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JAPANESE

Investigators from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police examine the scene where a woman in her 20s was stabbed on Tuesday morning in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 11, 2025
Man arrested after fatal stabbing of woman in Shinjuku Ward
The suspect is said to have approached the woman in her 20s near Takadanobaba Station and stabbed her without warning as she walked, apparently livestreaming, investigators said.
A Vietnamese worker harvests tomatoes at a farm in the city of Asahi, Chiba Prefecture, in 2018.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2025
Amid labor shortage, Japan approves guidelines to upskill foreign workers
The new program aims to nurture trainees into skilled workers to motivate them to remain in the country.
Kazuo Momma, a former executive director in charge of monetary policy at the Bank of Japan, says June is the favored option for the central bank's next rate hike.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 11, 2025
BOJ’s next rate hike likely in June, former executive says
Kazuo Momma, a former executive director in charge of monetary policy, says the central bank is likely to move roughly every six months to maintain expectations.
Japan's economy expanded in the October-December quarter at a slower pace than earlier reported as consumption came in weaker than expected.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 11, 2025
Japan’s economic growth revised lower ahead of BOJ meet
The revised figures highlight pockets of weakness in the Japanese economy even as it continues to moderately expand.
Members of a Liberal Democratic Party panel discuss proposals about allowing spouses to retain their respective surnames, in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 10, 2025
Eternal debate over surname law comes to fore again
Since last October’s general election, momentum has picked up for a legislative change to allow married couples to retain different surnames.
Japan logged a deficit of ¥257.6 billion in the current account, a measure of trade and investment flows, compared with a surplus of ¥334.3 billion a year before, according to the Finance Ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 10, 2025
Japan logs its first current account deficit in two years in January
The nation logged a deficit of ¥257.6 billion in the current account compared with a surplus of ¥334.3 billion a year before.
The Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. Tokyo police have arrested a 52-year-old unemployed man for allegedly sending a box cutter blade to a former Cabinet minister.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 10, 2025
Man held over box cutter blade sent to former Cabinet minister
Yasuhiro Oura, 52, was previously arrested for attempted extortion against a former Upper House lawmaker, for which he has been indicted.
Base pay rose by 3.1% in January from a year earlier, the largest advance since October 1992, according to the labor ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 10, 2025
Japan records fastest gains in base pay since 1992, supporting BOJ moves
Data has also highlighted the impact of price growth, with real cash earnings falling 1.8%.
The bridge in the city of Asahikawa where a female high school student died after being pushed off in April last year
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 9, 2025
Woman sentenced to 23 years over Asahikawa girl's murder
Asahikawa District Court in Hokkaido has sentenced a 20-year-old woman to 23 years in prison in a high-profile murder case in which a female high school student died after being pushed off a bridge and into a river in Asahikawa in April last year.
Police arrested Tsuyoshi Furusho, mayor of Saza, Nagasaki Prefecture, on Saturday in a bid-rigging case over a public works project in the town.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 9, 2025
Nagasaki town mayor arrested in bid-rigging case
Furusho, 77, was first elected mayor of the town in 2009. He is currently in his fourth term.
While Google may be the restaurant review medium of choice in other countries, Japan largely prefers Tabelog, where five-star reviews are rare and three-star reviews aren't what they seem.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 9, 2025
On Japan's top foodie site, imperfection is gold
Cultural expectations may influence ratings on Tabelog, but reading between the lines might help you find the next hidden gem.
Bar Bota, the 37th-floor watering hole at the Four Seasons Osaka, looks out on a glittering cityscape better known for its cheap eats and drinks.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 9, 2025
Slowly but surely, Osaka emerges from Kyoto’s fine-dining shadow
The majority of tourists go to Osaka with street food on their minds, but the city is rapidly improve its elevated dining options as well.
A man is silhouetted beneath a screen displaying Japan's Nikkei share average in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 8, 2025
Japanese stocks expected to remain on downward trend amid tariff turmoil
Uncertainties over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs this week pushed the Nikkei 225 index below 37,000 for the first time in six months.
A welfare caseworker (Takumi Kitamura) heads down a dangerous path despite trying to do the right thing in “A Bad Summer.”
CULTURE / Film
Mar 7, 2025
‘A Bad Summer’: A scorching drama of simmering rage and its consequences
Hideo Jojo pushes into forbidden territory and navigates the darker currents of his latest film with assurance.
Shoshi Maekawa (center) speaks during a news conference in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Thursday following the opening of his retrial.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2025
Retrial ruling set for July 18 over 1986 murder in Fukui
In a hearing at the Kanazawa branch of the Nagoya High Court, Shoshi Maekawa said he was innocent of the junior high school student's murder.
Kanagawa Prefectual Police headquarters in Yokohama
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2025
Kawasaki man arrested for alleged murder in 2003
The arrest came after a skeletonized body was found in a bamboo forest in the city in 2010.
Following the Nagoya High Court ruling on the same-sex marriage lawsuit, lawyers and others raise banners and boards that read "unconstitutional" and similar statements on Friday in Naka Ward, Nagoya.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2025
Nagoya High Court rules not recognizing same-sex marriage unconstitutional
It is the fourth high court ruling in Japan on same-sex marriage, following decisions in Sapporo, Tokyo and Fukuoka.
The illuminated advertising board of a host club in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district. The bill approved by the government on Friday aims to ban hosts from emotionally manipulating customers into making excessive purchases — a common tactic in the industry.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2025
Japan looks to crack down on host club exploitation with tighter regulations
Police received 2,776 consultations nationwide related to host clubs last year, with many involving women coerced into sex work to cover unpaid bills.
Japan is grappling with a budget shortfall, and while raising the tax-free threshold has sparked political debate, the country's booming tourism industry presents an untapped revenue source.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 7, 2025
Japan has a revenue hole. Plug it with tourists
More than 35 years after sales tax was first introduced, it remains incredibly unpopular and reducing it is a regular promise of opposition parties.
Globally, women are severely underrepresented among leading roles in cinema, with female directors accounting for just over 10% of the industry in Japan. Achieving gender equality on-set would have far-reaching consequences for the whole of society.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 7, 2025
Without women behind the camera, equality stays out of the frame
Cinema isn't only about what stories are told, but who tells them. Overcoming severe underrepresentation, women are reshaping the film industry and cultural narratives.

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