Tag - agency

 
Menu
Search
 
April 25, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

AGENCY

A bill to tackle the low birthrate is passed at a Lower House plenary session on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 19, 2024
Lower House approves bill aimed at tackling low birthrate
The government plans to start collecting the fees in fiscal 2026 and gradually increase the amounts to secure ¥1 trillion annually from fiscal 2028.
Ayuko Kato, minister in charge of children's policies (right), stands after a bill on expanding child-rearing allowances clears a Lower House committee on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 18, 2024
Lower House panel approves bill aiming to address low birthrate
The bill will expand child-rearing allowances, funded through a new system to collect additional fees on top of public medical insurance premiums.
On average between 1991 and 2020, the highest temperature in Sapporo on April 15 was 11.5 degrees Celsius, but the temperature rose above 25 degrees on Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2024
Japan's Sapporo sees earliest 25C day since records began
A city known for the 1972 Winter Olympics and hosting one of the country's biggest snow festivals saw summer-like temperatures.
A survey of the 6,975 products with the functional food label was initiated by the government last month following the scandal over Kobayashi Pharmaceuticals’ beni kōji supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 12, 2024
Probe finds 18 functional food products with past reports of health damage in Japan
The survey results come as the industry reels from deaths linked to Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's beni kōji supplements.
According to the children's agency’s estimate, those with an annual income of ¥2 million will see an additional tax levy of ¥350 to support new child care provision, while those with incomes of ¥6 million will pay an extra ¥1,000.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 10, 2024
Japan to collect monthly average of ¥800 for child care boost
The exact amount for each individual will vary depending on income and public health insurance plans.
People take photographs of cherry blossoms at a park in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 3, 2024
Hanami budgets soar as cherry blossoms sweep Japan
People are spending the most on cherry blossom viewings in six years, with more traveling for the annual event, a survey has found.
Ayuko Kato, minister for policies related to children, speaks at a parliament session on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 2, 2024
One year on, Japan's children agency struggles to show leadership
The agency is facing challenges to demonstrate leadership, unable to move forward with unprecedented measures to combat the declining birthrate.
Cherry blossoms in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on Friday
JAPAN / Society
Mar 29, 2024
Cherry blossoms bloom in Tokyo, 15 days later than last year
This year's blooming is the latest in the capital since 2012, when they were declared to have blossomed on March 31.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (second from left) speaks at a ministerial meeting on acceptance of foreign workers on Friday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2024
Japan adds driver and railway roles to skilled foreign worker visa
Japan plans to admit up to 820,000 foreigners with this visa in the next five fiscal years
Tourists crowd Sensoji Temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district in February.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2024
Japan tourism agency picks model areas aiming to address overtourism
The agency has selected 20 areas to implement model projects aimed at addressing challenges related to the negative impacts of a surge in tourists.
The Cultural Affairs Agency in the city of Kyoto
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2024
One year on, benefits of culture agency's move to Kyoto unclear
The relocation of the Cultural Affairs Agency was decided in 2016
Afghan evacuees arrive at Narita International Airport in October 2021. Applicants from Afghanistan made up the majority of those recognized as refugees by the Japanese government last year, similar to 2022.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 26, 2024
Japan granted refugee status to record 303 asylum-seekers in 2023
While this is a jump from the 202 people in 2022 and a new record high, the number is still considerably lower when compared with Western countries.
Foreign tourists visit Sensoji Temple in the Asakusa area of Tokyo. As of the end of December, 3,410,992 foreign nationals resided in Japan, up 10.9% from the previous year.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 23, 2024
Record 3.4 million foreign residents in Japan as work visas rise
Employment-related visas saw significant growth amid the country's efforts to address its acute labor shortage.
Children and teachers walk past an electronic screen displaying Japan's Nikkei share average outside a brokerage in Tokyo on March 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 19, 2024
Japan OKs bill on background checks for work involving children
Once the bill becomes a law, employers will be able to screen prospective employees for past history of sex offenses via the Children and Families Agency.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs recently recommended that official romanization rules be switched from the Kunrei to Hepburn system.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2024
Romanization rules are changing. Why Kunrei won’t be missed.
Japan could soon change its romanization rules, opting for the more common Hepburn system. This would benefit Japanese people as much as foreigners.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi said the guidelines were being revised to provide more examples of positive and negative factors for evaluation in deciding whether to grant an individual special permission for residence.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 5, 2024
Japan's Immigration Agency sets new guidelines for visa overstayers
A legislative amendment will outline the new guidelines to improve transparency and allow individuals to directly apply for special permission to stay.
Police officers assist a woman in front of a police box in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 3, 2024
Tokyo police mistakenly arrest Filipino man for allegedly overstaying
Police released the Filipino man and offered an apology about an hour after arresting him on Saturday.
Prospective foreign vocational school graduates who finish education ministry-accredited academic courses will be granted “technology, humanities and international affairs” residence status intended for white-collar workers such as engineers, interpreters and designers, even if their jobs don’t necessarily relate to what they have studied.
JAPAN
Feb 29, 2024
Japan eases residency rules for foreign graduates of vocational schools
The relaxation of rules is aimed at retaining highly skilled professionals amid a chronic labor shortage.
Ayuko Kato, minister in charge of policies related to children, speaks during a Lower House budget committee session on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 28, 2024
Japan outlines bill for sex crime record checks by schools
Sex crime records would be checked for people applying to work and also for those who are already working.
Indonesian trainees study Japanese at a dormitory in the town of Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Feb. 14.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2024
Only 45 quake-hit foreign trainees in Japan allowed to do other jobs
In the prefecture, around 670 foreign technical interns reside in six municipalities severely impacted by the disaster.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Over 40% of Japan's municipalities at risk of vanishing, study finds
Of 1,729 local municipalities nationwide, 744 have been identified as being at risk of disappearing.
Tokyo issues strong warning on yen intervention as currency dips further
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks during a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on the sidelines of IMF and G20 meetings in Washington last week.
Princess Aiko makes debut at imperial garden party
Princess Aiko attends an imperial garden party in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan's former PM Aso meets Trump for talks on security and economy
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Taro Aso, vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in New York on Tuesday. The Japanese government’s top spokesman on Wednesday played down the meeting as one conducted "in the capacity of one lawmaker" and “without the government’s involvement.”
New workers name Shohei Ohtani as 'dream boss' for two years running
Shohei Ohtani has been overwhelmingly voted as the “dream boss” for people who started working in April, according to a survey.
A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Tsukiji 2030s: A stadium, culinary center and transportation hub
A computer-generated image shows redevelopment plans for the former site of the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.
Hearing the impact of climate change in Okinawa, one bird call at a time
Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass
Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER