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February 23, 2025
 

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JAPANESE

Former death row inmate Iwao Hakamata (left) and his sister, Hideko, attend a gathering of his supporters after his acquittal in a retrial over a 1966 murder case was finalized in October last year.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 22, 2025
Over 80% of Japanese say death penalty system is 'unavoidable'
The Cabinet Office survey, which is conducted every five years, found that 16.5% of respondents believe the death penalty should be abolished.
In Tomoka Shibasaki's short story collection "A Hundred Years and a Day," time flows architecturally, through the life of structures such as a ramen shop or a cinema.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 22, 2025
'A Hundred Years and a Day': Short stories unfold through the lives of structures and spaces
In Tomoka Shibasaki’s curious collection, time flows architecturally, plots meander by design and humans are unnamed, ephemeral and often disappear.
Multinational victims of scam centers, who were allegedly trafficked into working in Myanmar and were sent to Thailand on Feb. 12 amid a mounting crackdown on scam centers operating along a porous border, queue to get food at a shelter in Tak province, Thailand, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 21, 2025
Japanese nationals returned from Myanmar as scam probe continues
The Japanese nationals are among hundreds of thousands of people who police say have been coerced into engaging in online scams.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks to reporters on Thursday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 21, 2025
Japan yields fall as Ueda warns BOJ can step in to smooth market
Bond yields fell and the yen weakened following Ueda’s comments.
A customer visits a store along the Togoshi Ginza shopping street in Tokyo on Jan. 23. Rising fresh food prices contributed to the acceleration in overall inflation in January, as vegetable prices, including cabbage, soared.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 21, 2025
Japan’s inflation speeds up, keeping BOJ on rate hike path
Overall inflation accelerated to 4% from 3.6%, according to the internal affairs ministry, hitting that mark for the first time in two years.
Many Japanese companies like Toto have quietly shifted from consumer-facing products like toilets to specialized, high-value industries such as semiconductor materials, proving that Japan's innovation remains strong despite its lower global visibility.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 21, 2025
Japan’s toilet jokes are on you. Innovation is flourishing.
One of the most surprising stories in corporate Japan in recent months has been the emergence of semiconductor materials as a significant profit driver at Toto.
Some 61.9% of over 11,000 surveyed companies intend to pledge pay increases as part of annual wage negotiations culminating in March, according to a survey by Teikoku Databank.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2025
Record percentage of Japanese firms plan wage hikes, survey shows
Some 61.9% of over 11,000 surveyed companies intend to pledge pay increases as part of annual wage negotiations culminating in March.
The Japanese currency climbed as much as 1% to ¥149.95 against the dollar on Thursday, a level it hasn’t touched since Dec. 9.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 20, 2025
Yen advances past ¥150 per dollar as BOJ rate-hike bets ramp up
Japan’s currency climbed as much as 1% to ¥149.95 against the dollar, a level it hasn’t touched since Dec. 9.
“Yasuko, Songs of Days Past” centers on a real-life love triangle between poet Chuya Nakahara (Taisei Kido, left), actor Yasuko Hasegawa (Suzu Hirose, center) and literary critic Hideo Kobayashi (Masaki Okada).
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2025
‘Yasuko, Songs of Days Past’ puts overlooked star in the spotlight
Kichitaro Negishi’s drama, based on a real-life love triangle among notable figures of the Japanese literati, captures the flavor of a bygone era.
Yokohama District Court Judge Takahira Yoshii said Thursday that educative and protective measures are appropriate for a 16-year-old boy charged with the murder of his parents in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 20, 2025
Boy referred to family court over murder of his parents near Tokyo
The presiding judge ruled that educative and protective measures are appropriate for the 16-year-old boy.
Tokyo police have arrested the president of a computer retailer in the capital for allegedly having Chinese students studying in Japan buy MacBooks using a student discount at Apple Stores for the purpose of reselling them overseas.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 20, 2025
Police arrest computer retailer head over MacBook student discount scheme
Zhao Zhicheng, 35, allegedly had students from China studying in Japan buy the Apple computers at a discount for the purpose of reselling abroad.
Flower bouquets outside the Shenzhen Japanese School following the death of a 10-year-old child who was stabbed by an assailant on the way to the school, in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, on Sept.19, 2024
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 20, 2025
Death sentence over murder of Japanese boy in China to be finalized
The sentence is expected to be finalized after it is examined by a high court in Guangdong and approved by China's Supreme Court.
