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Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo last month.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 9, 2024

Kishida aims for hospital ship operations from fiscal year 2025

The envisioned ships would evacuate disaster victims while giving them medical treatment and stay based at ports near disaster-hit areas to provide care.
Suzu General Hospital suffered a significant loss in the last fiscal year due to a decline in the number of patients.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 9, 2024

Public hospitals in quake-hit Okunoto area bleed red ink

The area in Ishikawa Prefecture was hit especially hard by the 7.6 magnitude quake that shook the peninsula on Jan. 1.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 10, 2024

Japan’s megabanks are said to seek deep cuts to BOJ bond buying

The bank’s ¥585 trillion bond stockpile exceeds the world’s fourth-largest economy, making bond players watchful for the BOJ’s next move.
Tokyo police have arrested a 27-year-old woman for posting online personal information of a professional baseball player along with violent messages.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 10, 2024

Ex-Nippon Life staffer arrested over leak of Giants player's information

The suspect, Satomi Amano, has denied the charges, claiming she doesn't remember her actions due to having made “so many posts.”
Yoshiyuki Enomoto, president of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India, speaks during an interview in New Delhi on June 27.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 10, 2024

More Japanese firms urged to expand into India's market

JCCII aims to help more small and midsize Japanese firms enter India
Ground Self-Defense Force members participate in a seminar to prevent harassment at Camp Asaka in Tokyo in April.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jul 10, 2024

Spate of scandals threaten to tarnish Defense Ministry and SDF’s reputation

The emergence of multiple scandals is the latest challenge for the Defense Ministry as it seeks to strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities.
In order to emphasize its grandeur, architect Gonkuro Kume designed the entrance hall of Nikko Kanaya Hotel's Annex Building with "karahafu" curved gables.
CULTURE / Art
Jul 10, 2024

Nikko Kanaya Hotel: A gateway to the art of Meiji Japan in the hills of Tochigi

Over 150 years on, the structure stands as a remarkable example of Japanese art and architecture in an era known for rapid modernization.
Ongoing construction work for the 2025 Osaka Expo at Yumeshima, Osaka
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2024

47 nations to build own pavilions at Osaka Expo

Others have faced difficulties in securing deals with contractors mainly due to soaring prices of construction materials.
A number of stone blocks originally intended for the building of Osaka Castle are set to find a new home in the toilet facility of the 2025 Expo in Osaka.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2024

Unused stones for Osaka Castle diverted to expo toilet pillars

Designers emphasize the importance of utilizing the stone blocks that have never seen the light of day.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike meets with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday following her victory in Sunday's gubernatorial election.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 11, 2024

Sense of crisis remains in LDP over next general election

The LDP suffered a major defeat in Sunday’s Tokyo metropolitan assembly by-elections, adding to their string of recent national and local losses.
The Government Pension Investment Fund's holdings of government bonds increased 25% to ¥50.3 trillion in fiscal year ended in March.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 11, 2024

Japan’s public pension fund steps up as BOJ mulls bond cuts

The BOJ is expected to release a plan to substantially reduce its debt buying at the next policy decision later this month.
Authorities are investigating whether Chihiro Nonaka regularly abused her child, who died last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 11, 2024

Chiba woman arrested over assault and death of 11-month-old son

Autopsy results showed that the infant had suffered a skull fracture and brain hemorrhage.
Japan's core machinery orders unexpectedly fell for a second straight month in May.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 11, 2024

Japan's key capex gauge falls again, clouds outlook for durable growth

The volatile leading indicator of capital spending fell 3.2% month-on-month in May, following a 2.9% drop in April.
A study found that long-term caregivers who were age 16 were 2.51 times likelier to engage in self-harm compared with noncaregivers.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 11, 2024

Young long-term caregivers likelier to have mental health issues

A joint study by the University of Tokyo and the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science found that the risk is particularly high for those between 14 and 16.
Tokyo police display the high-end sports bicycles stolen in Tokyo to be sold in Vietnam.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 11, 2024

