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The Saitama Institute of Technology is aiming to nurture engineers knowledgeable in self-driving vehicles.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024

Technology institute to launch Japan's first autonomous driving major

The Saitama Institute of Technology will introduce the major next April, aiming to nurture engineers knowledgeable in self-driving vehicles.
A man offers a prayer in Nakano, Nagano Prefecture, on May 25 near the site where four people were fatally stabbed or shot a year before.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024

Japan enacts bill to ban encouragement of illegal gun ownership

Such acts will be punishable by a prison sentence of up to one year or a maximum fine of ¥300,000.
Tourists visit Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, where popular sites feel increasingly unmanageable.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2024

Japan likes tourists, just not this many

The country has politely handled travelers for years, but as visitors spill into previously untouristed spots, some residents are frustrated.
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.
The government plans to increase support for the export of anime, manga and other Japanese content while helping content creators expand overseas.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2024

Japan to boost support for anime and manga exports

The government will draw up a strategy to boost the content industry and promote efforts under the strategy through public-private cooperation.
With a number of elderly people living alone increasing in Japan, the welfare ministry plans to conduct a survey of municipalities' responses to unclaimed bodies and remains.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 9, 2024

Japan to conduct first survey on unclaimed bodies

The number of unclaimed remains stored by municipalities stood at some 60,000 as of October 2021, according to an internal affairs ministry survey released in 2023.
The government is set to start discussing the idea of extending public health insurance coverage to include childbirth from fiscal 2026.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2024

Japan to discuss public insurance coverage of childbirth

The average of childbirth costs across Japan stood at some ¥482,000 in fiscal 2022.
This screenshot taken from Niconico's website says that the video-sharing service is under a large-scale cyber attack, and as a result, it has temporarily suspended its services.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2024

Japan video-sharing site Niconico hit by cyberattack

In addition to Niconico, its parent company Kadokawa's official website and its e-commerce site, ebten, were also affected by possible unauthorized access.
Local governments are stepping up support for single elderly people, to tackle the issue of unclaimed bodies.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 10, 2024

Japan's municipalities take action to tackle issue of unclaimed bodies

A spate of incidents involving unclaimed bodies has led to the formulation of measures to provide end-of-life support to single elderly people.
A driving course inside a new facility in the city of Saitama created for elderly drivers
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2024

Saitama police open Japan's first elderly driver training center

Drivers 70 and older have to undergo sessions consisting of driving instruction and classroom lectures, as well as cognitive tests.
Japan is the only country in the world that still enforces a same-surname rule for married couples, according to Keidanren research.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 10, 2024

Japan should let married women keep names, main business lobby says

Keidanren said in a proposal that the government should quickly present legislation allowing for surname choice to parliament.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and digital minister Taro Kono attend a digitalization panel in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 11, 2024

Japan's parliament faces a long road to digitalization

Concerns over decorum and the possibility of the use of electronic devices being obtrusive to proceedings are among reasons cited for maintaining restrictions.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2024

Japan to stick to goal of primary budget surplus next fiscal year

The government will also continue to try to lower the ratio of debt to gross domestic product, a draft of annual policy guidelines for budget planning said.
The University of Tokyo Hospital in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward
JAPAN / Society
Jun 12, 2024

16 heart transplant surgeries abandoned in Japan in 2023

Of the 16 patients whose transplant operations were abandoned, 10 received transplants later, while six are still awaiting transplants.
The Fukuoka Prefectural Police building in the city of Fukuoka
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 12, 2024

Fukuoka police arrest man in connection with 'Luffy' crime ring

The suspect, Takayuki Kagoshima, 55, had been detained by Philippine immigration authorities since March.
A notice put up in front of a near-finished condominium in the city of Kunitachi in Tokyo on Saturday, saying the complex will be demolished
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2024

Near-finished Japan condo blocking Mount Fuji to be razed

The company Sekisui House said in a statement late Tuesday it had "voluntarily decided to discontinue the project."
Tourists rest in the shade at the Tsukiji outer market in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2024

