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May 10, 2025
 

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DEPOPULATION

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a government meeting on child policies on Monday.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2023
Japan to boost spending on measures to tackle low birthrate
The government will make official a program that will have nursery schools accept children even if both parents do not work, among other measures.
The front page of The Japan Times on Christmas Eve in 1948 carries news of high-profile executions.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Dec 1, 2023
1948: Tojo and six others hanged
December reports focus on some major events from Japan's past: the 1923 earthquake, World War II and the 1970s oil shock.
Self-driving vehicles featuring Level 4 capabilities, which means they can handle all driving tasks, in Eiheiji, Fukui Prefecture, in August
JAPAN / Society
Nov 23, 2023
Japan to start discussions on driverless transportation next month
The services are expected to be utilized in areas where declining populations and driver shortages are becoming a serious problem.
If you spot a wild animal in the city, it's likely lost. Still, alert authorities immediately to prevent any unpleasantness.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Longform
Nov 13, 2023
The concrete forest: Bears, boars and more head to the cities
Warmer winters, less food and an aging society all play a part in why wild animals are increasingly venturing into human-populated areas.
Chinese working women, like in most countries, bear an unfair and disproportional burden when it comes to family care and household work.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2023
Gender roles and explaining China’s fertility drought
Because the focus has been on the impact of high childrearing costs, the career penalty on women when they have a child has largely been overlooked.
The family grave of Toshihide Matsumoto is dismantled in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture. An increasing number of Japanese people are opting to permanently close their family graves as traditional family structures continue to change.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2023
Graying Japan faces a grave problem
Services designed to help people move or scatter their ancestors' ashes and close up family graves are experiencing increased demand.
The front entrance gate leading to the former Ashigakubo Elementary School in Yokose, Saitama Prefecture. The school, which was more than a century old, was forced to close in 2009.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2023
School's out forever in aging Japan
As the number of children in Japan decreases, public money has been made available to help municipalities repurpose old schools.
The Self-Defense Forces face numerous obstacles in meeting their recruitment targets: Demographics, private-sector competition and image and morale issues.
EDITORIALS
Nov 3, 2023
The SDF has a big problem: Filling its ranks
The Japanese government needs to take steps to address SDF recruitment challenges that put the nation's security at risk.
A man stands next to a robot in use at ROLEC Gehause-Systeme in Rinteln, Germany on Oct. 6
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023
As baby boomers retire, German businesses turn to robots
Small and medium-sized companies are turning to automation as the gradual retirement of the post-war "baby boom" generation tightens the labor squeeze.
The simplest option for many Japanese industries facing labor shortages might be to do what the taxi sector is doing — keep people in the workforce longer.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 26, 2023
Octogenarian taxi drivers to the labor-crunch rescue
An option for many Japanese industries facing labor shortages might be to do what the taxi sector is doing — keep people in the workforce longer.
A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 20, 2023
Table for one? What depopulation in Japan means for dinner.
As Japan’s population ages and more people find themselves isolated, solving their dietary needs is shaping the way the country feeds itself.
Ground Self-Defense Force members take part in a military review in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, in October 2018.
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2023
'Not proud at all': Japan struggles to recruit for Self-Defense Forces
Experts have said that the country's armed forces could be weakened because of a lack of personnel.
A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Oct 9, 2023
Downsizing dinner: Aging Japan is eating less
As older citizens' shrinking appetites lead to less on the plate, businesses are having to adjust to a new market.
A worker in a factory that makes seats for BMW in Shenyang, China, on Sept. 11. China, facing an economic slump, wants to make its industrial northeast more productive, turning to policies that some economists say have outlived their time.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 27, 2023
Slowing and in debt, can China’s industrial heartland be revived?
The country, facing an economic slump, wants to make its northeast more productive, turning to policies some economists say have outlived their time.
The Nikkei stock index on June 1. Japan equity has gained 95% since 2020, the highest rate among G7 nations.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 25, 2023
Japan shows how to defeat secular stagnation
Outperforming other G7 countries on several economic indicators, Japan is demonstrating how prosperity can grow despite a shrinking population.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 25, 2023
As farmers gray, Japan pins hopes on robots and smart agriculture
The agriculture ministry is currently supporting the development and testing of related technologies by companies in 217 districts across Japan.
Couples prepare to have their photo taken during a wedding photography shoot on a in Shanghai on Sept. 6.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2023
Fewer 'I dos' ruin the party for China's $500 billion wedding industry
The trend is worrying officials trying to revive marriage rates and birth rates, which dropped to record lows last year.
Delivery trucks at a parking area along the highway in Chiba Prefecture in April
JAPAN / Society
Sep 14, 2023
Japan set to expand visa framework to tackle driver shortage
The planned expansion of the visa framework is to attract foreign nationals to the logistics industries and to address the driver shortage problem.
Kohei Saito, a philosophy professor at the University of Tokyo who appears regularly in Japanese media to discuss his ideas, at home in Tokyo on March 16.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 7, 2023
Can shrinking be good for Japan? A Marxist bestseller makes the case.
Saito has tapped into what he describes as a growing disillusionment in Japan with capitalism’s ability to solve the problems people see around them.
Nihon Coffin showcases its products at Endex Japan 2023, an annual funeral and cemetery exhibition that was held at Tokyo Big Sight from Aug. 29 to 31.
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2023
End-of-life companies look to innovate as Japan's deaths keep rising
A record 1.57 million people died in 2022, up from 1.25 million in 2012, and facilities to store dead bodies are becoming increasingly scarce.
Global militaries to study India-Pakistan fighter jet battle
The Indian Air Force's Rafale fighter jets. India and Pakistan aircraft engaged in a dogfight on Wednesday.
Man admitted to 2025 Osaka Expo with 85-year-old ticket
The Osaka Expo, which opened last month, runs through mid-October.
In his first appearance, Pope Leo offers three big clues about his papacy
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States, appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Thursday.
Economists debate consumption-tax cut as Japanese politicians warm to the idea
A supermarket in Chiba. Politicians in Japan might cut the consumption tax to help households and the economy.
Two men arrested after storming Tokyo elementary school and injuring staff
Tachikawa Municipal 3rd Elementary School, where two men broke in on Thursday
With a new Shibuya studio, Apple Music bets big on Japan
Apple Music personalities (from left) Ebro Darden, Kentaro Ochiai, Zane Lowe and Mino came together for a special recording in late April to discuss music and celebrate the newly opened Apple Music studio in Tokyo.
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 expands to become one of Asia's largest startup events
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 was bustling with participants of various nationalities Thursday, and multiple languages could be heard around the room as many engaged in conversations throughout the day.
Celebrating Japan’s defeat at Shimoda’s Black Ships Festival
Tatsumi Onose (right), who plays the part of Commodore Matthew Perry in Shimoda's Black Ship Festival, says the historical episode the event is based on should be remembered for its positives more than its negatives.
'Big picture thinker': Ispace CEO Hakamada on reaching the moon and dreaming of starships
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of Ispace, says his primary interest in space development is not to abandon Earth, but to protect it.
The drive for luxury: Aston Martin Asia's president explains the desire for more
While for Aston Martin, it’s all about delivering luxury, their regional president for Asia Gregory Adams' start in the auto industry in Japan was far more humble.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan
By Hanako Lowry

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