A man who threw a homemade pipe bomb at former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a 2023 campaign event denied that he intended to kill the politician as his trial began Tuesday at a court in western Japan.

Ryuji Kimura, 25, is charged with attempted murder for the April 15, 2023 attack on Kishida at a small fishing port in the city of Wakayama, as well as four other charges including violations of laws controlling explosives and deadly weapons.

Kishida was unhurt, but two people sustained minor injuries. Kimura was arrested on the spot.

At Tuesday's trial at the Wakayama District Court, Kimura pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, saying he didn't intend to kill Kishida, according to NHK public television and other media. They said Kimura admitted to making the bombs and other charges.

A ruling is expected later this month.

Prosecutors said the bomb Kimura threw at Kishida was one of two he brought to the campaign event.
Social media postings later suggested Kimura had grievances about Japan’s election system.

Authorities found parts of the pipe bomb stuck in a container 60 meters away from the venue. Prosecutors say that it was potentially lethal.

The attack on Kishida came nine months after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a campaign speech in Nara, another city in western Japan. That attack shocked the nation and prompted greater protection for dignitaries.
 
 

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will make a three-day trip to the United States from Thursday for his first in-person talks with President Donald Trump in Washington, Japan's top government spokesman said Tuesday.

The two countries plan to issue a joint statement after the meeting, which is likely to take place Friday, with discussions ongoing about including the "unwavering" U.S. commitment to Japan's defense, according to Japanese government sources.

During the talks, Ishiba intends to outline Japan's efforts to increase defense spending, with apparent consideration that Trump, under his "America First" agenda, is stepping up pressure on NATO members to contribute more to defense, they said.

In a formal announcement of Ishiba's first trip to the United States since becoming prime minister in October, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed hope that the two leaders will build a personal relationship through candid exchanges and share their views on security and economic challenges to elevate bilateral ties to "new heights."

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will accompany Ishiba to the United States.
The upcoming summit will be a crucial opportunity for Japan to reaffirm its strong alliance with the United States amid growing security challenges from China, North Korea and Russia, given uncertainties over how Trump plans to engage with Japan in his second term, which began Jan. 20.

The "unwavering" U.S. defense commitment to its Asian ally, backed by both nuclear and conventional military capabilities, was affirmed in a joint statement issued in February 2017 when Trump, then newly in office, met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Ishiba told a parliamentary committee Tuesday that he has "a host of issues" to discuss with Trump, namely security and tariffs.

"I want to set priorities and achieve results within the limited time available," he said.

Ishiba apparently aims to secure Trump's support for measures to strengthen the alliance's deterrence capabilities, noting that in 2022, the Japanese government committed 43 trillion yen ($280 billion) in defense spending over five years to raise the budget to 2 percent of gross domestic product.

North Korea's nuclear and missile development is also expected to be on the agenda. Ishiba is likely to seek U.S. cooperation on the issue of Pyongyang's past abductions of Japanese nationals.

Trump has expressed eagerness to reengage with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The two met three times during Trump's first presidency, but their denuclearization negotiations made no progress.
 
 

Record snowfall has blanketed Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, causing widespread travel disruptions and prompting calls for assistance from stranded motorists.

The heavy snow, deemed record-breaking by the Hokkaido prefectural government, has particularly impacted the island's eastern regions, including Obihiro and Kushiro.

Local authorities have been inundated with calls from drivers whose vehicles became trapped in the snow.

The severe weather coincides with the start of Sapporo's renowned snow festival in southern Hokkaido. While the festival itself has not experienced significant disruption, the broader impact on the island is evident.

Television footage has captured scenes of residents battling the elements, shovelling snow and assisting stranded drivers. Despite the widespread disruption, no injuries or major damage have been reported.

In Obihiro, a record-breaking snowfall of 129 centimetres (4 feet) was detected on Tuesday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said two powerful low pressure systems are moving on both sides of the Japanese archipelago, sending cold air into the region.

The agency predicted up to 100 centimetres (3.2 feet) of snowfall in northwestern Japan and 50 centimetres (1.6 feet) more snowfall in Hokkaido over the next 24 hours through Wednesday evening.

The prefecture said parts of highways and main roads were closed, and train services in the affected areas were suspended. Runways were closed due to snow at Obihiro and Kushiro airports, while dozens of flights in and out of Hokkaido were cancelled, affecting thousands of people.

About 370 schools cancelled classes Tuesday across Hokkaido, according to the prefecture.

The snow also caused closures of post offices and other distribution services, delaying deliveries within Hokkaido and to destinations across Japan.

Hokkaido officials called on the residents and visitors to carry shovels and warm clothes in their vehicles in case they stall in the snow.
 

An artificial intelligence-based chatbot will start answering questions from a Buddhist viewpoint in English in Bhutan, its developers including a Kyoto University professor said Monday.

The team of the university and a startup initially developed a chatbot called Buddhabot in 2021 with the Japanese translation of the Sutta Nipata, considered to be the oldest collection of discourses of Buddha. Data on other classic collections were also incorporated into the AI Buddha later.

In 2023, the team remodeled the Buddhabot using OpenAI's ChatGPT generative AI to create Buddhabot Plus, which adds interpretations and explanations to the discourses. The English version of Buddhabot Plus was completed last year following the Bhutanese government's request.

According to the team, 100 to 200 monks in Bhutan, whose state religion is Tibetan Buddhism, will use the chatbot on a trial basis to further improve its functions and create guidelines on its use.

The technology will be available for all monks by March 2027 at the earliest, and the country will consider whether to open it up to ordinary citizens, almost all of whom can understand English, amid declining interest in Buddhism among younger generations.

At a news conference Monday, Buddhabot co-developer Seiji Kumagai, professor at the Kyoto University Institute for the Future of Human Society, said the chatbot "could offer opportunities for many people to receive Buddhist teachings also in Japan, where temples are expected to decrease."
 
 

Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co say they will unveil the details of their merger plan in mid-February, having originally announced they would do so by the end of January.

Honda and Nissan, Japan's second- and third-largest carmakers by volume, said they are still discussing the finer points of the merger.

The two carmakers said at a press conference last month that they had agreed to begin talks on merging under a holding company in 2026 and that each company would operate under its own brand within the holding company.

Honda chief executive Toshihiro Mibe said that Honda wanted struggling Nissan to make steady progress in restructuring as a precondition for the merger.

Honda has been urging Nissan to strengthen its restructuring efforts, according to sources close to the matter.

In November, Nissan said it would cut 9,000 jobs worldwide and reduce its global production capacity by 20 percent after it reported a more than 90 percent drop in net profit in the April-September period.

As part of the overhaul measures, Nissan planned to offer early retirement programs to employees at its three U.S. plants while reducing its workforce in Thailand, the sources said.

But Honda remains unconvinced, calling for more drastic measures to ensure its successful turnaround, they said.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp, a partner of Nissan, had been considering joining the merger but is now leaning toward not participating in the holding company, according to other sources.

The automaker hopes to maintain its status as a listed company while exploring collaboration with Honda and Nissan without joining the merger, the sources said, adding that Mitsubishi Motors is expected to make a final decision in mid-February or later.
 
 

The Japanese government on Monday warned of heavy snowfall across a wide swathe along the Sea of Japan coast due to this season's strongest cold front, with residents urged to avoid nonessential outings due to potential traffic disruptions.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said snow is expected to fall in regions where snowfall is uncommon such as the Tokai region in central Japan, as well as Shikoku and Kyushu islands in the west and southwest.

While snowfall is expected to peak on Thursday, another cold front is forecast from Saturday onward.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism warned that expressways and major roads could be closed depending on snowfall, and asked shipping companies to refrain from asking drivers to make nonessential deliveries.

The ministry cited previous cases of stranded vehicles, road and railway closures as well as major train delays.

Some areas in the country may experience a cold front of a severity only seen once every several years, according to the weather agency.

In the 24 hours through 6 a.m. Tuesday, up to 50 centimeters of snow could fall in Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four main islands, while the Hokuriku region in central Japan could see up to 40 cm and the Tohoku region in the northeast up to 30 cm.

There may be up to 25 cm of snow in the Tokai region and up to 20 cm in the western regions of Kinki and Chugoku as well as in northern Kyushu.

In the following 24-hour period, 70 cm of snow may fall in the Tohoku, Hokuriku and Tokai regions, and 50 cm in Hokkaido, the Kinki and Chugoku regions.

Northern Kyushu may receive 30 cm, while Shikoku could see 20 cm, and southern Kyushu and the Amami Islands in the southwest may get 15 cm.
 
 

UFO fans are increasingly active in Japan, where lawmakers have called for official investigations and UFO events have attracted many visitors.

The trend, which followed U.S. developments including the establishment of a special organization to analyze eyewitness information and other data, "may reflect a sense of social anxiety," an expert says.