Japan marks first 'extremely hot day' of 2024

The temperature hit 35 degrees Celsius in Fukushima Prefecture and rose above 30 C in parts of Tokyo, the Meteorological Agency said.
Soyo Hinata (right) and Lillian Ono, members of Climate Case Japan, with a petition for human rights relief before submitting it to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations in Tokyo on Wednesday
JAPAN / Society
Jun 12, 2024

Activist group asks Japan's bar association for help on climate action

It will likely take more than a year for the association to scrutinize Climate Case Japan's petition before deciding what steps to take next.
Fukushiro Nukaga, speaker of the House of Representatives (right), speaks during a news conference after the first meeting of ruling and opposition parties on imperial family succession in May.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2024

Japan to put off agreement on imperial family measures

Parties are at odds over a proposal to allow female members to retain their status after getting married to commoners.
The number of people stranded on Mount Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture in 2023 surged 90.2% from the average in the five years through 2022.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2024

Over 3,500 people were stranded on mountains in Japan in 2023

Among those stranded, the number of foreign nationals accounted for a record 145.
Pitcher Shohei Ohtani celebrates after he closed out the finals of the World Baseball Classic against the U.S. on March 21, 2023, in Miami.
BASEBALL
Jun 13, 2024

Baseball may have arrived in Japan in 1871, earlier than thought

An NPB historian has found that U.S. sailors may have had a baseball game with Japanese players in the early part of the Meiji Era (1868-1912) in Osaka.
Tokyo police on Thursday submitted their investigation papers for a voyeurism case involving the former Singaporean diplomat to prosecutors.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 13, 2024

Police wrap up voyeurism probe on ex-Singaporean diplomat

The 55-year-old former counselor at the Singapore Embassy in Tokyo took photos of a naked 13-year-old boy in a public bathhouse in the capital.
Kazane Kajiya, 27, (second from left) and others filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing that the Maternal Health Law infringes upon their constitutional rights by restricting women's ability to make decisions about their own bodies.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 13, 2024

In Japan, a legal fight for the right to sterilization surgery

The plaintiffs' argue that the Maternal Health Law infringes on their rights by restricting a woman's ability to make decisions about their own bodies.
The Niigata Prefectural Government holds a seminar in January 2021 for parents of students seeking jobs.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 14, 2024

Japan in urgent need of personnel for local public service

A shortage of civil servants to support the lives of local residents is raising serious concerns.
A "free school" in Tokyo's Kita Ward. In April, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government began providing subsidies to students attending free schools.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 14, 2024

Local subsidies for Japan's 'free schools' highlight regional inequality

Support groups are calling for uniform financial assistance nationwide for institutions aimed at those who have left mainstream schooling.
Japanese players celebrate after winning a point against Canada during a Volleyball Nations League match on Thursday in Fukuoka.
OLYMPICS / Volleyball
Jun 14, 2024

Japan’s women’s volleyball team punches ticket for Paris

The JVA received the news from FIVA, the sport’s governing body, after it calculated the rankings points as of Thursday.
Tohoku University in Sendai
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2024

Tohoku University to be first winner of Japan's world-class research grants

The university will also fully make Japanese and English its official languages to attract world-class researchers and students.
The number of consultations made by consumers regarding troubles on social media marked a record high in 2023, with people in their 50s or older particularly vulnerable.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2024

Japan sees social media linked consultations hit record in 2023

In 2023, there were 910,000 consultations, and consumer damage from problematic transactions amounted to a record ¥8.8 trillion.
Yamato Transport drivers push carts loaded with parcels for distribution in Sapporo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 14, 2024

Japan logistics firms work to reduce parcel redeliveries

The government aims to lower the rate of parcel redeliveries from 10% in fiscal 2022 to 6% in fiscal 2024.
Japan's Fuka Nagano competes for the ball against Zambia's Evarine Katongo during the 2023 Women's World Cup in Hamilton, New Zealand. Nagano is among the stalwarts that will be looking to propel Nadeshiko Japan onto the podium at the Paris Games.
OLYMPICS / Football
Jun 14, 2024

Nadeshiko Japan’s Olympic squad strikes balance between experience and youth

The challenge in Paris looks daunting as Japan has been put in what many have labeled “the group of death” alongside world champions Spain, Brazil and Nigeria.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell