JAPAN TODAY
 
TOKYO — Honda will release a new model of its Freed compact minivan in the fall of 2016.
The current model of the Freed was released in May 2008, and this will be the first time in eight years that the vehicle has been fully remodeled, Honda said.
The current model is available as (...

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THE JAPAN NEWS
 
Jiji Press
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The government said Wednesday it aims to double the annual number of foreign visitors to Japan to 40 million in 2020 from the current 20 million.
The new target was included in a vision compiled by a panel on tourism policy, chaired by Prime Minist...

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JAPAN TODAY
TOKYO — Japan’s inflation rate fell to zero in January, government data showed on Friday, in another blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s three-year attempt to put an end to a years-long battle with falling prices.
Japan has suffered deflation—a debilitating drop in prices—off and on s...

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THE JAPAN NEWS
 
Jiji Press
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The average retail price of regular gasoline in Japan as of Tuesday dropped ¥1.5 from a week before to ¥118.9 per liter, marking the lowest level in six years and eight months, the Natural Resources and Energy Agency said Thursday.
The average fell...

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NEWS ON JAPAN
Beverage makers, aiming to curb a decline in beverage sales via vending machines, have increased the number of machines that can interface in foreign languages.
The companies hope that by enabling more non-Japanese speakers to use the machines, they can take advantage of the recent ...

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JAPAN TRENDS
The Bridge has shared a story about Tokyo-based Anicall developing a wearable device for pets called Shiraseru Am. Literally meaning “notifier”, Shiraseru Am is currently on pre-order via a crowdfunding campaign on the Makuake Japanese platform.
Anicall hope to raise ¥500,000 (around...

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JAPAN TRENDS
Muji have created their first new model home in five years with the Tate no Ie, the “vertical house”.
It joins the Mado no Ie (Window House) and the Ki no Ie (Tree House). Not strictly prefab, Muji homes are pre-designed but assembled on site.
The new three-story, wooden Tate no Ie s...

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JAPAN TRENDS
An umbrella. A parasol. And a fan. All in one?
Yes, the Rurudo Fan Shade is just that.
Coming in a lacy black design, the shade initially looks just like a typical parasol that many Japanese women carry to keep their skin from developing a sun tan.
It cuts UV rays by 99% and is also ...

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JAPANTODAY
 
Hitachi Ltd plans to acquire Aqua Works and Engineering Pte Ltd, an engineering company that specialises in water related installations for commercial facilities, public spaces and residential properties in Singapore, through Hitachi Infrastructure Systems (Asia), its regional superv...

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ABCNEWS
 
Unsure whether they could find halal food in Japan, a group of Muslim school teachers from Malaysia went so far as to prepare their own breakfast before departing.
 
By the end of the first day, they were more at ease. School principal Rahanim Adb Rahim and her group from Kuala Lumpur e...

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