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April 25, 2025
 

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HOKKAIDO

The first official government survey of Hokkaido backcountry skiing could spell changes for trails in the northern prefecture.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 1, 2025
First official survey set to change backcountry Hokkaido skiing
From October 2024, the land ministry has been gathering opinions on Hokkaido’s alpine adventurers with an eye toward increased support and safety for off-piste enthusiasts.
The Finance Ministry raised its economic assessment for Hokkaido while keeping it unchanged for the remaining 10 of the country's 11 regions covered in the report.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 30, 2025
Japan's Finance Ministry raises its economic view for Hokkaido
On consumption, the ministry left its assessments unchanged for 10 regions, while upgrading its view for Hokkaido.
Hokkaido Railway temporarily suspended train services after a 61-year-old Chinese tourist was fatally struck by a train in the city of Otaru, Hokkaido, on Thursday morning.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2025
Chinese tourist fatally struck by train in Hokkaido
The woman entered the Hakodate Line tracks near Asari Station in Otaru to photograph the ocean with her phone.
A street in Chitose, Hokkaido. Annual power demand for Hokkaido is expected to increase by 1.2% on average into fiscal 2034, according to a report from the Organization for Cross-Regional Coordination of Transmission Operators.
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2025
Japan sees data center-driven power boom in Hokkaido
Annual power demand for Hokkaido is expected to increase by 1.2% on average into fiscal 2034, a report has said.
Akan Mashu National Park in Hokkkaido on Dec. 18. A rising number of Hokkaido towns and villages are discussing the introduction of a local accommodation tax for tourists.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jan 20, 2025
Hokkaido areas examine benefits of taxing tourists
Niseko plans to use accommodation tax revenue to strengthen transportation services and increase the number of tourism-related officials.
Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
BUSINESS / Companies / Longform
Jan 17, 2025
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go
The CEO and president of Rapidus says the chip venture in Hokkaido is key to Japan's fortunes.
Lantoko, a company operated by Taiwan native Ping-Fang Lan, offers drift ice walking tours and other exhilarating experiences in and around Shiretoko National Park.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jan 13, 2025
Due north: Foreign-born guides introduce Hokkaido’s unique charms
With adventure tourism on the rise in Hokkaido, a new generation of foreign-born guides is eager to greet travelers.
Baby Japanese eels are increasingly seen in Hokkaido but the overall number remains low.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Jan 8, 2025
Japanese researchers connect rise in glass eels to climate change
Researchers said the fact that the Kuroshio Current is shifting north is believed to be behind the rising prevalence of glass eels in Hokkaido.
A sign warns of a nearby bear sighting in Takikawa, Hokkaido, on Oct. 17.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Dec 30, 2024
Hokkaido 2024: Looking back on Rapidus, bears and shinkansen
The key topics are expected to continue making headlines in 2025.
The central Hokkaido city of Asahikawa made headlines this year when one of its suburbs was named as the best place to live in Japan — a ranking earned in part due to the community's many outstanding restaurants and cafes.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 28, 2024
How Hokkaido quietly became a culinary treasure trove in 2024
Food trucks, morsels with cutesy cues from nature and more helped Japan’s northernmost island have a stellar year.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s factory (left) in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Feb. 23, the day before it was officially opened
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 22, 2024
Chip cities rise in Japan’s fields of dreams
Injections of cash are transforming once-sleepy areas, lifting stagnant house prices and triggering construction booms.
Fire trucks gather around a building in Sapporo’s Susukino entertainment district on Nov. 26.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 20, 2024
Sapporo arson suspect dies in hospital
Police still intend to submit the arson case to prosecutors and are committed to piecing together the events that led to the blaze.
People remove snow from a sidewalk in Sapporo after a heavy snowstorm in January 2022. A team of Japanese scientists has concluded that global warming was what caused Hokkaido to receive up to 20% more snow than usual in December 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 18, 2024
Japanese study links heavy Hokkaido snowfall in 2021 to climate change
Global warming caused Hokkaido to receive up to 20% more snow in December 2021 than usual, a team of Japanese scientists concluded.
“Ainu Puri” is a nuanced portrait of Shigeki Amanai (left), a modern Ainu man who strives to uphold his culture and heritage in daily life.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2024
‘Ainu Puri’: A vital portrait of indigenous culture in contemporary Japan
Takeshi Fukunaga’s documentary is an engaging examination of the life and community of a Hokkaido man devoted to his Ainu heritage.
A sign warns of a nearby bear sighting in Takikawa, Hokkaido, in October.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 9, 2024
Firearm permit ruling casts shadow over work of Hokkaido bear hunters
A local high court upheld a decision to strip a hunter of his permit over allegations he fired in the direction of buildings during a culling.
Residents of Suttsu in Hokkaido attend a briefing session Saturday explaining a recent survey by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan in relation to building a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 1, 2024
Locals uneasy after Hokkaido nuclear waste survey results
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan (NUMO) briefed Suttsu residents on research regarding volcanoes and active tectonic faults near the town.
Firetrucks outside a building in Sapporo where an explosion left four people injured on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2024
Suspected arson in Sapporo leaves four injured
The incident occurred at around 3:20 p.m. in a densely packed area of Susukino lined with multitenant buildings.
Seiji Osaka, the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's Hokkaido chapter, has expressed concern over the finances of Rapidus, which is supposed to be in full production of cutting-edge 2-nanometer chips by 2027.
JAPAN / Politics / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Nov 25, 2024
CDP’s gains in Hokkaido raise political questions about Rapidus
The head of the party's Hokkaido chapter has expressed concern over the finances for the project, which aims to produce 2-nanometer chips by 2027.
Akira Yamaguchi (right), president of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan, hands the results of a survey, the first step to select a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants, to Haruo Kataoka, mayor of Suttsu in Hokkaido, on Friday in the town.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2024
Nuclear waste body backs further Hokkaido disposal site surveys
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan has concluded it can move on to a preliminary survey that involves drilling work in Suttsu and Kamoenai.
A prototype vehicle equipped with a laser system to destroy drones is unveiled at the Ground Self Defense Force's Asaka training field in Saitama Prefecture on Nov. 9.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2024
Japan to test anti-drone laser system next year
The prototype vehicle is based on an existing large GSDF vehicle and is equipped with a high-power laser and a system to automatically detect and track targets.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Japan must correct Trump’s false data for trade talks, says Kono
Former Foreign Minister Taro Kono
Japan wants to 'separate' tariff and security issues. That may be tough.
Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, poses with a "Make America Great Again" cap at the White House in Washington on April 16.
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.
Japan set to fine cyclists on the spot for rule violations from 2026
Under new rules, those who use smartphones while riding a bicycle would be subject to the maximum fine of ¥12,000.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
Japan weighs using U.S. rice imports as tariff negotiation tool with Trump
A restaurant owner pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo
Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
Crow meat, goat tartare: Mauvaise Herbe raises its game
Crow meat, shaped into a ball and attached to a foot of the bird, is one of the peculiar offerings of game at Mauvaise Herbe.

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