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Japan's latest report on death by overwork delves into the amount of sleep both self-employed and corporate workers are getting and how that affects workers' health.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 13, 2023

Report on overwork highlights Japan's work-life balance issues

Over 90% of self-employed and corporate workers in Japan feel they need at least six hours of sleep, but only about half are getting it, the report said.
Over 20% of actors, stunt performers, voice actors and announcers in Japan said between October and December last year that they had experienced sexual harassment, according to a government white paper released on Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2023

Over 20% of actors in Japan say they've been sexually harassed

Over 20% of actors, stunt performers, voice actors and announcers in Japan said between October and December last year that they had experienced sexual harassment, a government white paper showed Friday.
Tourists take pictures of an Enoshima Electric Railway train in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, in July.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2023

Japan tries 'nudge theory' in bid to curtail littering by tourists

Thea measures come as littering and other problems related to overtourism are worsening in popular destinations.
Shintaro Mochizuki hits a return against Taylor Fritz during their match at the Japan Open on Oct. 19.
TENNIS
Oct 20, 2023

Wild-card Shintaro Mochizuki upsets Taylor Fritz at Japan Open

Mochizuki went into the tournament without a tour-level win to his name.
A growing number of local governments in Japan have adopted digital technology for over-the-counter services to allow residents to carry out procedures without having to fill out application forms.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2023

More local governments in Japan go digital for counter services

The measure has helped reducing waiting times and burden on visitors.
The health ministry found that, following the reported death of a TV personality in May 2022, the number of excess suicides in Japan spiked for two or three weeks.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 20, 2023

Copycat suicides spiked in Japan after celebrity's 2022 death

A government report is calling for the media to ensure that coverage is in line with the World Health Organization’s suicide reporting guidelines.
A participant tries an electric kick scooter at a safety workshop in Tokyo in June ahead of a relaxation of rules for riding the device in July.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Oct 26, 2023

Violations of electric kick scooter rules on rise in Japan

Cases of violation in Tokyo for which the police took action came to 1,811 in the July-September period.
Astronauts thaw early-stage mouse embryos as part of experiments to grow them on the International Space Station.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 29, 2023

Mouse embryos grown in space for first time, Japan researchers say

The researchers sent frozen mouse embryos on board a rocket to the ISS in August 2021.
Fortnite is estimated to be played by over 400 million people worldwide.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2023

Fortnite developer fails to report ¥30 billion in revenue in Japan

The problem, which lasted for three years to December 2020, was uncovered in an investigation.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Kenta Izumi attends a news conference to announce the party's new economic policy on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2023

Japan opposition CDP vows to provide tax cuts and benefits

The proposal did not include a goal of lowering the consumption tax rate from 10% to 5% temporarily, which was a campaign pledge of the CDP.
Elfyn Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin drive their Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid past the Kumano Shrine during Rally Japan in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Nov 19, 2023

Elfyn Evans cruises to victory at season-ending Rally Japan

Evans took control after the second stage and stayed in front for the rest of a rally held in wild weather conditions in Aichi Prefecture.
A selection of injector pens for the Wegovy weight loss drug.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 21, 2023

New treatment for obesity to be covered by Japan's public insurance

The expansion of health care options comes amid concerns about the potential misuse of such drugs by healthy individuals for weight loss.
A website for a lawyers group supporting followers and next of kin over alleged Jehovah's Witnesses abuse
JAPAN / Society
Nov 21, 2023

Many children of Jehovah’s Witnesses experience abuse, Japan report says

Report sheds lights on abuses such as forcing the children to refuse blood transfusions regardless of their situation, and corporal punishment.
The health ministry's drug enforcement officials investigate a retailer in the city of Osaka on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 21, 2023

Japan to ban marijuana-derived substance found in gummy candies

An expert panel at the health ministry decided to officially add the HHCH synthetic compound to a drug list, with the ban taking effect from Dec. 2.
A survey found that the number of children newly hospitalized for anorexia nervosa in Japan came to 183 in fiscal 2022, up around 60% from fiscal 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 24, 2023

