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Hiroshi Hiyama
A screen grab taken from a live video stream broadcast by the Shizuoka Municipal Government on Wednesday shows Mount Fuji with a dusting of snow on its peak, seen from the Shizuoka side of the mountain.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2024
Snow seen on Mount Fuji after record time without snowcap
Photographs taken from different points around the mountain, where the skies were clearer early on Wednesday, showed a covering of snow on its peak.
A Hello Kitty fan poses with a costumed character at the Sanrio Smile Shop on its opening day at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California. Hello Kitty marks its 50th anniversary on Nov. 1.
CULTURE
Oct 30, 2024
The 'CEO of supercute': Hello Kitty turns 50
She is the undeniable queen of kawaii culture in Japan — and her likeness continues to make billions for her creators at Sanrio.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba poses for a photo with other members of the Liberal Democratic Party at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday night after polls closed in the 2024 general election.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2024
Success and scandals: the Liberal Democratic Party
The LDP remains associated with the postwar economic miracle, said Tomoaki Iwai of Nihon University.
Trucks are parked at a convenience store truck stop used by long-distance drivers, in the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture in September.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 20, 2024
New rules drive Japanese trucking sector to the brink
Despite its importance to the world's fourth-biggest economy, the trucking industry occupies a weak position in Japan's economic hierarchy.
A popular photo spot with a view of Mount Fuji in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on May 21.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2024
Don’t look now but the Mount Fuji barrier is getting even higher
The move follows the installation of a black screen in a nearby town to block a view of Mount Fuji rising from behind a convenience store.
Rapidus Chairman Tetsuro Higashi speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 17, 2024
Rapidus 'last opportunity' to put Japan back on global chip map
Rapidus' chairman says "Japan is more than a decade behind others" in digital technology, adding that "it will require enormous money just to catch up."
A Banei Keiba horse race takes place at the Obihiro racecourse in Hokkaido on Dec. 9. The unpredictable stop-and-start drama of the world's slowest horse race has drawn new fans.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2024
'Suspense' of slowest horse race wins new fans in Japan
At the Banei Keiba races in Hokkaido, spectators cheer on workhorses moving at the pace of a brisk human walk.
Men in loincloths scramble for a bag of talismans during the Sominsai festival at Kokuseki Temple in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2024
Festival with 1,000-year history succumbs to graying population
Kokuseki Temple's Sominsai festival used to take place from the seventh day of Lunar New Year through to the following morning.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 10, 2023
Toyota beat profit forecast in fiscal '22, upbeat on sales for year ahead
The world's top-selling automaker said it also expects profit to increase in the year ahead on 'improvements in semiconductor supply and the efforts of production sites.'
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2022
The little trains that could: Japan's rural railways keep chugging on
With savvy marketing, Choshi Electric Railway somehow gets back on track.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 28, 2022
Inedible delights: Food sample artisans serve up imitations of grand feasts
With fewer restaurants buying plastic menu items, craftspeople are getting creative with their molded meals.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?