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April 10, 2025
 

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JAPANESE

The first trial of Ryuji Kimura, who is accused of attempted murder and other charges for throwing an explosive at then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in 2023, at the Wakayama District Court on Jan. 4. The court will issue its ruling on Feb. 19.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 10, 2025
Prosecutors seek 15 years' jail for man who attacked Kishida
Ryuji Kimura, 25, is accused of attempted murder and other charges for throwing an explosive at then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during an election campaign trail in 2023.
Japan's current account surplus grew 29.5% year on year in 2024, the Finance Ministry said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 10, 2025
Japan's current account surplus hits record high in 2024
The surplus grew 29.5% from 2023 to ¥29.26 trillion ($193 billion) last year, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.
The new Nippon TV series “The Hot Spot” follows an alien superhero navigating rural Japanese life but focuses more on dialogue than splashy, action-packed plot points.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Feb 10, 2025
‘The Hot Spot’: Close encounters of the mundane kind
Japanese dramas have been taking bolder risks recently, and Bakarhythm’s new sci-fi series surprises by centering its high-concept ideas on trivial occurrences.
The three megabank groups including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group posted record consolidated net profits in April-December 2024.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 9, 2025
Japan firms to log record profits — driven by finance and AI biz
Leading the growth is the financial sector, buoyed by the return of positive interest rates to Japan thanks to the Bank of Japan's rate hikes
Together, Shinsuke Yamagai (right) and his younger brother, Ryota, have elevated the cuisine at Shintaku, putting it on the map as one of Niigata Prefecture’s premier gastronomic destinations.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Feb 9, 2025
Brothers’ local focus lifts Shintaku to Niigata’s highest rank
From the ashes of a devastating 2005 fire, Shinsuke and Ryota Yamagai have remade their family’s historic Niigata restaurant into a beacon of Japanese gastronomy.
“Light Court” (2024) is based on the “Lightcourt” space at the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by metabolist architect Kisho Kurokawa (1934-2007).
CULTURE / Art
Feb 9, 2025
Yuki Harada's contemplative artworks ponder vanishing
The artist spent time researching Japanese migrants who left Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures for Hawaii, and the U.S. island state often features in his art.
Arranging your dish in this checkerboard pattern is said to bring good luck, but if that holds true for eating this to start the year, what's stopping you from cooking in a bit of good fortune whenever you need it?
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 9, 2025
Some traditional Japanese culinary rules are meant to be broken
It might tick off Japanese cuisine purists, but there’s room on the table for classic new year ‘osechi ryōri’ dishes whenever you please.
Shoppers walk past a display of cabbages for sale at a supermarket in Tokyo last month. The 2024 record summer heat and heavy rain ruined crops, driving up the cost of the usually inexpensive leafy green in what Japanese media has dubbed a "cabbage shock."
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 7, 2025
Inflation becoming a concern in Japan after being a goal for decades
Rising consumer prices are putting real wage growth at risk and possibly becoming a drag on much-needed household consumption.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito responds to an interview on Friday at the prefectural office.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 7, 2025
Hyogo governor’s reelection sparks investigation into PR firm payments
Authorities are examining seized materials to determine the nature of financial transactions between the governor’s camp and the company.
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki speaks during a news conference at the Justice Ministry in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 7, 2025
Japan's retrial system to be reviewed after landmark acquittal
The system — so time-consuming that campaigners call it the "door that never opens" — has not been changed since 1949.
Whips, cages and other items that were seized from Hiroshi Tsuji, who has been rearrested on suspicion of violating the animal welfare law, by the Metropolitan Police Department are displayed in the city of Tachikawa, Tokyo, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 7, 2025
Kawasaki taxi driver rearrested on suspicion of killing pigeon
It is believed Hiroshi Tsuji initially gave the bird food and water but began abusing it when it showed no affection in return.
A monitor in Tokyo shows the yen at the ¥155 level against the dollar on Monday, when it began rallying after a sharp decline in the previous week.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 7, 2025
Yen’s weekly surge underscores growing case for a hawkish BOJ
The Japanese currency has rallied more than 2% this week, heading for the biggest gain since late November.
