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September 19, 2025
 

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SERVICES

If tax exemptions are revised, small parcels containing products bought from Shein and PDD Holdings' Temu shipped into Japan could be subject to the country’s sales tax, which mostly stands at 10%.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 20, 2025
Japan considers taxing small parcels as Shein and Temu expand
An experts group has discussed problems related to existing exemptions, including concerns about the channel being a conduit for illegal drugs and counterfeit goods.
A Musee Platinum hair removal salon in the city of Saitama on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 19, 2025
Hair removal chain Musee Platinum owes ¥1.5 billion, say former staff
More than 2,000 former employees of the company went unpaid between January and April.
Sport climber Miho Nonaka competes during the Tokyo Games in Aomi Urban Sports Park in August 2021.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 25, 2025
Beauty expert encourages female athletes to embrace game day glam
Beauty expert Miha Fukuoka believes sportswomen do not need to downplay their femininity to be taken seriously.
The transport ministry will consider administrative punishments for Japan Post after carrying out probes.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2025
Government begins probe of Japan Post over improper driver checks
The audit started after it was learned that 75% of post offices offering collection and delivery services across the country had improperly conducted mandatory alcohol checks.
Japan Post conducted a nationwide survey after it was revealed in January that a post office in Hyogo Prefecture had neglected to perform the required checks.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2025
Improper alcohol and health checks on drivers found at 75% of Japan Post offices
The irregularities included fabricating records without conducting the checks.
Stacked parcels are seen as an employee stands at a service counter at a post office in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 16, 2025
Hong Kong postal service halts U.S. parcels over tariff ‘bullying'
The move comes as Trump’s tariff offensive on China increasingly affects the former British colony.
Lawyer Shoichi Ibuski (right) speaks during a news conference in Tokyo along with Wayomi, younger sister of Wishma Sandamali who died in 2021 while in detention.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 4, 2025
Family of Sri Lankan woman who died in custody to sue Japan for footage
Attorney Shoichi Ibuski, representing the family, told reporters that the government's refusal suggests there may be “inconvenient information for immigration authorities.”
Customers browse Amorepacific cosmetics at the store inside the company's headquarters in Seoul.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 31, 2025
Seoul overtakes Paris in beauty boom with dealmakers rushing in
South Korea last year became the top exporter of cosmetics to the United States, overtaking France, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission.
The Immigration Services Agency in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2025
Imabari Shipbuilding loses technical intern certification
The firm will be unable to accept foreign trainees for the next five years.
The Japanese postal mark displayed on a Japan Post post box in Tokyo
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2025
Number of Japan Post clients affected by misuse of information rises to 10 million
"We deeply apologize for causing anxiety and worry," Japan Post Holdings Managing Executive Officer Miho Ichiki told a news conference.
The British government and Fujitsu have agreed to begin talks on compensation for the Post Office scandal involving the Horizon accounting software developed by the Japanese company.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2025
Britain and Fujitsu to begin compensation talks over post office scandal
More than 700 people were indicted on embezzlement and other charges by 2015, but the issue was later found to stem from flaws in Fujitsu's software.
Japan Post Holdings plans to sell a stake in Japan Post Bank that could raise ¥630 billion ($4.2 billion).
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2025
Japan Post plans sale of $4.2 billion stake in banking unit
The company will sell as many as 416.1 million shares at a discount of 2% to 4% of the stock’s market price.
The Immigration Services Agency says it is unclear whether application fee price hikes will lead to shorter processing times, but would “continue its efforts to improve efficiency to minimize any inconvenience to applicants.”
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2025
Japan's immigration processing fees to rise starting April 1
The Immigration Services Agency has cited rising prices and personnel costs for its first price hikes — of as much as 50% — in over four decades.
A message welcoming users back and thanking U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on the TikTok app
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 22, 2025
A beauty industry hooked on TikTok braces for an uncertain future
Last year, TikTok was one of the top 10 largest beauty e-commerce platforms in the U.S.
Otono Kuboki, a Japanese Canadian hair stylist for salon chain Sozo, is a key figure in the company's mission to elevate the viability of Japan's hairdressing industry to foreign residents.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 11, 2025
Can an international makeover help Tokyo salons meet foreign demand?
Sozo Education aims to train Tokyo’s next crop of stylists not just in English vocabulary related to hairdressing but in the diverse needs of foreign hair types.
Beauty salon Dione, which has over 100 branches nationwide, offers hair removal treatments for children as young as 3 years old. It uses hair removal equipment that emits a special light heated to around 38 degrees Celsius, unlike conventional equipment that involves temperatures of 60 to 80 C.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 9, 2025
Hair removal for kids — boosting confidence or preying on insecurities?
Hair removal treatments are increasingly being extended to children as young as three years old in Japan, raising concerns over the risks.
Japan Post was asked by a subcontractor entrusted with Yu-Pack parcel deliveries to raise the commission fees it paid, in light of rising costs, but Japan Post left subcontracting fees unchanged without discussion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 8, 2025
Japan Post also received FTC guidance for second subcontractor issue
Postal service company was asked by a subcontractor to raise the commission fees it paid, in light of rising costs, but made no change.
An investigation conducted by the antitrust watchdog in 2023 and 2024 found that a post office in the Kanto region collected penalty fees from subcontractors without giving them a sufficient explanation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025
Japan Post received administrative guidance over poorly explained penalties
Penalty fees for failed deliveries and for complaints about cigarette odors were not explained adequately to subcontractors, the Fair Trade Commission found.
Japan Post said it will incur losses as a result of Yamato Transport exiting their collaboration.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 24, 2024
Japan Post seeks ¥12 billion in lawsuit against Yamato Transport
Yamato is backing out of an agreement to outsource the delivery of small thin parcels to Japan Post, the latter said in its suit.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2023
Charges dropped again over death of detained Sri Lankan woman
The decision by the Nagoya District Prosecutor's Office effectively ends its probe into the case of Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
End of U.S. de minimis exemption causes headaches for some businesses in Japan
Proxy-shopping services — companies that ship Japanese products ranging from cosmetics and snacks to limited-edition stationery on behalf of customers abroad — are already feeling the impact of the U.S. suspending de minimis exemptions.
Over 90% of low-income families in Japan struggling to feed children
Save the Children Japan domestic program chief Sonoko Kawakami speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in July. A survey conducted by the group in June has found that over 90% of low-income households with children face food insecurity.
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
Still plenty to fight for, says Japan’s team leader at worlds
Race walker Hayato Katsuki earned bronze for Japan on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships on Saturday.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
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.

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

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