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April 03, 2025
 

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JAPANESE

The Osaka Prefectural Police headquarters in the city of Osaka
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 12, 2025
Osaka police arrest man for abandoning his wife’s body
His wife was last seen leaving work early at around 2 p.m. on May 26 last year.
In digital trade, Japan's imports have been rising faster than its exports, amid the dominance of global information technology giants such as Microsoft and Google.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 11, 2025
Japan's trade deficit for digital services rose to record ¥6.6 trillion in 2024
Japan's digital trade deficit is expected to reach ¥10 trillion in 2030, roughly equivalent to its crude oil imports in 2024.
Debt servicing costs are estimated to increase, reflecting the Bank of Japan's interest rate hikes.
BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2025
Japan's government debt climbs to record ¥1.32 quadrillion
The combined balance of Japanese government bonds, borrowings and financing bills swelled by ¥7.2 trillion from the end of September 2024.
A set of miniature "hina" dolls from the late Edo Period (1603-1868), collected by hina furnishings researcher Yumiko Kawauchi
CULTURE
Feb 10, 2025
Miniatures bring hidden worlds to life at Tokyo cultural site
A set of dolls from the late Edo Period is among the items on display on the premises of Hotel Gajoen Tokyo.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%
Trump tosses a MAGA hat to the crowd during an event in which he unveiled new tariffs in the White House on Wednesday.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
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).
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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

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