Tag - agency

 
Menu
Search
 
July 28, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

AGENCY

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jul 21, 2024
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals
Can a 700-year-old dance have an effect on extreme heat or torrential rain? Probably not. When you're feeling powerless, though, any little thing helps.
The streets of Tokyo's Ginza district on Thursday. The rainy season appears to have ended in the regions of Tokai and Kanto, including Tokyo, on Thursday, according to the Meteorological Agency.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2024
Rainy season ends in Tokai and Kanto regions
The season looks to have ended a day earlier than average, according to the Meteorological Agency.
Taro Kono, Japan's digital transformation minister, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2024
Taro Kono says central bank needs to raise rates to lift yen
Kono’s remarks could add to pressure on the Bank of Japan’s policy board to raise interest rates when it meets at the end of this month.
The child care program under discussion is aimed at addressing the issue of isolation of parents raising young children and fostering their growth through interactions with other kids.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2024
Japan discussing details of day care for all infants
Under the program, set to launch by fiscal 2025, day care services will be available for all children aged 6 months to 2 years.
Junior high school students taking entrance exams for public high schools enter a venue in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, in March.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 12, 2024
Japan to test digital high school admissions
The Digital Agency estimates digital procedures will cut administrative work by 30-90 hours in junior high schools and 20-80 hours in high schools.
The Consumer Affairs Agency is advising people to ignore unfamiliar payment requests over the phone, even if a major company is named.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 9, 2024
Beware of overseas number phone scams, Japan’s consumer watchdog warns
Scammers claiming to be telecommunications company NTT demanding “unpaid fees” have duped victims into making substantial payments amounting to millions of yen.
The government aims to increase the number of foreign students in Japan to 400,000 by 2033, despite a recent Justice Ministry ordinance that puts in place tougher rules on accepting overseas applicants.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2024
Can Japan boost its foreign student count to 400,000?
The government recently tightened rules for accepting overseas applicants, though it hasn't lost sight of its lofty goal of increasing foreign student numbers.
Children sit near a flooding seawall during high tide in Serua, Fiji, in 2022.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2024
Japan to share weather data with Pacific island nations
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will announce the plan at the July 16-18 summit in Tokyo with Pacific island leaders.
Japan has finally scrapped every regulation requiring the use of floppy disks for administrative purposes.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2024
Japan finally phases out floppy disks
One of the world’s most technologically advanced nations has held on to some of the most outmoded devices.
A man from North Africa (right) embraces his lawyer after a verdict was handed down by the Osaka District Court revoking a decision by immigration authorities not to grant him refugee status, in Osaka on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 4, 2024
Osaka court recognizes gay African man as refugee
The court concluded that the plaintiff had been nearly killed by his family and could be harmed if he returns home.
During the Olympics, only medalists are automatically tested, but the International Testing Agency wants to find ways to target potential dopers before the end of an event.
OLYMPICS
Jul 4, 2024
Anti-doping testing agency sharpens its tools for Paris Olympics
Benjamin Cohen, director general of the ITA, said potential tools as its disposal included biological and performance passports as well as a mountain of other data.
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, in December
JAPAN / Society
Jun 28, 2024
Deportations over immigration violations in Japan up 65% in 2023
Foreign nationals subject to deportation procedures nearly doubled to 18,198.
Japan is considering a system to let foreign visitors who are exempted from obtaining short-stay visa declare online their information such as purpose of stay before entering the country.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2024
Japan to launch online travel authorization system for visitors
The system's introduction aims to prevent illegal stays.
People with umbrellas walk in Tokyo's Ginza district on Friday, the day this year's rainy season started in the capital.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2024
Rainy season finally begins in Tokyo and other areas
The start of the rainy season was declared 14 days later than the average year and 13 days later than last year in the region that includes the capital.
National Route 226 in the city of Kagoshima is seen covered in debris from a landslide on Friday morning.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2024
Warnings of heavy rain, flooding and landslides issued for Kagoshima
The Meteorological Agency said there is a risk of rain-induced disasters due to the formation of linear rain bands driven by an active seasonal rain front.
The number of consultations made by consumers regarding troubles on social media marked a record high in 2023, with people in their 50s or older particularly vulnerable.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2024
Japan sees social media linked consultations hit record in 2023
In 2023, there were 910,000 consultations, and consumer damage from problematic transactions amounted to a record ¥8.8 trillion.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and digital minister Taro Kono attend a digitalization panel in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 11, 2024
Japan's parliament faces a long road to digitalization
Concerns over decorum and the possibility of the use of electronic devices being obtrusive to proceedings are among reasons cited for maintaining restrictions.
Myo Kyaw Kyaw, 38, a member of Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority who is seeking refugee status in Japan, speaks during an interview on May 29.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 9, 2024
Japan's revised immigration law sparks deportation worries
The revised immigration law allows the deportation of individuals who have applied for refugee status three times even while their applications are being processed.
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.
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and Princess Aiko enjoy cycling at the Imperial Stock Farm in Tochigi Prefecture in May.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 7, 2024
Photos of Emperor Naruhito's family released
Among the images are seven photos taken by the emperor with his own camera.
Japan's population continues to fall even as foreign resident count rises
The number of residents in Tokyo as of Jan. 1 rose by 0.03% from a year before, data shows, marking a year-on-year increase for the first time in three years, while the country's other 46 prefectures saw their populations continue to decline.
Ahead of the Olympics, Japan is still talking about the gymnast who won't be there
Japan's Shoko Miyata withdrew from the gymnastics team herself over her drinking and smoking, although it had already appeared as though the association was prepared to send her home from the team’s training camp in Monaco.
Yen melt-up nudges Japanese stocks into correction territory
Japanese stocks are down 10% from their July peak as the yen strengthens.
‘Crazy’ yen rally is at risk of shattering as soon as Wednesday
Some investors are warning that a yen rally is fragile, as was on show this week when the yen rapidly retraced an advance after Thursday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. economic growth figures.
Japan's average life expectancy rises for first time in three years
A decline in COVID-19-caused deaths likely helped boost the average life expectancy for Japanese men and women to rise for the first time in three years in 2023.
The Japanese Olympians looking to shine in Paris
Rim Nakamura, who is attempting to win Japan's first Olympic gold medal in cycling, will be one of the top Japanese athletes to watch at the Paris Games.
Japan’s minimum wage set for record ¥50 hike in major boost
Demonstrators rally to demand a big hike in minimum wages in Tokyo last week.
Japan loses top spot on strongest passport list to Singapore
Japan had the strongest passport for six years running from 2018, before being dethroned by Singapore on the 2024 list.
Why Japan's mysterious stash of classified funds escapes scrutiny
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (right) during a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan eyes gold — and the future — as Olympic men's soccer campaign begins
Japan midfielder Yu Hirakawa controls the ball during a match against the United States in Kansas City, Kansas, on June 11.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

JNTO promotes sustainable tourism initiatives
JNTO promotes sustainable tourism initiatives

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER