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Average spending per customer at convenience stores increased 1.1% to ¥723.5 in 2023, but the outlook remains uncertain as inflation drags on.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2024
Japan's convenience store sales rise 4.1% to record high in 2023
Average spending per customer increased 1.1% to ¥723.5, but the outlook remains uncertain as inflation drags on.
South Korea's Lee Kang-in celebrates after scoring against Qatar during their Group E match at the Asian Cup in Doha on Monday.
SOCCER
Jan 18, 2024
South Korea's Lee Kang-in reaching new heights under Jurgen Klinsmann
Klinsmann has made the 22-year-old the linchpin of his side since taking over a year ago.
People wear masks at an evacuation center in the town of Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 8. The number of people with acute respiratory infectious diseases, which include COVID-19 and influenza, at evacuation centers in the prefecture stood at 142 as of Sunday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 15, 2024
COVID and Japan, four years later: Normality, but words of caution
The nation has mostly returned to the pre-pandemic norm, but experts warn against people letting their guard down completely.
Police conduct a large-scale search at the Wajima Morning Market, which was destroyed by fire following the New Year's Day earthquake, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2024
Japan quake death toll tops 200 as police comb burned-down market
Police searched a market devastated by fire in Ishikawa Prefecture following the massive Jan. 1 earthquake, as the number of missing fell from 323 to 102.
As Japan's productivity declines due to the shrinking working-age population, policies that allow for everyone’s full participation in the labor force, especially women, are needed more than ever.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 29, 2023
A look back at Japan’s gender laws and fairness in 2023
Gender equality needs to improve to boost Japan’s prospects. What hits and missed opportunities will we remember from 2023?
Among the issues that defined 2023 were the U.S. economy's "soft landing," the war in Ukraine, Hamas's terrorist attack and explosive advances in AI.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2023
The most important developments of 2023
The year reminds us that the world is in desperate need of new leaders who are both competent and inspiring.
The Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade takes part in a marine landing drill on Tokunoshima island, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Nov. 19.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 29, 2023
Kishida’s military build-up plans face bumpy road ahead
One year on, questions remain as to whether the embattled leader, whose support rate recently dipped to new lows, can follow through on his pledges.
A Japanese monk rings the bell at his temple. The bell is rung 108 times on New Year's Eve, a way to cleanse ourselves of the worldly desires.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 29, 2023
The year’s end provides us a chance to consider the passage of time
There are plenty of Japanese words that express the passage of time, whether it's a matter of years or the blink of an eye.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visit the cenotaph for atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima on May 21 during the Group of Seven summit. Zelenskyy’s visit to one of the two cities attacked with a nuclear weapon came amid Russia’s veiled threats to use its nuclear arsenal in its war against Ukraine.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2023
Images of 2023: Japan
Outside of the successful G7 summit, the year was not kind to PM Fumio Kishida's unpopular administration. A kickback scandal provided one final headache.
A Palestinian child cries next to his mother after they were rushed to a hospital following an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza Strip on Nov. 13. Fighting erupted after Hamas conducted a coordianated attack against Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians. More than 20,000 people in Gaza have died in the  conflict, according to the enclave’s health ministry.
WORLD
Dec 27, 2023
Images of 2023: World
Images of 2023: From war in the Gaza Strip and in Ukraine to concerns in Asia over North Korea and China, conflict took center stage in 2023.
While harsh comments from older generations can sometimes be seen as rude, consider instead that they’re often trying to teach us something they hold on to.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 26, 2023
A survival guide for your first Japanese-style at-home New Year’s
Meeting your partner’s Japanese family for the New Year’s holidays? Here are some do’s and don’ts for an ‘oshōgatsu’ success story.
Designated hitter and closer Shohei Ohtani (center) and catcher Yuhei Nakamura are mobbed by their Samurai Japan teammates after Ohtani struck out American slugger Mike Trout to clinch Japan’s third World Baseball Classic and first since 2009, at LoanDepot Park in Miami on March 21.
SPORTS
Dec 26, 2023
Images of 2023: Sports
For some, 2023 was a year of sweet victory, after many years of not making it to the summit. For Shohei Ohtani, it was yet another year of brilliance.
A woman holding an umbrella walks near a fluttering Taiwanese flag outside the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei in November.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 25, 2023
What’s at stake in Taiwan’s January presidential election?
Depending on the outcome, the closely watched vote could have markedly different security and economic implications for the entire region.
What's old in Tokyo libations is new again at Heiwa Doburoku Kabutocho Brewery, where sake's cloudy, rustic predecessor takes center stage.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Dec 24, 2023
At 2023’s close, Tokyo bars enter a new golden age
This year’s cocktail trends offer a spirit-forward reflection on the past as well as glimpses of the future.
Fans praised Nintendo for following up one of the best open-world games ever made with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, a worthy sequel that introduced enough new mechanics to keep the experience fresh for players new and old alike.
CULTURE / 2023 in Review
Dec 22, 2023
Zelda was a gem among many in a crowning year for gaming
Japanese studios’ hits included: Street Fighter 6, remakes of Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, to name a few.
Ayako Shimazaki, editor in charge of the manga “Light Blue Embryologist,” described the work of embryologists as “an important job that involves the beginning of life.”
JAPAN / Society
Dec 21, 2023
Manga brings realities of fertility treatment to mass audience
The series revolves around a narrative that follows interactions between aspiring parents who visit a fertility clinic and an embryologist.
The Shimbashi area of Tokyo's Minato Ward is crowded with office workers on Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2023
Pubs in Japan thriving again as year-end parties return
On Friday night, many drinking places in the Shimbashi district of Tokyo's Minato Ward were packed with customers.
The health ministry in Tokyo. A rapid spread of influenza in Japan comes after anti-infection measures implemented against the coronavirus pandemic lowered people's immunity to the disease.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 16, 2023
Japan flu cases surge to warning level at fastest pace in 10 years
Across roughly 5,000 institutions, 166,690 patients had been reported in the week through Dec. 10.
Visitors in the last gallery of “Yves Saint Laurent, Across the Style” at the National Art Center, Tokyo, view designs inspired by fine art.
CULTURE / Art / 2023 in Review
Dec 16, 2023
Eager crowds congested Tokyo’s biggest art museums in 2023
Art fans came with wallets ready for a lineup of blockbuster exhibitions, creating bottlenecks at photo-friendly masterpieces and gift shops.
Seihan Mori, the chief Buddhist priest of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, writes the kanji character "zei," meaning "tax," with a calligraphy brush to announce the Kanji of the Year.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 15, 2023
Despite a taxing year, 2023's top kanji still draws questions
In a year of major crises around the world, Japanese voters pick the kanji for "zei," meaning "tax," based on a plan yet to be implemented.

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