Tag - japanese

 
 

JAPANESE

The headquarters of the Bank of Japan in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2024
BOJ rate hike bets retreat as traders count down to key meeting
The predictions hardly budged even after one of the policy board’s most dovish members said he isn’t opposed to higher rates.
Bank of Japan board member Toyoaki Nakamura's cautious stance on raising interest rates indicates that the idea of a December hike may not have unanimous support.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 5, 2024
BOJ’s leading dove calls for careful approach to tweaking easing
The board member's remarks indicate that the idea of hiking interest rates this month may not have unanimous support.
A woman is arrested for soliciting prostitution near Okubo Park in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in October.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 5, 2024
88 arrested for soliciting prostitution near Tokyo park so far this year
The arrests reflect ongoing challenges in curbing illegal activities in Shinjuku's Okubo Park area, which has been dubbed a “prostitution haven” on social media.
Prosecutors said Tamotsu Shiiki, 58, had sex with a 12-year-old girl at a karaoke parlor on Aug. 20 after he approached her on the streets, well aware that she was underage.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 5, 2024
Former Nippon Ishin lawmaker pleads guilty to statutory rape
The lawmaker had approached her on the streets of the Kabukicho entertainment district in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on Aug. 20 and was aware she was underage.
“A Big Home” offers a sincere portrait of the vulnerable youth who live in more than 600 group homes across Japan.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 5, 2024
Vulnerable youth look for sense of belonging in ‘A Big Home’
Ryo Takebayashi’s documentary profiles the residents of a group home, but shies away from making emphatic statements about the circumstances that brought them there.
Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s “The Making of a Japanese” is an even-handed portrait of elementary school in Japan, where the citizens of tomorrow are forged.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 5, 2024
‘The Making of a Japanese’: A warm and engaging portrait of Japanese schoolchildren
Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s documentary is a candid and heartfelt glimpse of elementary school in Tokyo.
Japanese creatives, athletes and activists saw their efforts recognized on the world stage in various ways this year. At the Oscars (left) Takashi Yamazaki and his team took a prize for “Godzilla Minus One,” while later in the year Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada (center) took Emmys for their work in “Shogun.” Shohei Ohtani (right) was arguably the biggest Japanese star of the year.
CULTURE / 2024 in Review
Dec 4, 2024
Japan's soft power soared to new heights in 2024
From Oscars and Emmys to a Nobel Peace Prize, it was a year of awards and triumphs in key cultural fields.
The Bank of Japan regularly sells government bonds with repurchase agreements to boost liquidity.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 4, 2024
BOJ sells 10-year cash bonds to ease shortage tied to futures
The BOJ owned ¥8.03 trillion of the bonds due in March 2032 as of Nov. 29, down from ¥8.23 trillion on Nov. 20.
Netflix's subscribers in Japan topped 10 million in the first half of this year, with Japanese content being its third-most-viewed non-English content, after those in Korean and Spanish.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 4, 2024
Netflix Japan subscribers top 10 million
The streaming firm's Japanese-language programming is grabbing attention in the growing market.
Tsutomu Hotta
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2024
Ex-prosecutor Hotta, who probed Lockheed scandal, dies at 90
He also helped decide how to distribute donations made to the Japanese Red Cross Society and the Central Community Chest of Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Keiko Muto, a suspect arrested on burglary resulting in injury charges after allegedly acting as the financial coordinator, is being transferred in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 4, 2024
Saitama police arrest suspected yami baito financial coordinator
A 26-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly acting as the financial coordinator in a violent burglary that occurred in October.
Donna Nelson (fourth from left) with her family members. Nelson was found guilty of smuggling drugs to Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 4, 2024
Australian woman given six-year sentence over Japan drug smuggling
Donna Nelson has said that she was a victim of an online romance scam and that she was not aware she was carrying luggage containing illegal drugs.
Kentaro Okuda, CEO of Nomura Holdings, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 3, 2024
Nomura CEO takes pay cut after former employee charged with attempted murder
The CEO and four other executives will take a 30% pay cut for three months, while five members of the board will take a 20% pay cut for the same period.
An official from the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions writes on a board the results of this year's shuntō annual spring labor negotiations in March in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 3, 2024
JCM to demand pay-scale hike of ¥12,000 or more in 2025
The organization is aiming to ensure wage increases exceed the rate of inflation.
"No matter who takes the helm, Japan’s fiscal discipline will worsen in a situation like this," said Mana Nakazora, a credit analyst on an economic panel advising Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 3, 2024
Japan needs a wake-up call on debt, government advisor warns
The advisor criticized the government’s decision to resume subsidies for utilities as part of the stimulus package.
Donna Nelson says her life was turned upside down when she learned that the man she was falling for had tricked her into smuggling 2 kilograms of methamphetamine into Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 3, 2024
Australian says romance scam tricked her into smuggling drugs into Japan
Donna Nelson says her life was turned upside down when she learned that the man she was falling for had tricked her into smuggling drugs.
Jetstar Japan has been ordered to pay back wages to two cabin crew members for the periods they were suspended.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 3, 2024
Jetstar Japan loses lawsuit over disciplinary action against cabin crew
The Tokyo District Court ruled that the airline's suspension of two cabin crew members in relation to a pay dispute in 2022 was unjustified.
Police officers enforce electric scooter traffic regulations in Chuo Ward, Osaka, in July.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 3, 2024
Luup CEO blames repeat offenders for high e-scooter traffic violations
According to the National Police Agency, there were 25,156 e-scooter traffic violation cases in the year after e-scooter regulations were relaxed.
A Tokyo couple allegedly used credit cards obtained fraudulently using other people's IDs to buy smartphones, luxury clothing and expensive liquor, according to the police.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 3, 2024
Tokyo couple held for fraud allegedly bought and resold 200 smartphones
Takaaki Saito, 32, and Chiharu Saito, 33, are accused of exploiting multiple stolen identities to obtain credit cards to make the purchases.
The yen carry trade is expected to ramp up next year, driven by wide gaps in interest rates, higher government borrowing in the U.S. and low volatility in currency markets, analysts say.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 3, 2024
Yen carry trade that rattled markets shows signs of a comeback
Japanese retail investors as well as leveraged funds and asset managers outside the country are estimated to have boosted bearish wagers on the yen in November.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.