While the ruling minority government’s weakened position has emboldened opposition parties to push for more spending across multiple policy fronts, the International Monetary Fund has warned there is limited space today in Japan to address the risks of natural disasters and mounting social security costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 7, 2025
Japan needs immediate deficit cut to fix fiscal path, IMF warns
The government needs to prepare now to avoid negative surprises four or five years down the road, the IMF’s Japan mission chief says.
Japanese household consumption in December grew at the fastest pace since August 2022, but it is uncertain whether the gains are sustainable, given wage growth in the month was largely supported by the temporary effect of bonuses.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 7, 2025
Japan’s household spending jumps the most since 2022 as wages rise
Outlays adjusted for inflation gained 2.7% in December from a year earlier, according to internal affairs ministry data.
Masako Akagi, wife of late Toshio Akagi, holds Toshio's picture and his glasses during a news conference in Osaka on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 7, 2025
Government accepts ruling backing disclosure of Moritomo documents
Moritomo Gakuen was once linked to the wife of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japanese rice fish detect ultraviolet rays from sunlight directly with the pituitary gland and turn their bodies black for protection, a team has found.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2025
Japanese rice fish detect UV rays with pituitary gland
The team suspects that animals with almost translucent bodies may have yet more systems to detect light directly.
Investigators pursue a criminal case in the town of Oshima in Tokyo in January.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 6, 2025
Concern over crime grows in Japan as cases rise for third straight year
The most drastic increase was seen in the number of fraud cases, which numbered 57,324 — up 24.6% from the previous year and with a total of ¥307.5 billion in damages recorded.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the former employee has admitted to the allegation, telling investigators that he used the name brand of Nomura Securities to commit the fraud.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 6, 2025
Former Nomura employee arrested for suspected fraud
The former employee of Nomura Securities is suspected of defrauding a client of ¥10 million with a fake investment offer.
A video clip shows former lawyer Yamato Eguchi remaining silent during an interrogation by prosecutors.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 6, 2025
Tokyo High Court upholds compensation order over interrogation abuse
The Tokyo High Court upheld a lower court's ruling that the state must pay compensation to a former lawyer over the verbal abuse he suffered while he was interrogated.
The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has raided locations related to a former Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank division manager on suspicion of violating the financial instruments and exchange law.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 6, 2025
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank worker's insider trading likely lasted years
The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has raided locations related to the former employee.
Wall Street will regret helping the world burn
Wall Street banks, under political pressure and tempted by short-term gains, are abandoning climate commitments and pouring billions into fossil fuels, risking both environmental catastrophe and massive future economic losses.
Trump's tariff gambit leaves Asia stunned and scrambling
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he attends the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner in Washington on Tuesday. Trump allowed new tariffs — including a 24% levy on Japan — to go into effect as scheduled on Wednesday.
Japan and U.S. appoint tariff negotiators after Ishiba-Trump phone call
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa enters the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japanese makers rush to mitigate possible Nankai Trough earthquake damage
Toyota is considering transferring some production in the key Tokai region, which is expected to be hit hard in a Nankai Trough earthquake, to the Tohoku and Kyushu regions.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it
An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
After a tumultuous buildup, a first look at the Osaka Expo
A large statue of Osaka Expo mascot Myaku Myaku sits near the east entrance of the event's venue in Yumeshima island, Osaka, on Wednesday.
Japan gets a new U.S. ambassador — and he has his work cut out for him
George Glass, U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to be ambassador to Japan, attends a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington on March 13.
Online art scene eager to go offline, at least for the moment
Digital artist Polygon1993 revels in the physicality of nostalgic technology, making art out of materials such as miniature CDs, holographic prints layered with plexiglass shards and a giant custom-made floppy disk.
Tottori takes a bold leap forward in the arts
The city of Kurayoshi in Tottori Prefecture celebrated the opening of its public art museum with festivities such as a parade that drew 1,000 revelers.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).

Podcast

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

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)
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