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Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left), Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong (center left), Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (center right) and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles gather for their two-plus-two meeting in Queenscliff, Australia, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 5, 2024

Japan and Australia look to closer cooperation to deter China

The quasi-allies have committed to coordinate their national security policies “more closely than ever before.”
Asahidake in Daisetsuzan is located in the town of Higashikawa, Hokkaido, which ranked as the most comfortable municipality in 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 9, 2024

Small Hokkaido town ranked most comfortable place to live in Japan

Higashikawa, a small town with a population of just 8,000, was rated highly due to its friendliness and safe environment.
Environment Minister Shintaro Ito (right) receives the International Atomic Energy Agency's final expert report on Japan's plan to reuse soil and radioactive waste from decontaminated areas affected by the Fukushima nuclear accident, in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2024

IAEA supports Japan's recycling and disposal plan for Fukushima soil

After three expert safety review missions on the issue of contaminated soil since 2023, the IAEA says Japan's approach is consistent with international standards.
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.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, 43, is one of two contenders who have consistently outperformed other candidates in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership race in recent polls conducted both among the general public and LDP supporters.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 11, 2024

Nine hopefuls vie for LDP presidency in complex election

The leadership race is the most crowded in the ruling party’s history and one of its most unpredictable in decades.
Elementary school students in Japan are often assigned roles like "class helper" as a way of instilling a sense of responsibility.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 12, 2024

From kanji to math, what does a day at a Japanese elementary school look like?

Head back to school with this week's language lesson and learn the basics of what's heard in a classroom, as well as the activities in between.
Nine candidates, including Toshimitsu Motegi at the podium, attend a kick off event on Thursday for their campaigning in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 12, 2024

Ishiba and Koizumi speed ahead as LDP presidential race kicks off

Despite a decline in the LDP’s image due to a large-scale political funds scandal, Ishiba and Koizumi have remained surprisingly popular with the public.
(From left) Economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, former Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, digital minister Taro Kono, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi pose for photographs at the ruling party's headquarters in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 13, 2024

LDP presidential candidates field questions on political reform and economy

At their first joint news conference after the start of campaigning, they gave their views on party and political reform and argued for a strong economic strategy.
Students sit under a misting system during recess at Hikarigaoka Haru no Kaze Elementary School in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, on Sept. 6.
JAPAN / Society / Boiling Point
Sep 16, 2024

Japan’s schools battle to keep kids cool, with or without AC

With extreme heat affecting both health and study, schools are racing to plug AC gaps while experimenting with creative, cheaper solutions.
Women in managerial positions at Japanese firms has topped 10%, but the figure still lags far behind those in European countries and the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 17, 2024

Women in managerial posts top 10% for first time in Japan

Women in managerial roles are slowly increasing in Japan, but the country remains far from the government's 30% target for this decade.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the opening day of the U.K. Labour Party annual conference in Liverpool on Sunday
WORLD / Politics
Sep 23, 2024

Starmer struggles to reclaim ‘change’ narrative after missteps

Labour is facing backlash for cutting winter energy aid for millions of pensioners in an effort to fix national finances amid donor scandals.
Italian former prime minister and economist Mario Draghi (left) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen take part in a joint news conference about the future of European competitiveness at the EU headquarters in Brussels on Sept. 9.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 25, 2024

Draghi warns Europe — and Japan — about the failure to innovate

The warning could not be clearer. Europe faces “an existential crisis.” “Over time, we will inexorably become less prosperous, less equal, less secure and, as a result, less free to choose our destiny.” Moreover, “without action, we will have to either compromise our welfare, our environment...
Helping your child through their first experience with a school bully can be a difficult situation to navigate — doubly so if you're trying to do so as a non-Japanese resident in Japan.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 30, 2024

What’s a mother to do when your non-Japanese child is bullied in school?

