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The Suiso Frontier hydrogen carrier, built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, in January 2022.
BUSINESS
Nov 10, 2023

Tokyo and Seoul to set up hydrogen and ammonia supply chain: report

Japan and South Korea, both highly dependent on energy imports, plan to work together to negotiate prices and volumes.
If you spot a wild animal in the city, it's likely lost. Still, alert authorities immediately to prevent any unpleasantness.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Longform
Nov 13, 2023

The concrete forest: Bears, boars and more head to the cities

Warmer winters, less food and an aging society all play a part in why wild animals are increasingly venturing into human-populated areas.
BUSINESS
Nov 13, 2023

Japan to create ¥1 trillion fund to develop outer space industry

The ¥1 trillion fund will be allocated over a 10-year period for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), as a new global space race heats up.
This undated picture released Wednesday shows the first ground combustion test of a high-power solid-fuel engine for a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, at an undisclosed location in North Korea.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2023

North Korea eyes surprise attack ability with missile engine test

The new engines for the intermediate-range ballistic missiles would give Pyongyang another means of targeting Japan.
Japan’s public bathhouses have been in decline for decades, with the number of such facilities in Tokyo alone dropping by nearly half in the last 15 years.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 14, 2023

Japan seeks digital detox with return to ‘way of the sauna’

Public bathhouses have been in decline for decades, with the number of sentō baths in Tokyo dropping by nearly half in the last 15 years.
Mika and Jesse say their landlady prefers a hands-off style of property management, leaving all matters, including maintenence and repairs, to the renting couple.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 18, 2023

Renting akiya: A backdoor into Japan's abandoned homes

“If the choice is between leaving (an akiya) empty or renting it out, please rent it out.”
U.S. President Joe Biden greets Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Woodside, California, on Nov. 15.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 21, 2023

'Offensive' and 'defensive' diplomacy: Managing ties with China

Since the 20th National Congress of the CCP, in October last year, Beijing has been seeking to maintain a balance.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold yen bonds at lower costs in its second Japan deal of the year as speculation mounts that the billionaire investor may put more money into the nation’s share market.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 17, 2023

Berkshire sells yen debt amid talk it’s eyeing more Japan stocks

Berkshire is one of the largest overseas issuers of yen debt, and 32 out of its past 40 bond deals have been in the Japanese currency.
Visitors stroll through a tunnel of autumn maple leaves at Mount Koya in Wakayama Prefecture on Nov. 4.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Nov 19, 2023

Fall is the new summer: Warming threatens Japan’s cultural calendar

Climate change is disrupting Japan’s autumn and seasonal experiences, and with it the rhythm of people’s lives.
Japan's culture of floor-sitting stretches back to ancient times. Only in the last 60 years has it faced off against a new lifestyle brought along by the rapid spread of chairs and other high furniture.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Nov 20, 2023

Has Japan mastered sitting?

Sitting is a deceptively simple act. But the story of sitting in Japan spans centuries of culture, politics and religion.
A report by MSCI ESG Research showed that just one-tenth of MSCI Japan Index firms have reached the 30% female board member threshold that the government is seeking for top-listed businesses.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2023

Japan boards may struggle amid pressure for diversity, MSCI says

Just one-tenth of MSCI Japan Index firms have reached the 30% female board member threshold that the government is seeking for top-listed businesses.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Nov 20, 2023

Japan's back-to-back wage bonanza would open door for BOJ exit

The news comes as the government pushes companies to hike pay to help offset rising living costs.
A resurgence in market activity has already helped to boost earnings at Barclays’ Japanese securities arm this year, which is likely to surpass 2022’s record profit of ¥15.1 billion.
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2023

Barclays expects bumper Japan profit amid struggles elsewhere

The British bank is expecting another year of record profit in Japan on the back of the country’s debt and rates market trading resurgence.
Japanese stock markets have already rallied to around their highest since 1990, with consumer and financial stocks outperforming domestic indexes.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Nov 21, 2023

Japan's inflation comeback prompts investors to tear up playbooks

Investors are tearing up their playbooks to focus on expected higher interest rates, more generous dividends and a revival in consumer spending.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s factory currently under construction in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 21, 2023

TSMC eyes third Japan chip plant with cutting-edge 3 nanometer tech

Another plant in Japan, this one making advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) chips, would potentially turn Japan into a major global chipmaking hub.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 22, 2023

Things get warmer with Xi; Johnny’s get the cold shoulder

While Japan and China look to ease tensions, NHK makes things tense with a Johnny’s-less “Kohaku” announcement.
Pedestrians walk past stores in the Koenji district in Tokyo on Oct. 29.
BUSINESS
Nov 23, 2023

Personal shopping services in Japan buoyed by weak yen

Shoppers who cannot physically be in Japan are outsourcing their hunt for bargains to remote shopping services.
MORE SPORTS / Horse Racing
Nov 24, 2023

Domestic horses look to continue home dominance

It’s the weekend of the Group 1 Japan Cup in association with Longines, when one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan, if not the world, will be run at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday. Having grown in stature over the past 40 years or so, the race has made a real name for itself over that time in...
JAPAN / Explainer
Nov 24, 2023

Why is Fumio Kishida called 'the four-eyed tax-hiker'?

The prime minister hasn’t actually raised taxes for the public at large since he took office over two years ago — at least, not yet.
Tossing your car in the forest when you leave Japan doesn't help anyone. If you want to throw away your things properly, you'll need to pay attention to your paperwork.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 24, 2023

Wheeling and dealing: A cautionary tale for expats headed home

Ditching big items, like your car, can be tough in Japan if you don't time things just right.
Was Japan's "sakoku" a prison? What else, when rulers were absolute, and law a weapon in the hands of high against low.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Nov 24, 2023

Tales of a Closed Country: Part 1

Long before COVID-19 was known, the gates to Japan slammed shut. It was an era of "sakoku," the closed country, but was it a prison?
Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says Japanese firms' clean energy technology can speed up the country’s efforts to curb emissions.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 27, 2023

Japan’s tech leaders accelerate its climate actions, ex-PM says

Japan’s companies were once at the cutting edge of green technology but have been surpassed by Chinese producers.
Yasuhide Uno, Usen-Next Holdings CEO, has transformed his father’s company into Netflix’s biggest competitor in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2023

Reluctant CEO becomes billionaire at Netflix rival in Japan

Initially wanting nothing to do with his father's cable music company, Yasuhide Uno's faith in video streaming helped him rebuild it for a new era.
Yoshitaka Kitao, chief executive officer of SBI Holdings, says Japan is preparing the groundwork for the full-scale introduction of stablecoins.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2023

Circle enters pact with Japan’s SBI to spur USDC stablecoin usage

They will also establish a banking relationship and promote the use of Circle’s Web3 services in Japan.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference at May’s Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 28, 2023

Canada's path to pragmatic Indo-Pacific engagement

As part of Canada’s Indo-Pacific pivot, we have already seen its relations and cooperation with Japan deepen.
Yuki Fukui (center) squares up against a student during a training session at a judo dojo in Thimphu, Bhutan.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 2, 2023

'The people of Bhutan think differently, and that has changed me'

Originally from Sendai, 26-year-old Yuki Fukui is the fifth Japanese judo coach for the Bhutanese national team.
Vintage bicycle enthusiast and property manager Eric Knight shipped his high-wheeler from his home in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, to Japan for the cross-country trip.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Dec 4, 2023

32 days, one big wheel: Duo re-creates historic trans-Japan trip

The pair were inspired by pioneering cyclist Thomas Stevens (1854-1935), who traveled the same route through Japan in 1886 on a high-wheeler.
Offshore wind turbines at the Scroby Sands Wind Farm, operated by E.ON SE, near Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom.  Foreign wind power companies say Japan's development process for offshore wind power takes much longer than in other countries, leading to more uncertainty and risks.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2023

Foreign wind power players urge Japan to scale up offshore auctions

"If you want to create appetite from investors you need to propose larger plants"
Capital spending on goods excluding software rose 0.3% in the three months through September compared with the previous quarter, possibly serving as an encouraging sign for the Bank of Japan.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2023

Japan’s capital spending nudges higher in sign of resilience

Some analysts still warn that GDP could contract again in the current quarter
Gen Nakatani, then-special adviser to the prime minister for international human rights, speaks at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2022
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 1, 2023

Kishida’s puzzling decision to ax his human rights adviser

Why did the prime minister eliminate the post of special adviser on human rights from the Cabinet and what does this mean for Tokyo's foreign policy?

Longform

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