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Masahiko Uotani (third from left), head of Keidanren's diversity promotion committee, hands its proposal on a separate surname system for married couples to members of a lawmaker group focused on realizing such a system, in June.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Sep 24, 2024

Japan's top business lobby group pushes for separate surnames option

In response to Keidanren's push, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party held internal discussions on the issue for the first time in about three years.
The Justice Ministry said there are now over 250,000 specified skilled foreign workers.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2024

Number of specified skilled visa holders in Japan surpasses 250,000

The government is aiming to attract 820,000 foreign workers under the specified skilled worker program over a five-year period through April 2029.
Economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, a candidate in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election, speaks during a debate in Tokyo on Sept. 14.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 25, 2024

Does Sanae Takaichi have a real shot at becoming Japan's first female leader?

After failing to win the party presidency in 2021, Takaichi is trying her luck once again — and this time her chances of winning seem better than before.
People shop for food during sunset hours in Taipei. Taiwan has lifted its import ban on Japanese foods.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2024

Taiwan lifts import ban on Japanese foods

Taiwan eased its import restrictions further, allowing all Japanese food products to be shipped there in principle.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, seen during a news conference during the Laver Cup Sept. 19, was eliminated from the Japan Open in the first round on Thursday.
TENNIS
Sep 26, 2024

Stefanos Tsitsipas loses in first round of Japan Open

Tsitsipas, a two-time Grand Slam finalist, also lost in the first round of the U.S. Open last month.
Out of a total of 509,373 foreign technical trainees, 1.9% went missing in 2023, according to Immigration Services Agency data.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 27, 2024

Record number of technical trainees go missing in Japan in 2023

Of the total, 1,765 were Myanmar nationals who had fled conflict in their home country.
Damaged buildings following an overnight Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Shebaa on Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2024

Japan to dispatch military planes for possible Lebanon evacuations

Israeli bombing has killed hundreds of people this week in Lebanon, particularly in Hezbollah strongholds.
Kei Nishikori hits a return against Jordan Thompson during their second-round match at the Japan Open in Tokyo on Saturday.
TENNIS
Sep 28, 2024

Kei Nishikori advances to quarters at a Japan Open full of upsets

In other action, fifth seed Tommy Paul became the latest top player to make an early exit as he lost to Tomas Machac in the second round on Saturday.
The “Fragment Shadow” exhibition by Shunichi Kasahara and Satoru Higa, in which people’s shadows were digitally re-created and manipulated.
JAPAN / Science & Health / OUR PLANET
Sep 29, 2024

Researchers in Japan look to art to mold the scientific process

From astrobiology to cybernetics, scientists are trying to use art not just for public outreach, but to shape research itself.
The conduct and business of love in Japan’s Edo Period  (1603-1867) was rough, and nowhere was it rougher than in the pleasure quarters of the capital city.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Sep 29, 2024

Good or bad, both or neither: Edo Japan and the moral conscience

The era's warrior class and its martial virtues were redundant but lived on — overshadowed by the pursuit of pleasure.
A satellite image taken early on Monday morning shows Typhoon Krathon over the northern waters of the Philippines and Tropical Storm Jebi over the waters around the Ogasawara Islands.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2024

Pair of powerful storms to approach Japan this week

Tropical Storm Jebi and Typhoon Krathon are approaching Japan, threatening to unleash strong winds and heavy rainfall on Okinawa as well as Kanto.
France's Ugo Humbert hits a return against Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic during their men's singles semifinal match at the ATP Japan Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on Monday.
TENNIS
Oct 1, 2024

Humbert to face Fils in all-French Japan Open final

Tuesday's match will be the first all-French final on the ATP tour in four years.
France's Arthur Fils celebrates with the winner's trophy after his victory over Ugo Humbert in the men's singles final of the Japan Open in Tokyo on Tuesday.
TENNIS
Oct 2, 2024

Fils saves match point to beat Humbert in all-French Japan Open final

Fils, the world No. 24, came back from the brink in the second set to edge his Paris Olympics doubles partner in a little over three hours in Tokyo.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrives for a photograph with his new Cabinet members at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 2, 2024

Number of women in Japan's Cabinet drops to two

The government and businesses have regularly missed a range of self-imposed targets and plans to increase the number of women in leadership positions.
Water is seen at the bottom of the No.1 shaft, which maintains and controls the inflow and discharge channel as part of a complex of underground tunnels at the Metropolitan Outer Area Underground Discharge Channel in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, which protect Tokyo and its suburbs against floods.
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2024

Japan expands underground complex to counter climate change rains

The Metropolitan Outer Area Underground Discharge Channel has already prevented more than ¥150 billion in flood damage.
The number of consultations from foreign visitors to Japan about problems related to accommodations and shopping is increasing.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 3, 2024

Consumer consultations by foreign visitors to Japan on the rise

The number of consultations from foreign visitors in fiscal 2023, which ended in March this year, stood at 227, up for the second straight year.
A survey found that 18.6% of people who changed careers in their 20s and 17.3% of those in their 40s used resignation agencies.
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2024

One in 6 workers in Japan use resignation agencies to change jobs

As to why they let an agency handle their resignation, 40.7% said it was because they were stopped from quitting, or thought they would be stopped, by their employer.
Smoke rises over Beirut amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2024

Two Japanese nationals flee Lebanon on chartered ship

The Japanese government aided the evacuation following an escalation of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Digital minister Taro Kono attends an Upper House committee session in June. The cautioning of Kono over his use of his smartphone to respond to a question in the Upper House last November attracted significant attention and led to a bipartisan call for digital transformation within parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 4, 2024

Digitalization advances gradually in Japan's parliament

Improvement plans have been adopted but certain practices, such as the use of tablets at the podium during plenary sessions, remain off-limits.
Japan Coast Guard officials search for missing people after the fatal sinking of the Kazu I tour boat off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2024

Japan to require passenger ships sailing in cold waters to carry life rafts

The move follows the deadly sinking of the Kazu I tour boat off Hokkaido in April 2022.
A Class 4 railway crossing without alarms and circuit breakers in Kani City, Gifu Prefecture, in June 2018.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2024

Government looks to improve safety at Japan's dangerous railway crossings

The ministry will support the installation of manually operated gates and fences at crossings that do not have alarms or barriers.
Francesco Bagnaia races to a win during the Japan MotoGP in Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 6, 2024

Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP ahead of championship leader Martin

The Italian defending world champion Bagnaia overtook pole-sitter Pedro Acosta on the first lap at Motegi and stayed in the lead to finish 1.189 seconds ahead of Martin.
Eni is in talks with Japan on supplying the country with liquefied natural gas, an executive said Sunday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 6, 2024

Italy's Eni in talks with Japan on supplying LNG, executive says

Eni plans to build its LNG portfolio to 18 million metric tons per year by 2027 and would be ready to commit part of it to Japan.
Police in Osaka Prefecture arrested four people early last month for allegedly defrauding a "spot work" platform operator of about ¥680,000.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 6, 2024

Scammers in Japan take advantage of popularity of ‘spot work’

Police in Osaka Prefecture arrested four people early last month for allegedly defrauding a platform operator of about ¥680,000.
Oita Prefecture's new fire and ambulance command center, located in the city of Oita, accepts live video footage from callers, allowing dispatchers to assess emergency situations more accurately.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2024

Oita Prefecture first in Japan to launch centralized fire command center

The new command center centralizes emergency 119 call response at the prefecture level, and scales up as needed during major disasters.
Junichi Ishii (right) and Yoshitaka Saito, chairmen of the House of Councilors for the Liberal Democratic Party and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, respectively, meet for discussions inside the parliament building on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024

Japan's party leaders' debate to be extended to 80 minutes

The debate pitting Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba against the heads of opposition parties is scheduled for Wednesday.
Internal affairs minister Seiichiro Murakami speaks during an interview at the ministry in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024

Japan's new internal affairs minister looks to boost regional revitalization

Seiichiro Murakami aims to increase the number of regional development cooperation volunteers from 7,200 to 10,000.
Naomi Osaka in action during her last-16 match against Coco Gauff at the China Open in Beijing on Oct. 1
TENNIS
Oct 8, 2024

Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury

Osaka's last WTA tournament appearance in Japan was a fleeting one, two years ago at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
South Africa's Kurt-Lee Arendse scores in a Rugby World Cup quarterfinal match against France in Saint-Denis, France, on Oct. 15, 2023.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Oct 8, 2024

Springbok Arendse signs for Japan's Dynaboars

The 28-year-old former Sevens flyer joins the Dynaboars on sabbatical from the Pretoria-based Bulls.
Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan during a news conference in parliament on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 8, 2024

Retiring former PM Kan calls for another change of government in Japan

"I feel that I did everything I could do," Kan said of his 44-year political career since he was first elected to the Lower House in 1980.

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