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Support staff dispatched by power firms work to restore electrical equipment in an area hit by the Noto Peninsula earthquake in Ishikawa Prefecture.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 4, 2024

Major Japan power firms boost cooperation on disaster response

The electric power sector has established a framework to streamline the dispatch of support personnel and facilitate mutual aid to cover restoration expenses.
A hydrogen storage tank and loading system at a liquefied hydrogen receiving terminal in Kobe. Japan and the European Union have agreed to work together on policies related to clean hydrogen.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jun 4, 2024

Japan and EU agree to work on creating hydrogen demand and supply

Tokyo sees hydrogen as a new and cleaner source to gradually substitute liquefied natural gas, part of Japan's path to carbon neutrality by 2050.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel (left) meet aboard the USS Ronald Reagan super carrier on the sideline of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force’s International Fleet Review near Tokyo in November 2022. Under a new agreement, U.S. warships will be able to undergo repairs in Japanese commercial shipyard.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 4, 2024

Ambassador Emanuel can deepen Japan-U.S. defense cooperation

Infrastructure, logistics and sustainment should certainly be atop the list of DICAS initiatives.
Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki says the city is holding off on inviting Israeli representative to this year's peace ceremony.
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2024

Nagasaki holds off inviting Israel to peace ceremony

Worries that protests could disrupt the memorial for atomic bomb victims are partly behind the decision, according to the mayor.
In a bureaucratic blunder, a foreign resident was assigned the identity of a completely different person — who had the same name, same nationality and even the same birthday.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 4, 2024

It wasn't me: Similar strangers given same ID in Japan

The two individuals had the same name, same nationality and even the same birthday.
Energy companies are increasingly calling for greater use of nuclear power as geopolitical tensions raise the risk of energy supply disruptions and power price hikes.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2024

In Japan, energy security fears put nuclear back in favor for 2040 plan

The Japanese government wants to lock in greater use of nuclear energy, along with wind and solar power, to secure stable energy supply.
Artificial intelligence is being utilized to detect dementia at an early stage, such as through analyzing characteristics seen in the way people with dementia walk.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 5, 2024

AI tools to detect dementia under development in Japan

The health ministry thinks that about 11.97 million people will have dementia or mild cognitive impairment in Japan in 2040.
Japan’s birth rate has been in decline for decades as more women choose to get married and start a family later in life.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 5, 2024

Japan’s birth rate hit new low in 2023

The latest figure of 1.20 is 0.06 point down from the previous year in 2022 and the lowest since the government started keeping records in 1947.
Line, which has evolved into an all-encompassing app used for messaging, payments, job searches and more, is now at the center of a dispute over its ownership.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 5, 2024

Why Line, a superapp, sparked a diplomatic dispute

Line, which has evolved into an all-encompassing app used for messaging, payments, job searches and more, is now at the center of a dispute over its ownership.
Then Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada speaks at a news conference at the State Department in Washington in January 2023.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2024

Japan lawmakers create group to investigate UFO security 'threat'

The nonpartisan group, which counts former defense ministers among its 80-plus members, will urge Japan to ramp up abilities to detect and analyze UFOs.
About 1 to 1.8 out of 1,000 people in Japan are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 6, 2024

Japan researchers develop drug to visualize Parkinson’s disease in living patients

The study could help better our understanding of such neurodegenerative diseases, for which there are currently no cures.
Amid the rising popularity of saunas, the Consumer Affairs Agency is urging users to exercise caution following a spike in the number of sauna-related accidents.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 7, 2024

Japan's consumer watchdog warns of accidents in the sauna

Users are urged to exercise caution to avoid severe injuries amid a spike in accidents as saunas become more popular.
A man offers a prayer in Nakano, Nagano Prefecture, on May 25 near the site where four people were fatally stabbed or shot a year before.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024

Japan enacts bill to ban encouragement of illegal gun ownership

Such acts will be punishable by a prison sentence of up to one year or a maximum fine of ¥300,000.
Tourists visit Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, where popular sites feel increasingly unmanageable.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2024

Japan likes tourists, just not this many

The country has politely handled travelers for years, but as visitors spill into previously untouristed spots, some residents are frustrated.
A customer buys a ticket for ramen at a vending machine at Goumen Maruko ramen shop in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2024

Japan runs on vending machines. It’s about to break millions of them.

New yen notes set to be introduced this summer won't be compatible with many machines that businesses like ramen shops rely on.
The government plans to increase support for the export of anime, manga and other Japanese content while helping content creators expand overseas.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2024

Japan to boost support for anime and manga exports

The government will draw up a strategy to boost the content industry and promote efforts under the strategy through public-private cooperation.
With a number of elderly people living alone increasing in Japan, the welfare ministry plans to conduct a survey of municipalities' responses to unclaimed bodies and remains.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 9, 2024

Japan to conduct first survey on unclaimed bodies

The number of unclaimed remains stored by municipalities stood at some 60,000 as of October 2021, according to an internal affairs ministry survey released in 2023.
The government is set to start discussing the idea of extending public health insurance coverage to include childbirth from fiscal 2026.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2024

Japan to discuss public insurance coverage of childbirth

The average of childbirth costs across Japan stood at some ¥482,000 in fiscal 2022.
Myo Kyaw Kyaw, 38, a member of Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority who is seeking refugee status in Japan, speaks during an interview on May 29.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 9, 2024

Japan's revised immigration law sparks deportation worries

The revised immigration law allows the deportation of individuals who have applied for refugee status three times even while their applications are being processed.
Tokyo has proved to be an attractive destination for Chinese entrepreneurs in recent times, away from the challenges hitting the economy at home.
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2024

Chinese entrepreneurs bet on Japan

A Chinese-language MBA program has been catering to those seeking opportunities in Tokyo.
Local governments are stepping up support for single elderly people, to tackle the issue of unclaimed bodies.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 10, 2024

Japan's municipalities take action to tackle issue of unclaimed bodies

A spate of incidents involving unclaimed bodies has led to the formulation of measures to provide end-of-life support to single elderly people.
A driving course inside a new facility in the city of Saitama created for elderly drivers
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2024

Saitama police open Japan's first elderly driver training center

Drivers 70 and older have to undergo sessions consisting of driving instruction and classroom lectures, as well as cognitive tests.
Japan is the only country in the world that still enforces a same-surname rule for married couples, according to Keidanren research.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 10, 2024

Japan should let married women keep names, main business lobby says

Keidanren said in a proposal that the government should quickly present legislation allowing for surname choice to parliament.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and digital minister Taro Kono attend a digitalization panel in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 11, 2024

Japan's parliament faces a long road to digitalization

Concerns over decorum and the possibility of the use of electronic devices being obtrusive to proceedings are among reasons cited for maintaining restrictions.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2024

Japan to stick to goal of primary budget surplus next fiscal year

The government will also continue to try to lower the ratio of debt to gross domestic product, a draft of annual policy guidelines for budget planning said.
The share of women in legislative, senior official and management roles increased by 1.7 percentage points from 2023 and 4.6 percentage points from 2006, according to a World Economic Forum gender equality report.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 12, 2024

Japan makes gains in political empowerment in gender equality report

Overall, Japan ranked 118th out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum report, making it the lowest-ranked G7 nation.
Tourists rest in the shade at the Tsukiji outer market in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2024

Japan marks first 'extremely hot day' of 2024

The temperature hit 35 degrees Celsius in Fukushima Prefecture and rose above 30 C in parts of Tokyo, the Meteorological Agency said.
Soyo Hinata (right) and Lillian Ono, members of Climate Case Japan, with a petition for human rights relief before submitting it to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations in Tokyo on Wednesday
JAPAN / Society
Jun 12, 2024

Activist group asks Japan's bar association for help on climate action

It will likely take more than a year for the association to scrutinize Climate Case Japan's petition before deciding what steps to take next.
A tourist from the U.S. (second right) sings karaoke as "mama" Kuri Awaji (left) waves a glow stick at her bar Kuriyakko in Tokyo.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 13, 2024

Tourists get taste of old Japan at hidden 'snack bars'

Snack bars are cozy, retro establishments often crammed into small buildings and equipped with karaoke systems that echo late into the night.
The number of people stranded on Mount Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture in 2023 surged 90.2% from the average in the five years through 2022.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2024

Over 3,500 people were stranded on mountains in Japan in 2023

Among those stranded, the number of foreign nationals accounted for a record 145.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami