Tag - japanese

 
 

JAPANESE

Artisan Suzanne Ross says Japanese lacquerware is a "treasure that belongs to the world."
JAPAN / Society
Mar 20, 2024
Wajima artisan’s livelihood, four decades in the making, upended by disaster
Lacquerware artist Suzanne Ross' life was upended by a massive earthquake. Now, she's determined to keep her craft alive.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. A survey by Bloomberg indicates a majority of analysts surveyed doesn’t expect another rate hike as a base case, but plenty of others are warning that the BOJ may not be finished.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 20, 2024
Investors and economists split on whether BOJ will raise rates again
By moving in March instead of the consensus view of April, Gov. Kazuo Ueda secured space to raise borrowing costs again if data supports the case.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 20, 2024
Princess Aiko set to work with Red Cross following Gakushuin graduation
The princess studied for four years in the Department of Japanese Language and Literature, writing her thesis on a noted 12th-century poet.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) and Deputy Govs. Ryozo Himino (left) and Shinichi Uchida (right) attend a news conference at the bank headquarters in Tokyo in April 2023
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 20, 2024
How the Bank of Japan's plan for a smooth stimulus exit unfolded
The decision was complicated by differences between BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda's two deputies, as well as the governor's wavering on the exit timing.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 19, 2024
Japanese business groups welcome BOJ's first rate hike in 17 years
"I think the BOJ has caught the indications that a virtuous cycle between wages and prices has started," Keidanren Chairman Masakazu Tokura said.
Tourists ride go-karts on a street in Tokyo's Asakusa area in October.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 19, 2024
Tokyo go-karts draw over 100 complaints in 2023
Common grievances include riders exiting karts at traffic lights for photos and disregarding red lights, according to the police.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attends a news conference after a policy meeting at the bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2024
BOJ introduces first rate hike in 17 years following pay gains
The negative rates policy, the last one in the world, had been a symbol of the Bank of Japan's ultraloose monetary stimulus lasting over a decade.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 19, 2024
Japan's 'hostage justice system' faces renewed scrutiny
The long-criticized system has come under the spotlight as executives wrongly accused of a crime continue their legal battle.
The Bank of Japan will decide whether to end its negative interest rate policy at its policy board meeting, which ends on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2024
BOJ’s Ueda faces decision time on rate hike
With the end of Japan's negative rate being a near certainty, the only question that remains is whether it comes on Tuesday or at the end of April.
Japan's core machinery orders fell 1.7% in January from the previous month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2024
Japan core machinery orders fall more than expected
Core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as a leading indicator of capital spending in the six to nine months ahead, fell 1.7% in January.
Customers make a toast at an eatery in Tokyo. Many view Japan’s economy as being on the rise, and that of regional powerhouse China as declining. But how accurate is this narrative?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2024
Japan is back, China is over. The trouble with narratives.
The idea that Japan and China's roles have flipped, with the former on the rise and the latter in decline, obfuscates important facts and trends.
Call loan brokers at Tokyo Tanshi in Tokyo in November. After decades of setting its benchmark rate near zero, the Bank of Japan is poised to tighten, spurring new opportunities for veteran traders after decades of setting its benchmark rate near zero.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 17, 2024
Japan’s $4 trillion offshore funds will ignore first BOJ hike
Only 40% of 273 respondents said the BOJ's first interest-rate hike since 2007 will prompt investors to sell foreign assets and repatriate the proceeds.
The best way to eat spring cabbage is to either treat it like a quick pickle by rubbing the leaves with salt and leaving them to ferment for a brief time, or by cooking it quickly so that the leaves turn even softer.
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Mar 17, 2024
Recipe: Spring cabbage has sprung
Although spring cabbage is tender, it isn't suited to Japan’s traditional method of eating the vegetable raw.
A woman takes pictures with Kawazu cherry blossom trees, one of the earliest to bloom in Japan, in Tokyo's Sumida district on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 15, 2024
Economic impact of hanami expected to double this year
Higher tourist numbers and prices, along with a depreciation of the Japanese currency, are among factors contributing to the larger economic impact.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2024
Government OKs bill for new foreign worker training system
The new system is expected to begin as early as 2027 if the legislation is enacted.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 15, 2024
Japan’s labor unions win big pay raises for members
The preliminary figure for the average hike stands at a 33-year high of 5.28%, according to Japan’s largest labor organization.
Investors will be heaping ever more scrutiny on Japanese assets, with negative rates potentially relegated to history.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 15, 2024
BlackRock and Man Group reveal big Japan bets before BOJ decision
Snap up more Japanese stocks and keep buying the yen — these are some of the most popular calls from big-name money managers.
Plaintiffs of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a ban on same-sex marriage and their supporters hold a banner calling for authorities to allow such unions in front of the Tokyo District Court on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2024
Ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, Sapporo High Court rules
This is the first such ruling by a high court in Japan in favor of plaintiffs challenging the ban.
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus One,” which won an Academy Award for best visual effects earlier this week, was made for a reported $15 million — a small fraction of the budgets used by its Hollywood competitors.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2024
'Godzilla Minus One' fought the odds and won big at the Oscars
Once mocked, the long-running monster franchise took on Hollywood's behemoths — and won.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2024
Number of young marijuana offenders hits record high in Japan
The figure for cannabis cases involving those under 20 had decreased for the first time in nine years in 2022, but increased 34% in 2023.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami