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August 09, 2026
 

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Satoshi Sugiyama
A car makes its way through strong winds and rain as Typhoon Dolphin approaches, on Amami island, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Friday in this screenshot obtained from a social media video.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2026
Typhoon Dolphin hits Okinawa, with China shutting ports ahead of landfall
The storm left five people injured and cut power to 14,000 buildings in the prefecture.
Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, in China's Jiangsu province. China dominates the global market for rare earths and it is using those supplies as a diplomatic cudgel.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 7, 2026
Corporate Japan¡¯s rare-earth warnings get louder as China keeps spigot closed
As the economy strengthens, an unprecedented increase in company notices about critical ?minerals is flashing a warning signal for the quarters ahead.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who also concurrently serves as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, on Tuesday in Tokyo after a campaign speech for the Lower House election
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 1, 2026
Takaichi talks up weak yen even as Japan works to counter currency decline
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi later ?softened her stance, saying she did not have a preference for the currency¡¯s direction.
Hinako Mori, 22, arranges products at a Don Quijote outlet in Tokyo in October. The Japanese retailer, which relaxed its rules concerning hair and nail polish three years ago, says nearly a quarter of its employees sport brightly colored hair.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 17, 2025
More Japanese firms relax rules in tussle for workers
The country¡¯s labor shortage has led companies to ease up on various aspects, such as hair and nail polish color, to secure enough part-timers.
Risa Matsuda, 27, a staffer at Muscle Girls, flexes while doing a pole dance for customers.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 14, 2025
Tokyo¡¯s viral Muscle Girls bar flexes a brawny sort of beauty
Staff at the viral nightlife spot say embracing a new beauty standard helps them shed societal expectations on femininity.
Momoka Matsui and her co-worker Saki Matsumoto take photos of acrylic stand figure models of their favorite idols with cakes and teas, which they ordered at a Tokyo cafe where Matsui¡¯s favorite boy band stopped by.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 5, 2025
Can Japan¡¯s take on fandom help drive spending?
The explosion of ¡°oshikatsu¡± (supporting favored celebrities or characters), which entered the mainstream during the pandemic, has economists and the Bank of Japan taking note.
Inflation in Tokyo accelerated for a second month in December, as the government temporarily phased out utility subsidies, a result that will likely support expectations of an interest rate hike next year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 27, 2024
Inflation in Tokyo accelerates, keeping rate hike prospects intact
The Tokyo core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food costs, rose 2.4% in December from a year earlier.
Consumer spending dropped 1.3% in October from a year earlier, data from the internal affairs ministry showed on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 6, 2024
Japan¡¯s soft consumer spending unlikely to deter BOJ from raising rates again
Economists attributed the underlying softness in consumption to rising prices and warm weather, which held consumers back from purchasing seasonal apparel.
Yasuyuki Kurosawa at his paddy fields in Meiwa, Gunma Prefecture. Tending the crops "is something that we cannot avoid, so we must do what we must do even if it's hot," the 77-year-old farmer said.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2024
Heatstroke risk won¡¯t stop Japan¡¯s aging farmers as temperatures soar
Agriculture accounts for about 1% of Japan¡¯s economy and almost 70% of its 1.4 million farmers are age 65 and above.
Naoto Ooka inspects a new heat-resistant rice breed called Emihokoro that has been planted at the government-run Saitama Agricultural Technology Center in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, on Aug. 7.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2024
As sweltering summers ravage crops, Japan bets on heat-resistant rice
Supermarkets have struggled to keep rice shelves stocked in recent months.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food climbed 2.7% in July from a year earlier, accelerating slightly from 2.6% in June.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 23, 2024
Japan¡¯s core inflation picks up, but demand-driven growth slows
The ¡°core core¡± index, which is closely watched by the BOJ, dipped below the key 2% line for the first time since September 2022.
People walk along Takeshita street at Harajuku shopping area in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 15, 2024
Japan¡¯s economy rebounds strongly on consumption boost, backing case for more rate hikes
The Bank of Japan had forecast that a solid economic recovery will help inflation hit its 2% target and justify raising interest rates further.
