Search - japan

 
 
Trump tosses a MAGA hat to the crowd during an event in which he unveiled new tariffs in the White House on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 3, 2025

Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%

The higher "reciprocal” rates are based on a government tally of levies and nontariff barriers that countries impose on U.S. goods.
Ruling and opposition parties are discussing strengthening parliamentary oversight of government activities under a planned active cyberdefense law.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2025

Japan eyes stricter Diet oversight of active cyberdefense

If the ruling and opposition sides agree, a revised bill on the issue will be submitted as early as Friday.
New students of the University of Tokyo attend an entrance ceremony at the Budokan Hall in Tokyo in April 2023.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2025

Half of college students in Japan worry about living costs

Some students have said they refrain from buying things more often than they have previously.
Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shinsuke Yamanaka
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2025

Japan to revise nuclear disaster response guidelines

Under current guidelines, the shelter-in-place period after a nuclear disaster and the timing of its lifting are not specified.
Fuji Television Network President Kenji Shimizu (center) visits the communications ministry in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2025

Japan's government warns Fuji TV over handling of scandal

Dalton Investments, a major shareholder in Fuji Media, said Thursday that it has demanded the resignation of executives at the media group over the scandal.
Unexploded U.S. military ordnance found in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture, on March 24
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2025

Unexploded ordnance still haunts Okinawa 80 years after WWII battle

Despite decades of clearance efforts, roughly 1,900 metric tons of deadly remnants are estimated to remain buried beneath the land.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on April 1. He has said that Japan is facing a "national crisis" following the introduction of new tariffs by the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 4, 2025

Japan digs deep to address 'national crisis' caused by Trump tariffs

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vows to "unite the entire country" in response to the crisis.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 5, 2025

Ishiba says he plans to speak to Trump about tariffs in coming days

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that these talks could see Japan offer a fresh investment package, though he ruled out a small, piecemeal deal.
Leaders of ruling and opposition political parties meet Friday at the Diet building in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 6, 2025

Calls for consumption tax cut increasing in Japan

With food and other prices still rising, even ruling party officials have started to demand consumption tax cuts as a key policy for this summer's elections.
Vehicles used for ride-hailing services in the city of Kiryu, in Gunma Prefecture
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2025

Ride-hailing services spreading in Japan

About 3,300 people have registered as ride-hailing drivers in central Tokyo and other areas.
Hiroko Hashimoto, head of the U.N. Women Japan National Committee, in an interview on March 25 in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 6, 2025

U.N. group Japan chief warns of backlash against women's rights

Major cuts in U.S. foreign aid are affecting organizations that support women in Ukraine and elsewhere.
At the launch ceremony on Sunday of the Self-Defense Forces Maritime Transport Group in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani presents the unit's group flag.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2025

Inaugural ceremony held for Japan SDF's Maritime Transport Group

The Maritime Transport Group was launched on March 24 as a unit jointly run by the Ground, Maritime and Air Self Defense Forces under the direct oversight of the defense minister.
A medical helicopter pilot and other survivors are rescued after the aircraft crashed off the coast of Tsushima Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2025

Three dead after medical helicopter crashes in waters off Nagasaki

An 86-year-old female patient, her 68-year-old son and a 34-year-old doctor died in the crash.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in a video message shown at a national rally demanding the return of the Northern Territories held in Tokyo in February.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2025

Russia bans Japanese NGO amid disputed islands row

The four islands were captured by the Soviet military during the final months of the war, and have been held by Moscow since, in what Tokyo describes as an "illegal occupation."
Details on rocks on the Ryugu and Bennu asteroids have been identified from their photographs using artificial intelligence technology.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 8, 2025

Japan researchers rapidly identify rocks on asteroids using AI

A University of Tokyo team achieved the feat with an AI-based rock identification tool that was fed information on rocks on Earth and other celestial bodies.
The House of Representatives passed an active cyber defense bill on Tuesday in the Diet.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 8, 2025

Japan's Lower House passes active cyber defense bill

The bill is expected to be enacted by the end of the current ordinary Diet session, with the government planning to fully introduce an active cyber defense system in 2027.
Commuters in Tokyo. ARIs are infectious diseases with respiratory symptoms, such as COVID-19 and influenza.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 8, 2025

Japan begins monitoring acute respiratory infections

The number of patients with ARIs will be published to help the public protect themselves from infections.
Former Kanto Rengo member Tetsuya Yamaguchi arrives at Haneda Airport in Tokyo's Ota Ward on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 9, 2025

Ex-member of 'Kanto Rengo' quasi-gang group arrested

Tetsuya Yamaguchi, 46, was arrested for his alleged involvement in a phone scam operation in Cambodia.
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, who Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has appointed Japan's tariff negotiator, is one of his closest allies and busiest ministers.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 9, 2025

Who is Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariffs negotiator?

The man tasked with convincing the U.S. drop its tariffs on Japanese goods is one of the prime minister's closest allies and busiest ministers.
Stockpiled rice at a rice-polishing factory in Saitama Prefecture in March
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2025

Japan to release stockpiled rice monthly amid record high prices

The move comes after two previous releases appeared to have had little effect in stabilizing prices.
U.S. Steel shares tumbled as much as 16% Wednesday after President Donald Trump made a fresh remark signaling his opposition to a buyout by Nippon Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 10, 2025

Trump says he does not want to see U.S. Steel go to Japan

Trump told White House reporters that U.S. Steel is a special company, throwing cold water on expectations that Nippon Steel's buyout efforts might start to make progress.
Scrambles against Chinese military aircraft account for 464, or 65.9%, down by 15, according to the Defense Ministry.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2025

Japan defense force scrambled fighter jets 704 times in fiscal 2024

Scrambles against Chinese military aircraft accounted for 65.9% of the total, and the number of Chinese drones detected by the ministry more than tripled to 30.
Takeshi Iwaya will be the first Japanese foreign minister to attend such a meeting since April 2018.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 11, 2025

Japan's foreign minister to attend NPT review prep meeting

Takeshi Iwaya will be the first Japanese foreign minister to attend such a meeting since April 2018.
Japan celebrates after beating Canada to secure a spot in the Billie Jean King Cup finals at Ariake Colosseum on Sunday.
TENNIS
Apr 14, 2025

Japan gets past Canada to book spot in Billie Jean King Cup finals

The United States also booked a spot after defeating Slovakia.
Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2025

Japanese national confirmed dead in Myanmar quake

The Foreign Ministry had asked local authorities to search for the individual, and the person's body was found at the site of a collapsed building Saturday.
Japan’s population has been falling year on year since 2011 after peaking in 2008.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 14, 2025

Japan’s population shrinks for the 14th consecutive year

Japan’s population has been falling year on year since 2011 after peaking in 2008.
Whooping cough is believed to be spreading in Japan mainly among children.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 14, 2025

Whooping cough is spreading in Japan

Cases reported so far this year have already exceeded the total number from 2024.
A rendering of East Japan Railway's E10 series of bullet trains
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 15, 2025

Japan to give India E5 and E3 shinkansen for free

The E10 trains are expected to be put into service in the South Asian country in the early 2030s.
New Zealand's Mark Tele'a in action in October 2023
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Apr 15, 2025

All Black wing Tele'a announces Japan switch

Media reports have suggested that the 28-year-old will join Toyota Verblitz.
The head of a child dummy hits the ground after falling from a balance bike on a slope during a simulation conducted by the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2025

Consumer watchdog warns about the dangers of balance bikes for children

Between April 2019 and December 2024, there were 101 reported accidents involving such bikes.

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