Search - japan

 
 
For language learners under 40 in Japan, AI tools such as ChatGPT are now preferred over in-person classes or radio language programs.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2024

AI services growing in popularity among younger language learners in Japan

The number of people using AI language tools grew by more than 80% in 2024, a recent survey showed.
A Japan Ground Self-Defense Force V-22 Osprey tiltrotor military transport aircraft participates in a live fire exercise at GSDF's training grounds in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2024

Japan's SDF to resume Osprey flights

Officials announced the decision after the U.S. military said that its Ospreys will resume flights after undergoing an additional safety inspection.
The Financial Services Agency said the judge, Soichiro Sato, 32, was dismissed Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 24, 2024

Japan SESC files insider trading complaint against judge

The parties involved are believed to have earned several million yen in profit.
Opposition parties have submitted a bill to make school lunches free at public elementary and junior high schools.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 24, 2024

Japan opposition parties submit bill for free school meals

The bill to revise the school lunch program law was submitted to the House of Representatives by the CDP, DPP and Nippon Ishin no Kai.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (second from the left) making a statement at a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 24, 2024

Japan eyes regional revitalization and economic growth

A basic concept for the promotion of regional revitalization was drawn up to promote economic growth and address the issue of overcrowding in Tokyo.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 25, 2024

Ishiba aims for agreement on corporate political donations by March

While opposition parties are pushing for a ban on such donations, Ishiba has reiterated his opposition to such a move.
The average gasoline price is likely to start climbing again, toward ¥185, after the government cuts subsidies further on Jan. 16.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2024

Japan pump price tops ¥180 per liter for first time in 15 months

The national average at the pump as of Monday climbed ¥4.8 from a week before to ¥180.6, posting an increase for the seventh straight week.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (second from the left) speaks at the AI Strategy Council meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 26, 2024

Japan panel seeks law to have AI developers help in case of problems

The government will work so that it can introduce legislation during next year's ordinary parliamentary session, at the earliest.
Education costs for children who attend private schools from kindergarten through high school have hit a record high of approximately ¥19.76 million, according to a survey released by the education ministry.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 26, 2024

Cost of private education through high school hits record high in Japan

Total education costs for children who attend private schools from kindergarten through high school, including tuition and cram school fees, are approximately ¥19.76 million.
In the health ministry's report, customer harassment is defined as "behavior by customers, business partners, facility users and others that goes beyond what is socially acceptable and harms the environment for workers."
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2024

Japan eyes law requiring measures against harassment by customers

A new health ministry report urges companies to create an environment in which employees can work without major mental or physical concerns.
The competition rate of employment examinations for public school teachers in Japan hit the lowest levels for all of elementary, junior high and high schools since data began being compiled in fiscal 1979.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2024

Japan sees record low competition rate for becoming school teachers

The decline reflected the mass departure of teachers who reached retirement age, which led to increased demand for new recruits, as well as a decrease in the number of applicants.
The health ministry aims to improve accessibility, particularly in areas with few pharmacies.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 27, 2024

Japan to allow convenience stores to handle over-the-counter drugs

Under current regulations, OTC drugs can only be sold at stores with pharmacists or other qualified personnel stationed at all times.
Authorities are calling for utmost vigilance as Japan heads into the New Year holiday season, when many people plan getaways.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 27, 2024

Flu cases surge above ‘warning’ levels in much of Japan

An estimated 1.67 million people became sick and sought medical care from doctors in the week through last Sunday.
A work boat dropping sand on the seafloor for ground improvement work off Henoko, Nago City, Okinawa Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2024

Ground improvement work begins in Okinawa's Henoko

The work is part of the project to build a replacement facility for the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station in Ginowan, Okinawa.
Lacquerware maker Takaho Shoji is trying to bring life back to his remote community in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, after a devastating earthquake and subsequent floods on New Year's Day of 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 29, 2024

Japan's Wajima craftmakers see hope in disaster-hit region

Lacquerware makers are determined to bring life back to the remote community after a devastating New Year's Day earthquake, followed by severe floods.
A person walks down a street in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the days following a magnitude 7.6 earthquake, which struck off the coast of the Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, 2024. More than 500 deaths have been attributed to the event, which was the worst quake since the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011.
JAPAN / 2024 in Review
Dec 31, 2024

