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July 07, 2025
 

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CONVENIENCE STORES

A checkout system equipped with a display showing a 3D avatar enables a Lawson employee to remotely help customers at an experimental Lawson store that opened Monday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2025
Lawson beta tests futuristic convenience store with KDDI
Real x Tech Lawson utilizes a range of technologies, including robotics, digital signage and artificial intelligence.
The first Lawson store at the time of its opening, in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 13, 2025
Lawson celebrates 50 years since first store opening
Lawson is now focusing on addressing social problems to carve out new roles in a steadily aging society, such as opening stores even in depopulated areas.
Seven & I Holdings, the operator of 7-Eleven storesm has pushed back against Alimentation Couche-Tard’s unsolicited ¥7.39 trillion ($51.3 billion) takeover proposal and is overhauling its business under a new CEO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 12, 2025
Couche-Tard sees ‘clear path’ to Seven & I deal with U.S. stores divestment
The Canadian retailer says several potential buyers have made proposals to acquire its convenience stores in the U.S. that overlap with Seven & I's.
A customer picks up a bag of stockpiled rice at a Lawson convenience store in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Jun 5, 2025
Lawson and FamilyMart begin selling government-stockpiled rice
Their sales are expected to make it easier for consumers to access stockpiled rice after it sold out quickly at major supermarkets and other places.
Lawson plans to sell 1-kilogram and 2-kg bags of rice it bought from the government's stockpile at ¥360 ($2.50) and ¥700 respectively.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2025
Aging rice? Lawson prefers to call it 'vintage.'
As convenience stores prepare to sell government stockpiled rice from older harvests to consumers, Lawson says it will offer rice balls made of "vintage rice."
Seven & I hopes to focus more on its 7-Eleven convenience stores.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 28, 2025
Seven & I’s move away from banking leaves market wondering
7-Eleven's ATMs are an important part of the convenience store operator's business.
People head into a Seven & I Holdings shareholders meeting on Tuesday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 27, 2025
Seven & I shareholders back new board to deal with takeover proposal
Investors appear to be willing to see what happens with the radical overhaul, which the Japanese retailer had pledged to counter Couche-Tard’s ¥7.39 trillion approach.
An automated delivery robot carries items during a demonstration in the city of Hachioji in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
May 19, 2025
Seven-Eleven testing delivery robots in Japan
The four-wheeled box-type robots, which can travel up to 6 kph, are designed to run on sidewalks while following traffic lights and dodging obstacles.
Tokyo police arrested five people on suspicion of buying some 2,800 boxes of heated tobacco products, worth about ¥1.64 million, at a convenience store using the Apple Pay iD contactless payment service over 167 times from Nov. 8 to 10 last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 15, 2025
Five arrested for alleged credit card fraud over tobacco purchases
Offline payment, whose inappropriate use is unstoppable when smartphone signals are cut, was used for the crime.
From around spring 2027, people will be able to pick up over-the-counter drugs from convenience stores without pharmacists in Japan.
JAPAN
May 15, 2025
Over-the-counter drugs to be made available at convenience stores
The move will require consumers to listen to explanations from pharmacists online before purchases.
Stephen Dacus, incoming chief executive officer of Seven & I Holdings, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on April 24.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 1, 2025
Seven & I and Couche-Tard sign nondisclosure agreement
The move might signal that discussion on Couche-Tard's takeover proposal is moving forward.
Stephen Dacus, incoming chief executive officer of Seven & I Holdings, speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Friday. Dacus plans to boost investments in its U.S. stores using cash from a planned listing of its American retail operations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 25, 2025
Seven & I’s new CEO plans aggressive investments in U.S. stores
In addition to investing in its North America operations, Stephen Dacus is also looking to review the company’s supply chain globally.
The 7-Eleven convenience store operator plans to add five new directors to the board, four of whom will be from outside the company.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2025
Seven & I proposes five new directors as part of board revamp
The 7-Eleven convenience store operator plans to add five new directors to the board, four of whom will be from outside the company.
The operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores is taking a series of steps to boost its value, including share buybacks, selling the under-performing superstore business and divesting its banking unit.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 10, 2025
Seven & I jumps most in a month on buyback plan and broader buying
The operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores is taking a series of steps to try to boost shareholder value amid a takeover bid by Canadian retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard.
Seven & I Holdings released forecasts for this year's operating profit and revenue that are lower than analysts' estimates.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 9, 2025
Seven & I’s guidance miss adds to pressure amid takeover bid
Seven & I said it expects domestic convenience store sales to rise 9.4% this fiscal year, while seeing revenue from overseas convenience stores falling 3.6%.
Aeon has released a ¥321 ($2.20) frozen bento boxed meal containing peperoncino pasta and a hamburger steak with tomato sauce, which went on sale on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 3, 2025
Japan retailers boost own-brand products amid inflation
Private-label products, which retailers develop with manufacturers, can be sold at lower prices than those of name-brand products because of reduced costs.
Potential buyers for a package of 7-Eleven and other convenience stores have until the end of March to express their interest, Alimentation Couche-Tard Chief Financial Officer Filipe Da Silva said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 26, 2025
Couche-Tard sees strong interest in U.S. stores for Seven & I deal
The Canadian company has agreed with Seven & I to seek a buyer for overlapping retail outlets as a prerequisite for takeover talks to sidestep U.S. antitrust concerns.
Alex Miller, CEO of Alimentation Couche-Tard, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo last week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 20, 2025
Couche-Tard seeks to reassure investors on Seven & I approach
The parent company of the Circle K chain has been pursuing Seven & I for months, bidding almost $50 billion for it, but has been rebuffed.
A 7-Eleven convenience store, operated by Seven & I Holdings, at the company's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 19, 2025
Seven & I signs confidentiality pact with Canada’s Couche-Tard
The nondisclosure agreement (NDA) will pave the way for discussions around antitrust issues in the United States, Seven & I said.
Alain Bouchard (left), chairman and founder of Alimentation Couche-Tard, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on March 13.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 19, 2025
Couche-Tard meets privately with Seven & I investors, pressing case for takeover
The Canadian firm has sought to reassure the public and key stakeholders that it's not considering a hostile takeover, despite a monthslong standoff with Seven & I.
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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