author

 
Menu
Search
 
April 16, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Jessica Speed
In fiscal 2022, the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan fielded 4,024 inquiries concerning online game microtransactions made by students of elementary, junior high and high schools without the knowledge of their parents.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 9, 2024
Watch out for microtransactions in kids' online games, parents urged
Watchdog reports surge in complaints of children racking up unauthorized charges on smartphones using their parents' payment credentials.
This year's survey, conducted from May 2023 to February 2024 and released last week, amassed responses from 4,000 children (2,000 boys and 2,000 girls) starting elementary school in April, along with 4,000 parents.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 8, 2024
Cake shop worker remains dream job for many children starting school
"Police officer" and "athlete" were the second and third most popular choices, according to annual survey by a school bag material manufacturer.
Of 26 fires attributed to pets activating gas or induction heating stove controls, 19 were caused by cats, the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE) said.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 8, 2024
The cat did it: Warnings issued for pet-related household fires
Most of these incidents were caused by cats and dogs — and even a baby goat — triggering gas and induction heating stoves while their owners were away.
Sapporo Beer President Hiroyuki Nose (left) and actor Yuki Yamada at Yebisu Brewery Tokyo in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Tuesday, prior to its opening the following day.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 3, 2024
Sapporo Beer opens first brewery in Tokyo's Ebisu in 35 years
With no entrance fee, the new brewery will be located in the Yebisu Garden Place complex in Shibuya Ward.
People take photographs of cherry blossoms at a park in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 3, 2024
Hanami budgets soar as cherry blossoms sweep Japan
People are spending the most on cherry blossom viewings in six years, with more traveling for the annual event, a survey has found.
Warnings have been issued for people to safely use household appliances, including gas stoves.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2024
Warnings issued for household safety in Japan's new fiscal year
The guidelines aim to raise awareness on product safety and mitigate potential risks surrounding household appliances.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 29, 2024
Tokyo police raid women's medical university over alleged breach of trust
The search comes amid suspicions that the university’s alumni association paid salaries to employees who were not actually working at the institution.
Nintendo's popular video game character Super Mario will return to the big screen in April 2026.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2024
Nintendo announces new 'Super Mario' movie
The video game company will partner with animation studio Illumination again for the animated feature scheduled for an April 2026 release.
Akira Toriyama
CULTURE
Mar 8, 2024
'Dragon Ball' creator Akira Toriyama dies at 68
A post announcing his death said Toriyama was “working on many projects” and that “there was so much more that he wanted to accomplish.”
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2024
U.S. asks Japan to lift ban on Osprey flights
The tilt-rotor aircraft was grounded after one of them crashed into the sea off Yakushima, Kagoshima, in November, killing all eight U.S. airmen on board.
The Meteorological Agency has predicted that up to 5 centimeters of snow will fall across Kanto, with mountainous areas throughout the region expected to see up to 8 cm.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2024
Forecast calls for snow in Tokyo through Friday as temperatures drop
The weather agency is warning of traffic disruption and icy roads, with the Kanto region likely to experience heavy snowfall.
A Meteorological Agency map shows the location and intensity of an earthquake that struck off the coast of Chiba Prefecture early Friday morning.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2024
Series of quakes shake Chiba, with authorities calling for caution
More than 10 tremors registering 1 to 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale have occurred since Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 29, 2024
Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani announces marriage
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani announced his marriage via Instagram on Wednesday.
Hideo Kojima (right), mayor of Ginan, Gifu Prefecture, hands his letter of resignation to the head of the town's assembly at the town hall on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 29, 2024
Gifu town mayor resigns amid sexual harassment allegations
Hideo Kojima, 74, a former town assembly member, was first elected mayor in November 2020 and was serving his first term.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 28, 2024
Japan issues urgent notice to schools after boy chokes to death
The first grader in the city of Miyama, Fukuoka Prefecture, is believed to have choked on a boiled quail egg contained in a stew served for school lunch.
Hankyu's new PRiVACE carriages will feature spacious seats arranged in three rows, equipped with partitions, reading lights, and power sockets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2024
Hankyu railway to launch new premium seat service on Kyoto Line
The new PRiVACE carriages will feature spacious seats arranged in three rows, equipped with partitions, reading lights, and power sockets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2024
Restaurant chain Torikizoku to open branches in Taiwan and Hong Kong
Specific details regarding the number of restaurants and finalized opening dates in Hong Kong and Taiwan are yet to be determined.
Regulating online gambling in Japan can be tricky, particularly when site operators are based overseas in countries where it is legal.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 21, 2024
Kyoto police arrest seven on suspicion of running illegal gambling site
The suspects are accused of working for the foreign company operating Dora Mahjong, a membership-based gambling site catering to a Japanese audience.
McDonald's Japan will start charging ¥5 for plastic bags of all sizes at some stores, starting in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2024
McDonald's Japan announces trial ¥5 plastic bag charge to curb usage
The firm will eye expanding the fee nationwide following a trial at 23 of its stores in Nagasaki Prefecture starting in April.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2024
Whale found dead in Osaka Bay to be buried on prefectural land
After being buried for up to two years, the skeletal remains will be offered as a specimen to the Osaka Museum of Natural History.
In a first, Japan issues cease-and-desist order against Google
The Google logo is seen at the company's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California. Japanese authorities on Tuesday issued a cease-and-desist order to Google over an alleged violation of the country's anti-monopoly law.
'Chikan' incidents rise as Japan grapples with mental health and cultural challenges
Overcrowded trains and a lack of legal consequences for groping in Japan have led to a rise in "chikan," or groping, which has been linked to a mental condition and compounded by cultural stigmas.
China halts critical rare earth exports as trade war intensifies
Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, in China's Jiangsu province, in October 2010.
A new tour of Tokyo’s most underground attraction
When you stare into the abyss at the bottom of the No. 3 shaft of the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, the abyss stares back.
Japan’s population shrinks for the 14th consecutive year
Japan’s population has been falling year on year since 2011 after peaking in 2008.
Why Ishiba became the first prime minister to hold talks with Rengo in 16 years
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Japanese Trade Union Confederation chief Tomoko Yoshino in a meeting Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office
In a first, Japan issues cease-and-desist order against Google
The Google logo is seen at the company's Bay View campus in Mountain View, California. Japanese authorities on Tuesday issued a cease-and-desist order to Google over an alleged violation of the country's anti-monopoly law.
Sumo's throwback regional tours offer glimpse into sport's heart and history
Kirishima (behind) battles Atamifuji during a regional tour event in Hyogo Prefecture in 2023.
China’s new bridge-forming barges offer new options for Taiwan invasion
This satellite image taken on March 25 shows three Chinese barges connected via extendable bridges in waters off Zhanjiang, in southern China's Guangdong province. Experts say the new barges could be used to land heavy equipment and thousands of personnel in a possible invasion of Taiwan.
The man who helps Japanese figure skaters stay sharp
Kimitaka Sakurai displays a sharpening stone for working on skate blades, in Yokohama on March 28. Regular sharpening is crucial for maintaining optimal performance and reducing skaters’ risk of injury on the ice.

Podcast

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

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)
BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER