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Digital Minister Taro Kono looks at a nursing robot in a day care facility in Tokyo on Oct.18.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 7, 2023

Japan’s aging population to increase burden on nursing care costs

The average annual nursing care cost per capita is estimated to increase 75% to ¥235,000 in 2050 compared to 2019 levels, according to government data.
The family grave of Toshihide Matsumoto is dismantled in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture. An increasing number of Japanese people are opting to permanently close their family graves as traditional family structures continue to change.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2023

Graying Japan faces a grave problem

Services designed to help people move or scatter their ancestors' ashes and close up family graves are experiencing increased demand.
Japanese police investigators arrive at Phnom Penh International Airport on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 8, 2023

Japanese fraud suspects extradited from Cambodia

Investigators say the suspects made fraudulent phone calls from Cambodia posing as nursing home staff and lawyers, aiming to scam victims in Japan.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa meets Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo on Oct. 21.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 8, 2023

Explaining Japan's nuanced approach to the Israel-Hamas war

Japan has the potential to influence the conflict due to its distinctive position within the international community.
People from Hawaii pray for the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake, on a beach in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, in 2014.
JAPAN / History / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Nov 13, 2023

Fukushima celebrates a century of special ties with Hawaii

Residents emigrated to Hawaii and other places to cultivate undeveloped land, and made a living by working in the sugar industry.
The ¥100,000 financial aid comes hand-in-hand with consultation support that encourages expecting mothers to attend meetings in their municipalities throughout their pregnancy where they can ask for advice and information on childbirth.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2023

Japan's cash handouts for pregnant women to be made permanent in 2025

The plan entails handing out a total of ¥100,000 to all residents of Japan who are pregnant.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 9, 2023

Drug shortages create challenge for Japan as influenza cases rise

Amid an earlier-than-usual start of the flu season, a type of flu medicine for children is experiencing a supply shortage as cases rise.
A man dressed as Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Sanders jumps into the Dotonbori River in Osaka after the Hanshin Tigers won the Japan Series.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 9, 2023

Japan’s 'four-eyed tax hiker' and the curse of Colonel Sanders

Baseball writer Jason Coskrey and editor Joel Tansey discuss the Hanshin Tigers’ Japan Series victory; Gabriele Ninivaggi explains how the prime minister hopes to get a home run with his tax plan.
Komeito chief Natsuo Yamaguchi will visit Beijing for talks with senior Chinese officials from Nov. 22.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 11, 2023

Komeito chief Natsuo Yamaguchi to visit China from Nov. 22

Yamaguchi had initially planned to visit China in August, but the trip was postponed amid a row over the Fukushima water release decision.
Japan's Self-Defense Force on Sunday conducted a tsunami evacuation drill in Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost island, in Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2023

Japanese island holds disaster drill in shadow of Taiwan threat

Yonaguni is only 110 km from Taiwan. In August last year, China fired missiles into nearby waters in response to a visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi.
A man, who said he was jailed for two years, speaks on condition of anonymity in temporary housing for former prisoners in Tokyo. Criminal recruits in Japan are being "exploited and disposed of as pawns" by gang leaders, the National Police Agency has said.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 24, 2023

Why Japan's gangs are recruiting online

For Japan's criminal underworld, social media offers an anonymous way to connect with anyone willing to commit crimes to earn money.
The shortage of a class of diabetes drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists is being driven in part by healthy people looking to use them for dieting purposes.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Nov 14, 2023

Japan tackles surge in off-label diabetes drug use for weight loss

Officials are aiming to ensure that the medications are prescribed for people with diabetes, and not for those seeking weight loss.
Police try to control the crowd in the city of Osaka after the Hanshin Tigers won the Japan Series baseball championship on Nov. 5.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2023

Civil servants face different treatment at Kansai baseball parades

Kobe and Hyogo government workers working at the parades will be treated as being on duty, but those of the Osaka governments will not be.
Japan’s policy came under scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic, when vaccines approved overseas needed additional testing prior to their approval in Japan.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 14, 2023

Japan set to scrap rule requiring testing of new drugs on Japanese

To sell a drug in Japan, pharmaceutical firms are required to conduct additional trials specifically targeting Japanese participants.
Smuggled cannabis resin, which had been hidden inside ethnic Indian musical instruments, alongside the instruments in which they were hidden, at a police station in Fukuoka Prefecture in 2012.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 14, 2023