Japan news images of 2024: Upheaval, resilience and breakthroughs

Earthquakes and extreme heat made the headlines alongside a low yen and minority government.
The first sunrise of the year is seen on Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of the massive Noto Peninsula earthquake, in Mitsukushima, a scenic spot in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, where part of the mountain face collapsed.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 1, 2025

Japan marks anniversary of massive Noto Peninsula earthquake

Most of the people affected by the disaster have returned to their homes or moved into temporary housing, and are working to rebuild their lives.
A woman in her 60s talks about her son who became addicted to online gambling and committed a crime through an illegal part-time job.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 5, 2025

Online gambling addiction becoming serious issue in Japan

The number of consultation requests received by one aid group has surged 11-fold in five years.
A portion of data showing changes in terrain due to the Noto Peninsula earthquake. The blue areas indicate landslides, while the red areas show accumulated debris.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2025

Japan government promotes laser forest terrain surveys

Data obtained by terrain surveys can be used for disaster responses by analyzing terrain changes after earthquakes or heavy rain.
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi addresses a meeting held at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Tokyo on Nov. 21.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 6, 2025

Japan's LDP lawmakers seen actively forming new groups

Moves to create fresh groups and hold gatherings may be seen as a revival of the factional politics at the core of the money scandal.
An investigation conducted by the antitrust watchdog in 2023 and 2024 found that a post office in the Kanto region collected penalty fees from subcontractors without giving them a sufficient explanation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025

Japan Post received administrative guidance over poorly explained penalties

Penalty fees for failed deliveries and for complaints about cigarette odors were not explained adequately to subcontractors, the Fair Trade Commission found.
Tokyo led the country's 47 prefectures with 146 traffic-related fatalities in 2024, followed by Aichi with 141 and Chiba with 131.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2025

Japan's traffic death toll falls to third-lowest in 2024

There were 2,663 traffic-related deaths in 2024. The government has a goal of lowering the annual toll below 2,000 by 2025.
Copper cables stolen from a solar power facility and cable cutters used for the theft
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 9, 2025

Japan eyeing mandatory ID check for scrap metal trading

Stolen copper wires are often brought to buyers as scrap metal, but there is no law requiring identity verification, making it easier to cash in stolen items.
After meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama (center left) and his Komeito counterpart, Makoto Nishida (center right) answer questions from the media on Thursday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 9, 2025

Ishiba expresses eagerness to visit China soon

A delegation from the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito is set to visit China from Monday through Wednesday
A busy street in Tokyo on Dec. 30. The number of influenza patients per clinic, on average, in the final week of December was the highest since health ministry records began in 1999.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 10, 2025

Japan's health ministry reports record-high flu cases

In the week through Dec. 29, the total number of reported flu cases was nearly three times the number from the same period in 2023.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2025

Japan to convene parliament for ordinary session starting Jan. 24

The government is expected to submit 59 bills during the ordinary session.
"This is a year of elections," Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (center) told peer LDP executives at a party meeting held Tuesday to mark party members' start of work for this year, at LDP headquarters in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 10, 2025

Talk of summer double election persists in Japan

The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito have agreed to begin preparations for the next Lower House election.
The Japan Tourism Agency will launch a model project to support accommodation operators working to turn around their businesses.
BUSINESS
Jan 13, 2025

Japan to launch model project helping struggling accommodation owners

Know-how gained from the project will be compiled into guidelines by the Japan Tourism Agency as a reference for other operators.
Australia's Michael Hooper during the 2019 World Cup in Oita.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jan 15, 2025

Wallabies great Michael Hooper set for comeback with Japan move

The 33-year-old played the last of his 125 test matches in 2023 before being unceremoniously axed by then-coach Eddie Jones.
The bill calls for mandatory prior approval by an independent organization to break into the server of an attack source and render it harmless.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2025

Japan to penalize the illicit use of cyber defense information

The penalties are part of a broader government plan to introduce active cyber defense, or preemptive action to prevent cyberattacks.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami