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JAPAN
Feb 4, 2024

170,000 SDF members sent to Noto quake areas over one month

SDF personnel rescued about 1,000 people, according to the Defense Ministry.
A majority of pollen allergy cases in Japan are caused by cedar trees, which cover 18% of Japan’s forests, due mostly to Japan’s forestation policy after World War II.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Feb 4, 2024

As hay fever season approaches, here’s what you need to know to prepare

Your eyes start itching, your nose keeps running and you can’t stop sneezing. It's nearly time for Japan's dreaded hay fever season.
The United States Steel Clairton Coke Works in Clairton, Pennsylvania, in December
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2024

American steel buyers hail Nippon deal that scares Washington

Both Democratic Senators from U.S. Steel’s home state of Pennsylvania want the deal killed, citing fears that union jobs would be impacted.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2024

Heavy snow falls in Tokyo and wider region, impacting transport networks

While the snowfall may peak overnight, those commuting on Tuesday morning are likely to encounter icy roads and impacts on trains or roadways.
Akira Ogawa (center) celebrates her win in the Maebashi mayoral election in Gunma Prefecture on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2024

Opposition-backed candidate wins in Maebashi mayoral election

Akira Ogawa will become the first female mayor in Maebashi after defeating incumbent Ryu Yamamoto.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2024

New Kyoto mayor aims to tackle over-tourism with higher fares

Koji Matsui faces many hurdles, and he takes over at a time when the demerits of over-tourism have become a particular topic of concern for residents.
Many young people who feel neglected at home flock to the Toyoko area to find a community where they can fit in.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Feb 5, 2024

Toyoko Kids: The lonely street children of Tokyo

Bound together by shared neglect and marginalization, the group have formed a distinct, social media-linked youth subculture on the streets of Shinjuku.
Giant African snails are unpopular among local residents and are referred to as an alien species that shouldn’t be touched, as they damage crops and sometimes hosts rat lungworms.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 19, 2024

Giant African snails mark 90 years of history in Okinawa

The snails, one of the world’s largest of the kind, are native to East Africa, and their shells can grow to as high as 20 centimeters.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2024

Parties clash over release of LDP's internal funds scandal probe

The opposition had demanded that the LDP publish a list of all party members responsible for the underreporting of political funds in the last five years.
Nominal cash earnings among workers in Japan rose 1.0% in December from the previous year, government data shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 6, 2024

Japan’s wage data likely solid enough to keep BOJ policy shift on track

Nominal cash earnings rose 1.0% in December from the previous year with the help of a 0.5% gain in winter bonuses.
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi speaks during a press conference at a hotel in Tokyo on Tuesday, a day before his team faces Vissel Kobe in a friendly match.
SOCCER
Feb 6, 2024

Messi says leg 'getting better' but could miss Japan match

Inter Miami are set to face Japanese champions Vissel Kobe at Tokyo's National Stadium on Wednesday.
The government will extend subsidies worth as much as ¥242.9 billion for Kioxia and Western Digital to expand memory chip production in Mie and Iwate prefectures.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 6, 2024

Japan extends subsidies to downturn-hit Kioxia and Western Digital

The funding provides underpinning for the two companies, which have been hammered by a slump in the market for NAND flash chips.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2024

Japan to allow bureaucrats to work remotely in principle

The government will release guidelines on remote work as part of an effort to encourage more diverse ways of working among its employees.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s new factory in the town of Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, in May. The firm plans to build a second chip fabrication plant in the prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2024

TSMC to build second chipmaking plant in Japan with partners

The facility will be close to the first TSMC plant in the Kumamoto Prefecture town of Kikuyo.
A Japan Airlines jet is on fire at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Jan. 2.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2024

Japan air traffic controllers call for 'significant' staff increase

Last year, the number of air traffic control staff in Japan dropped to its lowest level in at least 19 years, according to transport ministry data.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 7, 2024

Orcas appear to escape after being trapped in drift ice off Hokkaido coast

Local officials are hopeful that the animals escaped to safety as the density of drift ice decreased Wednesday.
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi takes part in a training session in Chiba on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Feb 7, 2024

Anger over Messi’s behavior grows in China before Japan game

Many commentators in China have drawn comparisons between Messi’s behavior in Hong Kong and his demeanor in Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 7, 2024

Education minister under fire for unreported ties to Unification Church

Masahito Moriyama said he could not remember 2021 meeting with the group or the agreement he signed with it for electoral support.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024

How dogs have helped Tokyo police for over a century

The role of police dogs has changed due to the spread of DNA testing, security cameras and other tools of technology.
Nippon Steel is on track to finalize its planned $15 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by the end of September, an executive has said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2024

Nippon Steel says on track to close U.S. Steel deal by September

The deal by the world's No.4 steelmaker to buy U.S. Steel has drawn criticism from some in the United States.
Star Flyer began allowing owners to bring certain pets into cabins on some routes in 2022.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024

Haneda plane collision prompts discussion about pets on flights

Most domestic airlines ban the carrying of pets in airplane cabins, out of consideration for those with allergies.
The location of the water leak (left) and a close-up of the vent where the water was released at part of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 8, 2024

Tepco reports leak at Fukushima but says no contamination detected

The nuclear plant operator plans to remove soil from around the area that may have been contaminated by the 5,500 liters of radioactive water that leaked.
Shiki Nakayama at a snow-covered baseball field in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, last month. Nakayama grew up watching her older brother’s exploits on the diamond and first picked up a bat and ball in elementary school.
BASEBALL
Feb 9, 2024

Meet the Gen Zer in Japan who is forging a path for girls in baseball

For 16-year-old Shiki Nakayama, it's no big deal that she's the only girl on her high school baseball team.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2024

Osaka Expo budget expected to rise again by ¥200 million

The latest request would raise the total amount of money directly spent by the national government on all expo-related activities to ¥164.9 billion.
Seoul may be a cosmetic surgery mecca, but Tokyo has its fair share of high-quality clinics as well.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Feb 12, 2024

A wrinkles-and-all guide to cosmetic surgery in Japan

Japan is uniquely positioned between two opposing hot spots of the beauty industry: Seoul and Tokyo.
Yoshikazu Higashitani, who goes by the name GaaSyy, leaves the Tokyo Detention House on Sept. 21 after being released on bail.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 9, 2024

Four-year prison term sought for ex-lawmaker GaaSyy

GaaSyy, whose real name is Yoshikazu Higashitani, is accused of making threats against actor Go Ayano and others in online videos.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 9, 2024

Japanese firms boosting pay for young workers is good news for Bank of Japan

If wage gain momentum carries over into this year, the BOJ is expected to end the world’s last negative interest rate regime by April.
An advertisement for the new Nippon Individual Savings Account in Tokyo in January
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2024

Revamp of tax-free investments in Japan spurs jump in accounts

The creation of the new savings accounts is one of a slew of measures to lure more buyers to the Japanese market.
Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa during a rehearsal in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in September 2005.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 9, 2024

Seiji Ozawa, Japan’s trailblazing maestro, dies at 88

Throughout his illustrious career, Ozawa was instrumental in popularizing classical music for mainstream audiences in Japan and abroad.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 10, 2024

Struggling unit of 7-Eleven's parent company to exit central and northern Japan

The Seven & I Holdings unit will close five of its 17 stores in the regions and hand over 11 to other supermarket operators.

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