Anorexia in children remained an issue three years into pandemic

Cases in fiscal 2022 were 40% higher than the level in fiscal 2019, before the pandemic.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 24, 2023

Japan says North Korean ‘object’ orbiting Earth after launch

"We need to continue to carefully analyze the details, including whether the satellite is orbiting the Earth as intended," the defense minister said.
The Diet building in Tokyo. Japan is not considering penalties for noncompliant businesses in its planned guidelines on the development and use of generative artificial intelligence.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 24, 2023

Japan's generative AI guidelines to carry no penalties

The government aims to accelerate the development and use of generative AI under the guidelines that it expects to compile later this year.
Bluefin tuna in the season's first haul at a port in Tottori Prefecture in May
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2023

Japan to tighten Pacific bluefin tuna catch management

Under the plan, operators will have to report the weight and number of Pacific bluefin tuna weighing at least 30 kilograms.
An electron micrograph of the bacteria treponema, which causes syphilis
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 29, 2023

Congenital syphilis cases set new annual record in Japan

Meanwhile, the overall number of syphilis cases in the country in 2023 came to 13,251 as of Nov. 19, topping the 2022 total of 13,228.
National Police Agency Commissioner-General Yasuhiro Tsuyuki and other officials inspect Tokyo's Kabukicho district on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 29, 2023

Japan moves to strengthen crackdown on malicious host clubs

Some women end up with massive debts and are forced into prostitution to repay the sums.
The health ministry compiled a draft plan to strengthen regulations on the sales of over-the-counter drugs, including banning retailers from selling cough and cold remedies that may be abused to people under 20 in large volume.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2023

Japan to tighten regulations on over-the-counter drug sales

The plan comes in response to the spread of overdoses mainly among young people.
Remains of a Yayoi Period building found on the former British Embassy property in Tokyo
JAPAN / Society
Dec 7, 2023

Yayoi Period village remains found on former British Embassy grounds

Despite the discovery, construction on the site is set to continue after the excavation of the area concludes in March.
With the envisioned free university tuition program for families with three or more children, the government hopes to step up its financial assistance to households struggling with education costs.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 7, 2023

Japan plans to make university tuition free for large families

The program will cover households with three or more children from fiscal 2025.
U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2023

Henoko base relocation project enters new phase in Okinawa

The project to relocate a U.S. military base to the Henoko coastal area is entering a new phase five years after land reclamation began there.
A sign in Osaka's Dotonbori district advertises the 2025 World Expo.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2023

Japan eyes panel for Osaka Expo cost transparency

The government plans to set up a third-party panel as part of its plan to ensure transparency over the costs for the 2025 Osaka World Expo, it was learned Sunday.
Hanako Jimi, minister in charge of the expo, said that infrastructure development around the venue will cost some ¥9.7 trillion, including about ¥839 billion for extending Osaka Metro's Chuo subway line and constructing roads for shuttle bus operations.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2023

Japan unveils Osaka Expo costs

The government will bear ¥164.7 billion in direct expenses based on the latest estimate for venue construction costs.
University of Tokyo students attend their graduation ceremony in the capital's Bunkyo Ward on March 24.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 22, 2023

Japan to expand subsidized college tuition for large families

Free college tuition will be offered to at least one child in a family with three or more children, regardless of its income.
Kazuhiro Araki, head of the Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea (COMJAN), said that the issue of abductions would not be resolved unless the government put the unrecognized abductees on its official list and negotiated with North Korea.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2023

Families seek reunion with kin possibly abducted to North Korea

Their advanced age and a lack of information about the missing cause them increasing frustrations.
Nancy Mills in a photo that appears to have been taken on Amami Oshima
JAPAN / History
Dec 26, 2023

New Yorker recalls life on Amami island 70 years after reversion

Tracing her early childhood through photographs and letters, 74-year-old Nancy Mills wishes for Amami residents' happiness.
Construction work goes on in the Henoko coastal district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, on Monday, with Oura Bay in the foreground.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2023

Japan to OK base relocation project design change by proxy

The approval of the change application will mark the central government's first-ever proxy execution of a local government administrative task.

Longform

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