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Students give a presentation at a competition in London on Friday for revitalization strategies in the Hokuriku region
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2024

London students compete on ideas to promote Hokuriku region

The presentations set out unique tourism strategies, such as "sake passports" to encourage tourists to visit local breweries, and "health tourism" to promote local foods.
The average price of osechi traditional food for the 2025 New Year stood at ¥27,826 ($185), a 1.3% increase — or ¥360 — compared with that for the 2024 New Year.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 2, 2024

Osechi ryōri prices climb for a third consecutive year

The latest increase, at ¥360 ($2.40), is the smallest in three years, at less than half the increase for the 2024 New Year.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2024

Ishiba questioned on political reform, social issues and the economy

The prime minister reiterated his skepticism about abolishing corporate donations to political parties.
Nihon Hidankyo co-Chairperson Terumi Tanaka (center), a Nagasaki atomic bombing survivor, attends a news conference after the group won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, in Tokyo on Oct. 12. Tanaka is part of a 30-strong delegation will collect the prize in Oslo.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2024

30-strong Nihon Hidankyo delegation to collect Nobel Peace Prize

The group has raised over ¥36 million in a crowd-funding campaign to cover the travel expenses of such a large delegation.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito greets supporters upon his arrival at the Hyogo Prefectural Government office in Kobe on Nov. 19.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2024

Lawsuit filed over Hyogo governor's alleged election law violation

A lawyer for Saito said that the president of a public relations company had engaged in activities as a volunteer, other than five items including making posters.
Nomura’s reputation has taken a hit after it admitted to a bond market manipulation in October and following charges brought against a former employee in November on suspicion of robbery, arson and attempted murder of an elderly couple during a customer visit.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 2, 2024

Nomura’s Japan corporate bond market rank slips after probe

Japan’s biggest brokerage saw its position fall to sixth place in November and its market share shrink to 2.1%, the latest data shows.
The goal of the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, building on years of evolving trade restrictions, is to slow China’s domestic development of advanced semiconductors and artificial intelligence systems that may help its military.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 3, 2024

U.S. tightens curbs on China’s access to AI memory and chip tools

The new measures included exemptions for key allies such as Japan and the Netherlands.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda reiterated in an interview published Saturday that authorities will raise rates if the economy performs in line with projections.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 3, 2024

BOJ weighs case for first triple hike since Japan’s bubble burst

The last time the BOJ conducted three hikes in a single year was in 1989, with the third increase that year coming on Christmas Day.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says he will "block" a planned takeover of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 3, 2024

Trump says will 'block' Nippon Steel from taking over U.S. Steel

Days after the U.S. election last month, Nippon Steel said it expected to close its takeover of the company before the end of the year.
A Tokyo couple allegedly used credit cards obtained fraudulently using other people's IDs to buy smartphones, luxury clothing and expensive liquor, according to the police.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 3, 2024

Tokyo couple held for fraud allegedly bought and resold 200 smartphones

Takaaki Saito, 32, and Chiharu Saito, 33, are accused of exploiting multiple stolen identities to obtain credit cards to make the purchases.
Police officers enforce electric scooter traffic regulations in Chuo Ward, Osaka, in July.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 3, 2024

Luup CEO blames repeat offenders for high e-scooter traffic violations

According to the National Police Agency, there were 25,156 e-scooter traffic violation cases in the year after e-scooter regulations were relaxed.
An H2A rocket carrying the Hayabusa2 asteroid probe is launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Dec. 3, 2014.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 3, 2024

Hayabusa2 continues its journey, 10 years after launch

The unmanned asteroid probe was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Dec. 3, 2014.
Elementary school children offer prayers in front of the photograph of Tetsu Nakamura in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Nov. 24, five years after his death.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2024

Nakamura's wishes for Afghanistan live on five years after his death

The Japanese doctor worked in the country for many years providing medical assistance and building irrigation canals.
Masayo Ishimaru, the head of volunteer group Tanpopo no Sato, cuddles cats rescued from a pet hoarder, in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, in September.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 4, 2024

Local governments tighten rules on pet ownership as hoarding persists

Municipalities are introducing mandatory reporting requirements for owners of large numbers of pets as well as fines for non-compliance.
Mitsubishi has dismissed Gong Huayong, a Shanghai-based copper trader at one of its China units, after finding that he had made unauthorized trades with local companies, including some that were related to him.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 4, 2024

