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Nippon Life Insurance will focus purchases on 30-year JGBs, with the current yield of above 1.8% "good in terms of absolute level," a representative for the insurer said at a recent briefing.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 27, 2023

Japan's life insurers to boost JGB buying but wary of policy shift

Nippon Life, Dai-Ichi Life and Meiji Yasuda Life were among those who said they aimed to buy the longest-dated JGBs amid the highest yields in a decade.
People visit Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward on Saturday, including a handful of costumed revelers gathering in the trendy area to celebrate the weekend before Halloween.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 29, 2023

Security tight for Halloween in Shibuya as costumed crowds fail to show

Measures to deter costumed revelers from gathering in the trendy area — including a ban on street drinking — appeared to be relatively effective.
Prince Hisahito is the only male member of the imperial family eligible to ascend the throne in the generation after Emperor Naruhito and his younger brother, Crown Prince Akishino, who is the father of the 17-year-old prince.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2023

LDP to create new team on imperial succession

Prince Hisahito, Crown Prince Akishino's 17-year-old son, is the only member of his generation currently eligible.
Trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura (front right) speaks during a meeting of Group of Seven trade ministers in the city of Osaka on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2023

Eyeing China, G7 calls for 'immediate repeal' of bans on Japanese food

The ministers, after meeting in Osaka, did not mention China but denounced what they consider its rising economic coercion through trade.
Buffaloes starter Hiroya Miyagi pitches against the Tigers in Game 2 of the Japan Series at Kyocera Dome Osaka on Sunday night.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 29, 2023

Buffaloes bounce back against Tigers to pull even in Japan Series

The Buffaloes rebounded to beat the Tigers 8-0 in Game 2 of the Japan Series after losing by the same score in Game 1.
Many of Japan’s largest businesses are exporters that benefit from a weaker yen.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2023

Japan’s biggest firms set for $9.3 billion bonanza from weak yen

Many of Japan’s largest businesses are exporters that benefit from a weaker yen.
Toyota’s gigacast rear component. The company plans to employ the gigacasting technology in making electric vehicles.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2023

Tesla’s latest disruption in carmaking draws followers in Japan

Carmakers in Japan are starting to embrace gigacasting as they seek to make up for lost ground in the shift to EVs.
A rally in support of Israel is held in Tokyo on Oct. 11 during which participants, including Israelis living in Japan, demanded the immediate release of all hostages captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2023

A primer on the Israel-Hamas war


Japan's image of Israel is shallow and distorted, as many people fail to understand the existential threat that Hamas' aggression poses.
A vegetable store on the Asagaya shopping street in Tokyo on Sunday
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2023

Japan warns Middle East situation could hit economy

The government added the developments in the Middle East to factors requiring close attention, as it "could pose a downside risk to the Japanese economy."
Japan's industrial output increased a smaller-than-expected 0.2% in September.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2023

Japan's September industrial production growth misses consensus

Factory output increased 0.2% from a month earlier, missing economist expectations of a 2.5% gain.
Single-use bathing wear that comes in the form of a blouse or a dress
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Nov 6, 2023

Breast cancer survivors face tough time at public baths

It is customary in Japan not to take clothing or towels into the water at public baths, and some facilities make it a rule for hygienic reasons.
BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference on Tuesday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2023

Bank of Japan to allow 10-year yields to top 1%

The development is significant as the central bank has long maintained its strategy of buying up government bonds to control interest rates.
The Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. headquarters in Taiwan
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023

Taiwan's Powerchip chooses Miyagi Prefecture for $5.4 billion fab

The fab will manufacture chips in the 28-nanometer, 40-nm and 55-nm categories with a planned monthly output of 40,000 wafers, the two companies said.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the yen weakening below ¥151 to the dollar on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 1, 2023

Japan ramps up yen intervention warning after BOJ-fueled sell-off

The broad decline toward ¥152 to the dollar has the currency around the threshold that a year ago drove Japanese authorities to swoop in to prop it up.
An assembly engineer works on a lithography system at chipmaker ASML in Veldhoven, Netherlands, on June 16.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Nov 2, 2023

How can the EU strengthen its strategic autonomy regarding chips?

The bloc has felt a sense of crisis over the fact that its growth strategy has been largely dependent on third countries.
Buffaloes reliever Yuki Udagawa pumps his fist after striking out Tigers shortstop Seiya Kinami in the eighth inning of Orix's 5-4 win in Game 3 of the Japan Series on Tuesday at Koshien Stadium.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 1, 2023

How Yuki Udagawa’s steely nerves quieted Koshien’s raucous crowd

Instead of being rattled, Yuki Udagawa fed off the electric energy pulsating through the stadium as he protected a one-run lead in a 5-4 win.
Economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura (center) is right to insist that economic security is linked to national power and determines the fate of the nation. REUTERS
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2023

Economic security demands attention and defies simple explanation

A global challenge: Resilience and innovation are key strategies in the pursuit of economic security.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda in a news conference on Tuesday, when the central bank adjusted its cap on bond yields.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 2, 2023

Japan's yen and bond priorities at odds as market pressure grows

Unscheduled bond purchases by the Bank of Japan Wednesday worked directly against Finance Ministry efforts to support the yen.
Tigers reliever Atsuki Yuasa needed just one pitch to make a major impact in Game 4 of the Japan Series.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 2, 2023

For Atsuki Yuasa, all it took was one pitch to spur Tigers' win

Yuasa received an immense hero’s welcome from Tigers fans Wednesday night but there was no time to soak in the atmosphere.
Three Japanese staff members of Doctors Without Borders cross the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt on Thursday in this handout photo.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2023

10 Japanese with 8 Palestinian family members flee Gaza to Egypt

Another Japanese national who is married to a Palestinian and lives in Gaza intends to stay there with the family, the chief cabinet secretary said.
The world's largest pension fund lost 0.31% for the three months from July to September, trimming its overall assets to ¥219.3 trillion.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 2, 2023

Japan's GPIF reports ¥683 billion loss in July-September period

The news comes as a policy tweak by the central bank hits the government bond market.
Every time Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda has made an announcement since taking up his post, that information has appeared initially not in the public domain, but in the pages of the fourth estate.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 2, 2023

Bank of Japan leaks are making an awful mess

Central bank decisions can move billions of dollars and with the BOJ, the closely watched outlier that it is, its conclusions have more impact than most.
"The Ones Left Behind" documents the successes and struggles of single mothers in Japan.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 2, 2023

Why single mothers in Japan have been left behind

Filmmaker Rionne McAvoy joins us to discuss the hidden poverty present in one of the world’s richest nations.
The civil case centers on whether a foreign national in a same-sex partnership with a Japanese citizen should be granted “long-term resident status,” which allows residency for up to five years in Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 2, 2023

Tokyo High Court rejects same-sex couple's residence status lawsuit

The civil case centers on whether a foreign national in a same-sex partnership with a Japanese citizen should be granted “long-term resident status.”
Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan celebrates on Oct. 23, 2017, after prevailing in a close race in a single-seat constituency in Tokyo in a general election the previous day, winning on the ticket of the then-newly created Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 3, 2023

With Naoto Kan's exit from the CDP, some see a generational shift

The exit of the former prime minister, a high-profile figure and political veteran from the CDP’s liberal wing, comes at a time of change for the party.
Sometimes just saying that you won't break a promise isn't enough. You may need the power of the pinky finger.
LIFE / Language / Vocabulary Boost
Nov 3, 2023

Breaking a promise comes with sharp penalties in Japan

An interesting element that is present in both Japanese and English rhymes around pinky promises is the idea of needles.
Kansai Electric Power's Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2023

Kansai Electric applies to run Takahama reactor beyond 50th year

The No. 1 reactor at the plant in Fukui Prefecture is the oldest active reactor in Japan, having been commissioned in November 1974.
Tigers fans make their presence known at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on Thursday, as Hanshin played Orix in Game 5 of the Japan Series.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 3, 2023

Could the Tigers' curse be over, once and for all?

A win against the Buffaloes on Saturday would see the Tigers victorious in this year's Japan Series.
The Hong Kong skyline. The city's sedition law — one of the legacies of British rule — had remained dormant for over half a century but saw a resurgence in use following the 2019 protests and subsequent unrest.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Nov 3, 2023

H.K. student gets two-month sentence for 'seditious' posts from Japan

The court said she had violated a colonial-era sedition law by expressing support for Hong Kong independence in posts mostly made while studying in Japan.
A stock board in Beijing last month. China’s benchmark CSI 300 has slumped 7.4% as a faltering economy dashed optimism over the nation’s reopening from COVID-19 restrictions.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 4, 2023

Japan’s fading rally drives some investors to cheap China shares

Japanese stocks have trounced their Chinese peers this year, but some investors are betting the tide is about to turn.

Longform

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