Some Japanese municipalities trying to take advantage of the mysteries of UFOs for regional revitalization are hoping for a return of the UFO boom.

 

The U.S. government refers to UFOs as unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs. In an interview on a popular podcast during the U.S. presidential election campaign last year, Donald Trump, who took office last month, emphasized the need to disclose information about UAPs.

In Japan, parliamentary members launched a nonpartisan group to study UAPs from the perspective of national security in June last year. The founders include Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
 
 
 

U.S. tech giant OpenAI on Monday unveiled a ChatGPT tool called "deep research" ahead of high-level meetings in Tokyo, as China's DeepSeek chatbot heats up competition in the AI field.

Artificial intelligence newcomer DeepSeek has sent Silicon Valley into a frenzy, with its high performance and supposed low cost prompting calls for U.S. developers to go faster.

OpenAI, whose ChatGPT fronted generative AI's emergence into public consciousness in 2022, said its new tool "accomplishes in tens of minutes what would take a human many hours".

"Deep research is OpenAI's next agent that can do work for you independently -- you give it a prompt, and ChatGPT will find, analyze, and synthesize hundreds of online sources to create a comprehensive report at the level of a research analyst," it said in a statement.

In a livestreamed video announcement, OpenAI researchers showed how the tool can synthesise web search data to help recommend ski equipment to buy for a snow holiday in Japan.

OpenAI chief Sam Altman is in Tokyo to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba later Monday.

SoftBank and OpenAI are part of the Stargate drive announced by U.S. President Donald Trump to invest up to $500 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States.

Ishiba is expected to visit Washington to meet Trump for the leaders' first in-person meeting later this week.

On Monday afternoon, Altman and Masayoshi Son, head of Japanese tech investment behemoth SoftBank Group, held a forum in Tokyo with around 500 businesses. Later, they announced plans to form a joint venture -- SB OpenAI Japan -- to boost Japan's AI infrastructure.

The Nikkei business daily reported that this will include building AI data centers and power plants to run them, without specifying the scale of the investment required.

Separately, Altman told the Nikkei he wants to develop "a new kind of hardware" using artificial intelligence in partnership with Apple's former chief design officer Jony Ive.

But Altman indicated that it would take several years to unveil a prototype, the Nikkei said.

Altman also told the newspaper that DeepSeek is "a good model" that highlights the serious competition for AI reasoning technology, but that its "capability level isn't new".

DeepSeek's performance has sparked a wave of accusations that it has reverse-engineered the capabilities of leading U.S. technology, such as the AI powering ChatGPT.

Last week OpenAI warned that Chinese companies are actively attempting to replicate its advanced AI models, prompting closer cooperation with U.S. authorities.
 
 

Overnight stays at accommodation facilities in Japan by Japanese and foreign travelers rose 5.5 percent in 2024 from the previous year to a record 651.49 million, preliminary government data showed Friday.

The growth was largely driven by foreign visitors, whose stays at hotels and Japanese inns surged 38.8 percent to 163.48 million on the back of a weak yen, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.

Overnight stays by Japanese residents, meanwhile, fell 2.3 percent to 488.01 million, with an agency official suggesting a slowdown in the post-coronavirus pandemic domestic travel boom.

The previous record high was 617.47 million marked in 2023.
With travelers continuing to concentrate in major urban areas such as Tokyo, Aichi and Osaka, the government is working on measures to address overtourism and promote regional travel.

In December alone, overnight stays stood at 55.82 million, up 6.3 percent from the same month a year earlier, with foreigners accounting for 15.29 million of the total.

Revised figures for November showed that stays by foreign visitors increased from the previous year in 43 of Japan's 47 prefectures. Tottori in western Japan saw the highest growth rate at 117 percent at 21,610 stays, followed by Ishikawa in central Japan at 116 percent at 297,390 stays.

The figures represent the number of people multiplied by the number of overnight stays they had, according to the agency.
 
 

Five households in the immediate vicinity of a massive, ever-widening sinkhole near Tokyo were urged to evacuate on Sunday (Feb 2), with efforts to rescue a man stuck inside reportedly halted.

A 74-year-old truck driver was swallowed on Tuesday by the cavity which has since expanded to 40m across - almost the length of an Olympic swimming pool.

The growing hole could be the result of corroded sewerage pipes, according to local authorities.

Requests were issued on Sunday for five households near the hole in the city of Yashio, in the Saitama region, to take shelter, a local government official told AFP.

This is on top of other residents within a 50m radius of the cavity who are also being encouraged to evacuate, he said.

On Saturday, Japanese rescuers finished building a 30m slope to send heavy equipment and reach the truck driver.

But a good amount of sewage water was discovered underneath the slope, which, combined with rain, led to the rescue mission being suspended on Sunday, public broadcaster NHK said.

With the walls of the hole - around 15m deep, according to NHK - eroding, rescue workers are unable to stay inside it for long.

The hole was initially around 5m in diameter but combined with a larger cavity that opened during the rescue operation on Tuesday night.

Around 1.2 million people living nearby have so far been asked to cut back on showers and laundry to prevent leaking sewage from hindering the operation.
 

 

Japan on Sunday successfully launched a flagship H3 rocket and put into orbit a quasi-zenith satellite, aiming to improve the accuracy of global positioning data for various applications.

The No. 5 H3 rocket marked its fourth consecutive successful liftoff following a failed debut in 2023, carrying the No. 6 Michibiki satellite to enhance positioning accuracy by operating alongside previously launched satellites, reducing errors to just a few centimeters.

The system will operate with seven Michibiki satellites by fiscal 2026, and the development of an additional four satellites for backup will begin in fiscal 2025.

 

Currently, Michibiki satellites No. 1 through 4 are in operation, with the latest No. 6 becoming the fifth satellite in the series.

The geostationary orbit is highly contested among nations, leading the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to prioritize the launch of the No. 6 satellite before the No. 5 to secure its orbital position.

The H3, a large two-stage liquid-fueled rocket, lifted off at around 5:30 p.m. from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan.
 

Seattle-based global coffee shop network, United States, Starbucks, last month launched a plant-based straw that is biodegradable for its outlets in Japan starting this month.

Starbucks Coffee Japan Ltd., will replace the paper straws it uses with biomass alternatives originating from plants starting in January, aiming to halve waste and emissions by 2030.

The well-known coffee network operator plans to step up its initiative against microplastic pollution, by introducing more environmentally friendly straws in 32 outlets in the prefecture of the southern island of Okinawa starting January 23 for customers ordering cold drinks.

"We aim to promote sustainable practice in our business so that customers can align with our goals," Starbucks Coffee Japan CEO Takafumi Minaguchi said in a statement.

A biodegradable dose made from plant-based, which is colored in Starbucks dark green, will begin rolling out at all outlets across Japan from March, the company said.

These new doses are designed to be stronger when used, unlike the paper straws introduced in January 2020 as part of efforts to overcome marine pollution caused by plastic waste.

Made mainly from vegetable oil, not derivatives of petroleum, this straw eventually decomposes into carbon dioxide and water through microorganisms found in sea and soil water.

Starbucks is one of a number of companies that continues to grow in Japan's food and beverage services sector, such as the McDonald's Japan hamburger chain and the family restaurant operator Skylark Holdings Co., which has introduced environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic straws.

The use of a biopolymer straw, which emits less CO2 during its life cycle compared to the paper options currently offered by Starbucks, will halve the weight of the straw removed from the coffee chain, according to Starbucks.

Quoted from the Starbucks website, this innovation comes as Starbucks presents its experience of one cup and one outlet at one time at all outlets across Japan every day.

The company developed this new straw with valuable input from partners and customers to balance the environmental impact with user experience.

These environmentally friendly doses are available in the early stages of 32 Starbucks outlets in Okinawa Prefecture for customers who buy cold drinks, such as Frappuccinowas.

Next, the straw will be available at all Starbucks locations across Japan starting March 2025. After that, a thicker straw will be launched for seasonal Freppuccino finish at all Japanese outlets in early April 2025.
 
 

Miho Takagi set a Japan record with her 35th speed skating World Cup individual gold medal Friday, eclipsing Hiroyasu Shimizu and Nao Kodaira for the most from the country in distances contested at the Winter Olympics.

The 30-year-old reached the landmark after clocking 1 minute, 13.56 seconds in the women's 1,000 meters to set a track record at Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and making it four wins from four in the distance in the World Cup this season.

Brittany Bowe of the United States was 0.67 behind in second and Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong of the Netherlands was a further 0.21 back in third.

"I managed to switch on mentally and race despite not quite having a good feeling in the buildup," said Takagi, who won her first World Cup individual gold in December 2016.

"Looking back, it's taken me a good number of years to get here. The experience has served me well."

It was the 11th World Cup win in the 1,000 for Takagi, the Beijing Olympics gold medalist for the distance. The all-rounder has 23 wins in the 1,500 as well as a solitary triumph in the 3,000.

Shimizu's 34 World Cup golds and 28 of Kodaira's were in the 500, with her other six coming in the 1,000.
 
 

 

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday expressed concern over the United States' decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), Jiji Press reported.

"The U.S. has played a crucial role in global health. From Japan's perspective, we do not welcome any move that weakens this role," Ishiba stated during a parliamentary budget committee meeting.

On Jan. 20, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office, announcing the country's withdrawal from the WHO.
 
 

 

Rakuten Group said it no longer plans to list its securities arm on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and will instead focus on deepening its partnership with Mizuho Securities.

The Japanese e-commerce pioneer had planned an initial public offering for Rakuten Securities Holdings, part of a push to shore up finances depleted by a foray into Japan’s hyper-competitive wireless carrier market. In late 2023, it temporarily withdrew that application, stating that it would reapply for a listing at a later date.

But in November, Rakuten reported its first quarterly operating profit since 2020 after losses in its mobile segment shrank.

That segment is now profitable, discounting marketing costs to win new customers, Rakuten founder Hiroshi Mikitani told Bloomberg TV in a recent interview.
 
 

 

Toyota Motor Corp group sold more cars than any other automaker for the fifth consecutive year in 2024 while China's fast-growing BYD Co surpassed Honda Motor Co, Nissan Motor Co and Suzuki Motor Corp in vehicle sales for the first time, industry data showed Thursday.

Toyota group, which includes minivehicle maker Daihatsu Motor Co and truck manufacturer Hino Motors Ltd, sold 10.82 million units in 2024, down 3.7 percent from a year earlier, the Japanese company said, adding that a high level of sales was supported by robust demand for hybrid vehicles.

Archrival Volkswagen AG of Germany sold 9.03 million cars in the year. South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group, which includes Kia Corp, delivered around 7.23 million units.

BYD sold 4.27 million cars globally last year, 41.3 percent more than a year earlier and overtaking Honda's 3.81 million, Nissan's 3.35 million and Suzuki's 3.25 million vehicles, in a move that underscores the rapid growth of China's leading electric vehicle maker that has offered cheap products.

Toyota alone sold 10.16 million cars, down 1.4 percent after it was hit by a vehicle certification scandal in Japan, following which it briefly halted production of some models. Domestic sales fell 13.8 percent to 1.44 million units.

By region, the automaker's sales in North America saw a 4.3 percent rise to 2.73 million cars, while European sales logged a 3.6 percent increase to 1.17 million units amid brisk shipments of such models as the RAV4 and C-HR. Sales in China fell 6.9 percent to 1.78 million vehicles amid stiff price competition.

Sales of hybrid vehicles rose 21.1 percent to 4.14 million vehicles, lifted by increasing demand in key markets such as North America and Europe amid a cooling boom for EVs globally. The company's EV sales grew 34.5 percent to 139,892 units.

The group's global production fell 7.8 percent to 10.62 million vehicles, with Toyota's output falling 5.1 percent to 9.52 million cars.

The automaker halted production of some popular models, such as the Yaris Cross, following the scandal in which it admitted to not fully following government standards in vehicle testing.

Total global sales by Japan's eight major automakers in 2024 fell 1.1 percent from a year earlier to 24.53 million units while their worldwide production slid 6.6 percent to 24.10 million.
 
 

Rescue workers in Japan are trying to pull out a truck driver from a sinkhole that appeared on Tuesday and has since widened.

The sinkhole appeared in Yashio city in Saitama prefecture, near the capital Tokyo, swallowing a truck.

Rescue efforts have been hampered by road collapses, and officials have ordered scores of households in the area to evacuate their homes.
The 74-year-old driver was last heard responding to rescuers on Tuesday afternoon, according to local media.

While emergency crews managed to remove the truck bed from the pool-sized sinkhole, the driver's cabin remains buried under soil and debris.
The hole measuring about 10m (33ft) wide and 5m deep first appeared on Tuesday morning at a road junction.

It is believed to have been caused by an underground sewage pipe rupturing.
Officials said that as waste water from the damaged pipe flooded the hole, it caused a second sinkhole to appear on Thursday.

Video footage showed a utility pole and a restaurant signboard falling in that collapse.

The road then collapsed further, merging the two sinkholes together to become a 20m-wide crater, further complicating the rescue operation.

The massive sinkhole also contains a gas pipeline, prompting fears of a potential leak. Officials have issued evacuation orders for 200 households in the surrounding area.

They have also urged residents in and around the city to use less water.
Sinkholes are increasingly common in Japanese cities, as many have ageing sewage pipeline infrastructure.

In 2016, a giant sinkhole in Fukuoka swallowed a five-lane street in Fukuoka, disrupting power, water and transport. No serious injuries were reported.

Last August, a search for a woman who disappeared into a pavement sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur's city centre was called off after a week.

Authorities deemed it "too risky" to continue deploying divers into the underground sewer network, which had strong currents and hard debris.
 
 

Arrangements are underway for Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to visit Mongolia in the first half of July, the first trip by a reigning Imperial couple to the country, the government said Friday.

It would be the third overseas visit by the Emperor and the Empress for the purpose of international friendship, after trips to Indonesia and Britain.

The couple met with Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh and his wife in Japan in November 2022. According to the Imperial Household Agency, the Emperor and the Empress were invited to Mongolia on that occasion and repeatedly after that.

During their expected stay of around one week, the couple will meet with the president, attend a ceremony in Mongolia's biggest festival, Naadam, and visit a memorial for Japanese detainees to commemorate the 80 years since the end of World War II.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a press conference Friday that the Imperial couple's visit is being arranged. He added that Japan has been developing cooperative relations with Mongolia in various fields for a long time.
 
 

Japan saw its biggest year-on-year jump in foreign workers since records began, government data showed Friday, as the country seeks to address labor shortages exacerbated by its aging population.

In October 2024, the nation's foreign workforce stood at 2.3 million -- an increase of around 254,000 people from a year earlier, labour ministry data showed.

That marks the biggest jump since records began in 2008, and is the latest in a series of annual record-breaking increases.

The total has jumped around threefold from a decade ago, in 2014, when the number of foreign workers stood at 788,000.

Japan has the world's second-oldest population after Monaco, according to the World Bank, and its relatively strict immigration rules mean it faces growing labor shortages.

Friday's data showed Vietnamese, Chinese and Filipinos were the top three nationalities in Japan's foreign labor force.

Among the most common jobs held by foreign workers were positions in the manufacturing, hospitality, and retail sectors.

A "technical intern" program continued to account for a sizable portion of the foreign workforce, at 20.4 percent.

The state-sponsored scheme is ostensibly an attempt by Japan to give participants from countries such as China and Vietnam specialised experience to use in their home countries.

But critics have long called it a "backdoor" source of foreign labor in a conservative nation loath to officially acknowledge it is open to immigrants.

The intern program has also been long dogged by allegations of discrimination and physical abuse.
 
 

Fuji Media Holdings, Inc. on Thursday revised down its net profit forecast by 66.2% to ¥9.8 billion for the fiscal year ending in March 2025, due to many television commercials having been suspended.

The suspensions came after Fuji Television Network, Inc., a subsidiary of Fuji Media Holdings, drew criticism for its handling of a scandal involving former TV personality Masahiro Nakai and a woman.

Revenue from Fuji TV commercials is projected to fall by ¥23.3 billion from the previous estimates. The company does not plan to charge for the commercials that have been pulled and replaced with public announcements from the Advertising Council Japan.
 
 

A London court on Wednesday gave the green light to the extradition of two British men wanted by Japanese authorities in connection with a 2015 jewelry robbery in Tokyo, overturning decisions to stop it.
 
The High Court in the British capital ruled that assurances offered by Japan were sufficient to ensure the rights of the accused, Joe Chappell and Kaine Wright, will be protected in Japan.

The move came after a lower court in separate earlier sessions decided against permitting the transfer of the two suspects, who were arrested in 2021, citing human rights concerns.

The judges also ruled there is sufficient evidence for a case to be prosecuted against Chappell in Japan. A lower court had already found sufficient evidence against Wright.

Chappell's and Wright's cases will now be sent back to the lower Westminster Magistrates' Court. If either of the men make an appeal to higher courts then extradition will be put on hold.

As Britain and Japan have not signed an extradition treaty, it would be the first time for Japanese police to receive fugitives from a country with which Tokyo has not signed such an arrangement.

Japanese authorities claim that on the evening of Nov. 20, 2015, Chappell, Wright and another man, Daniel Kelly, posing as customers, entered the Harry Winston jewelry store in the Omotesando Hills commercial complex in Shibuya Ward.

