the company’s first overseas store, originally opening in 2003.
Japan has many positive qualities for German companies, but the market does face some challenges, such as talent acquisition and retention, particularly as demand for skilled workers grows, a survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan showed.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 22, 2025
German companies choosing Japan as Asia manufacturing hub: survey
The country is valued for its stability, affordability and proximity to other major markets, according to the survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan.
Tours are being offered in Tokyo using a shoulder-mounted robot equipped with a camera, speaker and microphone. The robot twitches its wing-like arms, which it can fold together as if in prayer when visiting a temple.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 19, 2025
Robot tour guides in Tokyo offer way for those with disabilities to work
OriHime, a robot remotely controlled by people with disabilities, is offering tours in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district.
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 17, 2025
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
Regardless of their motivations, foreign property buyers in Japan have come under the magnifying glass.
Forbes and Unforgettable Travel Company have ranked Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture as Asia's most beautiful village.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
‘Fairytale’ Shirakawago ranked one of the world’s most beautiful villages
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Shirakawago is famed for its verdant landscape and gasshō-zukuri farmhouses, which are hundreds of years old.
Google has said that its AI Mode will soon be available in Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Indonesian and Brazilian Portuguese globally.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 9, 2025
Google’s AI Mode to offer Japanese language support
Along with Japanese, Google said it will also gradually be offered in Korean, Hindi, Indonesian and Brazilian Portuguese globally starting Tuesday.
A blood moon is seen during a partial eclipse in the sky over Lake George near Canberra on March 14.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 5, 2025
Japan to experience blood moon lunar eclipse on Monday
The full lunar eclipse, which is set to occur in the early hours, will be Japan’s first since November 2022.
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.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?