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March 07, 2026
 

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Elizabeth Beattie
Ronda Payne (center), the mother of Christopher Payne, an American man convicted of sexual assault in Japan, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2026
American man found guilty of sexual assault fights ruling over DNA evidence
A Tokyo High Court ruling in December said his conviction was based on insufficient evidence and sent his case back to the district court.
A bottle of Bowmore at a shop near Lausanne, Switzerland. Suntory acquired Bowmore in 1994.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2026
Suntory consolidates two scotch distilleries in Scotland as U.S. sales fall
The majority of revenue from scotch whisky comes from exports, which fell to the U.S. ¡ª one of the largest markets for the drink ¡ª following tariffs being introduced in April 2025.
Use of food delivery services surged during the pandemic, when fewer people were dining out, but rising competition has proved challenging for firms and led to consolidation in a number of markets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2026
Wolt pulls out of Japan amid DoorDash exit from some Asian markets
Wolt will also withdraw from Uzbekistan, while another DoorDash subsidiary Deliveroo will cease its food delivery services in Singapore and Qatar.
The city of Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2026
Gunma tops relocation ranking for second consecutive year
Concerns over rising costs and recommendations by artificial intelligence helped push the prefecture to the top spot.
With Mirumi, a fluffy-furred robot bag charm, robotics firm Yukai Engineering hopes to replicate the Labubu craze in Western countries.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 24, 2026
A fluffy pink robot may be Japan¡¯s answer to Labubu
Mirumi, whose goal is to ¡°steal your heart,¡± arrives as the ¡°kidult¡± market is projected to climb.
Ibis President Eiji Kamiya, the parent of VoiSona operator, explains the global ambitions of the company are to ¡°generate new culture starting from Japan.¡±
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 16, 2026
Japanese DIY music app aims to help 'otaku' bedroom composers find their voice
VoiSona offers an easy-to-use and affordable service by focusing on the otaku bedroom composers who want to make their geekiest dreams come true.
Experts say emotional bonds with AI are often shaped by prior experiences ¡ª or disappointments ¡ª in human relationships.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Feb 13, 2026
Love, engineered in the age of AI
As chatbots grow more sophisticated, some people are forming romantic bonds ¡ª and even marriages ¡ª with artificial partners.
Amtrak has manga-style posters on display in stations around the U.S.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 2, 2026
More foreign companies adopt anime and manga as PR tool
Amtrak now has an ¡°anime conductor¡± featuring in manga-style safety posters that are displayed in railway stations around the U.S.
X-iS staff work on a commissioned custom mosaic for a client in January in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Feb 2, 2026
Natural treasure: Tile company finds global audience with Gifu Prefecture clay
In lush Gifu Prefecture lays a distinct kind of buried treasure: clay, upon which tile manufacturer X-iS is building an internationally facing business.
Foreign visitors from the combined countries of Europe, the U.S. and Australia were up 22% year on year.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2026
Foreign visitors to Japan topped 40 million in 2025
Tourists, including droves from Asia and the U.S., continued to visit, as tensions with China failed to put a damper on the numbers.
Japan's content industry ¡ª which includes anime, manga and video games ¡ª is a major export the country. Such exports were valued at ?6 trillion ($38 billion) in 2024.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jan 19, 2026
AI-driven pirated manga is booming. Can AI also help curb it?
While artificial intelligence is driving the spread of pirated manga online, Japanese government officials are hoping AI can also help rein it in.
The number of Japanese residents arriving in the U.S. to study fell by 2,945 year on year in the first 11 months of 2025, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 15, 2026
Fewer Japanese study in U.S. amid uncertainty over visas and political climate
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has placed educational facilities under immense scrutiny as part of its "America First" policy.
The United Nations University in Tokyo¡¯s Shibuya Ward is an established institution in Japan, regularly hosting lectures, exhibitions and forums.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2026
U.N. University in Tokyo unlikely to be impacted by U.S. exit
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday his country¡¯s withdrawal from a number of institutions, including 31 U.N. entities.
The lively Coach Ginza store on Jan. 6. The brand has refreshed its image in recent years, attracting younger shoppers through customization, influencer collaborations, and eco-friendly initiatives.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2026
Bag charms, coffee and fun: Coach¡¯s Gen Z playbook in Japan
