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Francis Tang
Nippon Steel argues that its acquisition of U.S. Steel would be a win-win.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2024
Quiet assurances mooted as U.S. Steel deal shakes global order
Analysts and informed observers have been gaming out the possible outcomes and adding up the potential damage.
Signs expressing opposition to the University of Tokyo's proposed tuition hikes are displayed at the university's Komaba campus in Tokyo in July.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 11, 2024
University of Tokyo plans to raise tuition fees by 20% in 2025
The university expects to make the proposal official by the end of September, barring unforeseen issues.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito, accused of workplace bullying, testifies to an investigative panel in Kobe on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2024
Nippon Ishin calls on Hyogo governor to resign over bullying claims
Nippon Ishin’s move is expected to be a politically fatal blow for Motohiko Saito, as he had the party’s support when he was elected as an independent.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito attends a session of a panel investigating allegations of workplace harassment against him, in Kobe on Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2024
Hyogo governor disputes legal protections for harassment whistleblower
Motohiko Saito said that he didn’t believe it was a problem to allow an investigation into the creator of a document making allegations against him.
The future of 133-year-old remains, which lay buried beneath Kitakyushu for a century, is unclear amid the city's redevelopment plans.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2024
Global conservation body calls on Kitakyushu to halt redevelopment plans
The city said the project will proceed as planned as there are no alternative sites and further delays could threaten the provision of public services.
People at the Sensoji temple in Tokyo in July. The three months between June and August were 1.76 degrees Celsius hotter than average in Japan.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Sep 2, 2024
Japan sees joint hottest summer on record
The three months between June and August were 1.76 degrees Celsius hotter than average, matching the record set only last year.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito (center) attends a session before a prefectural assembly investigative panel on Friday in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 30, 2024
Hyogo governor sidesteps accusations of workplace bullying
In the wake of the deaths of two prefectural officials, Gov. Motohiko Saito told an investigative panel that he may have been a "strict boss."
Although Truvada has been used globally as an HIV prevention drug for years, the movement toward expanding its use as preexposure prophylaxis in Japan has been slow.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 29, 2024
Health ministry approves Truvada as HIV prevention drug
Truvada is the first drug approved in Japan for both the treatment and prevention of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
The Todoroki Falls in Amakusa, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Saturday. Seven high school students who had played in a river nearby experienced vomiting and diarrhea.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 28, 2024
Over 100 people fall sick in Kumamoto with river eyed as potential source
The city has set up signs near the river due to the suspected norovirus cases, calling on visitors to refrain from playing in the water.
Remnants of the first Moji station complex are located near the current Mojiko Station in the city of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 27, 2024
Kitakyushu clashes with academics over Meiji Era remains
The city wants to proceed with plans to build a five-story complex to house several aging public facilities on the site of the original Moji railway station.
An electronic signboard at Tokyo Station displays information about a megaquake alert last Saturday. The government lifted the alert on Thursday but urged continued vigilance.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 15, 2024
Japan lifts megaquake alert after no major seismic activity detected
Authorities note that although the alert is lifted, a large-scale earthquake remains a possibility.
A train in Nimi, Okayama Prefecture, on West Japan Railway's Geibi Line in September 2023. The line is among those that have seen rail tracks warped by this summer's extreme heat.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Aug 15, 2024
Japan’s searing summer heat is warping railway tracks more often
West Japan Railway, Kyushu Railway and Shikoku Railway have all been affected.
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Explainer
Aug 9, 2024
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
How serious is the situation, and what should people do in the days to come? Here’s what you need to know.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday following a major earthquake in the Kyushu region.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2024
Kyushu escapes major damage from magnitude 7.1 earthquake
The quake led to at least 13 injuries, with three residential buildings suffering damage.
Naoshi Hirata, chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday evening.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2024
Japan issues first-ever alert over risk of Nankai Trough megaquake
It is believed that the chance of a major earthquake occurring in the Nankai Trough is relatively higher than usual, the weather agency said.
A tsunami advisory, shown in yellow, was issued following an earthquake in Kyushu on Tuesday afternoon.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2024
Tsunami advisory lifted after strong quake jolts Kyushu
The 7.1 magnitude quake, measuring a weak 7 on Japan's intensity scale, triggered small tsunami waves in some areas.
A bulletin board shows the day's highest temperature in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, on July 29.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Aug 8, 2024
From Naha to Nemuro, how Japan’s cities are responding to more heat
Municipalities are reaching for everything from automated misting systems to anime to help cool residents and educate them about the risks of heat.
The Tsuruga Coast Guard Office in Fukui Prefecture issued warnings about possible attacks by wild dolphins as early as 2022.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 6, 2024
Fukui coast guard warns swimmers of danger posed by wild dolphins
In one case, a 10-year-old who had gone for a swim at a beach in the city of Tsuruga was bitten by a dolphin, suffering a serious injury to their hand.
Ukrainian Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska (center left) and Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi (center right) sign a memorandum of cooperation on judicial reforms and anti-corruption measures, in Kyiv on Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2024
Japan and Ukraine agree to cooperate on anti-corruption measures
The countries' two justice ministries will cooperate across fields such as judicial reform and the strengthening of judicial institutions via personnel training.
People cross a street in Tokyo's Harajuku district on Wednesday. In July, the deviation from the average temperature between 1991 and 2020 — a period when warming was already well underway — was 2.16 degrees Celsius.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Aug 1, 2024
Japan experienced its hottest July on record
The number of “extremely hot days” — those where the highest temperature hits 35 C and above — was the largest figure for a July.

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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.