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Takahiro Taya, the 10th-generation representative of lacquerware shop Taya Shikkiten in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, holds a lacquerware bowl discovered from a workshop destroyed by a quake on New Year's Day.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 22, 2024

Wajima-nuri shop resolved to protect craft after quake

When the shop started a crowdfunding campaign, donations — and many encouraging messages — came quickly from all over the country.
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2024

Japan’s baseline forecasts show government missing budget goal

The primary balance is projected to be around minus 0.4% in fiscal year 2025.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2024

Ruling bloc-backed candidate wins Hachioji election

The win comes despite the LDP being embroiled in a high-profile slush funds scandal linked to its factions' fundraising parties.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 22, 2024

Japan's Nikkei scales 34-year peak on Wall Street record

The S&P 500 posted its first record-high close in two years, as AI fever drove big gains for chip shares and other heavyweight tech stocks.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a rally in advance of the New Hampshire presidential primary election in Rochester, New Hampshire, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2024

Trump references atomic bombings to argue for presidential immunity

A federal court ruled last year that immunity would be lost upon leaving office, opening up former presidents to be punished for crimes committed during their tenures.
According to Hitoshi Matsumoto’s lawyer, he is suing Bungei Shunju, the publisher of the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine over an article that was published in the magazine and online on Dec. 27.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 23, 2024

Comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto sues publisher over sexual assault article

The Downtown member is suing Bungei Shunju, the publisher of the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine, for defamation.
Japan's Zion Suzuki (top) and Yukinari Sugawara (bottom) in action with Iraq's Youssef Amyn in Al Rayyan, Qatar, on Friday.
SOCCER
Jan 23, 2024

Japan goalkeeper racially abused online after Asian Cup errors

The news comes after two instances of racist abuse directed at players in Italy and England during matches.
Brighton & Hove Albion's Kaoru Mitoma (left) in action with Crystal Palace's Nathaniel Clyne at Selhurtst Park, London, on Dec. 21. Mitoma has not played since hurting his ankle in the game, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
SOCCER
Jan 23, 2024

'Worry' for Japan as Mitoma misses training ahead of Asian Cup clash

The Brighton winger has not played since hurting his ankle in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Dec. 21.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2024

With meetings, Japan leader amplifies call for wage hikes at small firms

Dissatisfaction over falling real wages has been one of the factors undermining the prime minister's support rate, which remained under 30% in a series of recent polls.
Toshiya Ikehata (center) helps prepare rice balls at a community kitchen in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 7. Ikehata runs a fine-dining restaurant in the city, which was among the hardest-hit areas in the Noto Peninsula earthquake.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2024

Shattered lives, unbroken spirits: Chefs step up to serve Noto communities

Fine-dining chefs rise to the challenge of feeding disaster victims in the hardest-hit areas of Ishikawa Prefecture.
Toshinori Yashiki, deputy director-general at the Financial Services Agency, urged lenders to pay particular attention to highly-leveraged borrowers.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2024

Japan regulator will probe risks to banks from higher rates

The Bank of Japan is expected to make its first rate hike since 2007 within a few months, raising the possibility that borrowers will struggle with higher interest payments.
A man prays on July 19, 2019, outside the Kyoto Animation building where 36 people died in a fire caused by Shinji Aoba the previous day.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 24, 2024

Possible death penalty looms for Kyoto Animation arson suspect

The trial shed light on his upbringing, the emergence of his grudge against the studio and how he went ahead with his plan of attack despite some hesitation.
Omicho Market, "the kitchen of the Kanazawa people," has seen very small numbers of visitors, with some restaurants still closed.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2024

Cancellations hit tourist-favorite Kanazawa after Noto quake

Tourism industry professionals are calling on tourists to "visit Kanazawa to back up the Noto region."
A prison officer looks around Tokushima prison in Tokushima in March 2018. The Justice Ministry announced Wednesday that male prisoners in Japan are to be allowed to have certain skin care products.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 24, 2024

Japan to allow male prisoners to use same skin care items as women

Under previous rules, the in-prison purchase and gift acceptance of the toiletry items were allowed only for female inmates.
Nippon Steel's plant in Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture. The firm submitted a cash offer to acquire U.S. Steel for $55 a share on Dec. 16.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 25, 2024