Two Vietnamese held on suspicion of stealing high-end bicycles for sale abroad

Besides the latest charges, the two suspects were allegedly involved in about 70 cases of luxury bicycle theft in Tokyo since last October.
The Nikkei stock average hit another record high on Thursday, rising above the 42,000 level for the first time.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 11, 2024

Japan's Nikkei average hits record high, topping 42,000 on Wall Street gains

The 225-issue average went on to secure a third consecutive record high close this week, after an overnight rally in U.S. stocks boosted investor sentiment.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg delivers remarks at NATO's 75th anniversary summit in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 11, 2024

Why Indo-Pacific countries are joining the NATO summit

This is the third successive NATO summit for four countries from the Indo-Pacific region to attend.
Politicians pay their respects to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday in the city of Nagato, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 11, 2024

Two years after Abe’s death, LDP's conservatives still lack direction

The absence of a figure who is able to embody conservative ideals and marshal widespread consensus within the party has weighed heavily on conservatives.
Public support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet marked a new low of 15.5% in July, Jiji poll shows.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 11, 2024

Kishida Cabinet's approval rating sinks to 15.5%, poll shows

The results marked a new low for the Liberal Democratic Party since it returned to power in December 2012.
Tokyo police have arrested four people for allegedly luring their targets into multilevel marketing, using dating apps, last year, despite orders for the suspension of network marketing-related business.
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2024

Four arrested in Japan over multilevel marketing using dating apps

The police believe that the four collected a total of some ¥850 million from about 2,000 people in 42 prefectures, including university students.
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 15, 2024

No AC this summer? No problem (for me).

I do have a unit, and I dutifully clean the filters now and then, but over the past two or three years, I’ve learned to live entirely without it.
A plaintiff in a damages lawsuit regarding the Unification Church's alleged illegal solicitation of donations holds a news conference in Tokyo following a Supreme Court ruling on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 12, 2024

Ruling in favor of Unification Church overturned by Japan's top court

A case related to the group’s controversial donation collection activities has been sent back to the high court.
A supermarket in Yangon operated by Aeon
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2024

Japanese businessman taken to court in Myanmar

Hiroshi Kasamatsu, a 53-year-old employee of Japanese retailer Aeon, was detained late last month over an alleged illegal practice linked to rice sales.
A Bank of Japan survey on households showed that 87.5% expect prices to rise a year from now, up from 83.3% in a previous survey in March.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 12, 2024

Japan households' inflation expectations heighten, quarterly survey shows

Of the total households surveyed by the Bank of Japan, 87.5% said they expect prices to rise a year from now.
The Defense Ministry in Tokyo
JAPAN / Society
Jul 12, 2024

Defense Ministry hands out rare mass punishment over SDF issues

The ministry has disciplined a total of 218 Self-Defense Force members and senior officials following a wide-ranging investigation.
Kentaro Kitagawa
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 12, 2024

Ex-senior Japanese prosecutor indicted for sexual assault

He is suspected of sexually assaulting the woman at his then official residence while serving as the chief prosecutor of the Osaka district prosecutor's office.
Junior high school students taking entrance exams for public high schools enter a venue in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, in March.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 12, 2024

Japan to test digital high school admissions

The Digital Agency estimates digital procedures will cut administrative work by 30-90 hours in junior high schools and 20-80 hours in high schools.
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Jul 14, 2024

The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'

Great pianists aren't made overnight, it takes years of practice. It can all be undone in a matter of days, however, due to a medical condition called dystonia.
A Shinto priest leads prayers for safety before the opening of Kitaizumi beach in the city of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 13, 2024

Fukushima beach opens for first time since treated water release

The Fukushima Prefectural Government said last month that no tritium was detected in seawater at eight beaches in the prefecture set to open this year.
A photo provided by a local resident shows buildings in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, damaged by a landslide on Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2024

Three found dead after landslide near Matsuyama Castle

Rescue workers had been searching for three people who were living in a wooden house that collapsed after the landslide in Ehime Prefecture.

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