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The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 26, 2024

A third of Bank of Japan watchers expect July interest rate hike

Whatever the outcome in July, the survey results show there will be intense interest with possible market volatility ahead of the policy board meeting.
Reactors Nos. 3 and 4 of the Oi nuclear power plant in Oi, Fukui Prefecture
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2024

Japan's nuclear watchdog OKs extension of Kansai Electric's Oi plant

It is the first time for the nuclear regulator to approve a long-term facility management plan based on the green transformation law.
Three people were confirmed dead after being found lying unconscious near a crater of Mount Fuji on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2024

Three confirmed dead on Mount Fuji ahead of climbing season

During the July-September hiking season, more than 220,000 visitors trudge up Fuji's steep, rocky slopes.
Akimasa Nihongi, who spoke about his experience as a victim of sexual assault by Johnny Kitagawa, the late founder of the eponymous talent agency, said in a video message that victims who report their abuses are often subject to slander and harassment.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2024

Ex-member of Johnny's calls for victim protection at U.N. panel

Akimasa Nihongi said measures ought to be put in place to protect victims from slander and harassment after they go public with abuses.
Candidates for the July 7 Tokyo gubernatorial election Yuruko Koike (left), Shinji Ishimaru (center left), Toshio Tamogami (center right) and Renho pose for a photo after a public debate in Tokyo this week.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2024

Tokyo governor candidates call for measures on low birth rate

Suggestions range from higher income for younger workers to subsidies for painless deliveries.
An altar is decorated with a portrait of Aum Shinrikyo founder Chizuo Matsumoto at an Aleph facility in Tokyo this month.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jun 27, 2024

Japan authorities remain on alert over Aum successor group

Aleph, which has most of the roughly 1,650 worshippers of Aum Shinrikyo's three successor groups, continues to worship the teachings of cult leader Chizuo Matsumoto.
The share of stocks and investment trusts in Japanese household assets rose to a record high of 19.7% at the end of March.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 27, 2024

Japan inflation spurs record shift to household assets in stocks

Households have been coping with a surge in inflation over the past two years.
Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura explains irregularities found at welfare service provider Megumi during a news conference in Nagoya on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2024

Japanese government punishes operator of group homes for overcharging

About 100 group homes for people with disabilities run by the Tokyo-based firm will be banned from having their service-provider designations renewed.
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa (center) and his lawyers head to the Tokyo District Court on Thursday to file the lawsuit against the state.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2024

Ex-Kadokawa chairman files lawsuit over 'hostage justice' system

Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, 80, is seeking ¥220 million in damages in the civil lawsuit after he was detained for 226 days before being released in April 2023.
The rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar is displayed in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jun 27, 2024

Foreign funds sell Japan’s stocks, longest run in 15 months

Foreign investors sold net ¥21.4 billion ($133 million) of cash equities in the week that ended June 21.
Narita Airport is facing a jet fuel shortage and has requested that domestic distributors ensure a stable supply.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2024

Japan’s jet fuel crunch hits Narita

Narita Airport said the fuel crunch was affecting operations of six Asian carriers and the plans of some 57 flights a week currently.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks at a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly session earlier this month.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 28, 2024

Campaigning begins for Tokyo assembly by-elections

The Liberal Democratic Party and the regional party Tomin First no Kai are competing to become the biggest group in the assembly.
Emperor Naruhito visits Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, on the outskirts of London on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2024

Emperor reflects on heartwarming time with British king and queen

The emperor reflected on official events such as a state banquet hosted by the royal couple.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura, speaking in the city of Osaka on Thursday, explains his plan to propose measures to protect people from fraud.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 28, 2024

Osaka governor eyes ban on mobile phone calls at ATMs

The proposal is part of an effort to protect elderly people from fraud.
A building housing the Public Prosecutor's Office in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 28, 2024

Japan names Naomi Unemoto as first female prosecutor-general

With the appointment, which takes effect July 9, Unemoto, 61, will succeed current Prosecutor-General Yukio Kai, who will retire.
Tsuyoshi Maruki, president of Strategic Capital, speaks online on Thursday after three of six candidates proposed by the firm for Daidoh's board positions secured a seat.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 28, 2024

Activist fund in Japan wins Daidoh board seats in rare victory

Daidoh's stock has more than tripled since activist fund Strategic Capital built a stake in the firm in November 2022.
Brig. Gen. Nicholas Evans (right), commander of the U.S. 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, speaks at the Okinawa Prefectural Government building in Naha on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 28, 2024

Okinawa lodges protest with U.S. military over sexual assault case

While Brig. Gen. Nicholas Evans, commander of the U.S. 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, said the incident was serious, he offered no apology.
A group of 14 investors filed a lawsuit Friday against Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, seeking to recover losses after Credit Suisse’s riskiest bonds sold to them turned worthless.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 28, 2024

MUFG unit sued again in Japan over Credit Suisse AT1 losses

The 14 plaintiffs are demanding a combined ¥1.37 billion ($8.5 million) in compensation.
A building in Naha housing the Naha District Public Prosecutor's Office
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 28, 2024

Another U.S. soldier charged with sexual assault in Okinawa

The U.S. soldier allegedly squeezed a woman's head causing subconjunctival hemorrhage and other injuries that required about two weeks to heal.
A building that houses the Fukuoka District Court
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 28, 2024

Man in Fukuoka given 20 years in prison for stalking and murdering ex-girlfriend

The man admitted to stabbing Miki Kawano, 38, to death but denied the stalking charge, saying he stabbed her in a sudden outburst.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks during an interview at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Tokyo on June 3.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 28, 2024

Koike’s governorship shaped by slogans and questions over follow-through

The Tokyo gubernatorial election is seen as hers to lose, but how did she become Japan's most famous female politician and what has she actually achieved?
Hu Youping
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 29, 2024

Chinese woman who tried to stop attack that injured Japanese dies

The woman, a guide for a Japanese school bus, was slashed as she tried to keep a knife-wielding man from boarding the bus, which was filled with children.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida listens during a news conference in Tokyo on June 2.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2024

Kishida marks 1,000 days in office — but how much longer can he hold on?

With the milestone, Kishida became the country's eighth PM to reach the mark since the end of World War II.
The central government will provide subsidies to slash electricity and city gas bills of ¥4 per kilowatt-hour of electricity and ¥17.5 per cubic meter of city gas.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2024

Japan to offer average of ¥2,125 per month in subsidies for utility bills

The move is designed to cushion the impact of rising prices on households in the summer, which is expected to be among the hottest on record.
Voters listen to a stump speech in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2024

Candidates turn to AI in Tokyo governor race

Experts warn that while social media give voters more insight into candidates, there are risks of information bias.
Tourists in front of the restaurant and shopping area of Mount Fuji's 5th Station, which leads to the popular Yoshida trail for hikers climbing the mountain, in Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, on June 19.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 30, 2024

Mount Fuji begins charging entrance fees as overtourism prevention measure

The measure, which also includes capping the number of daily climbers at 4,000, marks the first time that climbing one of Japan's most enduring symbols will cost money.
Business sentiment among large manufacturers in Japan in the April-June quarter improved for the first time in two quarters, but the mood among big service-sector firms worsened for the first time in four years, according to a Bank of Japan survey.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 1, 2024

Japan's shaky business mood and GDP downgrade cloud BOJ hike timing

A mixed economic outlook complicates the BOJ's decision on how soon to raise interest rates, analysts say.
Japan's most expensive plot of land lies in front of Kyukyodo stationery store in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district, according to National Tax Agency statistics.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 1, 2024

Japan's land prices rise at fastest pace since 2010, tax agency says

Average land prices climbed 2.3% last year, rising for the third straight year.
Masayoshi Tani on June 12 visits his house in the Fukami district of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, which was destroyed and isolated by the Jan. 1 earthquake.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 1, 2024

Temporary housing brings relief to Noto quake survivors, but fears remain

The uncertainty of whether they can return to their original homes and rebuild takes a toll on survivors, many of whom who are elderly and living on pensions.
Naoki Ogi (second from left), head of a committee set up by the city of Asahikawa, Hokkaido, to reinvestigate the death of a 14-year-old junior high school girl reports the results to Asahikawa Mayor Hirosuke Imazu (left) in Asahikawa on Sunday.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 1, 2024

Reinvestigation finds Hokkaido girl's suicide caused by bullying

The reinvestigation committee said the girl, who was found frozen at a park in Asahikawa in March 2021, developed post-traumatic stress disorder from the bullying.

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