It is alleged the three men smashed glass showcases in the store and stole 46 pieces of jewelry worth a total of 106 million yen ($682,000). A security guard was punched during the robbery.

Kelly is not facing extradition due to domestic criminal proceedings.
During the appeal, Japan argued the case against Chappell is strong, with biometric evidence, a facial recognition report and eyewitness statements supporting accusations against him.
 
 

Nissan Motor Corp is slashing production at its U.S. plants and offering buyouts to factory workers there as part of the Japanese automaker’s urgent efforts to return to profitability.

The move is part of Nissan’s plans, announced two months ago, to slash 9,000 jobs globally, including in China, after it racked up a quarterly loss due to sinking sales and ballooning inventory.

At Nissan's plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, one production line will maintain two shifts, while the other line will consolidate to one shift, the company said.

The Smyrna plant makes Murano, Pathfinder and Rogue sport-utility vehicles and the Infiniti QX60 luxury model.

In the Canton plant in Mississippi, which makes the Altima sedan and Frontier pickup, Nissan is reducing the speed on one line and consolidating another.

In the Decherd plant in Tennessee, which makes engines, shift adjustments will be more gradual. Some will be maintained while others will be reduced by one shift, it said.

When it announced its recovery plan in November, Nissan didn’t give details on where the job cuts might come.

The workforce reduction of 9,000 people amounts to about 6% of its more than 133,000 global employees. The company also plans to slash its global production capacity by 20%.

Nissan, based in the port city of Yokohama, said the latest offers count toward its overall job reduction plans, and are designed to make its operations more efficient and flexible.

“Nissan is taking urgent measures globally to turnaround its performance and create a leaner, more resilient business capable of swiftly adapting to changes in the market,” the company said in a statement.

Separately, Nissan and Japanese rival Honda Motor Co. are working to form a joint holding company to integrate their businesses, planned for 2026.

Nissan and Honda announced in March they will work together on electric vehicles. In August, they said that partnership was being broadened. They plan to have a “definitive agreement” by June.

Nissan is set to release its October-December financial results on Feb. 13. Nissan stocks jumped 2% in Tokyo trading after the reports about the U.S. plans surfaced.
 
 

The world's longest-serving death row inmate is demanding the Japanese government pay him more than $1.3 million in compensation after his conviction was quashed, his lawyer said on Jan. 30.

Iwao Hakamada, 88, was declared innocent last year of a 1966 quadruple murder for which he spent over four decades in confinement, mostly on death row.

A regional court ruled in a September retrial that police had tampered with evidence, and the ex-boxer had suffered "inhumane interrogations meant to force a statement" that he later withdrew.

Prosecutors later said they would not appeal the acquittal, putting an end to one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in Japan's history.

Hakamada, now a free man, and his defense team filed a claim with the Shizuoka District Court on Jan. 29 seeking more than 200 million yen ($1.3 million) in compensation from the government.

That is the maximum possible amount under Japan's criminal compensation law, which stipulates the payment of up to 12,500 yen ($81) for each day spent in detention once an acquittal is finalized.

"The amount is far from sufficient given he suffered the worst possible form of physical confinement for so long, as a death row inmate," his lawyer, Hideyo Ogawa, said.

Decades of detention -- with the threat of execution constantly looming over him -- have taken a toll on Hakamada's mental health, his lawyer had previously said, describing him as "living in a world of fantasy."

"We hope the financial compensation will help give him and [his sister] Hideko the peace that they deserve, for the time they have left in their lives," Ogawa said.

Japan and the United States are the only major industrialized democracies to retain capital punishment, which has broad support from the Japanese public.

Hakamada is the fifth death row inmate granted a retrial in Japan's post-war history. All four previous cases also resulted in exonerations.
 

 

 

Suzuki Motor Corp. said Thursday that it will release the Jimny Nomade, the first five-door model in its Jimny four-wheel-drive vehicle series in Japan, on April 3.

The all-new Jimny has enhanced driving ability on rough roads and extra comfort. The four seater easily accommodates passengers in the back seats while making long-distance travel more comfortable.

The Jimny is Suzuki's flagship series, having sold over 3.5 million units worldwide. A five-door version is already available in some 100 foreign countries, but not yet in Japan.

 

"The new Jimny will be your new partner in adventures," Suzuki Motor President Toshihiro Suzuki said in an event in Tokyo.

The Jimny Nomade, with an engine displacement of 1,500 cc, has a longer body than the existing three-door model Sierra, providing ample luggage space for camping and other trips.
 
 

DHL Express has signed a deal for the purchase of over 7m litres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) a year to help cut emissions from airfreight originating in Japan.

The deal with Cosmo Oil Marketing Co., Ltd. represents an annual purchase of 7.2m litres of SAF, which DHL Express will use for its regular cargo shipping services starting in April 2025, marking the first such initiative for the international express industry in Asia.

Saffaire Sky Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Cosmo Energy Holdings Co., Ltd, will produce SAF at its mass production facility in Japan and is scheduled to begin operations in 2025.

The SAF fuel procured under this agreement will be delivered to Chubu Centrair International Airport, near Nagoya. The Japanese airport will be the first airport to utilise SAF in Asia among more than 500 airports used in the DHL Express global network, according to DHL.

DHL Express currently accepts SAF at airports around the world including Amsterdam Schiphol in the Netherlands, Stockholm Arlanda in Sweden, Brussels Airport in Belgium, East Midlands and Stansted airports in the UK, Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco in the US, and Leipzig Airport in Germany.

Tony Khan, president and representative director of DHL Express Japan, said: “We are pleased that, through our agreement with Cosmo Oil Marketing, we will be the first international express provider in Japan to use the locally produced SAF on scheduled regular cargo flights.

”SAF is currently the most effective solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in air transport. Moving forward, as part of our responsibility to customers in Japan, we are committed to promoting emission-reduced shipping solutions and to contributing to the reduction of the transport sector’s environmental impact.”

Since 2022, DHL Express has been offering GoGreen Plus, which enables air cargo customers to reduce (in-set) their Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions using SAF.

In addition to Cosmo Oil Marketing in Japan, DHL also procures SAF from agreements that DHL Express has concluded with BP in the UK and Neste in Finland in 2022, and with World Energy in the US in 2023.

DHL has made major investments in SAF in the last few years. For example, in October last year, DHL Express and DHL Global Forwarding signed a renewed contract with IAG Cargo to use an extra 60 million litres of SAF. The new contract is the largest SAF agreement between an airline and a customer to date.
 


 

Expo 2025 in Japan is set to take the world by surprise with its innovations and focus on humanity at a time of sombre global challenges.

Expo 2025 in Japan is set to take the world by surprise with its innovations and focus on humanity at a time of sombre global challenges.

The Osaka-Kansai Expo’s designers presented the global resonance thematic project to the world’s elite at a special event during the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Outlined as “a powerful movement of hope, inspiration and progress for the well-being of all humankind”, the Japan Expo in Osaka will open in April to spread its theme titled “Resonance of Lives” around the world. 

The organisers say the project will “provide an experience of creating a new world together, in the midst of this profound turning point.”

“The future in a resonance of lives” is the central idea of the Expo, to connect the world to diverse pillars of life, “working toward the future, resonating with other persons, with nature, and with the world.

Professor Miyata Hiroaki is a global thinker whose vision of society is at the heart of the Expo 2025 concept.

Through his research in social reform, he promotes a new vision of society, resonant with diversity, where “each individual shines through experiencing that world with others” 

Professor Miyata outlined his vision for the Expo and its core theme of a “resonant society” in an interview with Euronews at the main Japanese event within the World Economic Forum in Davos. 

The organisers of Expo 2025 call the thematic project as “a laboratory for a future society”, where visitors will not only view exhibits, but also join the vision of co-creating a future society in – as the organisers outline it – “a place where the world’s knowledge such as cutting-edge technology will be brought together, used to create new ideas, and shared, all to help resolve global issues facing mankind.”
 
 

The Japanese government recommended on Tuesday ancient capitals located in current-day Nara Prefecture, western Japan, as candidates for UNESCO's World Heritage list to be inscribed in 2026.

The government is seeking the recognition of 19 assets, including ruins of imperial palaces and burial mounds, from the period between the late 6th century and early 8th century.

The "Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara" site is a testament to "how the centralized administrative framework was formed during East Asia's ancient state establishment period," Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Keiichiro Tachibana said in a press conference Tuesday.

A U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization advisory panel is expected to conduct an on-site survey around this fall, and a session of the World Heritage Committee, to be convened in the summer of 2026, will discuss whether to approve the listing.
 
 

The chairman and president of Fuji TV, one of Japan's biggest networks, have resigned in the wake of a sexual misconduct allegation against a famous TV host.