Cabbage prices have risen to 2.6 times their five-year average in Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 20, 2025
Japan’s food inflation is becoming harder for BOJ to overlook
The level of fresh food prices has risen 71.9% since 2010, about five times more than that of inflation excluding it.
With mergers and acquisitions reaching a record of more than $230 billion last year in Japan, and activists exerting greater influence on corporate Japan, investors from Sparx Asset Management to UBP Investments and Sigmoid Capital are becoming warier of nonearnings factors that may boost shares.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 20, 2025
Activist boom in Japan is upending long-short stock strategies
Japan’s percentage of short-selling to total trades is at the lowest since July last year, in terms of the 60-day moving average.
“Hypnosismic — Division Rap Battle — Movie” centers on groups of male rappers from neighborhoods around Tokyo and Japan at large.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2025
‘Hypnosismic — Division Rap Battle — Movie' lets viewers remix the narrative
Armed with LED-lined gloves and their smartphones, audiences take control of the action for Japan’s first interactive movie.
The Osaka District Court sentenced former hospital employee Tomoya Yanagimoto, 28, to life in prison on Tuesday for raping and injuring 10 girls between the ages of 8 and 12 over a six-year period from March 2016.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 19, 2025
Osaka court jails former hospital employee for life for raping 10 girls
Tomoya Yanagimoto, 28, raped and injured the girls — who were 8 to 12 years of age — between March 2016 and May 2022.
The eastern Myanmar state of Kayin seen from Mae Sot in northwestern Thailand in May
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 19, 2025
Japanese boy says he was forced to work at scam center in Myanmar
The boy said that he was given electric shocks when he refused to take part in the fraud.
Ryuji Kimura in the city of Wakayama in April 2023
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 19, 2025
Kishida attacker sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted murder
Kimura maintained through the trial that he did not intend to harm anyone, adding that he threw the explosive to draw attention to his 2022 lawsuit.
Vehicles bound for shipment at a port in Yokohama. Japan's auto exports to the United States surged 21.8% in January as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats continued to mount.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 19, 2025
Japan’s exports rise again ahead of Trump’s tariff measures
Exports measured by value increased 7.2% from a year earlier, led by shipments of cars and ships.
At the Naha branch of Fukuoka High Court, presiding Judge Takashi Miura said that the constituency map redrawn for the election was reasonable as it adopted the so-called Adams method, which is believed to reflect population ratios more accurately.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 18, 2025
Fukuoka High Court's Naha branch finds 2024 Lower House poll constitutional
It was the seventh ruling among the 16 lawsuits on the latest general election filed so far by two groups of lawyers at 14 high courts and high court branches.
Japan's Prince Hisahito to hold first news conference on March 3
Prince Hisahito heads to greet the Emperor and Empress on the occasion of his 18th birthday in Tokyo on Sep. 6.
Special website created 30 years after Tokyo subway sarin attack
Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by Aum Shinrikyo, the Public Security Intelligence Agency launched a special website Friday.
LDP and opposition lock horns over Japan budget
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in parliament on Friday
Japanese nationals returned from Myanmar as scam probe continues
Multinational victims of scam centers, who were allegedly trafficked into working in Myanmar and were sent to Thailand on Feb. 12 amid a mounting crackdown on scam centers operating along a porous border, queue to get food at a shelter in Tak province, Thailand, on Wednesday.
Over 80% of Japanese say death penalty system is 'unavoidable'
Former death row inmate Iwao Hakamata (left) and his sister, Hideko, attend a gathering of his supporters after his acquittal in a retrial over a 1966 murder case was finalized in October last year.
As Ukraine rift emerges, Kyiv's envoy says Japan must take on bigger global role
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky speaks during an interview at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown ready to sprint past Paris disappointment
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (center) runs during a 100-meter heat at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, 2024.
What is the ceiling for sumo’s newest yokozuna?
Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
‘Yasuko, Songs of Days Past’ puts overlooked star in the spotlight
“Yasuko, Songs of Days Past” centers on a real-life love triangle between poet Chuya Nakahara (Taisei Kido, left), actor Yasuko Hasegawa (Suzu Hirose, center) and literary critic Hideo Kobayashi (Masaki Okada).

Podcast

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

Longform

Tokyo Koon stands at the forefront of tackling the so-called 2025 issue, also known as the “Magnetic Tape Alert.”
The race to save 20th-century history
By Alex K.T. Martin

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