Tag - japanese

 
Menu
Search
 
September 17, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

JAPANESE

Yields in Japan’s $7.8 trillion government debt market are now rising rapidly after years of moving at a glacial pace.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 16, 2025
Japan’s steep bond curve divides investors and challenges economy
Yields in the country’s $7.8 trillion government debt market are shifting higher at breakneck speed after years of moving at a glacial pace.
Chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa and his delegation in the Oval Office of the White House in April. Since then, Japan's trade negotiations with the U.S. have produced no tangible results.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 16, 2025
Akazawa's dilemma: no tariff deal or a half-baked deal
Japan has realized the U.S. has no intention of seriously talking about duties on automobiles now.
A Mynavi survey has found that even dual-income households are facing financial strain in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
May 16, 2025
Finances are tight for dual-income households too, survey finds
Nearly half of full-time workers whose spouses also work say they are struggling financially.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and other ministers ahead of a Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
May 16, 2025
Japan enacts bills to make criminal procedures digital
The revised laws will make trial records digital to allow lawyers to view them online.
"Given the extremely high uncertainties in play, my view is that it is appropriate for the bank to conduct monetary policy deliberately to reflect the actual state of economic recovery,” Toyoaki Nakamura, the Bank of Japan’s most dovish board member, said in a speech Friday in Fukuoka Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 16, 2025
BOJ’s most dovish member warns against rushing to raising rates
Toyoaki Nakamura’s speech comes shortly after government data showed that Japan’s economy shrank more than expected in the first quarter.
The Japanese economy flipped back into reverse in the first three months of the year, with consumption staying below its pre-pandemic level as inflation saps purchasing power.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 16, 2025
Japan’s economy shrank for the first time in a year before tariff jolt
The first contraction under Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba adds to concerns about the resilience of the economy before tariffs came into effect.
Four people have been arrested on suspicion of transferring a food delivery driver account to a foreigner who is not qualified to work in Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 16, 2025
Four arrested for letting Uzbek use their delivery driver account illegally
The suspects were arrested for allegedly creating a Demaecan driver account under a Japanese name on Oct. 21, 2023, then transferring it to an Uzbek national.
Japan is considering adding three more sectors, including distribution warehouse management, to its program to grant residency status to foreign workers with what are being called "specified skills."
JAPAN
May 16, 2025
Japan eyes three more sectors for foreign workers program
The three sectors — distribution warehouse management, services supplying sheets and towels to hotels, and resource recycling — are struggling to secure workers.
As Japan heads into summer elections, debate over the consumption tax has intensified, with opposition parties demanding cuts to ease pressure on households and the government defending the levy as essential amid rising debt and economic uncertainty.
EDITORIALS
May 16, 2025
Don’t overreact to the consumption tax debate
Economic uncertainty in combination with rising prices are squeezing the budgets of households, businesses and the government.
"Jinsei," which follows its protagonist over a century, probes themes of identity and societal issues with a dark comic touch. The director, however, says he created the story without knowing where it would lead.
CULTURE / Film
May 16, 2025
For his first feature film, director Ryuya Suzuki created a masterpiece
With no script or crew, the animator created "Jinsei," a bold debut inspired by classics such as "Citizen Kane" and "Scarface."
The yen slumped more than 2% on Monday alone, nearing ¥150 to the dollar, after the U.S. and China temporarily lowered tariffs, triggering a reversal of bearish dollar bets.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 15, 2025
Rich Japanese still fear yen crash, wealth manager says
Japan's most prosperous households are still scarred by the market’s collapse in the early 1990s.
The Saitama Prefectural Police headquarters. A motorist plowed into a group of elementary school students in the city of Misato, Saitama Prefecture, on Wednesday afternoon, injuring four boys before fleeing.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 15, 2025
Four elementary students injured in Saitama hit-and-run
Four 11-year-old boys were injured in the incident on Wednesday, with one of them believed to have suffered a fractured leg, leaving him in serious condition.
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.
In part due to low awareness that placing bets using overseas sports gambling sites is illegal, access to such platforms in Japan has surged in recent years.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 15, 2025
Illegal wagers on overseas sports betting sites top ¥6.4 trillion, study finds
The findings, reported by a sports organization, comes after two baseball players were sent to prosecutors earlier this month for allegedly placing bets from Japan.
"Federal funding typically accounts for about 10% of our annual operating budget, which is significant," said Ann Burroughs, president and CEO of the Japanese American National Museum.
JAPAN
May 15, 2025
Japanese American museum head laments Trump-led cuts to financing
The Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk, has stopped funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities, which financially supports museums.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the government will do all it can to raise wages, particularly for small and midsize businesses, which account for 70% of employment in Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 15, 2025
Japan to target 1% real wage gains within the next five years
The goal is based on the premise that stable and sustainable 2% inflation is in place.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariff czar, after the first round of talks in Washington. Media reports indicate he may be headed back to the United States next week for the third round of negotiations.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 15, 2025
Third round of U.S.-Japan tariff talks may be held next week: report
Akazawa’s two previous visits to Washington yielded no tangible results.
Along with running a commissary located outside a prison, Shinji Kaneko (Ryuhei Maruyama) carries out requests on behalf of detainees and their families in “Kaneko’s Commissary.”
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2025
‘Kaneko's Commissary’ explores prison culture from the outside in
First-time director Go Furukawa’s heartfelt film stands out from the genre crowd for its informed examination of how the prison complex operates.
Though the protagonist of “Jinsei” (voiced by rapper Ace Cool) is an emotional blank slate, his journey throughout the film takes wild turns.
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2025
‘Jinsei’: Ryuya Suzuki’s solo animation is a singular debut
The 30-year-old wrote, directed, animated, edited and soundtracked in isolation — creating one of the most striking films of 2025 so far.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 14, 2025
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
Attracting more small investors could help reduce volatility due to the introduction of a wider range of investment strategies.
Haneda Airport security staff arrested over theft
Tokyo police have arrested a 21-year-old security inspector at Haneda Airport after he allegedly stole cash from a passenger during a baggage inspection.
Japan's elderly population down at around 36.2 million
The estimated number of people age 65 or older in Japan stands at 36.19 million as of Monday, accounting for record 29.4% of the country's total population, according to the internal affairs ministry.
SDF spots China’s biggest aircraft carrier for first time
The Fujian aircraft carrier is seen in Shanghai in May 2024 as it leaves for its first sea trial.
White House threatens broad crackdown on liberal groups
FBI Director Kash Patel (right) listens to senior White House adviser Stephen Miller speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
Why more hotels in Japan are offering room-only service
Nipponia Hotel Ise Kawasaki Merchant Town in Ise, Mie Prefecture
Pole vault rivals in awe after Duplantis has another historic night in Tokyo
Sweden's Armand Duplantis competes in the men's pole fault final during the World Athletics Championships at National Stadium in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.
Tara Davis-Woodhall leaps to gold and finds redemption at world championships
Tara Davis-Woodhall celebrates after winning the women's long jump final at the World Athletics Championships at Tokyo's National Stadium on Sunday night.
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
Between traditional examples of fine art and sleek, modern exhibitions that blend with nature, Hakone offers a unique escape from Tokyo's urban sprawl.
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.

Podcast

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

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER