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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang answers questions from reporters after his meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2025

Nvidia CEO lobbies Japan to generate more power to fuel AI

The two discussed how Japan is particularly well-positioned to develop AI, given its leadership in robotics and industrial manufacturing.
A sidewalk where a Japanese schoolboy was stabbed in Shenzhen, southern China, in September last year. China has executed a man, Zhong Changchun, over the fatal stabbing, it was learned Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 22, 2025

China executes man over fatal 2024 stabbing of Japanese boy in Shenzhen

The 10-year-old boy was stabbed as he was walking to a local Japanese school in September.
MS&AD forecasts that net profit for its North American operations will reach ¥166 billion in the fiscal year ended in March, a 3.5fold increase from the previous fiscal year.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2025

Insurer MS&AD plans to invest $5 billion to double U.S. profits

The Tokyo-based casualty insurer has the highest market share in Asia among global firms, but it’s No. 3 among Japanese peers in North America.
The first meeting of a subcommittee under the Legislative Council to discuss a review of the retrial system on Monday at the Justice Ministry
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 22, 2025

Panel agrees on need to revise retrial system

Public calls for a review of the retrial system, which has not been revised since the country's criminal procedure law was established in 1948, have been growing.
Orbis Investment Management bought shares of Mitsubishi Estate over the past months on the view that inflation will lift revenue as the domestic real estate sector remains attractive.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2025

Top Japan fund adds Mitsubishi Estate shares on cheap valuations

The return of inflation in Japan has lured overseas investors to the nation’s real estate market and property developer shares.
People carry packs of bottles of water following a strong earthquake in Pyawbwe township, Mandalay, Myanmar, on April 4.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2025

Japan's SDF ends disaster relief operations in Myanmar

An SDF C-130 transport aircraft delivered 2.5 tons of emergency supplies to a Japanese medical team in Myanmar after arriving in an airport in Mandalay on April 9.
The Japanese economy remains on a gradual recovery trend, the Finance Ministry said, while leaving its economic views unchanged for all of the country's 11 regions.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 22, 2025

Japan's Finance Ministry maintains economic view while warning of risk

Many manufacturers expressed concern about the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on production, according to the ministry.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a government meeting on crime prevention measures at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 22, 2025

In fight against fraud, Japan seeks new weapon: undercover bank accounts

The government is looking to allow the police to set up bank accounts under false names to track the movement of funds obtained by fraudsters.
U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent says a de-escalation between the U.S. and China will come in the very near future.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 23, 2025

Bessent expects tariff standoff with China to deescalate

The U.S. Treasury secretary is optimistic that tensions could cool in the coming months but cautioned that a larger deal could take longer.
Arunima Mazumdar, a New Delhi-based communications professional, began sharing her love of Japanese literature online in 2022. The platform has grown into a robust community known as Dokusha Book Club.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Apr 26, 2025

Arunima Mazumdar: ‘Japanese literature has a niche but deeply engaged readership in India’

The founder of Dokusha Book Club talks about why Indian readers love Japanese books and the community that she’s forged, online and offline.
A plaintiff for a damages lawsuit against Morinaga Milk Industry speaks at a news conference in Osaka after the Osaka District Court dismissed her claims.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 23, 2025

Osaka District Court dismisses lawsuit against Morinaga Milk in arsenic case

Presiding Judge Takenori Nomura ruled the 20-year statute of repose for tort claims had already passed.
A quantum computer developed by Fujitsu and Riken shown on Tuesday in Wako, Saitama Prefecture
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2025

Fujitsu and Riken develop world-leading quantum computer

Competition is intensifying in Japan and abroad for making quantum computers smaller and improving error detection methods.
A United Nations agency said it will hold an Asia-Pacific ministerial conference on disaster prevention and response in Sendai in 2027.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2025

Sendai to host U.N. disaster reduction conference in 2027

Such a meeting will be held in Japan for the first time.
Nomura Holdings is seeking to build scale in the U.S. asset management market despite recent volatility caused by escalating trade tensions.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2025

Nomura bets big on U.S. market rebound with $1.8 billion deal

Nomura's executive officer said the latest disruptions don’t change the fact the U.S. remains the largest asset management market in the world.
A combination of images released on April 15 illustrate the end jig passing through the isolation valve during the second fuel debris trial retrieval at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2025

Second debris removal trial at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant is completed

High radiation levels mean removing melted fuel and other debris from the plant is seen as the most daunting challenge in the decommissioning project.
Wrestlers at a Yokozuna Deliberation Council practice in 2016. Although banzuke ranking positions aren’t at stake, the fact that the practice is so close to a real tournament ensures that most rikishi give it their all.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 23, 2025

More than just training: Sumo's open practices are intense — and entertaining

The Yokozuna Deliberation Council practice is a rare — and, when open to the public, free — chance to see sumo's top wrestlers battle it out in the final days before a basho.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on April 17
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 23, 2025

Opposition slams Ishiba's gas price cut while calling to scrap provisional tax

Ishiba's decision would lower gas prices by ¥10 per liter starting May 22, but nixing the provisional gas tax would lower prices by ¥25.
Okinawa Prefectural Police Headquarters in the city of Naha. Police have sent prosecutors papers on two U.S. Marines suspected of sexually assaulting women in the prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 24, 2025

U.S. Marines suspected of sexually assaulting women in Okinawa

One of the two is suspected of sexually assaulting an acquaintance in January, and the other of sexually assaulting a woman and injuring another at a military base in March.
A bereaved family member prays at a port in Shari, Hokkaido, to mourn the victims of the Kazu I boat sinking on its third anniversary on Wednesday.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 24, 2025

Hokkaido fisher to hold memorial service for tour boat accident victims

Sakurai instantly decided to organize the offshore memorial service when he saw photos recovered from a 34-year-old Kazu I passenger's digital camera.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura says he hopes the prefecture's new rule prohibiting older people from using ATMs while talking on phones becomes widely known and eventually accepted as common sense.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 24, 2025

Osaka to ban older people from using ATMs while on the phone to help stop scams

While the ban does not include penalties, the Osaka prefectural government hopes to build public consensus to help prevent scams.
Asuka Tsuzuki (left), the principal of Linden Hall School's secondary school, and Kota Sugimoto, the school's head chef, display the Japanese Agricultural Standards certificate the school obtained for its lunches.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
May 5, 2025

In a national first, Fukuoka school obtains organic lunch certificate

A Fukuoka school has become Japan’s first to earn JAS certification for organic school lunches, using seasonal and local produce to promote environmental education.
The 50th two-stage H-2A rocket is stored at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Tobishima plant in Aichi Prefecture.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2025

Final H-IIA rocket to be launched in June

After the launch, the H-IIA rocket series will be retired and replaced by the more advanced H3 series.
Toyota Motor’s sales rose 8% from a year earlier to 231,336 units, while Honda Motor recorded a 13% jump, according to data released Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2025

Japanese carmakers’ U.S. sales surge ahead of Trump tariffs

Toyota Motor’s sales rose 8% from a year earlier to 231,336 units, while Honda Motor recorded a 13% jump, according to data released Thursday.
Under new rules, those who use smartphones while riding a bicycle would be subject to the maximum fine of ¥12,000.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 24, 2025

Japan set to fine cyclists on the spot for rule violations from 2026

Until now, police have usually responded to cycling violations by issuing verbal warnings or handing out red tickets that can lead to prosecution.
Parliament on Friday in Tokyo
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2025

LDP plans to submit pension reform bill in mid-May

Pension system reform is a key issue in the second half of the ongoing ordinary parliament session.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a discussion on the employment ice age generation in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 25, 2025

‘Employment ice age generation’ returns to spotlight ahead of Upper House election

The generation, which graduated between 1993 and 2004, has long grappled with pay stagnation and irregular employment due to a tight labor market.
A message using candles is seen during a memorial event held in the city of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, on Thursday ahead of the 20th anniversary of the 2005 Fukuchiyama Line derailment on Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2025

JR West marks 20 years since fatal derailment with renewed vow for safety

The 2005 Fukuchiyama Line derailment in the city of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, claimed 107 lives and injured more than 560 others.
The "customer harassment" rate for officials of prefectural and municipal governments shown by the internal affairs ministry's first-ever survey on the matter far exceeded the 10.8% for private-sector employees found by the labor ministry in its survey in fiscal 2023.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2025

'Customer harassment' faced by 35% of local government officials

A survey found that 17.5% of cases were prompted by officials' work at customer service counters, such as mistakes.
Since Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency, his rhetoric, tariffs and threats toward allies have helped boost left-leaning or anti-Trump candidates in elections around the world.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 20, 2025

The 'Trump effect' on elections is just beginning, including in Japan

Since his inauguration, the new U.S. president seems to be creating a “Trump effect” on many, though not all, foreign elections.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at his official residence in Tokyo on Sunday before leaving for a diplomatic trip to Vietnam and the Philippines later in the day.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 27, 2025

Golden Week proves to be busy for traveling members of Ishiba's Cabinet

Some in the opposition camp are questioning the need for the trips amid economic turmoil.

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An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo