Tag - japanese

 
 

JAPANESE

Suspected intervention to drag the yen off a 34-year low against the dollar is already seen as unlikely to have a lasting effect if Japan continues alone.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 13, 2024
Yen’s fragility raises specter of a new currency war in Asia
A destabilizing slump in the yen could be the trigger that forces Japan’s neighbors to take extreme action.
A woman speaks of her experience of being sent to Macau by an overseas prostitution broker during an interview in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on April 8.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 12, 2024
Three men rearrested over brokering of overseas prostitution
The men sent between 200 and 300 Japanese women to brothels in the United States, Canada and Australia over three years, bringing in roughly ¥200 million.
A government white paper on small and medium enterprises said more than 60% of such firms plan to raise wages this year.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2024
Japan small firms raising wages amid labor shortages, government paper says
The white paper also pointed out that the labor productivity of Japan is lower than that of other members in the OECD.
Special fraud cases in Tokyo in which stolen money was sent via online banking services grew some fivefold from the previous year in 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 12, 2024
Money stolen via online transfers up fivefold in Tokyo
Since many people use online banking services on a daily basis, the number of fraud cases involving such services is expected to grow.
Ryoken Hirayama, 25, is escorted by police as he leacves the Osaki police station in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward on April 22. Hirayama is the first of six people arrested in connection with the murder of a Tokyo couple in Tochigi Prefecture to be charged with murder.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 11, 2024
Suspect, 25, first to be hit with murder charge over bodies found in Tochigi
A total of six people have been arrested over the incident, but the man, Ryoken Hirayama, is the first to be charged with murder.
For the first time in four years, Japan saw the number of corporate bankruptcies exceed 700 in April, Tokyo Shoko Research said Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 11, 2024
Japan corporate bankruptcies rise 28.3% in April
The number of bankruptcies is expected to rise as companies face increased pressure from higher borrowing costs.
The Liberal Democratic Party faction once led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe holds a fundrasing party in Tokyo in May 2023.
JAPAN / Politics
May 10, 2024
Abe faction's ex-treasurer pleads guilty to underreporting political funds
Junichiro Matsumoto admitted to underreporting political funds totaling ¥670 million ($4.3 million) in the period from 2018 to 2022.
Flowers are laid on the bank of a river in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, where the charred bodies of a Tokyo couple were found last month.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / EXPLAINER
May 10, 2024
What we know so far about the case of the burned couple in Tochigi
Details of what happened are starting to become clearer following the arrest of their daughter’s common-law husband, the suspected mastermind.
People walk near the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on April 26.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 10, 2024
BOJ must avoid raising rates to combat weak yen, says ex-official
Higher borrowing costs would hit consumption and services inflation, said Tsutomu Watanabe, an expert on price trends.
The apartment complex where Toshino Hirasawa was stabbed in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, on Thursday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 10, 2024
Man arrested over fatal stabbing of woman had lent victim ¥18 million
It has emerged that the suspect, Manabu Wakui, was arrested for stalking the victim, Toshino Hirasawa, two years ago.
People in a shopping district in Tokyo in March
BUSINESS / Economy
May 10, 2024
Japan’s households cut outlays as inflation remains sticky
Real outlays decreased 1.2% in March from a year before, falling for the 13th consecutive month.
The idea of quitting tends to be associated with weakness, but moving on from a problematic situation can sometimes be extremely positive.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 10, 2024
Sometimes there's power in quitting
Modern society tends to see quitting as a sign of weakness, but Buddhist teaching has extolled the benefits of letting go of something at the right time.
Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on April 30.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2024
Japan’s reserves tally likely too early to reflect intervention
Officials continue to conceal whether they have taken action, forcing investors to make educated guesses about the market moves.
A police officer from the Metropolitan Police Department visits a homeowner in Tokyo to increase awareness of roof inspection scams. The number of complaints made to the National Consumer Affairs Center in relation to such scams tripled between 2018 and 2022.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 9, 2024
Tokyo police warn against costly roofing scams
Deceitful contractors coax homeowners into undertaking costly and unnecessary repairs by falsely claiming their roofs are damaged.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a news conference after a two-day monetary policy meeting at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo on April 26.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2024
Many BOJ board members saw need for steady rate hikes in April, records show
Some saw the chance of a faster-than-expected pace of interest rate hikes on prospects of inflation durably staying or exceeding the bank's 2% target.
Real wages fell 2.5% from a year earlier in March, marking the 24th straight month of declines, exacerbated by a 9.4% drop in bonuses.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 9, 2024
Real wages fell for 24th month in March, dented by 9.4% decline in bonuses
Data for full-time workers that avoid sampling problems and exclude bonuses and overtime pay grew by 2.3%, above 2% for the seventh month.
Despite Shinzo Abe's numerous achievements as prime minister, including job creation and efforts to promote workforce gender equality, recent controversies surrounding his tenure, including ties to controversial groups and scandals within his political faction, have tarnished his image.
COMMENTARY
May 7, 2024
The economic legacy of Japan's longest-serving prime minister
Under Abenomics and the BOJ's monetary policy, employment rose more than under any other Japanese government in the 21st century.
A man who fired a shot after an early morning traffic dispute in western Tokyo on Wednesday is described as being in his 40s, about 170 centimeters tall with a thin build. He was wearing a black baseball cap, matching jersey top and bottom, and spectacles at the time of the incident.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 8, 2024
Police search for man who discharged firearm in Tokyo traffic dispute
He fired a single shot during an altercation with another driver after their cars nearly collided at an intersection in the city of Chofu, western Tokyo.
A 51-year-old man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of stabbing a young woman to death in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 8, 2024
Man arrested over fatal stabbing of young woman in Shinjuku
A 51-year-old man from Kawasaki was arrested at the scene.
Sony employees simulate the physical sensations of pregnancy at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo in February. The simple power of numbers can begin to remake workplace cultures, but many Japanese women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.
JAPAN / Society
May 8, 2024
It took decades, but Japan’s working women are making progress
Employers have taken steps to change a male-dominated workplace culture. But women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.

Longform

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