Search - 2023

 
 
ANA Holdings has revised its customer service guidelines to include how to respond to various types of harassment of employees by customers.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2024

Labor group calls for measures to address harassment from customers

One survey of about 33,000 workers showed that 46.8% had experienced so-called customer harassment in the past two years.
Chinese President Xi Jinping walks past members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Sept. 30, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 6, 2024

U.S., 'Five Eyes' allies warn China courting Western military trainers

Offers sent to military personnel often entail promises of lucrative salaries or excessive flattery, the "Five Eyes" agencies said.
Kenya's Rhonex Kipruto celebrates after finishing third in the men's 10,000 meter final at the 2019 IAAF Athletics World Championships in Doha on Oct. 6, 2019.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
Jun 6, 2024

Kenya's Rhonex Kipruto gets six-year ban and loses world record over doping

Kipruto was banned until May 10, 2029.
Then Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada speaks at a news conference at the State Department in Washington in January 2023.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2024

Japan lawmakers create group to investigate UFO security 'threat'

The nonpartisan group, which counts former defense ministers among its 80-plus members, will urge Japan to ramp up abilities to detect and analyze UFOs.
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.
Yuichi Nishimura is taken into police custody in Tokyo on Wednesday on suspicion of attempted fraud.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 6, 2024

Hokkaido man arrested for defrauding ‘fiancee’ with fake kidnapping scheme

The suspect, Yuichi Nishimura, allegedly enticed the victim with promises of marriage while concealing the fact that he was already married.
Eschewing the comfort of Tokyo’s air-conditioned museums, the inconvenient art movement draws viewers into the countryside to see artworks such as Christian Boltanski’s “Les Regards.”
CULTURE / Art
Jun 7, 2024

A list of Japan’s remote art sites

Get off the beaten path this summer and discover art tucked away in the farthest reaches of Japan.
Postage rates for sealed letters and other documents are expected to be raised by 30% as early as October, the first rise in 30 years aside from when prices increased along with consumption tax hikes.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024

Postage rate hikes seen denting New Year's card tradition in Japan

The tradition of sending New Year's greetings on postcards began in 1873 with the introduction of postcards.
Takayuki Midorikawa stands in front of Ueda Junior High School in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jun 17, 2024

Fukushima schools open up to revising old rules

The prefecture has recently made some moves to accommodate a little more diversity in the classroom.
Korean skincare routines tend to be more complex than Japan’s counterpart beauty industry of “less is more,” making K-beauty something of a sweet spot between Japan and the West.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 9, 2024

K-beauty or J-beauty? The two 'are not so different these days.'

In early 2024, imports of Korean beauty products to Japan topped French cosmetics for the first time.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will sell their Toyota shareholdings over an extended period of time lasting a few years, sources said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 7, 2024

Two of Japan's top banks to divest ¥1.3 trillion in Toyota shareholdings

Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui will sell in stages and take advantage of Toyota’s plan to buy back its own shares.
Amid the rising popularity of saunas, the Consumer Affairs Agency is urging users to exercise caution following a spike in the number of sauna-related accidents.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 7, 2024

Japan's consumer watchdog warns of accidents in the sauna

Users are urged to exercise caution to avoid severe injuries amid a spike in accidents as saunas become more popular.
Participants attend the official opening of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 7, 2024

Amid war, Putin looks east from Russia's window to Europe

Russia is pitching its $2 trillion economy to giants such as China and Saudi Arabia at its premier investment forum in St. Petersburg.
Indonesia's President Joko Widodo speaks about the planned new capital Nusantara, at Ecosperity Week in Singapore on June 7, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 7, 2024

Indonesian president in damage control over new capital

The abrupt resignations of two officials make it harder for Joko Widodo to allay fears about Nusantara, his legacy project.
Germany's Alexander Zverev during a match at the French Open on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Jun 7, 2024

Alexander Zverev settles abuse case brought by former girlfriend

The agreement, according to German media, includes a monetary condition of €200,000 ($217,820), with the player not found guilty of any wrongdoing.
Gold prices change daily, reflecting wider market movements, but start at about 88,000 won ($64) for a 0.5-gram bar.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2024

You can now buy gold bars from vending machines in South Korea

Prices change daily, reflecting wider market movements, but start at about 88,000 won ($64) for a 0.5-gram bar.
A customer buys a ticket for ramen at a vending machine at Goumen Maruko ramen shop in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2024

Japan runs on vending machines. It’s about to break millions of them.

New yen notes set to be introduced this summer won't be compatible with many machines that businesses like ramen shops rely on.
Some major world economies want to finalize a plan ahead of this year's U.N. climate summit to halt new private sector funding for coal projects.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 8, 2024

Major world economies seek to halt new private sector coal financing

The biggest pushback on the OECD proposal to halt new private sector funding for coal projects has come from Japan, sources said.
Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota Motor, bows during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 8, 2024

Shareholder votes in focus as big Japan banks sell Toyota shares

The potential exit of key stakeholders may lead to less stability and predictability for boards and management of listed companies across Japan.
People sit by makeshift shelters near Awlala Camp, Amhara region, Ethiopia
WORLD / Society
Jun 8, 2024

Attacks leave Sudanese refugees stranded in Ethiopian forest

About 8,000 people have left the Kumer and Awlala refugee camps, set up by the United Nations in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region.
Hirotsugu Kimura, a 24-year-old company employee, returns to Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, becoming the youngest Japanese to complete a solo, nonstop sailing voyage around the world.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2024

24-year-old sets new Japan record for sailing solo nonstop around world

Kimura set sail in October 2023, traveled eastward across the Pacific and passed the southern tips of South America and Africa.
Tokyo has proved to be an attractive destination for Chinese entrepreneurs in recent times, away from the challenges hitting the economy at home.
BUSINESS
Jun 16, 2024

Chinese entrepreneurs bet on Japan

A Chinese-language MBA program has been catering to those seeking opportunities in Tokyo.
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates with the trophy after beating Alexander Zverev in the French Open final at Roland Garros in Paris on Sunday.
TENNIS
Jun 10, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz lists French Open triumph as proudest moment of career

The 21-year-old beat Alexander Zverev 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 in the French Open final.
Bill May (rear, second from left) poses with the rest of the U.S. team after earning silver at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka on July 17, 2023.
OLYMPICS
Jun 10, 2024

No men chosen to compete in artistic swimming at Olympics in Paris

World Aquatics said it was very disappointed that there would be no men in the Olympic competition.
An Nvidia Cop. Quantum-X800 InfiniBand Platform on display in Taipei on June 5. Nvidia was already the world's most valuable semiconductor firm. Now, it's become the first computer-chip company ever to hit $3 trillion in market capitalization.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 10, 2024

Big Tech is driving the S&P rally. Others will have to step up.

Part of the challenge for tech investors is the stocks are already quite expensive.
A driving course inside a new facility in the city of Saitama created for elderly drivers
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2024

Saitama police open Japan's first elderly driver training center

Drivers 70 and older have to undergo sessions consisting of driving instruction and classroom lectures, as well as cognitive tests.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks following the announcement of the partial results of the European Parliament elections, in Rome on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 10, 2024

Italy's PM Meloni comes out on top in EU vote, strengthening her hand

With 96% of the ballots counted, Meloni's Brothers of Italy won 28.8% of the vote, more than four times what it took in the last EU election in 2019.
People walk in front of a BYD Auto company and Autotorino store in Milan on March 20.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 10, 2024

European nations compete for Chinese EV factories as EU weighs tariffs

Chinese EV makers want to set up in Europe to build their brands and save on shipping and potential tariffs.
Japan is the only country in the world that still enforces a same-surname rule for married couples, according to Keidanren research.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 10, 2024

Japan should let married women keep names, main business lobby says

Keidanren said in a proposal that the government should quickly present legislation allowing for surname choice to parliament.
Carlyle will probably announce another two or three transactions in Japan this year, the fund's co-head of the Japan buyout advisory team says.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2024

Carlyle sets sights on 300 Japanese businesses as PE deals boom

Carlyle, which has been operating in Japan since 2000, has made more than 40 private equity investments locally.

Longform

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