author

 
Menu
Search
 
November 21, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Francis Tang
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida show off the new banknotes in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 3, 2024
Japan releases new banknotes for first time in 20 years
The Bank of Japan plans to introduce a total of ¥1.6 trillion ($9.9 billion) worth of the new banknotes into circulation on Wednesday alone.
Samples of newly designed yen banknotes at the National Printing Bureau's Tokyo plant on June 19
BUSINESS / EXPLAINER
Jul 1, 2024
What you need to know about Japan's new banknotes
The last time the country redesigned its banknotes was 20 years ago.
Health ministry officials enter Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's plant in the city of Osaka on March 30.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 28, 2024
Dozens more deaths may be linked to Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's supplements
The ministry has instructed Kobayashi Pharmaceutical to create a plan to carry out a probe into the causal relationships between the deaths and their products.
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, in December
JAPAN / Society
Jun 28, 2024
Deportations over immigration violations in Japan up 65% in 2023
Foreign nationals subject to deportation procedures nearly doubled to 18,198.
Shimpei Tominaga ran a furniture trading firm in Udine, a city famous for hosting the Far East Film Festival, the biggest Asian film festival outside of Asia.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2024
Italian city honors Japanese man who died after trying to break up a fight
The mayor of Udine proclaimed a day of mourning on Wednesday in honor of Shimpei Tominaga, a 56-year-old businessman who ran a furniture trading firm in the city.
An Aeon store in Yokohama in 2022. Aeon currently employs about 1,500 specified skilled workers group-wide.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2024
Aeon to ramp up hiring of foreign workers under specified skills visa framework
The retail giant is planning to employ 4,000 foreign workers with specified skilled worker visas by 2030 amid a labor shortage.
The Cabinet Office's latest white paper on Japan's aging society predicts that the percentage of people age 65 and above will reach 38.7% of the country's population by 2070.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 21, 2024
More of Japan’s elderly are lonely and have fewer friends, white paper says
Less than half of respondents age 65 years and above polled in 2023 said they had at least an average number of friends, compared with 72.2% in 2018.
The share of women in legislative, senior official and management roles increased by 1.7 percentage points from 2023 and 4.6 percentage points from 2006, according to a World Economic Forum gender equality report.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 12, 2024
Japan makes gains in political empowerment in gender equality report
Overall, Japan ranked 118th out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum report, making it the lowest-ranked G7 nation.
Shizuoka Gov. Yasutomo Suzuki (left) meets with JR Central President Shunsuke Niwa in the city of Shizuoka on June 5.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 7, 2024
Kishida maintains 2037 target for Tokyo-Osaka maglev line
Prime minister pledges support of the central government in helping stakeholders meet the deadline.
To qualify for the advance payment offered by the city of Saitama, the single parent must reside in the city and fulfill several other criteria.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 6, 2024
Saitama aids single parents with advance child support payments
The city will offer a maximum amount of ¥50,000 per month per child to the affected parent for up to three months, and seek reimbursement from the former spouse.
Satoshi Harada, an official at the Meteorological Agency, speaks at a news conference on Monday morning in Tokyo. The agency asked people in the area to remain vigilant for quakes of a similar level for a week.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2024
Strong quake shakes Japan's hard-hit Noto Peninsula area
The magnitude 6 earthquake hit the peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture Monday, just over five months after a powerful temblor rocked the area.
Magnetic paper train tickets have been in use in Japan since the late 1960s.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 30, 2024
Eastern Japan rail operators to introduce QR code tickets by March 2027
JR East and seven other railway operators will replace their decades-old magnetic ticketing system to improve efficiency and sustainability.
Yasutomo Suzuki (second from right) celebrates in the city of Shizuoka on Sunday after being elected governor of Shizuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
May 27, 2024
Opposition-backed Yasutomo Suzuki wins Shizuoka gubernatorial vote
Suzuki’s victory could pave the way for restarting the maglev train line project that had been delayed due to opposition from his predecessor.
The increase in foreign student numbers in Japan came after the government started to gradually lift its COVID-19 travel restrictions in 2022.
JAPAN / Society
May 24, 2024
Foreign student numbers in Japan grew in 2023
A survey found 279,274 foreign students in the country as of May 2023, up 20.8% from a year earlier but still below prepandemic levels.
Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 21, 2024
Japan's revised immigration bill clears Lower House
Permanent residency holders may have their status revoked if they deliberately fail to pay their taxes, impacting only those "with malicious intent."
Osaka Metropolitan University has reviewed its records and interviewed faculty members and students but has been unable to determine the whereabouts of two missing bottles of cyanide.
JAPAN / Society
May 16, 2024
Two bottles of cyanide go missing from Osaka university
A laboratory worker discovered the bottles of deadly compounds were missing during an inventory check on May 2.
Entrepreneurs Yusaku Maezawa (second from right) and Takafumi Horie (third from right) attend a study session on fake social media ads and investment scams at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on April 10.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 16, 2024
Japanese billionaire sues Meta over investment scams using his image
Yusaku Maezawa is suing Meta for its negligence in regulating the use of his name and image in investment scams on its social media platforms.
Police believe it’s highly possible that human bones found in a molten iron pot at Nippon Steel's Oita factory belong to a missing male employee.
JAPAN
May 15, 2024
Human bone-like objects found at Nippon Steel plant’s molten iron pot, with one worker missing
The police said it’s highly possible that the bones belong to an employee who had been reported missing, and are currently conducting DNA tests.
Shoma Uno thanks his fans after a news conference explaining his decision to retire, on Tuesday in Tokyo.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
May 14, 2024
Figure skating champion Shoma Uno says he has 'no regrets' in retirement
The 26-year-old two-time world champion thanked his fans for their support and said that he was excited to move on to the next phase of his career.
Visitors climb the slopes of Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak at 3,776 meters. From May 20, climbers will have access to a new online booking system for Mount Fuji's most popular Yoshida trail in Yamanashi Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
May 13, 2024
Online booking for Mount Fuji climb to open on May 20
Climbers will be able to reserve their places and pay the mandatory ¥2,000 ($13) climbing fee up to a day before their climb on the official website.
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