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Postage rates for sealed letters and other documents are expected to be raised by 30% as early as October, the first rise in 30 years aside from when prices increased along with consumption tax hikes.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024

Postage rate hikes seen denting New Year's card tradition in Japan

The tradition of sending New Year's greetings on postcards began in 1873 with the introduction of postcards.
Kenji Iikura (right), head chef at Akasaka Tantei, and manager Hibiki Kitazawa pose with Okinawan cuisine served at the restaurant in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 17, 2024

How a Michelin-star Okinawan restaurant made a V-shaped recovery

A return to its roots — and Okinawan flavors — struck a chord with new and returning customers.
Takayuki Midorikawa stands in front of Ueda Junior High School in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jun 17, 2024

Fukushima schools open up to revising old rules

The prefecture has recently made some moves to accommodate a little more diversity in the classroom.
Ambassador of Australia to the U.S. Kevin Rudd attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 17.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 7, 2024

War over Taiwan would change world, says Australia ambassador to U.S.

If Chinese President Xi Jinping, who turns 71 this month, wanted to achieve "final national unification" with Taiwan, he would likely act before he reaches his 80s.
Korean skincare routines tend to be more complex than Japan’s counterpart beauty industry of “less is more,” making K-beauty something of a sweet spot between Japan and the West.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 9, 2024

K-beauty or J-beauty? The two 'are not so different these days.'

In early 2024, imports of Korean beauty products to Japan topped French cosmetics for the first time.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. More than half of the 50 economists surveyed predict the central bank will decide next week to slow the pace of bond buying.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 7, 2024

Majority of BOJ watchers expect cut in bond buying next week

Some 54% of 50 economists said the bank will slow the pace of bond buying from around ¥6 trillion per month at the policy board gathering.
Liberal Democratic Party Vice President Taro Aso (left), Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (center) and LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi sing the LDP song at the party's annual convention in Tokyo on March 17.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 8, 2024

Kishida could break with Motegi and Aso over fund regulation

To secure backing for the bill, Kishida chose to concede to external parties rather than side with his right-hand men in the LDP.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses a panel discussing active cyberdefense at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024

Kishida wants active cyberdefense bill to be drawn up swiftly

The government hopes to submit the envisaged legislation as soon as the next parliamentary session.
A woman leaves a pooling booth after voting during the European elections in a polling station, in Baarle-Nassau, Netherlands, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 7, 2024

Irish and Czechs hold EU vote after Dutch far-right gains

The EU vote comes at a time of major geopolitical instability, almost two and a half years into Russia's war on Ukraine.
China isn’t worried that Hyundai and other South Korean firms will outcompete locals. However, their presence ensures a continued supply of production factors: equipment, chemicals and labor.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2024

Why China wants South Korea to stay open

Countries push for free trade when they have an edge. Beijing knows it.
French President Emmanuel Macron awards two U.S. World War II veterans with the Legion of Honour during the International commemorative ceremony at Omaha Beach on Thursday, marking the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, France.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2024

Why we commemorate D-Day, 80 years later

This year's D-Day anniversary was marked by a grand commemoration and was especially poignant as only a few survivors are left to share their stories of that fateful day.
Suzuki's eVX electric vehicle at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo last October
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 7, 2024

Suzuki to stop making cars in Thailand to focus on EV shift

The 12-year-old plant in Thailand’s Rayong province, southeast of Bangkok, has an annual production capacity of 60,000 units.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, attend a British-organized ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday in Ver-sur-Mer, France.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 7, 2024

U.K.'s Sunak apologizes for skipping main D-Day event

Political opponents accused Sunak of "a total dereliction of duty" by skipping a major international ceremony.
A customer buys a ticket for ramen at a vending machine at Goumen Maruko ramen shop in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2024

Japan runs on vending machines. It’s about to break millions of them.

New yen notes set to be introduced this summer won't be compatible with many machines that businesses like ramen shops rely on.
Smoke rises above south Lebanon following an Israeli strike amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, last month.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 8, 2024

Risk of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah limited, experts say

Despite an escalation in cross-border violence, experts see little risk of all-out war.
Takahiro Mori, the key negotiator for the U.S. Steel deal, is attempting to close the deal amid growing regulatory scrutiny and political opposition.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2024

Nippon Steel executive sees positive reaction from U.S. Steel workers

Takahiro Mori, the key negotiator for the U.S. Steel deal, is attempting to close the deal amid growing regulatory scrutiny and political opposition.
A man pays his respects at an intersection in Akihabara on Saturday, 16 years after a deadly attack left seven people dead and 10 others injured.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 8, 2024

Victims of fatal Akihabara rampage remembered 16 years on

Prayers and flowers were offered at the intersection where the incident occurred in the busy Tokyo district.
Indonesian gymnast Rifda Irfanaluthfi practices at the gymnastics training center in Jakarta on May 16.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jun 8, 2024

Indonesia's first Olympic gymnast encourages others to 'dream higher'

Rifda Irfanaluthfi's feat is even more impressive considering Indonesia does not yet have a national training center for gymnastics
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida answers questions during a session of the Lower House special committee on political reform at parliament in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 8, 2024

Kishida faces tough time constraints in parliament after bill's delay

The political funds bill only cleared the Lower House on Thursday, two days later than the LDP had expected, due to prolonged negotiations to amend the legislation.
A man votes at a polling station during the European Union's parliamentary elections in Athens on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 9, 2024

Voters head to the polls on final day of EU elections

Centrist parties are projected to hold most of the incoming European Parliament's 720 seats, but polls suggest they will be weakened by the far right bloc.
A balloon believed to be North Korean and loaded with various objects, including trash and excrement floats, over a rice field at Cheorwon county, South Korea, on May 29.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 9, 2024

South Korea to blast loudspeaker broadcasts after North's trash balloons

Pyongyang began sending balloons carrying trash across the border in May and has said the move was in retaliation for anti-North leaflets flown by South Korean activists.
A draft of a letter from bacteriologist Shibasaburo Kitasato to educator Inazo Nitobe
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2024

Draft letter of famed bacteriologist Kitasato to be made public

Shibasaburo Kitasato established a serum therapy for tetanus and will be the face of Japan's new ¥1,000 bill.
Hirotsugu Kimura, a 24-year-old company employee, returns to Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, becoming the youngest Japanese to complete a solo, nonstop sailing voyage around the world.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2024

24-year-old sets new Japan record for sailing solo nonstop around world

Kimura set sail in October 2023, traveled eastward across the Pacific and passed the southern tips of South America and Africa.
Israeli Minister Benny Gantz addresses the media after his ultimatum to withdraw his centrist party from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's emergency government expired, in Ramat Gan, Israel, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 10, 2024

Gantz quits Israel government while U.S.-Saudi deal moves forward

The treaty would commit the U.S. to helping defend Riyadh as part of a deal aimed at encouraging Saudi-Israel diplomatic ties, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Japan's economy contracted less than initially reported in the January-March period on upward revisions to capital spending and inventory data.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 10, 2024

Japan’s sputtering economy yet to show clear signs of recovery

The data showed both consumers and companies cutting back on spending and unsold supplies building up on warehouse shelves.
The BJP’s failure to secure even a simple majority has damaged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reputation not only in the eyes of Indian voters, but also within his own party.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2024

The Indian election’s winners and losers

The BJP’s failure to secure even a simple majority has damaged Modi’s reputation not only in the eyes of Indian voters, but also within his own party.
Zozo CEO Yusaku Maezawa
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2024

Billionaire Maezawa leaves hospital after racing crash

A brake malfunction caused him to crash, Yusaku Maezawa posted on X.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 10, 2024

Investors brace for volatility as BOJ seeks to cut bond buying

The Bank of Japan bought only ¥4.5 trillion of government bonds last month, the lowest amount since March 2013.
Alternative for Germany party co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla react to results after the polls closed in the European Parliament elections, in Berlin on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 10, 2024

In EU elections, the center holds, but far right still wreaks havoc

Balloting indicates that the prevailing winds have grown chill for some of Europe’s political establishment.
Australian-born Connor O'Leary will represent Japan in the surfing competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Surfing
Jun 11, 2024

At Paris Games, Connor O’Leary aims to win and inspire

The waves in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, may bode well for the goofy-footed surfer.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo