Search - japan

 
 
Passengers line up at Narita Airport to board a flight to Seoul on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2024

Japanese companies weigh impact of South Korea's martial law chaos

The Foreign Ministry estimates that over 40,000 Japanese nationals reside in South Korea, with around 3,000 Japanese companies maintaining local offices.
A navy serviceman is reflected on a radar screen aboard the BRP Tarlac landing ship off the shore of Calayan Island, the Philippines, on June 30, 2023. Japan is providing another tranche of military aid to the Philippines that will include a grant for additional coastal surveillance radar systems, boats and other equipment.
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2024

Manila to get more radars and boats from Tokyo under new military aid tranche

The grant is intended to help strengthen the capabilities of the Philippines' navy and air force, the Foreign Ministry says.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (right) and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visit the cenotaph for the victims of the Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima Peace Park in Hiroshima in May 2023.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 6, 2024

Former PM Kishida worried upheaval in Seoul may hurt ties

Kishida, who left office in September, formed a warm relationship with Yoon over frequent meetings.
The South Korean government holds its own memorial service for Korean gold miners on Nov. 25 in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, after skipping the one organized by local authorities the day before.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2024

Kyodo News to remove senior editors over Yasukuni Shrine report

The agency reported in August 2022 that a lawmaker had visited the shrine based on unconfirmed information.
Kansai Electric Power's Takahama nuclear power plant's No.1 reactor (right) in Fukui Prefecture, which surpassed 50 years of operation in November. On the left is the No. 2 reactor.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2024

Renewables eyed as biggest source of Japan's energy mix in fiscal 2040

The government is also expected to aim for a 20% share for nuclear energy as part of efforts toward decarbonization.
The Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2024

IAEA team arrives in Japan for third review of N-plant water release

The mission will conduct safety inspections and meet government and Tepco officials.
In scrap yards lacking proper environmental safeguards, towering piles of scrap are at risk of collapse.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Dec 10, 2024

Japan to tighten regulations for electronic devices scrap yards

Local communities have expressed concerns over frequent fires and noise pollution.
U.S. companies Apple and Google are likely to be the primary targets of the new law to restrict activities of technology giants with at least 40 million users per month in Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 10, 2024

Japan to regulate tech giants with at least 40 million users

U.S. companies Apple and Google are likely to be the main targets of the law.
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force disembark from a V-22 Osprey aircraft during the annual live-fire exercise at East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May 2022.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2024

Japan GSDF grounds Osprey fleet after U.S. suspension

The Ground Self-Defense Force said it will give top priority to ensuring safety until further details are shared.
Fewer and fewer people are using the administrative consultation system, which will mark its 70th anniversary next year.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 12, 2024

Japan aims to raise awareness of administrative consultation services

Fewer people are using the administrative consultation system, which will mark its 70th anniversary next year.
Teruko Yokoyama (second from left), a senior member of Nihon Hidankyo, shares her experiences with students from Kuben Upper Secondary School in Oslo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2024

Hibakusha share experiences with Oslo high school students

Some 200 students learning sociology and other subjects were called on to think about peace.
Illegally cultivated cannabis plants uncovered by police at a home in Chiba Prefecture. Revised cannabis-related laws now criminalize the use of marijuana in addition to its possession and sale.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 12, 2024

Japan tightens cannabis laws amid rising youth usage

The use of marijuana has been criminalized, with the maximum penalty for possession, transfer and now usage set at up to seven years in prison.
Children eat at a <i>kodomo shokudo</i> in the city of Osaka. The number of such cafeterias, which provide free or low-cost meals to children in need, has surpassed 10,000 nationwide.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 13, 2024

Number of cafeterias for children in need hits record high in Japan

There are now more kodomo shokudo, which offer free or low-cost meals, than elementary and junior high schools.
The Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture. Brennon Washington was stationed at the base when he abducted a minor on Dec. 24, 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 13, 2024

U.S. serviceman sentenced over sexual assault of underage girl in Okinawa

Brennon Washington persuaded the girl to get into his car under the pretense of cooking and watching a movie together at his home. Once there, he assaulted her.
U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, in 2021
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2024

U.S. Marines begin to relocate from Okinawa to Guam

The movement of troops comes 19 years after an initial agreement for the relocation by the governments of Japan and the U.S.
The U.S. Air Force's CV-22 Osprey displayed during Japanese-American Friendship Festival at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo on May 18
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2024

U.S. and Japanese Ospreys grounded this month after precautionary landing

While the details about the precautionary landing are not known, the incident has raised concerns over the vulnerability in Osprey components.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (left) meets with Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki at the Okinawa Prefectural Government Office on Sunday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2024

Okinawa governor seeks timetable for transfer of U.S. marines

Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki on Sunday called on the government to provide a concrete timetable for the transfer of U.S. Marines in Okinawa to Guam, following the recent start of the relocation.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (left) and his wife, Melania (right), pose for a photo with Akie Abe, the widow of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday in this image posted on Melania Trump's X social media account.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 16, 2024

Akie Abe, widow of slain prime minister, meets with Trump

Her meeting has raised some eyebrows for coming before that of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who was unable to meet Trump last month despite numerous requests.
 A poster for Hayao Miyazaki's anime film "The Boy and the Heron" (in the foreground) is displayed at a theater screening the film in Beijing.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2024

Japanese films tug at Chinese moviegoers' heartstrings

Most of the Japanese movies making waves in China are anime titles capable of making solid profits.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (second from left) speaks at a ministerial meeting on foreign workers at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2024

Japan begins process to replace controversial foreign trainee program

An expert panel has been appointed to assist the government in drafting a system to replace the controversial Technical Intern Training Program.
A United Nations panel on space traffic coordination in late October said that urgent action was necessary to track and manage objects in low Earth orbit because of the rapid increase in satellites and space junk.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 17, 2024

Japan and India startups to study using lasers to tackle space debris

Japan's Orbital Lasers is building a system that will use laser energy to stop the rotation of space junk by vaporizing small parts of its surface.
The plenary session of the House of Representatives, which passed the three political reform bills, in parliament on Tuesday
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2024

Japan enacts ¥13.9 trillion extra budget for fiscal 2024

The economic policy package aims to finance measures against inflation and disaster relief.
People walk toward a beach in Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2024

Blackstone buys Ritz-Carlton Okinawa as Japan tourism booms

The transaction will include the Kanehide Kise Beach Palace and money to be spent on renovations, sources say.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's government is strengthening cooperation with Middle East countries and diversifying its involvement in African nations, a Japanese government think tank said.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 18, 2024

China boosting influence over Global South, Japan think tank says

An annual report on China by the National Institute for Defense Studies says that Beijing's growing sway has the risk of destabilizing the region.
Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Ukraine's presidential adviser for sanctions policy, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 18, 2024

Ukraine concerned over Japanese parts in Russian weapons

Vlasiuk submitted to Tokyo a list of Japan-made parts that were found in Russian and North Korean missiles and other weapons.
Foreign tourists visit Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo in June.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2024

Japan breaks annual visitor record with 33.4 million in just 11 months

November saw 3.19 million foreign visitors for business and leisure, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization.
For language learners under 40 in Japan, AI tools such as ChatGPT are now preferred over in-person classes or radio language programs.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2024

AI services growing in popularity among younger language learners in Japan

The number of people using AI language tools grew by more than 80% in 2024, a recent survey showed.
Jasper Cheung, head of Amazon Japan (second from the left), which will enter the "furusato nozei" hometown donation intermediary business.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2024

Amazon Japan to enter 'furusato nōzei' business

Amazon aims to differentiate its service from other sites by delivering gifts as quickly as one day after donations are made.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 20, 2024

Ishiba may visit U.S. in mid-January for talks with Trump

Ishiba hopes to build a personal relationship of trust with the president-elect and confirm the significance of the Japan-U.S. alliance.
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 20, 2024

Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year

Crime numbers had been steadily declining since 2003, continuing to hit postwar lows from 2015 to 2021, before bouncing back in 2022.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear