Search - japan

 
 
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett attends the opening ceremony of Tungaloy's new plant in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, in  November 2011. Buffett says Tokyo executives are good value for money amid a widening pay gap between local and foreign business leaders.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 14, 2024

The pay gap in Japan’s boardrooms is unacceptable

The job market in Japan is, at all levels, much less liquid and executives are less likely to need incentives to avoid jumping ship to rivals.
Sunflowers are a popular gift for Father's Day in Japan.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2024

Father's Day custom in Japan developed in own way

In Japan, the Father's Day Council was established in 1981, branching off from the Men's Fashion Unity, for the purpose of disseminating the custom of Father's Day.
South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik at the ministry's briefing room in Seoul on Friday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 17, 2024

U.S., South Korea, Japan to lock in security ties before inauguration

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik said that the three countries' defense chiefs will soon sign a pact known as the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meet at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2024

Kishida and Luxon affirm information security pact

Kishida and Luxon also agreed to discuss a pact for Japan and New Zealand to exchange military supplies, enhancing defense cooperation between the two countries.
Japan Post Bank will expand investment into long-term government bonds to take advantage of rising yields.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2024

Japan Post Bank to buy more bonds in light of BOJ taper plan

Japan Post Bank has ramped up investment in JGBs with the balance of holdings totaling ¥5.15 trillion as of March, expanding 1.5-fold from levels in December last year.
Pedestrians shelter from the sun in Tokyo's Ginza district on Sunday. On average, the rainy season begins on June 7 in the Kanto region where Tokyo is situated, but as of Thursday, the Meteorological Agency has yet to declare the start of the season in the capital.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 20, 2024

Japan’s rainy season is significantly late this year

The rainy season is already two weeks overdue in the Kanto region, which includes Tokyo.
The U.S. Treasury Department said in a report released Thursday that it has placed Japan, which runs a large trade surplus with the United States, back on its monitoring list over currency practices.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 21, 2024

U.S. adds Japan to currency watchlist amid struggles with weak yen

Japan spent a record ¥9.8 trillion ($62 billion) earlier this year to prop up the yen.
Perhaps being seen in the company of your own children in the right places — playgrounds, schools, etc. — can make you seem more approachable and allow children to say exactly what’s on their mind.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jun 24, 2024

‘You’re a spy, then?’ The odd interactions of a non-Japanese father in Japan

Remember to keep your ears open whenever you’re near children and you’re guaranteed to hear something that’ll make you think.
LINE, the app at the center of a tug-of-war for control. Line was introduced in Japan in 2011 by Naver, the operator of South Korea’s leading search engine.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 24, 2024

Japan and South Korea are fighting over an app at a tense time

Leaders on both the Japanese and South Korean sides appear determined to prevent the quarrel over Line from escalating.
People holds a banner saying "Protect children from joint custody after divorce" during a rally outside the parliament building in Tokyo in March.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 25, 2024

Gender gap fuels disputes as Japan gets joint custody

The change has proved polarizing in a country where campaigners say sole custody acts as a bulwark against forms of domestic abuse.
A BYD Seal electric sedan displayed in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2024

BYD releases third EV in Japan as sales struggle to take off

Overall, BYD's sales in Japan fell 26% in April from a year earlier, and 28% in May.
Travelers in front of a Suntory duty-free shop at Kansai International Airport in December
BUSINESS
Jun 25, 2024

Duty-free sales at Japan's department stores tripled in May

Record sales were achieved with the help of a significant influx of Chinese tourists and the yen’s weakness.
An ingot of a rare earth metal used to make components for technology products at a factory in China. The country is the world’s top exporter of rare earth elements, but that may change if deep-sea mining gains traction in nations like Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 25, 2024

We’ve got to get deep-sea mining right

Seabed mining could muddy the waters of critical minerals' supply chains by tapping into new sources. But will environmental and legal concerns sink the project?
German and Japanese fighter jets take part in an exercise over Japan in September 2022.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2024

Japan to hold fighter jet drills with Germany, France, Spain in July

A contingent of more than 30 military aircraft from Germany, France and Spain will arrive in Japan next month to conduct a series of training exercises with the ASDF.
Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ken Saito (left), U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo (center) and South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun in Washington on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 27, 2024

U.S., Japan and South Korea vow strategic cooperation

"We're doubling down our efforts to work together," U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
Daiki Hashimoto takes part in a training session in Tokyo on June 21.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jun 27, 2024

Japan men's gymnastics team sets sights on China for team gold

Three years ago, the Russians beat Japan by 0.103 points — a sliver of a number that etched itself into the minds of Japan's gymnasts.
Hiroshi Okudera, a doctor at the Central Japan International Medical Center in Minokamo, Gifu Prefecture, has been passing down his experience of dealing with the sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, 30 years ago.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2024

Doctor urges Japan to pass on lessons of Nagano sarin gas attack

Hiroshi Okudera, 68, who treated victims at Shinshu University Hospital, has spent three decades ensuring the lessons from the tragic incident are not forgotten.
Wrestler Yui Susaki, who won gold in the women's 50 kilogram weight class at the Tokyo Games, is among the Japanese athletes tipped to repeat as Olympic champions in Paris.
OLYMPICS
Jun 27, 2024

Japan predicted to finish sixth in Paris Games medal count

According to Gracenote's virtual medal table forecast, the Americans are favored to top the overall medal count with 123.
Health minister Keizo Takemi speaks to reporters in Tokyo in March.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 27, 2024

Panel sets out investment vision for Japan's health care startups

Since 2019, the number of health care startups established each year in Japan has declined to around 50.
While Japan may not have a large market for English-language publications, there's still hope to grow your career overseas while living here.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Jul 1, 2024

How to make it as an English-language author in Japan

Some writers find career stability in teaching, while others find that the culture and vibrance of this country inspires their imaginations.
Foreign tourists visit Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo on June 14.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 29, 2024

Why it feels like everyone in the world is heading to Japan right now

The yen’s historic collapse coupled with the post-pandemic surge in global tourism has sparked interest in the nation like never before.
Self-Defense Force troops take part in an amphibious landing exercise on Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture last November.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 1, 2024

Japan's SDF marks 70th anniversary as it faces change and challenges

The SDF is grappling with dramatic policy shifts while facing down challenges ranging from recruitment to rising Chinese military assertiveness.
Then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at an EU-Japan trade summit in Brussels in 2019. Abe was an early believer in the need for Japan to strengthen relations with Europe based on shared values and interests.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 1, 2024

Strong Europe-Japan relations are a legacy of Shinzo Abe

Late former Prime Minister Abe was an early believer in the need for Japan to strengthen its relationship with Europe based on shared values and mutual interests.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's new flagship H3 rocket is launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Monday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 1, 2024

Japan successfully puts advanced satellite into orbit using H3 rocket

The agency’s third H3 rocket launch was carrying the high-resolution Daichi-4 Earth observation satellite, which cost around ¥32 billion to develop.
Lakers forward Rui Hachimura will be a key part of Japan's Olympic ambitions this summer.
BASKETBALL
Jul 1, 2024

Japan’s basketball stars set sights on glory at Paris Games

Some think Akatsuki Japan is sending the best team it has ever assembled to the Olympics.
A city street in Kyoto crowded with tourists in April. American tourists headed for Japan have surged this year, according to data from the International Trade Administration.
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2024

More American tourists head to Japan as battered yen beckons

Airlines are also moving in tandem with this trend, adding 9% more seats between the United States and Japan in the three months through August.
Japan skateboarding national team coach Daisuke Hayakawa performs at a skateboard training area in Tokyo on June 12.
OLYMPICS / Skateboarding
Jul 2, 2024

Japan's skateboarding youth turn street culture into Olympic gold

National team coach Daisuke Hayakawa said that the number of skaters in Japan had tripled since the Tokyo Games.
The Defense Ministry holds a lecture for military and police officials from Pacific island countries at the ministry on Friday as part of its security-related capacity-building support.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 3, 2024

Japan Defense Ministry boosting aid to Pacific island nations

Only three out of 14 Pacific island nations — Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Tonga — have armed forces.
People protest in Tokyo on Tuesday against sexual abuse cases by U.S. servicemen stationed in Okinawa Prefecture and the fact that the central government failed to quickly inform local officials of the cases.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 3, 2024

More sexual offense cases disclosed involving U.S. servicemen in Okinawa

The three other cases occurred in February and August last year and in January this year, with all of them being dismissed.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida show off the new banknotes in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 3, 2024

Japan releases new banknotes for first time in 20 years

The Bank of Japan plans to introduce a total of ¥1.6 trillion ($9.9 billion) worth of the new banknotes into circulation on Wednesday alone.

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