The school experience in conformist Japan can be difficult for students who don't share things like skin color and language in common with their fellow classmates.
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, 66, has experience as the onetime head of Japan’s former Defense Agency before it became a full-fledged ministry and is seen as a pair of steady hands.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 2, 2024

Ishiba looks to 'defense tribe' to fill key Cabinet positions

The new prime minister has named four former defense ministers to key posts — most notably, the defense and foreign affairs portfolios.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda, seen on June 14, said on Wednesday that he told new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that the central bank was "supporting the economy with loose monetary conditions."
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2024

Ishiba says Japan not ready for rate hike after meeting BOJ's Ueda

"I told the prime minister that we are supporting the economy with loose monetary conditions," Ueda said.
Ayami Sato is one of the best female players in baseball history.
BASEBALL
Oct 3, 2024

Japan great Ayami Sato helps shine light on women's baseball in new documentary

Ayami Sato has helped Japan win six straight Women's Baseball World Cup titles.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks to a reporter on Sept. 27. Aggressive acts toward front-line workers, dubbed "customer harassment," have become a growing problem.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 4, 2024

Tokyo passes nation's first customer harassment ordinance

The ordinance, however, does not include any criminal punishment for those accused of harassment.
The Japanese market for secondhand items is growing, with more consumers using flea market apps such as Mercari.
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2024

Japan's used goods market is expanding, but that may hurt its GDP

The trend is seen as friendly to consumers and the environment, but it can have the undesirable consequence of pushing down the country's GDP.
Electric vehicles bound for shipment to Europe at the Port of Taicang in Taicang, China.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 5, 2024

EU tests its mettle to take on China with new EV tariff fight

The EU voted on Friday to boost tariffs as high as 45%, arguing that Beijing provides unfair subsidies to its carmakers.
There's long been one mantra in mainstream economics: Growth is good. But recently, an alternative term has begun taking root in popular culture and policy: "degrowth."
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 5, 2024

These are boom times for ‘degrowth’

Kohei Saito believes one reason degrowth has had increasing appeal is because "younger generations are not enjoying the fruits of economic growth.”
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Worries about the implications of further BOJ tightening against a global backdrop of easing were again on display this week, with new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba saying Japan wasn’t ready for more rate hikes yet.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 5, 2024

Stepped-up global easing risks making it harder for BOJ to hike

Worries about the implications of further BOJ tightening against a global backdrop of easing were again on display this week.
Internal affairs minister Seiichiro Murakami speaks during an interview at the ministry in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024

Japan's new internal affairs minister looks to boost regional revitalization

Seiichiro Murakami aims to increase the number of regional development cooperation volunteers from 7,200 to 10,000.
Former Prime Minister Taro Aso speaks during the Ketagalan Forum in Taipei in August 2023.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 9, 2024

Former PM Taro Aso calls Taiwan a ‘country' — much to China's chagrin

Tuesday’s remarks were not the first time Aso has sounded off about Taiwan and how a conflict over the island would represent an emergency for Japan.
A Starlink satellite communication system installed on the training ship Kashima of the Maritime Self-Defense Force for test operations at the Harumi Pier in Tokyo on May 15.
JAPAN
Oct 12, 2024

Japan's MSDF eyeing Starlink for better internet connectivity at sea

Hoping to create an environment where MSDF members can freely use the internet while at sea, the MSDF plans to introduce the Starlink service on its vessels.
Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hits a two-run homer during the seventh inning against the Guardians in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 16, 2024

Yankees outlast Guardians for 2-0 lead in MLB playoff series

Judge broke open a tight game with his two-run blast in the seventh inning as the Yankees grabbed a 2-0 lead in the best-of seven series.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 16, 2024

Bank of Japan policymaker calls for 'very moderate' pace of rate hikes

There are doubts about whether Japanese firms will keep sufficiently raising wages next year due to lingering global risks.
The vast space and massive pillars of the Metropolitan Outer Area Underground Discharge Channel dwarf visitors.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 24, 2024

Massive underground infrastructure protects the Tokyo metropolitan area from floods

The Metropolitan Outer Area Underground Discharge Channel is a unique feat of engineering built to keep homes and businesses safe and dry.
Hugh Jeffrey, the Australian Department of Defence’s deputy secretary for strategy, policy and industry, says the next 18 to 24 months will see Tokyo and Canberra not only test and share new technologies and capabilities, it will also see increased military deployments to each other’s territories.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2024

Japan and Australia gear up for boosted defense tie-ups over next two years

In an interview, a senior Australian defense official spoke about cooperation in the industrial and technical fields in addition to military-to-military ties.
Nobuaki Koga, former president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, speaks about receiving this year's Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2024

Japan recognizes 3,987 people in autumn honors

Among the recipients are Nobuaki Koga, the former president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, and former Environment Minister Sakihito Ozawa.
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk speaks during a rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. president Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 6, 2024

Elon Musk-led election falsehoods hang over vote as tally begins

Elon Musk has become Republican candidate Donald Trump’s most high-profile donor and supporter.

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Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat