Tag - japanese

 
 

JAPANESE

The Adachi Institute has been working on creating brand new ukiyo-e prints in collaboration with contemporary artists such as Yayoi Kusama, whose “Mt. Fuji in Seven Colours: When life boundlessly flares up to the universe” (2014) can be seen on display at “Ukiyo-e in Play.”
CULTURE / Art
May 2, 2025
'Ukiyo-e in Play' showcases traditional art carved anew
The Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints keeps age-old methods alive by creating ukiyo-e prints in collaboration with artisans and contemporary artists.
A Honda vehicle is assembled at a plant in Lincoln, Alabama. Despite concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's economic policies, around half of Japanese firms remain committed to the American market, according to a recent survey.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 2, 2025
Japan Inc. cautiously optimistic despite rising uncertainty
Trump's economic policies and geopolitical risks are front of mind for many Japanese companies. But many remain committed to staying in the U.S. and China, says a recent survey.
Plaintiffs celebrate the Tokyo High Court's ruling in a same-sex marriage lawsuit in Tokyo on Oct. 30.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 2, 2025
Signs of change emerge in constitutional interpretation of same-sex marriage
In a country often seen as a laggard on the rights of sexual minorities, five high courts all ruled against the ongoing ban on same-sex marriage just in the last year.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (far left), U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) and Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator. The second round of tariff negotiations between Japan and the United States were held on Thursday in Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 2, 2025
Second round of U.S.-Japan tariff talks ends inconclusively in Washington
Neither foreign exchange rates nor defense spending were discussed, said Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator.
Both the March jobless rate and the February job-to-applicant ratio rose in Japan, keeping upward pressure on wages as companies try to boost pay to hire and retain workers.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 2, 2025
Japan’s job market stays tight, supporting wage momentum
The jobless rate ticked up to 2.5% in March from 2.4% in the previous month, the internal affairs ministry reported.
The Bank of Japan signals rate-hike uncertainty and slashes growth forecasts amid rising trade and inflation concerns, as the central bank's earlier optimism is upended by U.S. President Trump's tariff moves.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 2, 2025
Bank of Japan will struggle to justify hikes after this
Few anticipated how dovish the BOJ would sound on the future direction of rates or how gloomy it would be on the near-term prospects for achieving the inflation goal.
Hiroshi Matsumoto, a professor at the University of Osaka who has performed autopsies on bodies suspected to have been involved in criminal cases, believes it's of the utmost importance to nurture people who can do such work.
JAPAN
May 2, 2025
Osaka institute nurtures forensic pathologists amid a low autopsy rate
Even though the number of forensic pathologists is on the rise, there were only 173 such people nationwide as of April last year, with nine prefectures having just one each.
Osaka Prefectural Police officers check the vehicle of a 28-year-old man who allegedly rammed into schoolchildren on a street in the city of Osaka on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 1, 2025
Man arrested in Osaka after suspected car attack on children
Yuki Yazawa, an unemployed resident of Tokyo who was driving the vehicle, was arrested by the Osaka Prefectural Police on the spot on suspicion of attempted murder.
Fuji Media Holdings President Osamu Kanemitsu is set to step down from his post at a general shareholders meeting in June.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 1, 2025
After scandal, Fuji Media Holdings marks major net loss for first time
The company has also announced that President Osamu Kanemitsu, who was set to become chairman, will be stepping down.
Police and firefighters prepare to enter a sewage pipe at the site of a sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
May 1, 2025
Authorities find what appear to be human remains in Saitama sinkhole
Investigators had hoped to find the 74-year-old driver of a truck that fell into the sinkhole in January.
The Bank of Japan has been signaling caution in the face of uncertainty.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 1, 2025
Bank of Japan holds rates as expected but surprises with growth forecast cut
The policy board made no adjustment to the short-term policy rate, currently 0.5%, at a two-day meeting that concluded Thursday.
National agency Heritage Malta worked with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure the painstaking restoration of samurai armor that spent over half a century forgotten in storage in Valletta, Malta.
JAPAN / History
May 1, 2025
Lost and found history receives glittering homecoming at Osaka Expo
Hidden away since World War II, samurai armor gifted to Malta from Japan in 1862 has been restored to its full glory and put on display at the Malta Pavilion.
An aspiring manga artist (Mei Nagano, center) is mentored by a gruff art teacher (Yo Oizumi, left) in “Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey.”
CULTURE
May 1, 2025
‘Blank Canvas’: 'Tough love' of the past isn't so funny anymore
Based on an autobiographical comic about the road to becoming a manga artist, the film missteps by excusing violence with sentimental nostalgia.
Tetsuya Yamaguchi at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on April 8
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 30, 2025
How a Japanese fraud group ran scams from Southeast Asia
Police suspect that Tetsuya Yamaguchi, who was arrested on April 8 after being deported from Thailand, was involved in fraud totaling at least ¥3 billion ($21.1 million).
Hiroyuki Taniuchi in the city of Saitama while being sent to prosecutors on April 16
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 30, 2025
Suspect in girl's killing claims history of abuse and low social status
Blood stains on a knife found at the crime scene and on the suspects pants were identified through DNA analysis as belonging to him and the victim, sources have said.
The prices of 478 products, including House Foods' curry mixes, will be raised in May.
BUSINESS
Apr 30, 2025
Price hikes set for 478 food products in May
The monthly number of food products with higher prices will rise 1.9% from a year earlier, the fifth consecutive monthly increase.
U.S President Donald Trump meets with economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa at the White House during Akazawa's first trip to the U.S. to discuss tariffs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 30, 2025
Akazawa heads to Washington as Japanese automakers 'losing $1 million an hour' 
Speaking to reporters at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan’s chief trade negotiator remained polite but firm as he suggested that the pressure is on.
Industrial production dropped 1.1% in March compared with the previous month, according to the industry ministry.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025
Japan's factory output falls in sign of frailty before tariffs
Industrial production dropped 1.1% in March compared with the previous month, the industry ministry reported Wednesday. Economists had forecast a 0.4% drop.
Michiko Takagaki talks about the personal items she has displayed of a relative who died in the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, in Fuchu, Hiroshima Prefecture, on April 26.
JAPAN / History
Apr 29, 2025
Items of an A-bomb victim who died the day he enlisted to be displayed
Just 15 minutes after enlisting in the now-defunct Imperial Japanese military, an atomic bomb was dropped some 700 meters from where he stood.
Climbers gather on the first day of the climbing season on the Yoshida Trail at the fifth station on the slopes of Mount Fuji in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, on July 1, 2024.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2025
Man rescued from Mount Fuji twice in one week, local media reports
Police could not immediately confirm reports saying the man had returned on Friday to retrieve his phone.

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Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
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