In the face of a global luxury market slowdown, the American fashion house¡¯s success with the younger generation has positioned it as something of an outlier in the industry.
The intensity of Tuesday morning's initial quake is shown on a weather agency map
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2026
Strong earthquake rattles western Japan, followed by several more shakes
The initial jolt was a magnitude 6.2 quake that measured a strong 5 on 91²Ö¿â seismic intensity scale. There was no threat of a tsunami.
Then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and then-U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel visit Daiwa Sushi restaurant at Toyosu Market in Tokyo in Jan. 7, 2025.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 4, 2026
The very best is on the menu for business travelers flocking to Japan
From around the world they come, staying at Japan¡¯s luxury hotels and dining at the most acclaimed restaurants as travel agencies and hotel operators work to cash in on the trend.
Toshiyuki Namigai (left) shows tatami sheets of varying thickness to a client, Swedish entrepreneur Anton Wormann, at Namigai's store in Tokyo in December.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 30, 2025
Amid uncertainty at home, tatami-makers find a new market: foreign buyers
Businesses focused on the traditional flooring material are evolving product offerings and marketing goods overseas, hoping to keep their craft alive.
A research group led by Kyoto University has developed a Christian bot to help broaden access to Christianity in Japan.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 24, 2025
After developing a Buddhist bot, Kyoto University develops Christian bot
Initially, its use will be limited to ¡°believers under clergy guidance or by the general public within church settings.¡±
The Rapidus booth at the Semicon Japan exhibition in Tokyo on Wednesday. The exhibition is scheduled to continue through Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 18, 2025
Rapidus announces new artificial intelligence design tools
The chipmaker, which already uses artificial intelligence in certain aspects of its business, expects its integration to enable it to cut design time and cost.
People pose for pictures in front of festive light installations at Mohri Garden in Roppongi district, in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 17, 2025
For the first time, Tokyo reaches second place in Global Power City Index
The executive director of the Mori Memorial Foundation, which releases the index, said other Japanese cities ¡ª such as Fukuoka and Osaka ¡ª were rapidly moving up the rankings, too.
Drones and missiles: U.S. Marines in Okinawa evolve for sea-denial role
Lt. Gen. Roger Turner, commanding general of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, speaks to marines and sailors aboard the amphibious assault ship USS America at Naval Base White Beach in Okinawa Prefecture on Aug. 10.
Japan¡¯s national museums to implement dual-pricing system
Admission fees for the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo and 11 other state-run museums are set to increase for visitors from outside Japan.
Three arrested over illegal hiring of Vietnamese workers in Japan
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested three men over alleged involvement in employing Vietnamese nationals without work permits in Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Violence in sumo provokes anger but little surprise
Terunofuji pictured at Isegahama stable on Jan. 29, 2024
Netflix deal shuts out Japan¡¯s sports bars from freely showing WBC
Fans watching from Tokyo react after Japan beat the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic in March 2023.
Taiwan¡¯s FM calls for Taipei to be part of 'first island chain' security framework
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung speaks during an interview last week in Taipei. Lin has called on Japan and other partners to step up cooperation in areas such as intelligence-sharing, joint exercises, defense-industry tie-ups, data links and dealing with hybrid threats such as China¡¯s gray-zone activities.
Netflix deal shuts out Japan¡¯s sports bars from freely showing WBC
Fans watching from Tokyo react after Japan beat the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic in March 2023.
¡®My hope has fear inside it¡¯: Iranians in Japan react to attacks back home
Somayyeh Mehri speaks in an interview on Monday in Tokyo. The psychological weight of watching events unfold from Japan is gut-wrenching for Mehri.
Shohei Ohtani returns to Japan as the center of attention ahead of WBC
Shohei Ohtani is back with Samurai Japan for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Ohtani was the MVP of the 2023 tournament.
Inside a Japanese bookshop: Words you need to browse in Jimbocho
Tokyo¡¯s Jimbocho neighborhood has all kinds of bookshops and cafes, but it is mainly known for its abundance of stores selling secondhand books.

Podcast

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

Longform

As Japan accelerates AI adoption, policymakers and corporations frame the technology as essential to offsetting a projected labor shortfall of 11 million workers by 2040.
Japan is betting big on AI. Few workers have used it.
By Eric Margolis

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