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July 06, 2025
 

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ALCOHOL

Karuizawa Distillers, which runs Komoro Distillery in Nagano Prefecture, has teamed up with the city of Furano and real estate developer Seibu Group to open a whisky distillery in Furano.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 4, 2025
Beyond the lavender fields in Furano, a whisky distillery emerges
The region has teamed up with Karuizawa Distillers and property developer Seibu Group to build a state-of-the-art facility to make single malts.
The World Health Organization has backed tobacco taxes and price rises for decades, and has called for taxes on alcohol and sugary drinks in recent years, but this is the first time it has suggested a target price rise for all three products.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 4, 2025
WHO pushes countries to raise prices on sugary drinks, alcohol and tobacco by 50%
The move by the United Nations health agency is the strongest backing yet for taxes to help tackle chronic public health problems.
A worker stirs a vat of fermenting Thai rice and kōji mold, used for making awamori, at a distillery in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2021.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2025
Okinawa city seeks special zone status for production of local distilled spirit
The city plans to send the special zone status application jointly with the Okinawa Prefectural Government to the central government.
Thai eatery Orangutan takes over Lou cafe in the evening, replacing casual coffee and cakes with the fiery dishes of Isan cuisine.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 29, 2025
Come nightfall in Nakano, Thai eatery Orangutan opens its arms
Named after an ape, the restaurant, which takes over a cafe space in the evening, brings authentic, fiery Isan flavors to Tokyo.
Grown in the town of Moroyama in Saitama Prefecture, Katsuragi yuzu is believed to be Japan's oldest cultivated yuzu variety.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 22, 2025
The juicy tale of Saitama's prized yuzu
Locals are supporting the country’s oldest cultivation of the Japanese citrus via creative ways like ownership schemes and turning the fruit into various sips and savories.
At modern French restaurant Crony, sommelier Kazutaka Ozawa impresses guests with his thoughtful wine pairings.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Jun 15, 2025
Kazutaka Ozawa: ‘The best wine is the one that brings you joy'
The oenophile, who recently earned the title of Asia’s Best Sommelier, shares his thoughts on domestic sips and Tokyo’s vino trends.
Canes & Tales' Art Deco-inspired interior is designed by renowned architect Andre Fu.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Jun 15, 2025
Osaka’s Canes & Tales raises a glass to bygone charms
With its creative cocktails and classy air of a gentlemen’s club, Canes & Tales is a sophisticated addition to the city’s thriving drinks scene.
If Japan Post loses its general cargo vehicle license, it would be barred from reapplying for a new one for five years.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 5, 2025
Japan Post may lose cargo license over widespread driver check failures
A transport ministry audit in April revealed enough instances of missed checks in the Kanto region to surpass the threshold for license revocation.
After establishing Lagoon Brewery in 2021, Yosuke Tanaka began making export-only "nihonshu" (Japanese sake) and later, "craft sake," a new genre of sake that isn't bound by the rules of traditional sakemaking.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 25, 2025
Brewed from rice, water and tomatoes: The growth of ‘craft sake’
Hampered yet inspired by the strict regulations for new brewers, a growing breed of sake producers are making the beverage on their own creative terms.
Food Court P. is home to four offshoots of popular Tokyo restaurants, such as Mikkeller Burger, which serves 10 taps of its own beer and occasional guest brews alongside its signature smash burgers.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 25, 2025
Food Court P. in Futako-Tamagawa takes communal dining in new direction
The newest dining destination in the Futako-Tamagawa neighborhood offers everything from South Asian curries to smash burgers.
Bolstered by a strong turnout last year, Raw Wine Tokyo, a natural wine festival, is returning to quench the thirst of natural wine lovers.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 9, 2025
The world’s biggest natural wine festival returns to Tokyo
After impressing the city’s wine buffs last year, Raw Wine is back with more than 80 natural wine producers from around the world.
A 31-year-old man was taken into custody on Monday on suspicion of drunken driving after he caused a multivehicle crash in the city of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 6, 2025
Driver arrested at scene of Yokosuka crash that injured eight
A breathalyzer test showed the 31-year-old man's blood alcohol level was approximately three times the legal limit.
The transport ministry will consider administrative punishments for Japan Post after carrying out probes.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2025
Government begins probe of Japan Post over improper driver checks
The audit started after it was learned that 75% of post offices offering collection and delivery services across the country had improperly conducted mandatory alcohol checks.
Japan Post conducted a nationwide survey after it was revealed in January that a post office in Hyogo Prefecture had neglected to perform the required checks.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2025
Improper alcohol and health checks on drivers found at 75% of Japan Post offices
The irregularities included fabricating records without conducting the checks.
With a heady mix of sake, food and live music, this year's Craft Sake Week is drawing the crowds.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 24, 2025
Craft Sake Week is back with its usual brand of cool
The annual Roppongi Hills festival is banking on a combination of top sips, delicious bites and party vibes to spread the gospel of Japan’s signature tipple.
After focusing on cabernet sauvignon in Napa Valley, winemaker Eiji Daniel Akaboshi moved to make pinot noir at the renowned Freeman Vineyard & Winery in Sonoma County.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 13, 2025
In California, a Nikkei vintner finds his heritage and purpose
The discovery of a distant relative's wine legacy in California led winemaker Eiji Daniel Akaboshi to look at his vocation in a new light.
After getting her career started in Japan, Courney Kaplan has become one of Los Angeles' leading sake evangelists from her base at Ototo.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Apr 6, 2025
In Los Angeles, Courtney Kaplan says sake is having a moment
Los Angeles has no shortage of Japanese restaurants, but Ototo makes the country's national drink an easy sip.
Suntory President Nobuhiro Torii says the company has the option of simply changing the target market if prices of Hibiki and Yamazaki become up too high for U.S. consumers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 3, 2025
Suntory may shift focus to Japan, Asian markets to counter U.S. tariffs
Its president, Nobuhiro Torii, says it has the option of simply changing the target market if prices for its whiskys become too high for American consumers.
At Japan's top cocktail bars, ice is as important an ingredient as any bottle you'll see on the shelf.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 30, 2025
The cold complexity of 'pure' Japanese cocktail ice
To some Japanese bartenders, the secret to a great cocktail lies not just in the mixologist's skills but also the quality of the ice.
Brooklyn Kura's Catskills, a "junmai daiginjō" (sake with rice polished down to at least 50%), is made with water from the New York region of the same name.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 28, 2025
New York's Brooklyn Kura becomes first U.S. sake exporter to Japan
The brewer’s initial exports are “relatively small,” but it hopes drinkers in Japan are "open to trying" American-made sake.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

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