Mitsubishi loses $90 million in suspected China metal fraud

The company has dismissed a Shanghai-based copper trader after finding that he had made unauthorized trades with local companies.
Tsutomu Hotta
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2024

Ex-prosecutor Hotta, who probed Lockheed scandal, dies at 90

He also helped decide how to distribute donations made to the Japanese Red Cross Society and the Central Community Chest of Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Naomi Watanabe, a comedian known for challenging gender and beauty norms in Japan's male-dominated comedy scene
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2024

BBC honors two Japanese in annual list of inspiring women

The theme this year was resilience, celebrating women who "are pushing for change and improving lives at community or global level."
Keiko Muto, a suspect arrested on burglary resulting in injury charges after allegedly acting as the financial coordinator, is being transferred in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 4, 2024

Saitama police arrest suspected yami baito financial coordinator

A 26-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly acting as the financial coordinator in a violent burglary that occurred in October.
Fulham's Junichi Inamoto scores his third goal of the game during a match against Bologna on Aug. 27, 2002.
SOCCER
Dec 4, 2024

Japan's Premier League pioneer, Junichi Inamoto, retires at age 45

Inamoto became a national hero when he scored twice at the 2002 World Cup on home soil, including the winner against Russia.
If the deal goes through, the Japanese steelmaker has promised not to transfer any U.S. Steel production capacity or jobs outside the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 5, 2024

Nippon Steel committed to U.S. Steel takeover, executive says

"There is no global strategy without the U.S.," Takahiro Mori, the Japanese company's vice chairman, said this week.
A woman is arrested for soliciting prostitution near Okubo Park in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in October.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 5, 2024

88 arrested for soliciting prostitution near Tokyo park so far this year

The arrests reflect ongoing challenges in curbing illegal activities in Shinjuku's Okubo Park area, which has been dubbed a “prostitution haven” on social media.
National Police Agency Commissioner General Yasuhiro Tsuyuki
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 6, 2024

Police protected yami baito applicants in 125 cases

Since mid-October, the National Police Agency has been calling on applicants for such jobs to seek police advice and protection.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda speaks during a news conference last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 5, 2024

CDP and DPP to coordinate basic policies

The CDP aims to reach an agreement on basic policies with the DPP as early as possible within this fiscal year.
While FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is a strong contender for game of the year, Black Myth: Wukong, the first AAA game made by a Chinese developer, offers some stiff competition.
LIFE / Digital / 2024 in Review
Dec 6, 2024

It’s Japan versus China for 2024’s game of the year

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Black Myth: Wukong both have a claim to the best game of 2024, a year marked by cultural scandals and lawsuits.
Koichi Katsumata is the first chef to receive a Michelin star in Japan for an 'assiette dessert' (dessert course) restaurant
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 8, 2024

Welcome to Yama, Japan’s first Michelin-starred dessert restaurant

“We don’t just serve food — we serve memories, stories and a sense of place,” says chef Koichi Katsumata.
Passengers at the check-in counters of Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Jan. 3. The average budget for domestic trips during the upcoming year-end and New Year holiday period is estimated to hit a record high for the second straight year.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2024

Domestic travel budget for holiday period projected to hit record

The increase reflects soaring accommodation costs and growing demand for travel to distant destinations, JTB said.
Consumer spending dropped 1.3% in October from a year earlier, data from the internal affairs ministry showed on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 6, 2024

Japan's soft consumer spending unlikely to deter BOJ from raising rates again

Economists attributed the underlying softness in consumption to rising prices and warm weather, which held consumers back from purchasing seasonal apparel.
People walk around an outlet mall in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture. At stores across Japan, clerks use a form of polite language called "manyuaru keigo," literally, “manual honorifics,” named for the service manuals they study it from.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 6, 2024

Japan's honorific language can be challenging for native speakers, too

According to surveys, more than half of those in their teens, 20s and 30s, believe they cannot use "keigo," or honorific language, appropriately.
Ten people are suspected of forcibly entering a club in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Dec. 17 last year and assaulting a male security guard.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 6, 2024

Alleged operator of anonymous X account arrested over club assault

Z-Ri, a pun on the name of the kung-fu actor Jet Li, is an influential account that posts about the inner workings of Japan's underworld.
The Epsilon S rocket exploded during a combustion test at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Nov. 26.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2024

JAXA says first Epsilon rocket unlikely to launch by March

JAXA Vice President Masashi Okada said he thinks it "technically difficult to a large degree" for the small satellite launch vehicle to lift off by the end of March.

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