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World Bank Deputy Chief Economist Ayhan Kose says there is room for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 19, 2025

Japan likely to see 'healthy growth' through 2026: World Bank exec

In its economic forecast released Thursday, the World Bank predicted Japan's gross domestic product will grow a real 1.2% in 2025 and 0.9% in 2026.
Seiji Maehara, co-leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai, is interviewed in Tokyo on Thursday. The party is calling for a ban on political donations from firms and organizations.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 19, 2025

Nippon Ishin stresses need for corporate donation ban

Nippon Ishin has also called for making high school free, eliminating nursery fees for kids up to 2 and realizing tuition-free higher education.
Officials with the agriculture ministry hold a news conference in Nagoya on Friday following an outbreak of avian influenza in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, earlier this month.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 20, 2025

More bird flu cases found in Japan; 1.44 million birds to be culled

A total of about 1.44 million birds at the seven farms and related facilities will be destroyed.
A dairy farming facility in Bengaluru, which Akiba Bokujo Holdings is expected to operate
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 20, 2025

Japanese dairy farm operator targeting India

Akiba Bokujo Holdings has partnered with an Indian IT startup to procure feed, raise dairy cows and produce products.
52.0% of people questioned in a survey said they want to use containers to take leftovers home if they are provided free of charge, and 28.8% showed willingness to use takeout containers whether they are free or not.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2025

Survey finds 80% of people want to take leftover restaurant food home

14.5% of those surveyed answered that they have never left food in restaurants.
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya shakes hands with his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, in Washington on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 20, 2025

Australia says 'Quad' in Washington shows 'iron-clad' commitment

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she would meet Rubio and other members of the Trump administration while in Washington for the inauguration.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito in November in Kobe. Hideaki Takeuchi, a former Hyogo assemblyman who had taken part in investigations over workplace bullying allegations against Saito last year, died Saturday in an apparent suicide.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 20, 2025

Former Hyogo assemblyman found dead in apparent suicide

Hideaki Takeuchi, 50, had taken part in investigations over workplace bullying allegations made against Gov. Motohiko Saito last year.
Climate change and urbanization are believed to have contributed to the earliest ever observation of cedar pollen in Tokyo, on Jan. 8, an expert says.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 20, 2025

Cedar pollen is already in the air in Tokyo

Tokyo officials are urging people to take steps to prevent and mitigate hay fever symptoms, as pollen counts are expected to rise in the coming weeks.
Fuji TV President Koichi Minato speaks at a news conference on Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Media
Jan 20, 2025

What went wrong at Fuji TV's news conference on allegations against Nakai?

The broadcaster, which imposed various restrictions for the event that included denying access to many media agencies, ended up worsening the scandal.
A keen fisherman from Tokyo (Masaki Suda) moves to a tight-knit community in Miyagi Prefecture during the COVID-19 pandemic in “Sunset Sunrise.”
CULTURE / Film
Jan 21, 2025

‘Sunset Sunrise’: Rom-com finds pathos in peak pandemic setting

Yoshiyuki Kishi’s film delivers a deliciously uplifting story with humor and heart in a tight-knit community impacted by disasters.
Yoshiteru Murosaki, professor emeritus of disaster prevention planning at Kobe University, says poor environments at evacuation centers following disasters remain a concern.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2025

Expert calls for more discussions on earthquake preparedness

The expert mentioned poor environments at evacuation centers as one of the problems persisting since the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995.
Susumu Hyodo, director of the University of Tokyo's Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute (right), and others announce a project to analyze seawater temperatures during an event in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 21, 2025

Japan to study sea changes using fishers' data

Japanese catches of major fish species such as salmon and saury have been slumping since around 2010, according to a national fishing industry group.
Car dealer Toyota Mobility Tokyo and used car dealer Goodspeed are believed to have committed illegal practices, such as discounting vehicles in exchange for buying specific insurance products.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 21, 2025

Japan's FSA to issue business improvement order to Toyota dealer

The Toyota subsidiary and Goodspeed are suspected of illegal practices such as discounting vehicles in exchange for buying specific insurance products.
A reproduction experiment was conducted by placing two gas stoves side by side and heating large iron plates (top photo). The canister on the left stove overheated and ruptured (bottom photo).
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2025

Warnings issued for portable stoves as winter usage increases

The most common issue was improper canister placement leading to overheating and rupture, resulting in fatalities, burns and property damage.
A V-22 Osprey
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2025

U.S. Osprey accidentally drops cargo into sea in Okinawa

The Defense Ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau informed the Okinawa government that the cargo pallet fell into the sea due to an unexpected change in wind direction during training.
Poor weather conditions have led to a surge in cabbage prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 22, 2025

Cabbage prices triple in Japan after unfavorable weather

"Cabbage prices are expected to remain high for a while," an agriculture ministry official said.
The arrest warrant alleges that in the early hours of Sep. 5 last year, the suspects conspired to wrap the child’s mouth, arms and legs with tape before placing him inside a cardboard box at their apartment.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 22, 2025

Mother and grandfather arrested for alleged abuse of 3-year-old boy

The boy is currently hospitalized in a coma. While he has no visible external injuries, police are investigating whether the pair subjected him to repeated abuse.
Top "Quad" diplomats — Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi (left to right), Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong — walk to their meeting at the State Department in Washington on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 22, 2025

'Quad' diplomats meet in signal of Trump commitment to grouping

Coming just a day after Trump’s inauguration, the meeting was seen as a veiled warning to Beijing, which has lambasted the Quad as a tool for containing China.
The National Personnel Authority in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2025

Fall in Japanese bureaucrat aspirants shows signs of stabilizing

The number of applicants in fiscal 2023 rose by 36.0% from the previous year, and in fiscal 2024, it increased by 17.9%, reaching a record high of 4,734.
A 17-year-old student from Kanagawa Prefecture has been arrested for allegedly creating a program that purported to verify the validity of credit cards and using it to illegally obtain their details.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 22, 2025

Kanagawa high school student arrested for credit card data theft

The 17-year-old male student is accused of creating a program that purported to verify the validity of credit cards and using it to illegally obtain their details.
Tokyo Gas President Shinichi Sasayama speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Jan. 16.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 22, 2025

Tokyo Gas focusing on more U.S. investment opportunities

"Among our overseas businesses, North America is an especially important growth market for us,” said President Shinichi Sasayama.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a policy speech at the Lower House of the parliament in Tokyo last November.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 23, 2025

As parliament opens, ruling coalition enters uncharted territory

For the Liberal Democratic Party, the days of pushing through bills on the back of an overwhelming majority in both chambers of parliament are over.
Fuji Media Holdings' headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward. The company will hold an extraordinary board meeting on Thursday over the firestorm sparked by TV host Masahiro Nakai's alleged sexual misconduct.
JAPAN / Media
Jan 22, 2025

Fuji TV scandal sparks probes on exploitation within TV industry

The sexual misconduct allegations against TV host and former SMAP member Masahiro Nakai have thrown a spotlight on the TV industry's culture and ethics.
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito answers questions from reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2025

Ruling parties agree to discuss dual surname system

Party leaders stopped short of deciding when to begin discussions on the issue.
Takashimaya is doubling its range of baked goods with chocolate for Valentine's Day, with treats on offer including madeleines.
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2025

Japan's department stores look to unorthodox Valentine's Day treats

According to a pastry shop owner, the total costs for chocolate products, including those for packing materials, "have doubled."
A street in Chitose, Hokkaido. Annual power demand for Hokkaido is expected to increase by 1.2% on average into fiscal 2034, according to a report from the Organization for Cross-Regional Coordination of Transmission Operators.
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2025

Japan sees data center-driven power boom in Hokkaido

Annual power demand for Hokkaido is expected to increase by 1.2% on average into fiscal 2034, a report has said.
Regular gasoline was priced at ¥194 per liter at a gas station in Nagano on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2025

Japan's average gas price exceeds ¥185 for first time in 17 months

The price hike reflects reduced government subsidies to oil wholesalers.
Institute of Science Tokyo Distinguished Professor Yoshinori Fujiyoshi (left) and Assistant Professor Shun Nakamura, who developed a peptide that can bind to the spike proteins of the novel coronavirus to prevent COVID-19 infections, at the Institute of Science Tokyo's Ookayama campus in Tokyo on Monday
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 23, 2025

Japanese researchers develop peptide preventing COVID-19 infections

The peptide, which is a short chain of amino acids, has shown effectiveness in experiments involving various coronavirus strains.
Takuya Mori, a curator of Yokkaichi Municipal Museum in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, works on converting magnetic recordings kept at the museum into digital files.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Mar 3, 2025

Magnetic tapes at risk without digitization, archive groups warn

UNESCO has called for the digitization of audio and video recordings kept in academic and cultural institutions.
Ryohei Iwatani, secretary-general of Nippon Ishin no Kai, holds a news conference on Wednesday in the National Diet Building.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 23, 2025

Nippon Ishin proposes primaries to unify opposition candidates

The proposal calls for conducting online public opinion polls in constituencies where multiple opposition parties plan to field candidates.

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