shopping

The nation's four major department store chains saw double-digit growth in their sales in September from a year earlier as consumers hurried to buy luxury items before the consumption tax hike to 10 percent from 8 percent, their monthly reports showed Tuesday. The levels of ...

At around 10 p.m. on a Thursday in early August, foot traffic at a dining and drinking district only one stop from Tokyo's Ikebukuro Station was unexpectedly sparse despite warm summer weather — ideal conditions for a cold beverage, or two. Across streetcar tracks and ...

The summer sales battle is intensifying as the year's rainy period officially ended Wednesday after bringing a record-breaking lack of sunshine. The Meteorological Agency on Wednesday announced the end of the rainy season in the Tohoku region, declaring the end of the rainy period throughout ...

The first on-campus Muji store will open on Thursday at the Musashino Art University in Tokyo, featuring a selection of the brand's regular daily merchandise, a cafe and a workshop. Masaaki Kanai, chairman of Ryohin Keikaku Co., gives a speech at a new Muji store ...

Fast Retailing Co., operator of the Uniqlo casual clothing chain, said Wednesday it will switch from plastic to paper shopping bags from September, joining worldwide efforts to tackle what many believe is one of the most pressing environmental issues. Under the plan, the company aims ...

Some users of Yahoo Japan Corp. are rising up against Japan's biggest web portal after the rollout of a new rating system that's being compared with a social-scoring initiative in China. The 48 million people with a Yahoo! Japan ID will have to opt out ...

NEC Corp. demonstrates its facial recognition system that it says will help passengers board planes faster without having to present passports or boarding passes.

Amazon.com Inc.'s Japanese unit and Life Corp., one of the country's major supermarket chains, said Thursday they will join forces to sell fresh foods online starting later this year, aiming to attract elderly and busy customers. In Amazon's first tie-up with a Japanese supermarket operator, ...

Internet shopping provides benefits to both sellers and consumers, and should be regarded as the main player in the third revolution in the distribution of goods.

In Osaka's busy Minami downtown district, a rental office company offered a special service targeted at fathers and children just for Golden Week — a special room for rent where they could rest while other family members shopped. The firm, Naniwa Midosuji Hall, offered space ...

Lawson Inc. will introduce self-checkout systems in all 14,000 of its convenience stores by October to cope with Japan's chronic labor shortage and ease the burden on existing employees, company sources said Monday. Customers across the nation will process their purchases by scanning barcodes themselves ...