Dozens of companies have pulled their advertisements from the network, which was criticised for trying to cover up the scandal.

Masahiro Nakai was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a 2023 dinner party allegedly organised by Fuji TV staff. He announced his retirement from show business last week.

The Japanese government has called on Fuji TV to regain trust from viewers and sponsors.

In a press conference on Monday, Fuji TV chairman Shuji Kano and president Koichi Minato bowed as they announced their resignations. It came shortly after an emergency board meeting.

They apologised to viewers as well as stakeholders for the trouble and anxiety caused in a scandal that has rocked Japan's entertainment industry.

"I feel deeply the weight of my responsibility for undermining trust in the media," said Mr Minato. "Looking back, I realise there were shortcomings in our response."

Mr Minato had admitted previously that the company had known about the allegation against Nakai shortly after the alleged incident took place. But Fuji TV chose not to disclose it at the time, as it "prioritised the woman's physical and mental recovery as well as the protection of her privacy", he had said.

Reports emerged last month that Nakai had paid the unnamed woman more than half a million dollars. More allegations then surfaced that a Fuji TV employee had helped to arrange the dinner party.

Nakai, a former member of boy band SMAP and a household name who fronted several Fuji TV shows, has denied using violence against the woman. He has also said that he had "resolved" the matter with her through a settlement.

But this did little to quell public anger.

Car manufacturers Nissan and Toyota were among the companies that pulled advertising from Fuji TV.

In an open letter, investment firm Rising Sun Management which is the majority shareholder of Fuji TV's parent company, said that the scandal "exposes serious flaws in your corporate governance".

Fuji TV has since set up an independent committee to investigate the scandal.

Executive vice president Kenji Shimizu, who will replace Mr Minato as president, said he would "never tolerate acts that violate human rights" and committed to preventing similar incidents by "starting from scratch".

Earlier this month, the network suspended a weekly show hosted by Nakai while other major networks have also dropped the presenter.

Other TV networks have also announced their own investigations, following reports that similar dinner parties involving celebrities are a common practice in the industry.
 
 

In response to the rising price of rice, retailers, restaurant chains and food-product manufacturers are taking steps to deal with the situation.

They are trying to absorb the costs by increasing the prices of onigiri rice balls, boxed lunches and processed rice products, as well as by ending the service of offering extra portions of rice for free.



Strategy review

Seven-Eleven Japan Co. announced on Monday that it will raise the prices of some of its boxed lunches and onigiri rice balls in phases starting from Jan. 27. The company will raise the price of rice balls by up to ¥28, including “Shiomusubi,” whose price will be raised from ¥108 (excluding tax) to ¥128. The price of boxed lunches will be raised by up to ¥60.

As customers have been shying away from stores due to higher prices, Seven-Eleven has made efforts since September to recover patrons by lowering the prices of some products, including fried rice.

However, the company was forced to review its strategy in less than six months because rice prices are expected to continue going up for an extended period of time.

Seiyu Co. began selling rice produced in Taiwan in November. It is rare for a major supermarket to sell rice produced overseas. However, the Taiwan rice is popular because it is cheaper than equivalent domestic rice but tastes almost the same, according to the supermarket.



End of free service for extra rice

Unlike retailers, rising rice prices did not immediately impact food product manufacturers and restaurant chains because they usually conclude long-term contracts for rice purchases. However, some companies have decided to raise the prices of their products as there is no sign that rice prices will decline.

Nissin Food Products Co. will raise the prices of products in the “Nissin Curry Meshi” series and other instant cup rice products by about 11% beginning with its shipments in April. Nichirei Foods Inc. will raise the prices of fried rice and other frozen foods by 10% to 30% starting in February.

In September, Skylark Holdings Co. raised the price of rice at its Gusto, Jonathan’s and other restaurants under its wing by ¥30 to ¥55. Denny’s, a subsidiary of Seven & i Holdings Co., raised the price of rice in December and ended its free service of offering extra rice during breakfast and lunch hours.


Wholesale prices increased 1.6 times

Rice became in short supply due to the low quality of the 2023 rice crop. The additional hoarding demand in preparation for a disaster further negatively affected stocks of rice.

Rice prices soared because retailers were buying all the rice they could. Prices remain high even after the rice produced in 2024 became available in stores.

According to the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, the average wholesale price per 60 kilograms of all varieties of rice produced in 2024 was ¥24,665 in December, 60% higher than the same month in the previous year.

Some in the restaurant industry believe there may be a move to switch to less expensive rice produced overseas, as one executive of a major restaurant chain said.
 
 

Meta Platforms has started running advertisements on its social network Threads in the US and Japan.

A select group of brands will display these ads, as announced by Instagram head Adam Mosseri on Jan. 24.

This marks Meta’s first step toward monetizing Threads, which was launched in 2023 to compete with Elon Musk’s X.

Mosseri said the company will assess the effectiveness of this test before expanding ads to other regions.

The focus is to make the ads feel as engaging as the platform’s organic content.

As of December 2024, Threads reported 300 million monthly users and over 100 million daily active users, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
 
 

Japanese medical institutions are having difficulty obtaining supplies of rubella vaccines. Some have temporarily been unable to provide vaccinations.

The Tokyo Medical Association conducted a survey of about 1,000 medical institutions in October. More than 60 percent reported a "severe shortage" or "shortage" of the vaccines.

Rubella is an infectious disease that can cause high fever, rashes and other symptoms. If a pregnant woman contracts rubella, her baby is at risk of developing eye and hearing problems and the heart and other organs could be damaged.

Currently, measles-rubella combination vaccines are regularly administered to children aged one and those between five and six.

Japan's health ministry says three domestic pharmaceutical companies produce those vaccines.

But one of them announced a voluntary recall of its vaccine in January 2024, saying some products had failed to meet efficacy standards. The maker has suspended shipments since November.

The health ministry has been asking the other two pharmaceutical firms to expedite vaccine shipments. It says supply levels are expected to start recovering from February and to eventually reach volumes comparable to average years.
 
 

Japan will provide Indonesia with an additional 83.4 billion yen ($530 million) in low-interest loans for an ongoing project to build a new international seaport east of Jakarta.

The loans are for the development of Patimban Port in Subang Regency in Indonesia's West Java Province and it is hoped the port, set to be completed in 2028, will boost the fast-growing Southeast Asian country's exporting capacity amid surging demand for shipments, Japan's Foreign Ministry said.

The loan deal, signed in Jakarta, came a day before a summit meeting on Jan. 11 between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta, where they agreed to deepen collaboration in fields such as security, economy and human resource development.

Located about 120 kilometers east of Jakarta, the planned container and car terminal port is expected to disperse the traffic flow and ease heavy congestion on roads to the existing Tanjung Priok Port, a major export base situated in the capital city's north, the ministry said.

The planned port aims to "reinforce the capital area's logistics functions, and therefore contribute to further economic growth in Indonesia by improving its investment environment," the Japanese ministry said in a recent press release.

The new port's location is strategic for many Japanese manufacturers with production bases in the eastern part of Jakarta that have struggled due to bad access to the Tanjung Priok Port, the ministry said.

Japan has already extended loans of about 190 billion yen since 2017 for the building of Patimban Port, where construction began in 2018, according to the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The port started operating partially in December 2020.
 
 

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday pledged to build a cross-party consensus through parliamentary debate as his minority government seeks to ensure sustained pay hikes and regional revitalization as his priority goals.

At the opening of a 150-day Diet session, Ishiba said he wants to transform Japan into a more "sustainable" and "independent" nation, while underscoring the need to monitor the changing global balance of power in an increasingly severe security environment.

Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito no longer control the powerful House of Representatives and the parliamentary session will test the ruling bloc's seriousness in heeding demands from opposition parties after an election defeat last year.

"Both the ruling and opposition parties must engage in deliberations thoroughly and strive to make sure that the people understand and stand with us," he said in his policy speech.

Among the challenges awaiting Ishiba are supporting inflation-hit households, elevating the security alliance with the United States undernew President Donald Trump and managing relations with China.

Ishiba, who became prime minister last October, also needs to regain voter confidence in his party ahead of an election this summer for the House of Councillors, the upper house, following a slush funds scandal involving ruling party heavyweights.

"The utmost priority goes to ensuring wage hikes under our economic policy to value human capital. Pay hikes are the linchpin of our growth strategy," Ishiba told fellow lawmakers in parliament.

Under his five-pillar plan to ease urban overconcentration and rejuvenate other areas, he vowed to encourage the regional transfer of offices by the government and head office functions by firms and submit legislation to address the income gap between men and women.

The government plans to submit around 60 bills to parliament during the session that runs through June 22, including one to raise the income threshold for tax payments as demanded by the Democratic Party for the People in one of the first examples of cross-party coordination.

In an apparent attempt to maintain the upward momentum for wages at this year's annual negotiations between management and labor unions, the prime minister also vowed "unceasing" efforts to achieve the goal of raising the average minimum wage to 1,500 yen an hour by the end of the 2020s, from the current around 1,000 yen.

A record 115.54 trillion yen budget for the next fiscal year from April that is pending Diet approval is partly aimed at helping cushion households from the protracted effects of the rising prices of everyday goods.

On the diplomatic front, Ishiba made the case for "multilayered networks" of allies and partners, including Australia, India, South Korea and the Philippines, while avoiding making explicit reference to his long-held vision for a NATO-like alliance in Asia.

"We must deepen cooperation with the United States in a more specific way and continue to ensure its commitment to the region," Ishiba said.

The premier, who is expected to hold his first in-person meeting with Trump in February, said it is critical for such like-minded nations to take the lead in achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Ishiba's first diplomatic event of the year was a trip to Indonesia and Malaysia, a sign of Japan's increased focus on fostering cooperation with Southeast Asian nations in ensuring a rules-based order in the region, where China's assertive behavior is a concern.

Experts in diplomacy expect Trump's hardline stance on China to prompt Beijing to warm to Japan, though Sino-Japan relations remain fraught with difficulties.

The Asian neighbors should maintain communication and pursue a "constructive and stable" relationship that is mutually beneficial, Ishiba said. "We will say what needs to be said about outstanding challenges and differing views but will also cooperate wherever possible."

Public support for Ishiba's Cabinet remains low after some ruling party heavyweights were found in late 2023 to have not properly reported income from fundraising parties. The scandal widened to include party members in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly.

The ruling and opposition parties are yet to agree on how to handle donations from businesses and other entities. The LDP is opposed to imposing an outright ban, proposed by opposition parties.

Ishiba, who heads the conservative LDP, made no mention of whether to allow the use of different surnames by married couples, an issue that the largest opposition group, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, sees as a top priority.

The ruling party is cautious about making such a change, for fear of undermining traditional family values.
 

 

 

 

Department store sales in Japan in 2024 totaled 5.75 trillion yen, surpassing the pre-coronavirus pandemic levels of 2019 amid inbound tourism boom, data by an industry body showed Friday.

Sales on a same-store basis increased 6.8 percent from 2023, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth. Duty-free sales surged 85.9 percent to 648.7 billion yen, hitting a record high for the second straight year, according to the Japan Department Stores Association.

Department stores saw the return of customers come into full swing toward the end of 2023 after the government downgraded the legal status of COVID-19 to the same category as seasonal influenza. The number of foreign visitors to Japan also sharply rose the following year.

An association official attributed the "return of travelers from mainland China" as a major factor that pushed up sales.

Helped by a weak yen, luxury brands and jewelry sold well among duty-free items in 2024. Japanese traditional crafts were also popular.

Demand was also strong from Japan's wealthy population, with sales of clothing exceeding food for the first time in five years, the association said.

In Japan's 10 major cities, including Tokyo and Osaka, department store sales grew 9.1 percent in 2024 from a year earlier.

Stores in other cities, however, dropped 0.5 percent amid a scale-down of sales space in stores as part of structural reform efforts, even though they have also benefited from the increasing number of foreign tourists.

In December alone, department store sales on a same-store basis gained 2.8 percent from a year before, up for the second straight month as demand for winter clothing increased due to a drop in temperature.
 
 

The Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Friday to their highest since the 2008 global financial crisis, underscoring its confidence that rising wages will keep inflation stable around its 2% target.

The decision marks its first rate hike since July last year and comes days after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, who is likely to keep global policymakers vigilant ahead of potential repercussions from threatened higher tariffs.

At its two-day meeting concluding on Friday, the BOJ raised its short-term policy rate from 0.25% to 0.5%, a level Japan has not seen in 17 years. It was made in a 8 to 1 vote with board member Toyoaki Nakamura dissenting.

The widely expected move underscores the central bank’s resolve to steadily push up interest rates to around 1%, a level analysts see as neither cooling nor overheating Japan’s economy.

“The likelihood of achieving the BOJ’s outlook has been rising,” with many firms saying they will continue to raise wages steadily in this year’s annual wage negotiations, the central bank said in a statement announcing the decision.

“Underlying inflation is heightening towards the BOJ’s 2% target,” the central bank said, adding that financial markets remain stable as a whole.

The BOJ made no change to its guidance on future policy, saying that it will continue to raise interest rates if its economic and price forecasts are realized. But it removed a phrase stressing the need to scrutinize risks surrounding overseas economies and markets.

“Their logic remains the same. They are still far away from neutral, so it’s natural to make an adjustment,” said Naka Matsuzawa, chief macro strategist at Nomura Securities in Tokyo.

“Unless the BOJ either changes the logic of rate hikes, or even raises the neutral point, which they have been mulling – about 1% – there’s not going to much room for the market to price in further hikes in the future.”

The yen rose around 0.5% to 155.32 per dollar after the decision, while the two-year Japanese government bond (JGB) yield rose to 0.705%, the highest since October 2008.

Attention now shifts to any clues from BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda in his post-meeting briefing at 0630 GMT on the pace and timing of further increases.



Inflation risks

In a quarterly outlook report, the board raised its price forecasts to project core inflation moving at or above its 2% target for three straight years.
It also said risks to the inflation outlook were skewed to the upside amid intensifying labor shortages, rising prices of rice and the boost to import costs from a weak yen.

“With regards to this year’s annual wage negotiations, there have been many views expressed by firms that they will continue to raise wages steadily,” the report said.

The head of Japan’s union umbrella group told Reuters on Friday that Japanese annual pay increases must exceed the 5.1% secured last year as real wages continue to fall.

The board now projects core consumer inflation to hit 2.4% in fiscal 2025 before slowing to 2.0% in 2026. In the previous projection made in October, it expected inflation to hit 1.9% in both fiscal 2025 and 2026.

It made no change to its forecasts that Japan’s economy will grow 1.1% in fiscal 2025 and 1.0% in 2026.

While the US economy has been solid and financial markets stable as a whole, the BOJ must be vigilant to uncertainties surrounding US policy conduct, the report said.

“The hike may have been expected but in what feels like the first time in a very long time, there were no major downgrades to their economic outlook,” said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index in Brisbane. “This keeps the door open to another 25 (basis points) hike by the year-end, and rates to sit at a whopping 0.75%.”

Japan’s core consumer inflation accelerated to 3.0% in December, the fastest annual pace in 16 months, data showed earlier on Friday, in a sign rising fuel and food prices continue to push up living costs for households.

After taking the helm in April 2023, Ueda dismantled his predecessor’s radical stimulus program in March last year and pushed up short-term interest rates to 0.25% in July.

BOJ policymakers have repeatedly said the central bank will keep raising rates, if Japan makes progress in achieving a cycle in which rising inflation boosts wages and lifts consumption, thereby allowing firms to continue passing on higher costs.
 
 

The average price of new condominiums released last year in central Tokyo topped 100 million yen ($639,000) for the second year in a row, as costs for building materials remained high, according to the latest real estate research firm data.

But the price was slightly lower than the previous year, falling by 2.6 percent to 111.81 million yen per unit in the capital's 23 wards, the Real Estate Economic Institute said.

By area, the average price of new condos rose 8.9 percent to 58.9 million yen in Tokyo outside its 23 wards, 13.8 percent to 55.4 million yen in Saitama Prefecture, 18.9 percent to 56.9 million yen in Chiba Prefecture, and 6.0 percent to 64.3 million yen in Kanagawa Prefecture.

However, the drop in prices in the 23 wards saw the average price decline 3.5 percent to 78.2 million yen in the greater Tokyo.

"There were no new super-high-end properties actively sought out by wealthy buyers, but rising costs pushed up the overall prices," said an official of the research firm.

The number of new condominiums put on sale last year in the capital and the surrounding three prefectures dropped 14.4 percent from the year before to 23,003 units, hitting the lowest level since records began in 1973, the institute said.

The figure declined by about 30 percent in the 23 wards amid the introduction of caps on overtime work hour in the construction industry, which has led to extensions of construction periods.

While prices for the 23 wards are expected to climb again this year to exceed those of 2023 due to large-scale luxury properties scheduled to go on sale, the impact of rising living costs is expected to drag down prices in Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures, the institute said.

Around 26,000 units are expected to be released this year in central Tokyo, returning to 2023 levels, it said.

Average new condo prices in central Tokyo exceeded 100 million yen per unit for the first time in 2023.
 
 

Miho Takagi won her 34th speed skating World Cup gold medal Friday, tying Hiroyasu Shimizu and Nao Kodaira for the most by a Japanese.

The 30-year-old won the women's 1,000 meters at Calgary Olympic Oval after the Beijing Olympics 1,000 gold medalist clocked 1 minute, 13.10 seconds.

Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands was 0.36 behind in second and Han Mei of China was a further 0.12 back in third.

"I'm genuinely proud to be able to reach this record at my age," Takagi said. "But there are areas I'm not doing well. This is not my goal."
 

 

A man stabbed three people at a train station in central Japan on Wednesday (Jan 22) before fleeing the scene, leaving one person dead, local media reported.

The attack occurred around 8pm, local time, outside the JR Nagano Station, the Kyodo and Jiji news agencies said, with police searching for the assailant.

The three victims were waiting at a bus stop and were apparently targeted at random, Kyodo reported, citing an investigative source.

It said the man who died was aged 49, while another male victim in his 30s sustained serious injuries. The third injured person was a woman in her 30s.

One victim told investigators the suspect appeared to be in his 40s and escaped to the south in the city's downtown area, Kyodo news reported, citing the police.

He was of slim build, between 165cm and 175cm tall, and wore glasses as well as something like a white cloth over his head, police said.

Nagano, the capital of Nagano Prefecture, lies some 225km west of Tokyo and is a popular Japanese destination for winter sports.
 
 

The number of births in Japan in 2024 is set to fall below 700,000 for the first time after government data showed Friday that the figure for the first 11 months of the year dropped 5.1 percent to 661,577.

The figure underscores a trend in Japan where more people are choosing not to marry or delaying marriage, partly due to concerns about child-rearing amid rising living costs. The lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are also thought to have had an impact.

The preliminary data released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for births from January to November includes foreigners. However, the full-year figure is expected to exclude babies born to foreign nationals.

The number of births in the country has been on a downward trend, dropping to below 900,000 in 2019 and below 800,000 in 2022.

The figure fell in 2023 to 727,277, a record low since comparable data became available in 1899.

A fall of 3.8 percent from 2023 will bring the figure below 700,000. The decline between January and August 2024 from a year earlier was 5.9 percent.

The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research estimated the figure for 2024 to be 755,000 and had projected births to drop below 700,000 by 2038.

Japan faces labor shortages that threaten the sustainability of social security systems, such as health care and pensions.

The government aims to raise the birthrate through measures such as expanding child care allowances and offering benefits for parental leave, viewing the period until the early 2030s as the "last chance" to address the birthrate crisis.
 
 

Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested a 45-year-old man on Friday on suspicion of mutilating and abandoning the remains of his girlfriend, whose bones were discovered on a beach on Izu Oshima last October.

Sotatsu Yanase, who runs a tatami shop on the island, admitted to the allegations.

The victim was identified as Shizuka Takase, a 37-year-old restaurant worker from Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The couple had a history of fighting, mainly about issues related to his relationships with other women.

Authorities believe Yanase is aware of the circumstances surrounding her death and are investigating further.

Investigators suspect that between Sep. 9 and Oct. 23 of last year, Yanase mutilated Takase’s body and abandoned it at Sanohama Beach.

Takase had worked at a snack bar on the island since around 2019. She met Yanase, a customer, in 2020, and the two began dating. She later moved in with him but left the island in September 2023 following an argument.

On Sept. 9 last year, Takase took a ferry from the city of Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, to return to Izu Oshima and is believed to have visited Yanase’s home.

She was scheduled to leave the island on Sept. 12 and meet friends for a trip to Okinawa, but she never showed up, and her whereabouts remained unknown.

On Oct. 23 at around 3:45 p.m., a man in his 70s discovered skeletal remains while cleaning Sanohama Beach and reported them to the police.

Six bones, including a sacrum and femurs, were found in a state of advanced decomposition, with signs of burning and cutting. A DNA test confirmed on Jan. 14 that the remains belonged to Takase.

Takase had lived a nomadic lifestyle, working at resorts across Japan. Her belongings were still left behind in her most recent residence in Shimoda when she went missing.
 
 

 

To commemorate the 55th anniversary of the tomica miniature car, Tomy Co. announced on Tuesday that it would release products for adults in cooperation with five automobile manufacturers including Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co.

The models will be specially designed by automobile designers from each company. In addition to Toyota and Nissan, Honda Motor Co., Mitsubishi Motors Corp., and Suzuki Motor Corp. are cooperating to launch the products sequentially starting this spring.

The Drift Turn Stage, which use water vapor to create white smoke to make the car look as if it is drifting, will also go on sale. The Drift Turn Stage lineup includes the “Initial D” manga and the “Fast and Furious” movie. Mini garages to display the collected cars will also be on sale.

Launched in 1970, tomica is a long-selling product that has been enjoyed by three generations. The total number of tomica cars sold has exceeded 1 billion units, and more than 10,000 models have been introduced.

“We will promote the appeal of tomica overseas as well as expand the adult fan base,” said Shunsuke Takeuchi, a Tomy executive officer on Tuesday.
 
 

Japan saw record-high exports last year, as its annual trade deficit declined 44% from the previous year, the Finance Ministry reported Thursday.

The trade deficit, which measures the value of exports minus imports, totaled 5.3 trillion yen, according to government data, as imports ballooned on the back of rising energy costs and growing inflation around the world.

Exports from the world’s third-largest economy totaled 107.9 trillion yen, surpassing the 100 trillion yen mark for the second-straight year, and the biggest value on record for comparable data, which dates back to 1979, the ministry said.

Some companies may have sped up their exports in anticipation of potential tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump has said he expects to put 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting Feb 1. During his campaign, he threatened to impose tariffs on imports from China, although details on that remain unclear.

For the month of December, exports gained a greater-than-expected 2.8% on-year, while imports rose 1.8%. Exports grew to Asian and European nations, while dipping slightly to the U.S.

Imports grew most from India, Hong Kong and Iran.
Demand was especially strong for Japan's vehicles, semiconductors and other machinery.

The weakening yen, another recent trend, has the effect of inflating the value of imports. The U.S. dollar has been hovering at 150-yen levels, sometimes surpassing 160 yen, over the past year, while a year ago it was often at 140-yen levels.

Japan has recorded a trade deficit for four straight years, but last year's deficit was considerably smaller than the 9.5 trillion yen deficit for 2023.
 
 

Japanese TV host Masahiro Nakai, who was a member of the former pop group SMAP, said Thursday he has retired from show business following alleged sexual misconduct that led broadcasters to suspend programs featuring him.

"As of today, I will retire from entertainment activities," Nakai, 52, said on his fan club website, sending shockwaves to his admirers across Japan and other parts of Asia.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience and losses I have caused to so many people," he also said.

The development comes as Japan's entertainment industry continues to be hit by revelations of sex-related scandals, including multiple accusations of abuse by the founder of the male talent agency formerly known as Johnny & Associates Inc. that pushed SMAP and other groups to stardom.

Nakai's scandal also spilled over to Fuji Television Network Inc. for its alleged involvement in the matter and the lack of transparency in its explanation, with many major Japanese companies pulling ads from the Tokyo-based broadcaster, including its affiliated stations, in a rare move.
 

 

According to the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine, what was planned as a meal in June 2023 with employees of Fuji TV ended up with only Nakai and a woman present, leading to nonconsensual sexual activity and a 90 million yen ($575,000) out-of-court settlement.

Without specifically mentioning what happened, Nakai said in his message to his fans that he takes "full responsibility" and offered apologies to the woman.

He said talks on suspending TV programs and the cancellation of contracts with TV networks and sponsors had "all ended," leading to his announcement on Thursday.

"I will continue to deal with various issues sincerely and in good faith," he said. "I am really, really sorry for parting with you (fans) in this way."

A representative for Nakai declined to comment to Kyodo News about the details, saying, "What has been reported by weekly magazines has already been resolved and there is a nondisclosure agreement between the parties."

Nakai gained popularity as the leader of SMAP, a Japanese male idol group that performed for nearly three decades until it disbanded in 2016. SMAP, an acronym for Sports Music Assemble People, was also popular across Asia.

Nakai left Johnny's in 2020, before the talent agency came under fire over multiple claims of sexual abuse against aspiring teen pop singers by its founder Johnny Kitagawa that continued for decades before his death in 2019.

He continued to regularly appear on TV programs as a host before his own sexual misconduct allegation surfaced late last year.

In a joint statement, three other former SMAP members said they were "lost for words."

"We have not yet sorted out our feelings as it happened so suddenly," said Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori.

A 57-year-old fan living in Nakai's hometown of Fujisawa in Kanagawa Prefecture said she was "shocked" and that she wanted to know "the exact facts (on the scandal) because I see various information."

A 22-year-old company worker in Osaka Prefecture said he feels that the scandal, which reportedly involved TV company employees, may not be the only case and that he has grown suspicious about the entertainment business and TV industry.

