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July 19, 2025
 

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SHOPPING

One of the entrances to Pao Compound, a nine-story Silk Road-inspired complex in Tokyo's Higashinakano neighborhood
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 19, 2025
Touring the Silk Road — without leaving Tokyo
Located near Higashinakano Station, Pao Compound is an eclectic mix of restaurants, event spaces and an affinity for cultural exploration.
Data compiled by the Japan Department Stores Association shows that tax-free inbound sales at over 80 department stores across the country fell by 41% in May from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 3, 2025
Japan’s department store shares lag as tourist splurge slows
Tax-free inbound sales at over 80 department stores across the country fell by 41% in May from a year earlier.
Data compiled by the Japan Department Stores Association shows that tax-free inbound sales at over 80 department stores across the country fell by 41% in May from a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 3, 2025
Japan’s department store shares lag as tourist splurge slows
Tax-free inbound sales at over 80 department stores across the country fell by 41% in May from a year earlier.
Japan will be the newest addition to the list of countries where TikTok Shop is available, which already includes the U.S. and the Philippines.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 17, 2025
TikTok Shop to launch e-commerce service in Japan as soon as this month
The service, already available in several other countries, allows users to purchase promoted products directly from the social media app.
Lawson plans to sell 1-kilogram and 2-kg bags of rice it bought from the government's stockpile at ¥360 ($2.50) and ¥700 respectively.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2025
Aging rice? Lawson prefers to call it 'vintage.'
As convenience stores prepare to sell government stockpiled rice from older harvests to consumers, Lawson says it will offer rice balls made of "vintage rice."
"Handguns" sold over online shopping websites. The National Police Agency has issued a warning about toy pistols sold online that are capable of firing live ammunition.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 27, 2025
Police issue warning over toy pistols capable of firing live rounds
Possession of such products constitutes a violation of the firearms and swords control law, the National Police Agency said.
At a warehouse managed by online grocer BigBasket in central Mumbai, employees work with military-like precision to pull off deliveries in just 10 minutes.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 26, 2025
In India's congested cities, delivery apps cash in
Delivery apps have faltered elsewhere in recent years, but sales in India have soared from $100 million in 2020 to an estimated $6 billion in 2024.
Questionable websites appear to be taking advantage of consumers looking for cheaper rice online amid the high prices of the staple grain in the nation.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 21, 2025
Beware of dubious websites offering cheap rice, consumer watchdog warns
The Consumer Affairs Agency urges consumers to verify the legitimacy of websites offering rice at unusually low prices before making any purchase.
Although Japan's rate of cashless transactions remains relatively low compared with those of other countries, the share of such payments in personal consumption has surpassed 40% for the first time.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 21, 2025
Cashless payments top 40% of consumer spending in Japan
The country's cashless payment penetration remains low globally, with the risk of fraud and service interruptions due to natural disasters presenting hurdles to growth.
Prices of over 4,000 food and beverage products, including the Asahi Super Dry beer, will increase in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 31, 2025
Prices for 4,225 food and drink products set to rise in Japan
The price increases in April reflect rising wages and logistics costs being increasingly passed on to consumers, research firm Teikoku Databank says.
Learning the ropes of Japan’s online marketplaces can yield hidden treasures and also help you freshen up your home or closet from time to time.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Mar 31, 2025
How to navigate Japan’s e-commerce platforms and online flea markets
Looking to refresh your wardrobe or home with the arrival of spring? Check out our tips for how to make the most of Japan’s online marketplaces.
Rintaro Sekizuka runs a record store in both London and Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 8, 2025
Tokyo’s vinyl experts say overseas buyers are ‘sustaining the scene’
A weak yen makes rare vinyls a steal for tourists, and locals say it's all part of a circular musical exchange.
Bulk food dispensers at a new 7-Eleven store in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture. Opened a year ago, Seven & I Holdings conceived it as a prototype to test the synergies between the company’s retail supermarket chain and its more-successful convenience-store business.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Feb 10, 2025
Blended 7-Eleven-and-supermarket concept proves a tough sell
It is unclear if higher customer numbers have been sustained, and Seven & I has no plans right now to open more such outlets.
According to Teikoku Databank, January price markups will center on bread products.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 26, 2024
Prices of 1,380 food items set to rise in Japan in January
According to a private research firm, January markups will center on bread products.
People walk past a Dior shop in Rome on Dec. 18.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 26, 2024
Luxury labels bulk up on lower-priced goods to broaden appeal
After more than two years of sharp price hikes, luxury labels are finding themselves at risk of alienating the middle class.
Shohei Ohtani's prowress on the diamond translated into an outsized influence on Japan's consumer trends this year.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 13, 2024
The year that Shohei Ohtani achieved 'yokozuna' status … in the market
To qualify as a genuine "hitto" (hit), a product or service must harness some new concept or technology in a manner that significantly impacts the marketplace.
In the United States, Temu has bid on keywords including "Walmart Black Friday deals," "Kohls Black Friday," and "Bed Bath Beyond." Shein has bid on keywords including "Walmart clothes," "Zara jeans," and "Mango dresses."
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 28, 2024
Online marketing costs jump amid bidding war by Temu and Shein
Both platforms' aggressive bids on search keywords used by competitors make it more costly for other retailers and brands to reach shoppers on Black Friday.
Packages move along a conveyor belt at an Amazon warehouse
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 27, 2024
Japan investigating Amazon for allegedly bullying other businesses
Tactics allegedly employed by the retailer involve the squeezing of business partners in exchange for visibility.
Amazon Japan allegedly pressured sellers to lower prices of their products in exchange for advantageous placement on their “Buy Box” system, which highlights one seller’s product as the preferred choice on a product page.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 26, 2024
Antitrust watchdog raids Amazon Japan over alleged price-fixing
The investigation is focused on potential breaches of antitrust laws, including abuse of a superior bargaining position and restrictive trading practices.
Mercari signage at the company's office in Tokyo in September 2020.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 25, 2024
Mercari to enhance item verification process to check frauds
The company has been criticized on social media for not responding appropriately to sellers' complaints that different items from what they sold were returned by buyers.
Living conditions index hits lowest level in 15 years in Japan
The share of respondents to a Bank of Japan quarterly survey in June who said they have become worse off came to 61.0%, up 5.1 percentage points from the previous survey.
Tokyo emerges as a top market for global tech talent
Tokyo ranks among the world's top tech talent hubs alongside Beijing, the San Francisco Bay Area, Bengaluru, Paris, New York and Dublin, according to Colliers' newly released global tech markets report.
From stalking to death threats, female candidates still face harassment
Mayu Ushida, a former NHK newscaster running for election in the Tokyo electoral district on the Democratic Party for the People ticket, signs an autograph for a voter after a public rally at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on Tuesday.
CDP leader criticizes ‘Japanese First’ policy and calls for inclusive society
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda said it is obvious that Japanese society could not function without the help of foreign workers in manufacturing, health care, construction and public transportation.
JSA’s 100th anniversary event is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for sumo fans
Egyptian wrestler Osunaarashi has some fun with children during a special Japan Sumo Association event in 2017.
Japan's rice farmers are confounded by Shinjiro Koizumi’s policies
Kiyoshi Shibata stands in front of one of the rice paddies in Murayama, Yamagata Prefecture, where he produces the prefecture's signature rice brand Tsuyahime.
From stalking to death threats, female candidates still face harassment
Mayu Ushida, a former NHK newscaster running for election in the Tokyo electoral district on the Democratic Party for the People ticket, signs an autograph for a voter after a public rally at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Kawaii Lab redefines idol pop for the TikTok generation
Misa Kimura is the main producer for Kawaii Lab, a project by entertainment agency Asobisystem whose groups have found success by pairing a social media-first strategy with a fresh perspective on traditional idol-pop tropes.
Craig Mod's life in motion in a disappearing Japan
Mod's memoir “Things Become Other Things” chronicles his walking trips across the Kii Peninsula, surveying “a graceful end to a certain life cycle.”
With China and Trump, Japan defense report says world entering ‘new era of crisis’
A senior member of a Self-Defense Forces honor guard inspects a formation before the arrival of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for a visit to the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on June 30.

Podcast

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

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa

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