author

 
Menu
Search
 
November 21, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Yukana Inoue
Digital minister Taro Kono, who is contesting the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, shows a board saying "accomplishment of reformation" during a debate in Tokyo on Sept. 14.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 25, 2024
How Taro Kono lost his mojo
Recent polls have shown the digital minister trailing behind his eight other rivals in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race.
A shopper browses through locally caught seafood at a fish market in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, in August 2023. China has not imported any seafood from Japan since September last year.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2024
Japan agrees to stricter monitoring of Fukushima plant's treated water
Tokyo's nod to greater involvement of third-party inspectors — a key demand from Beijing — paves the way for a lifting of China's ban on Japanese seafood imports.
East Japan Railway plans to run driverless shinkansen by the mid-2030s.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 11, 2024
JR East unveils plans for driverless shinkansen by mid-2030s
The company said it first aims to realize driverless operations for the Joetsu Shinkansen line between Niigata and Tokyo stations.
Redevelopment of the Meiji Jingu Gaien district has trees in the area marked according to their status — trees marked in red were to be cut down in the original plan while those in blue were to be transplanted. In the updated plan, trees marked in red will no longer be felled, and those in blue will remain where they are.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 9, 2024
Updated Meiji Jingu Gaien redevelopment plan to keep more trees
Fewer trees will be felled and more new ones planted, while construction will also take place further away from the park's iconic ginkgo trees.
Seven & I Holdings, operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, said on Friday it has rejected Alimentation Couche-Tard's takeover bid as not being in the interest of shareholders.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2024
Seven & I pans value of offer as it rejects Canadian takeover bid
Seven & I said that Alimentation Couche-Tard had “grossly” undervalued the target company and that the takeover attempt was timed “opportunistically.”
People walk in front of closed ticket gates for the Tokaido Shinkansen in Tokyo Station as train operations between Tokyo and Nagoya remain suspended due to Tropical Storm Shanshan on Saturday.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2024
Tropical Storm Shanshan soaks Japan as flood and landslide risks rise
Shanshan was moving slowly south-southwest of Wakayama Prefecture on Saturday afternoon, bringing widespread torrential rain to much of the country.
A submerged area of Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on Thursday after Typhoon Shanshan dumped torrential rain throughout the Kyushu region.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2024
Alerts issued for Tokyo area cities as Shanshan crawls across Japan
Multiple rivers in and around Tokyo threatened to spill their banks as the storm brought torrential rain.
Vehicles are stranded on flooded road on Thursday following heavy rains from Typhoon Shanshan in the city of Tamana, Kumamoto Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2024
Heavy rain batters Japan after Typhoon Shanshan makes landfall in Kyushu
Later Thursday, Shanshan was downgraded to a severe tropical storm, but it was still bringing heavy rain and strong winds to the region and beyond.
A satellite image shows Typhoon Shanshan south of Kyushu on Wednesday afternoon
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2024
Typhoon Shanshan batters Kyushu ahead of likely landfall
Shanshan could make landfall later Thursday while still a very strong storm, and its slow movement means it will deliver dangerous impacts over a prolonged period.
Sensoji Temple in the Asakusa district of Tokyo. The lack of opportunities to meet people was the biggest hurdle for marriage for both married and unmarried respondents, which may explain the rise in popularity of dating apps.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 27, 2024
Around 1 in 4 married couples in Japan under 40 used dating apps, survey finds
The lack of opportunities to meet people in-person was the biggest hurdle for marriage for both married and unmarried respondents.
Typhoon Shanshan is expected to become more powerful and hit western Japan on Tuesday, after which it is forecast to make its way north throughout the week.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2024
Typhoon Shanshan to hit western Japan on Tuesday
By Wednesday, the maximum wind speed is expected to reach up to 162 kilometers per hour around Amami Oshima island and southern Kyushu.
A construction worker in Akasaka-Mitsuke, Tokyo, on Wednesday. High temperatures are projected to linger on past the summer.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2024
High temperatures expected to continue in Japan through October
The warm fall will follow what has already been a particularly hot summer, with July’s average temperature coming in at a record high for the month.
A supermarket worker puts up a sign asking purchasers to buy only one bag per person, in Tokyo on July 25.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024
Why it's hard to find rice at Japan's supermarkets right now
In recent weeks, store shelves have often been barren, with many shops displaying signs asking purchasers to stick to one bag per person.
Climbers converge in front of Mount Fuji's 5th Station, which leads to the popular Yoshida trail, in Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 11.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 20, 2024
Mount Fuji’s new measures bear fruit in tackling dangerous 'bullet climbing'
Restrictions implemented on the popular Yoshida trail have significantly reduced the number of "bullet climbers" and reduced bad behavior associated with the practice.
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 13, 2024
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
Concerns over a potential disaster have prompted many visitors to cancel their plans and city's to cancel events.
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 13, 2024
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
The English versions of Yamakawa Shuppansha's iconic textbooks appear to be popular among Japanese businesspeople looking to discuss history with their overseas peers.
Workers remove debris from a damaged house in the city of Miyazaki on Thursday following a major earthquake.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 9, 2024
Nankai Trough megaquake concerns become 'real' among locals
Some Kyushu residents are starting to worry about their safety and are taking extra precautions.
Former Kobayashi Pharmaceutical President Akihiro Kobayashi (right) and Satoshi Yamane, the new president, bow in apology over health problems caused by its beni kōji products, during a news conference in the city of Osaka on Thursday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 8, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma to withdraw from beni kōji product segment
The firm said it would offer compensation to those who suffered health problems linked to their products and prevent a recurrence of the incident.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks to reporters in June.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 7, 2024
Koike to work remotely after suffering knee injury at baseball game
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government said that the governor's injury — an avulsion fracture — would take around two months to heal.
Passengers enter Yurakucho station in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2024
JR East to resume production of Suica cards as early as fall
Now that JR East has enough chips in stock, they are preparing to resume selling name-registered Suica cards.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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

Longform

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’
Azabudai Hills, Tokyo’s green new downtown ‘village’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER