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Speculation over the timing of an anticipated cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida puts it somewhere from mid-September to late in the month.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 10, 2023

Schedule tightens for Kishida to reshuffle Cabinet and LDP chiefs

The prime minister plans to use the reshuffle as an opportunity to boost his popularity, people familiar with his thinking said.
Japan's wholesale inflation slowed in July year-on-year due to softer energy costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 10, 2023

Japan's wholesale inflation slowed in July for seventh month

The slowing pace of increases, due to softer energy utility costs, suggest pressures that drove up consumer prices are running their course.
Logistics companies have started asking truck drivers to use sleep-tracking devices.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 10, 2023

Japan truck industry monitors drivers' sleep ahead of overtime cap

Firms are asking drivers to use mattress sleep trackers and wearables as they ready for an expected industry-wide crunch once overtime is limited.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 10, 2023

Three hurdles stand between Osaka Expo and 2025 opening

Broadly speaking, the expo faces three high hurdles in its dash toward the finish line, and having everything ready for the April 13, 2025, opening.
Kiminoi Shuzo's brewery (pictured in 1904) has been a fixture of the community in Arai, Niigata Prefecture, since its 1894 founding.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 13, 2023

Struggling Niigata sake sees ‘a future in Japan’s past’

New challenges are forcing Niigata’s brewers to adapt their ancient craft to changing times, a balancing act that is often easier said than done.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Aug. 4.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2023

Kishida Cabinet approval drops to 26.6%: Jiji poll

The rate of disapproval grew 8.1 points to 47.4%, the highest since Kishida became prime minister in October 2021.
Travellers walk through Beijing Daxing International Airport on April 24.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 11, 2023

China reopened its doors, but tourists are staying away

A rebound in domestic tourism hasn't been mirrored by inbound tourists, with several barriers harming the country's appeal.
Fans at Tokyo's Ariake Arena watch Yuto Horigome compete in Street League Skateboarding's debut Japan event on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Skateboarding
Aug 13, 2023

Yuto Horigome thrills in Street League Skateboarding's Japan debut

The raucous crowd at Ariake Arena starkly contrasted with the empty skate park nearby where the 24-year-old captured his Olympic gold medal two years ago.
Annette and Peter O’Malley, joined by their daughter Katherine, welcome NPB great Shigeo Nagashima to their Los Angeles home on Dec. 1, 1974.
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 13, 2023

Annette O'Malley helped forge connection between Dodgers and Japan

She traveled with her husband, former Dodgers president Peter O'Malley, to help grow the game internationally, including making over 25 visits to Japan.
Honda's electric vehicle e:NP2 is displayed at the Auto Shanghai show, in Shanghai in April. The recent weakening of the yen couldn't come at a better time for Japanese automakers, which are struggling in the Chinese market.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 14, 2023

Weak yen gives Japan automakers temporary relief from China pain

A weak yen has traditionally lifted profits for Japan's big exporters
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 14, 2023

LDP increasingly wants land minister post back from Komeito

Calls are growing within the LDP to get the post of land minister back from Komeito just as Kishida considers a possible Cabinet reshuffle.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 14, 2023

Japan panel weighs raising overtime pay for teachers

The government is set to discuss an increase in overtime pay for teachers in a bid to compensate them for long working hours and attract new applicants.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 14, 2023

South Korean embassy in Tokyo reports bomb threat

The embassy is investigating the possibility of the threat being a hoax, but it has also asked Japanese police to provide stepped up security.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2023

Typhoon Lan brings damage and power outages to western Kansai

In the wake of the storm, the city of Tottori released water from the Saji River Dam late afternoon Tuesday due to fears that the dam would overflow.
Junior high school students participate in a community-based club activity without any instructors in Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Aug 15, 2023

Facing long hours, teacher pushes for data-driven reforms

Given the long working hours for Japan's schoolteachers, one educator from Gifu Prefecture is leading initiatives for teachers’ work-style reforms.
Japan’s economy has expanded at a much faster pace than forecast, despite weak domestic consumption.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 15, 2023

Japan’s GDP grows at 6% on strong exports as consumption falters

Capital spending by businesses was flat, versus forecasts of a 0.4% increase, while private consumption unexpectedly declined by 0.5%.
JAPAN / History
Aug 15, 2023

Museums struggle to preserve suicide notes of Japanese WWII pilots

Over time, the materials have deteriorated and the color of the ink has changed.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 16, 2023

Yen option traders unfazed by risk of intervention from Japan

Option traders see little likelihood of intervention even if the yen weakens to ¥145.90 against the dollar.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda
BUSINESS / Markets / ANALYSIS
Aug 16, 2023

As yen enters intervention range, Japan's policymakers hold fire

With Japan now reaping some benefits from a weaker currency, intervention may not come as quickly as it did last year.
The BOJ’s monetary easing has kept the benchmark yield on 10-year JGBs below 1% for over a decade, and most traders have never experienced a major surge in rates that would put them at risk of large writedowns.
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2023

Traders who survived the 1980s become must-have hires in Japan

With the benchmark yield on 10-year JGBs below 1% for over a decade, most traders have never experienced a surge in rates that would put them at risk.
Japanese companies are increasingly introducing performance-linked stock compensation for their CEOs, boosting what’s been the lowest level of top executive pay among major advanced economies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 17, 2023

More Japan firms link CEO remuneration to long-term performance

Japanese firms have historically relied more on fixed remuneration not linked to business performance.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2023

Tsushima panel adopts petition for nuclear waste site survey

Such surveys are currently being conducted in the town of Suttsu and the village of Kamoenai, both in Hokkaido.
The government plans to make it mandatory for staff candidates at children's facilities, including those for children with disabilities, to submit a certificate of no sex crime record.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2023

Japan considers mandatory sex crime record checks by schools

The government plans to include the requirements in a bill it expects to submit to parliament as early as this fall.
AI apps on a smartphone screen. In a joint statement, Japanese organizations said that current generative AI creates content based on the analysis of large amounts of data collected from the internet without the consent of and payments to copyright holders.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 17, 2023

Japanese publishers voice copyright concerns over generative AI

The statement said that Japan's copyright law is more favorable to AI learning than those of other countries.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 18, 2023

Japanese political parties boosting support for female candidates

The parties hope to win the support of independent voters by demonstrating their commitment to increasing the number of female lawmakers.
More investors in the Tokyo stock market are beginning to see higher pay as a useful barometer of a company’s strength.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 18, 2023

Stock pickers cheer for wage hikes in post-deflationary Japan

A group of companies that raised wages higher than many of their peers has outperformed the Topix index by 5 percentage points so far this quarter.
Wataru Endo (left) in action for VfB Stuttgart in April
SOCCER
Aug 18, 2023

Liverpool sign Japan midfielder Wataru Endo from Stuttgart

Financial details were not disclosed but British media reported Liverpool offered around £16 million ($20.33 million) to sign the 30-year-old.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 20, 2023

Japanese aquarium begins study on sea turtle migration

Little is known about the exact route and mechanism of the loggerhead's migration from the coast of Japan to the west coast of North America.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 21, 2023

DPP leadership race officially begins ahead of Sept. 2 vote

Incumbent party leader Yuichiro Tamaki is facing off against No. 2 Seiji Maehara in a race that could affect the landscape of the next Lower House poll.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2023

Japan paper industry to develop new wood fiber material

With demand for paper in the doldrums, the industry is looking to expand the use of wood, a renewable resource, beyond paper products.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years