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September 18, 2025
 

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DEPOPULATION

The University of Tokyo, the only Japanese institution in the Times university rankings’ top 50, is considering raising tuition fees.
EDITORIALS
Jun 28, 2024
Japan’s universities must prepare for tough changes
Higher education institutions in Japan rarely rank among the world's top universities. To rise, they should tackle long-term issues like growing costs and fewer students.
Candidates for the July 7 Tokyo gubernatorial election Yuruko Koike (left), Shinji Ishimaru (center left), Toshio Tamogami (center right) and Renho pose for a photo after a public debate in Tokyo this week.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2024
Tokyo governor candidates call for measures on low birth rate
Suggestions range from higher income for younger workers to subsidies for painless deliveries.
The total fertility rate dropped to 1.5 children per woman in 2022 from 3.3 in 1960 on average across OECD countries, a report from the organization has said.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 21, 2024
Birth rates halve in richer nations as costs weigh, OECD report says
Many in OECD member countries are now choosing to have children later in life or not at all, the report said.
GMO Internet Group is making a foray into the artificial intelligence and robot business to spread the use of such tech products and services in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2024
Japan’s GMO takes aim at labor shortage with AI and robotics company
It will focus on matching robot and drone manufacturers and AI developers with businesses.
In 2023, 15.4% of China's population was over 65, a demographic milestone that typically slows economic growth.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2024
Is China too old to get rich?
By 2023, 15.4% of China's population was over 65, a demographic milestone that typically slows economic growth.
A government report says the excess concentration of population in Tokyo has not changed over the past decade.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2024
Overconcentration in Tokyo unchanged over decade, government says
The government reported that the excess concentration of population in Tokyo has not changed over the past decade.
Legislation on measures to support child-rearing passes during the Upper House plenary session on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 5, 2024
Japan enacts bill to expand measures for tackling low birth rate
To pay for the changes, extra fees will be added to public medical insurance premiums.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is launching its own dating app to support people who want to get married.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 5, 2024
Tokyo government to launch dating app in bid to boost birth rate
Users will be required to submit documentation proving they are legally single and sign a letter stating they are willing to get married.
Many buildings in the shopping district of Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, remain damaged five months after the area was hit by a powerful earthquake on Jan. 1.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 2, 2024
Over 100 businesses closed in municipalities hit by Noto quake
Many business owners are shutting down because reconstruction is slow, people are leaving the area and they have no one to take over in the future.
A government panel in charge of promoting women's active engagement in professional life has said gender wage gaps may be behind the outflows of young women from rural areas in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
May 28, 2024
Gender wage gaps seen behind outflows of women from rural areas
Experts have said that local governments need to make wage gap rectification part of regional revitalization efforts in order to stem outflows of women.
Toshio Itoya, a community leader in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, says that people will come of their own accord if there is money to be made.
JAPAN / Society
May 21, 2024
Noto Peninsula faces youth exodus amid slow earthquake recovery
The inability to earn a living in quake-hit cities is making them seek greener pastures elsewhere, a community leader says.
Volunteers move furniture out of a house damaged by the Noto Peninsula earthquake in Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, in April.
JAPAN
May 21, 2024
Ishikawa Prefecture unveils Noto quake reconstruction plan
Covering the nine years through fiscal 2032, Ishikawa Prefecture's plan features efforts to create disaster-resistant communities.
A couple looks out onto the Fukuoka nightscape. Due to its distance from Tokyo and its close proximity to South Korea and China, professor Tomoya Mori believes that Fukuoka is one of the few metropolitan regions of Japan that will see some form of growth in the decades to come.
JAPAN / Society / Perspectives
May 20, 2024
Why half of Japan's cities are at risk of disappearing in 100 years
Professor Tomoya Mori believes depopulation will alter the urban landscape of Japan in an unexpected way.
In 2023, Bryan Eastlake (left) began a three-year contract with the local Takahama tourism association to write, post photos and otherwise promote the small town in northern Kyoto Prefecture to a wider audience.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
May 20, 2024
The new vanguard of rural revitalization efforts in Japan
Currently, the Regional Revitalization Corps has around 200 foreign residents working in different industries around the country.
South Korea, with the world’s lowest total fertility rate, is is pondering a radical solution to fix the probelm — offering a baby bonus that is about twice the nation’s annual per-capita income.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2024
Could a $70,000 baby bonus solve South Korea's fertility crisis?
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to say how much impact the South Korean baby subsidies would have, as there is no precedent.
As Japan grapples with its population's rapid aging, supporting people who live and age alone is looming larger on the policy agenda.
JAPAN / Society
May 14, 2024
In Japan, 68,000 people over 65 projected to die alone at home this year
In the first official tally of solitary deaths, the National Police Agency said a total of 21,716 people had died alone at home from January through March.
Lawrence Wong will become Singapore's fourth prime minister on Wednesday. He will be tasked with steering the city-state into new territory as its economy slows down and its population ages rapidly.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2024
New Singaporean PM faces some economic headwinds
Lawrence Wong will be sworn in as the city-state's fourth prime minister on Wednesday. Despite Singapore's strong economy, new challenges lie ahead.
Mikuni Minato is not a town that has recently fallen on hard times — it's been that way for a century.
LIFE / Travel
May 7, 2024
48 hours in Mikuni Minato, Japan’s port town that time forgot
A trip to Mikuni Minato may not appeal to the average tourist, but well-traveled residents will find it fascinating.
The number of children 14 years old or younger fell for the 43rd straight year to around 14.01 million as of April 1.
JAPAN / Society
May 4, 2024
Japan’s record-low children population weighs on growth
The number of children 14 years old or younger fell for the 43rd straight year to around 14.01 million as of April 1.
Strong family ties act as an insurance against economic and other shocks and can be strengthened by government policies that promote intergenerational solidarity.
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2024
As families change, so must safety nets
Intergenerational family ties act as a form of insurance. Governments like Singapore's are supporting such arrangements and others should follow suit.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
Japan's elderly population down at around 36.2 million
The estimated number of people age 65 or older in Japan stands at 36.19 million as of Monday, accounting for record 29.4% of the country's total population, according to the internal affairs ministry.
China says Philippine ship ‘deliberately rammed’ coast guard vessel in South China Sea
A China Coast Guard ship navigates near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in August.
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
Pole vault rivals in awe after Duplantis has another historic night in Tokyo
Sweden's Armand Duplantis competes in the men's pole fault final during the World Athletics Championships at National Stadium in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.
Tara Davis-Woodhall leaps to gold and finds redemption at world championships
Tara Davis-Woodhall celebrates after winning the women's long jump final at the World Athletics Championships at Tokyo's National Stadium on Sunday night.
An aesthetic escape to Hakone’s art-drenched hills
Between traditional examples of fine art and sleek, modern exhibitions that blend with nature, Hakone offers a unique escape from Tokyo's urban sprawl.

Podcast

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

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

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