A lesbian couple, consisting of a 35-year-old woman (left) and 40-year-old woman, cover their faces with bouquets as they pose for wedding photos in Yokohama on Nov. 1.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 14, 2024
Amid same-sex marriage ban, LGBTQ couples opt for ¡®photo weddings¡¯
These carefully choreographed images are often kept hidden in conservative Japan.
Masato Kanda, vice minister of finance for international affairs, reiterated the currency authorities' readiness to step into the market for speculative-driven foreign exchange moves.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 7, 2024
Japan warns of action over rapid currency moves
Comments by the government¡¯s top currency diplomat, Masato Kanda, reinforced Tokyo¡¯s readiness to intervene again to support a fragile yen.
Japan's core machinery orders fell 1.7% in January from the previous month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2024
Japan core machinery orders fall more than expected
Core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as a leading indicator of capital spending in the six to nine months ahead, fell 1.7% in January.
Japan's economy stumbled into a recession in the October-December quarter last year on weak domestic demand, preliminary estimates have shown.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 8, 2024
Japan household spending logs biggest drop in 35 months in January
Household spending in January decreased by 6.3% from a year earlier and was down for the 11th straight month.
Japan's factory output in January fell at the fastest pace since May 2020 due to a drop in automobile-related production.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 29, 2024
Japan factory output falls at the fastest pace in nearly four years
A production downturn in motor vehicles is also adding to concerns about the fragility of an economy that slipped into recession late last year.
A fight over Benefit One is the latest in a growing number of takeover deals in Japan, spurred in part by the Tokyo Stock Exchange pushing for improved corporate governance.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 8, 2024
Dai-ichi Life gets Pasona¡¯s nod on Benefit One acquisition
The agreement with Pasona Group, which owns 51.16% of Benefit One, is crucial for Dai-ichi to win the battle against digital health care provider M3.
Tokyo Metro plans to go public in the fiscal year that starts in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 26, 2024
Tokyo Metro to go public as Japan seeks to reap benefits of buoyant stock market
The company, which is owned by the national government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, will be listed in the year that begins in April.
Akinori Ishii, of startup Tsubame Industries Co., sits inside the cockpit of ARCHAX, a giant human-piloted robot developed by him and CEO Ryo Yoshida, in Yokohama on Sept. 27.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 2, 2023
Japan startup develops ¡®Gundam¡¯-like robot with $3 million price tag
The 3.5-ton robot has two modes: the upright ¡°robot mode¡± and a ¡°vehicle mode¡± in which it can travel up to 10 kilometers per hour.
Yen jumps on U.S. data as traders watch for intervention clues
U.S. and Japanese officials have warned investors they¡¯re determined to keep defending the yen if needed.
Japan orders evacuations and cancels 500 flights as Typhoon Dolphin approaches
People cover a roof, damaged by the July 28 earthquake, with a plastic sheet in the town of Hikawa in Kumamoto Prefecture on Thursday to prepare for the approaching typhoon.
Eight dead, including teen suspect¡¯s grandparents, in Thailand shooting
A student is embraced by a relative after being evacuated from Debsirin Nonthaburi School, following a shooting incident at the school, in Bang Kruai district in Nonthaburi province on the outskirts of Bangkok on Friday.
As the Danube hits record lows, every centimeter of river counts
Danube cruise ships moored in Bratislava, on Tuesday. The river level is too low to go back up to Vienna or down to Budapest, the authorities said.
Missile shelter to be built near Tokyo Station amid rising security concerns
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike shakes hands with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a meeting Friday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.
How Japan¡¯s racehorses find second careers away from the track
TCC Therapy Park is supported financially by racing organizations as well as donations from members of the public.
Will Takaichi¡¯s consumption tax cut break the LDP?
Despite months of debate, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi failed to gain consensus within the Liberal Democratic Party on a two-year reduction of the consumption tax.
The hidden details that shape professional sumo
A Wanpaku Sumo tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in July 2016
Current permanent residency applications to be judged using new income criteria
Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Japan¡¯s earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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