Sweetened offer in final hours clinched U.S. steel deal for Nippon

Nippon Steel executives submitted a sweetened cash offer to acquire the Pittsburgh-based company for $55 (¥8,120) a share on Dec. 16.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 25, 2024

Kyoto Animation arsonist given death penalty over 2019 mass murder

A Kyoto court found Shinji Aoba guilty of setting a studio on fire because of a grudge he held against Kyoto Animation, in one of Japan's deadliest mass murders.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2024

Kishida's new aid package aims to help recovery of quake-hit areas

It will offer subsidies to small and medium-sized firms in Ishikawa Prefecture, as well as those in neighboring Niigata, Toyama, and Fukui prefectures.
A man walks out of a game store displaying a promotional poster for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the latest in the Yakuza series of video games. Behind the worldwide success of Japanese video games lies a delicate task: appealing to overseas players whose expectations on issues like sexism are increasingly influencing the content of major titles.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 25, 2024

From Japan to the world: how to translate a game

Everything from slang to costumes needs to be considered in an era where international success is crucial to making a blockbuster.
Noto Tetsudo's Anamizu Station in Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 15. The local railway's services have been fully suspended since a powerful New Year's Day earthquake.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2024

Quake-hit railway vows to resume services

Noto Tetsudo is hoping to bring part of its 33.1-kilometer railway back online in February.
Foreign tourists at a duty-free counter in a department store in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2024

Duty-free sales at Japan department stores hit record high in 2023

The rise reflected the weak yen, as well as an increase in the number of foreign visitors to Japan.
Tokyo Metro plans to go public in the fiscal year that starts in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 26, 2024

Tokyo Metro to go public as Japan seeks to reap benefits of buoyant stock market

The company, which is owned by the national government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, will be listed in the year that begins in April.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 26, 2024

Kyoto Animation arsonist files appeal against death sentence

A Kyoto District Court spokesman on Friday confirmed that the defense team was appealing the ruling.
Uber Japan has started discussions with partner taxi companies aiming to introduce ride-sharing services.
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2024

Uber Japan to launch limited ride-sharing services in April

Uber Japan's new services will only be available in areas and during times of the day deemed to face a shortage of taxis.
A Kubota M96S tractor is shown at the 47th Annual World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, in February 2014.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 27, 2024

Kubota hit with $2 million penalty over false 'Made in USA' claims

In addition to the penalty, Kubota will be prohibited from making deceptive claims, according to a court order filed by the U.S. Justice Department.
A news broadcast shows a North Korean missile test at the main railway station in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 28, 2024

North Korea fires multiple cruise missiles toward Sea of Japan

The latest launches come days after Pyongyang test-fired a new type of cruise missile and amid fears that leader Kim Jong Un could be girding for war.
A courtroom sketch shows Shinji Aoba (center) listening to a ruling handed down at the Kyoto District Court on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 28, 2024

Kyoto Animation arsonist sentenced to death says he 'accepts' verdict

But Shinji Aoba said he had appealed the ruling because "there are a few more things that I want to leave behind as lessons for others."
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi meets Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki at the Okinawa Prefectural Government building on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 28, 2024

Japanese government to proceed with U.S. base relocation within Okinawa

During the meeting with Hayashi, Tamaki demanded that the central government immediately stop the landfill work related to the Futenma relocation project
Mitsui & Co. employees hold a meeting at its headquarters in Tokyo. The company introduced a stock-based compensation system in 2020.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 29, 2024

Growing number of Japan firms adopt stock-based worker compensation

The practice underscores the belief that fostering growth can be achieved through effective human capital management.
Masanao Saito harvests his mikan tangerines with his grandson, Akihito Oyama, at his farm in Yamamoto, Miyagi Prefecture, on Dec. 8. Behind them are apple trees full of fruit.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Feb 5, 2024

How fruit farmers in Tohoku are coping with climate change

Last year, extreme heat dubbed the "boiling Earth" phenomenon hit the region’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries hard.
Zain Syed (left), a Pakistan-born Japanese citizen; Maurice, a U.S. citizen with permanent residency in Japan; and Matthew, a Pacific Islander with permanent residency, outside the Tokyo District Court in Tokyo on Monday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 29, 2024

Lawsuit filed in Tokyo over alleged racial profiling by police

The plaintiffs are seeking around ¥3 million in damages each from central and local governments in the case, which is the first of its kind.

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