Some Chinese fans were saddened by the abrupt exit of Nakai, saying through Weibo -- China's equivalent of the social media platform X -- that the path "of seeing the revival of SMAP has been permanently closed."

"What should fans do as he leaves show biz being accused by many people," one post showed.

In Japan, questions arose over Nakai's response to the scandal.
"How he sought to take responsibility all by himself is typical of Mr. Masahiro Nakai, but it leaves fans who wanted to support him bitterly disappointed," script writer Mihoko Yamada said.

Nakai should have held a press conference to offer his own account while making sure that the victim will not have to suffer further from the move, she said.

Fuji TV, meanwhile, said Thursday it will establish a third-party committee to look into the allegation and hold a press conference on Monday to explain the company's response.

The upcoming event is effectively seen as a redo after one last week garnered criticism for limiting the number of participants and banning filming.

"The case is sowing suspicion on commercial broadcasters as a whole," said Ryunosuke Endo, the head of Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association and also vice chairman of Fuji TV.

With TV companies and the public becoming more sensitive to sexual assaults and other types of harassment in Japan, another well-known TV personality Hitoshi Matsumoto went into hiatus in January 2024 after Shukan Bunshun reported that he allegedly forced several women into sexual activities in 2015.

Matsumoto, one half of popular comedy duo "Downtown," filed a lawsuit against the magazine's publisher over defamation but later dropped the suit.
 
 

About 10,000 old Japanese daruma dolls were ritually burned during a memorial service for the good-luck talisman figures, which represent the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma, in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, on Wednesday.

The service was conducted by the prefecture’s Gunma Daruma Doll Manufacturers’ Cooperative Union. The manufacturers collected the dolls from Takasaki residents during the Takasaki Darumaichi market, held there on Jan. 1 and 2.

During the ritual, the dolls were burned as priests chanted sutras, and members of the cooperative union prayed for prosperity in business and world peace.

Furthermore, JR Shinetsu Line will have a new station in the city, which has been named Toyooka Daruma Station. The station will open in fiscal 2026.

“Sales of daruma dolls are growing higher and higher every year,” said Masahiro Yoshida, the chairperson of the cooperative union. “I hope people will continue to live with these dolls for a long time.”
 

 

Japanese Emperor Naruhito, in a poem recited at the annual New Year's Poetry Reading on Wednesday, expressed how he was heartened to see children talk about their dreams for the future during official visits across Japan.

The emperor and Empress Masako visited Ishikawa Prefecture three times to comfort victims of the major earthquake that hit the Noto Peninsula on New Year's Day last year. The couple also made official trips to Okayama, Saga, Gifu and Oita prefectures.

The ceremony at the Imperial Palace was also attended for the first time by the emperor's daughter, Princess Aiko, who started working at the Japanese Red Cross Society last spring.

Among other attendees were the empress, Crown Prince Fumihito, his wife Princess Kiko and members of the general public whose poems were selected.

The theme of this year's poems at the reading was "yume," which means "dream."

The official translation of the poem written by the emperor and provided by the Imperial Household Agency reads as follows:

The children I met on my journeys

Talked with sparkling eyes

Of their dreams for the future

Empress Masako's poem reminisced about her time as a student at Britain's University of Oxford, which she visited last June for the first time in 34 years, along with the emperor, who also studied at the university.

Some thirty years after my departure

I visit with His Majesty

Our Alma Mater in Britain

And I recall the youthful dreams

I dreamt then

Princess Aiko used her poem to convey how she felt upon graduating from Gakushuin University last year.

Until the day we meet again

My friends and I will

Each follow our dreams

Compositions by imperial family members and 10 pieces chosen from among 16,250 entries submitted by the public were read in the traditional style at the reading.

Waka poetry was developed by the court aristocracy in ancient Japan. A "tanka" poem, the most common form of waka, consists of 31 syllables in a pattern of 5-7-5-7-7.
 
 

Cargo weighing 400 to 450 kilograms dropped from a U.S. military Osprey aircraft was blown off course and ended up in waters near a small island in Okinawa in southern Japan, a prefectural government official said Tuesday.

The MV-22 transport plane was trying to drop the cargo onto an airfield in Ie Island during a drill on Thursday, but the 1.3-square-meter container was blown off course by an unexpected shift of wind, the official said, citing an explanation from the Defense Ministry's local bureau.

U.S. forces searched the surrounding waters but the container has not been found.

The MV-22 is the variant of the tilt-rotor aircraft used by the Marine Corps.
In Tokyo, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told a press conference that the incident is "truly regrettable," saying that the government has urged the U.S. side to ensure safety and take preventive measures.

Okinawa Gov Denny Tamaki told a separate news conference that it was "just one step away from a serious accident and provokes concerns among residents," urging the U.S. military to investigate the cause.
 
 

Sales from seven major Japanese convenience store chains hit a record high of 11.8 trillion yen in 2024, bolstered by inbound tourism and demand for readily consumable snacks and drinks, data by a Japanese franchising authority showed Monday.

The sales were up 1.2 percent from the previous year, marking a third consecutive year of record highs. The number of stores in the country stood at 55,736 as of December, inching up 23 from a year ago, according to the report by the Japan Franchise Association.

Although the number of store visitors in 2024 increased by 1.2 percent to 16.4 billion people, customers felt the pinch of rising prices, and the average amount spent in a single convenience store run was 720.2 yen, down 0.05 percent from the previous year, the data showed.

Hot weather boosted soft drink sales while over-the-counter foods such as onigiri rice balls and fried snacks also saw a rise in sales.

"The increase in visitors from overseas was a factor that lifted sales," an association official said.

Monthly sales for December were down 1.2 percent from a year earlier to around 1 trillion yen. It marked the first decline in 13 months.

However, the number of customers increased year-on-year by 0.8 percent to 1.3 billion, rising for the third consecutive month.
 
 

Fuji Television Network, Inc. is considering establishing a third-party committee based on the guidelines of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations to investigate the facts regarding a scandal involving television personality Masahiro Nakai, 52, and a woman, according to sources. The TV broadcaster will hold an extraordinary meeting of its board of directors on Thursday.

The company had announced at a press conference on Friday that it would establish an investigation committee led by a third-party lawyer, but there were growing calls for the establishment of a third-party committee with greater independence.

“I hope that the investigation will proceed as soon as possible in a manner that ensures independence, and that efforts will be made to restore trust,” Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiichiro Murakami said at a press conference held after a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The company’s news program “Live News it!” reported on Tuesday that the number of companies that had suspended commercials on Fuji TV had risen to 75 as of Monday.

The number of advertisements replaced by public announcements from the Advertising Council Japan, a public interest incorporated association, is said to be more than 350.

 

Lack of explanation spurs criticism

Companies started pulling their advertisement from Fuji TV one after another in the wake of the broadcaster’s Friday press conference. It is unusual to see a string of companies suspending their ads due to their distrust of the TV station itself, rather than of particular programs or performers. Even some Fuji employees questioned their company’s response to the case.

According to weekly magazine reports, there was an incident in June 2023 when a woman was subjected to unwanted behavior after a dinner meeting at Nakai’s home.

Later, a settlement was reached in which Nakai would pay a large sum of money to settle the matter. In response to the news reports, Nakai released an “apology” comment on Jan. 9, admitting that there had been trouble.

The report claimed that an executive of the company was involved in organizing the dinner party, but the company denied this. Koichi Minato, president of the company, did not disclose at Friday’s press conference whether or not the woman was a Fuji TV employee.

Minato indicated that an investigative committee led by a third-party lawyer would be formed to look into the matter, but he declined to provide factual details on the case.

The suspension of airing commercials spread after the press conference.
According to the company’s press release, 75 companies have suspended the airing of their commercials.

Some of the companies have stated that this was a “comprehensive decision,” but some have expressed dissatisfaction with Fuji TV’s lack of explanation. The Japan Racing Association (JRA), whose horse races are broadcast by the company, has also suspended its commercials from Monday.

“This is not a matter of an individual employee. There are compliance concerns for the entire company. The company’s announcement so far is not enough to explain the whole picture of the matter,” a spokesperson for a major financial institution said, asserting that Minato’s explanation was not sufficient.
 
 

The Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, or Rengo, held a meeting of their leaders Wednesday, effectively starting this year's "shunto" spring wage talks.

Keidanren Chairman Masakazu Tokura and Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino agreed that it is a crucial moment to realize a cycle of economic growth through price hikes and wage increases.

 

The focus of this year's labor-management negotiations is whether the momentum for wage increase will be maintained for stable structural growth after the labor side won the largest pay hike in 33 years in last year's shunto.

At the beginning of the meeting, Tokura said, "It is the social responsibility of our companies to form a substantial middle class through wage hikes and lead the Japanese economy to a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution."

 

"We hope to share our awareness and direction and cooperate with Rengo," he added.