Bill to legalize cannabis-derived drugs clears Japan’s Lower House

The bill was sent to the Upper House the same day. If approved there, changes stipulated in the bill will likely go into effect by the end of next year.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida meets Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bangkok in November last year.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Nov 14, 2023

How an executive's arrest struck a blow to Japan-China business

The arrest of a Japanese company executive in China has had what some Tokyo officials described as a considerable chilling effect on business.
Human Rights Watch Asia program officer Teppei Kasai (center) speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 15, 2023

Japan women prisoners suffer serious abuse: Human Rights Watch

Handcuffs during pregnancy, separation from newborn babies and insufficient care for elderly inmates are among the abuses suffered, the rights group said.
Shota Morishita (second from right) is congratulated by teammates after his home run in the seventh inning against Taiwan during the Asia Professional Baseball Championship at Tokyo Dome on Thursday.
BASEBALL
Nov 16, 2023

Samurai Japan overcomes slow start to beat Taiwan in APBC opener

Shota Morishita got Japan going with a home run in the seventh inning.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida looks on during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Week summit in San Francisco on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2023

Japan ruling bloc shocked as Kishida's approval keeps falling

A Jiji Press survey for November on Thursday showed the Kishida Cabinet's approval at 21.3%, the lowest level since his inauguration in 2021.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a family photo during an APEC summit in San Francisco on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2023

Kishida and Xi aim for trade progress despite lingering tensions

Their talks signaled initial momentum toward a cautious detente, although the two countries appeared to prioritize an improvement in economic ties.
Overflowing trash next to a vending machine in the Asakusa district of Tokyo, which is popular with tourists, in March
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 18, 2023

Trash cans make techie comeback in Japan as tourists flood cities

This week, the tourist-heavy Dotonbori district in Osaka installed around 20 new technologically enabled garbage cans called SmaGO.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a news conference following the conclusion of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2023

Kishida to press China on Fukushima ban after deal on expert talks

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday that China had agreed to expert-level talks aimed at addressing its ban on Japanese seafood.
Japan's Takahisa Hayakawa (left) and Kyota Fujiwara pose for photos after their win over Australia at Tokyo Dome on Saturday.
BASEBALL
Nov 18, 2023

Japan routs Australia in Asia Professional Baseball Championship

Japan routed Australia to improve to 3-0.
A Ground Self-Defense Force marine takes part in a landing drill as a part of the country's nationwide 05JX military exercises on the island of Tokunoshima, in Kagoshima Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 19, 2023

Japanese marines drill on island seen as vulnerable to China

The joint exercises were meant to show the readiness of ground, sea and air forces to defend Japan's territory and infrastructure.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to face further headwinds at home, despite efforts to highlight his diplomatic achievements.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2023

Kishida focuses on diplomacy amid poor public support rates

Showing off his contribution to the discussions at the APEC summit, the prime minister expressed his eagerness to continue with diplomacy. 
U.S. President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office of the White House in June 1972
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 19, 2023

Nixon's 1953 trip to Okinawa and its lasting impact

Nixon’s trip to Okinawa 70 years ago this month planted seeds for his agreeing to its reversion when he became the U.S. president.
A cook prepares sashimi in China's Shandong Province in August.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 19, 2023

China's imports of Japanese fishery products down 99% in October

China fully banning imports of fishery products from Japan from Aug. 24 when the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant water discharge started.
Makoto Kadowaki lifted Japan over South Korea with a walk-off single in the 10th inning at Tokyo Dome on Sunday.
BASEBALL
Nov 19, 2023

Japan tops South Korea on sayonara single in 10th to win APBC title

Japan edged South Korea on a walk-off hit by Makoto Kadowaki.
Vehicle carriers operated by Nippon Yusen sit docked at the Port of Zeebrugge in Zeebrugge, Belgium, in March 2020.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 20, 2023

Japan confirms Nippon Yusen cargo ship seized by Houthis

The Nippon Yusen-operated vessel was captured by the Iran-linked group in the Red Sea as it was traveling south near Yemen.
Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata lifts the trophy after the Asia Professional Baseball Championship at Tokyo Dome on Sunday.
BASEBALL
Nov 20, 2023

Hirokazu Ibata passes first test with Samurai Japan

Japan went through the Asia Professional Baseball Championship with a 4-0 record.

Longform

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