JAPAN TRENDS
 
Tokyo Station is not only the most famous rail terminus in Japan’s capital, it is also one of the city’s best-loved buildings and landmarks. First opened in 1914, it was recently restored to its full glory as part of the redevelopment of the Marunouchi area.
In what is probably one...

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THE JAPAN NEWS
 
The government plans to start technical tests for foreign workers with specific skills to obtain a new residence status, called Category 1, from April next year in three industries — nursing care, the hotel business and food service — ahead of other industries.
Tests for skilled ...

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NPR
 
 
Japan's birthrate has dropped to a historic level, the lowest since data gathering began in 1899.
That's what The Japan Times has reported, citing government figures released Friday.
For years, Japan has seen a decline in its population, leading experts and lawmakers to consider the econo...

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THE JAPAN NEWS
 
The number of annual visitors to Japan topped a record-high 30 million on Tuesday, the government announced.
As visa requirements for visitors from Asian countries are eased and airline routes, including those operated by low-cost carriers, are expanded, the number of people visi...

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ROCKET NEWS
 
200-year-old sake brewery teams up with Final Fantasy’s legendary designer for a very special Bahamut salute.
There are hundreds of sake makers in Japan, but there are a couple of things that make Fukui Prefecture’s Kokuryu stand out. One of those is its long history. The company ha...

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JAPAN TODAY
 
TOKYO  -  Forty-two people were injured when wooden buildings housing a Japanese-style pub, a real estate agency and a clinic collapsed following a suspected gas explosion Sunday night in Sapporo, northern Japan, local authorities said.
The blast occurred at around 8:30 p.m. Sunday ...

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STRAITS TIMES
 
TOKYO - Japan plans to have an aircraft carrier for the first time since World War II, a move that has raised eyebrows even though Tokyo insists it will not mark any shift from its pacifist defence posture.
The plan to modify at least one of its two Izumo-class helicopter destroye...

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JAPAN TIMES
 
 
Regional revitalization minister Satsuki Katayama is the Cabinet member most widely seen by Japanese people as unfit to be a minister, a Jiji Press survey showed.
Katayama was chosen by 43.7 percent of respondents, who were asked which members of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabine...

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JAPAN TODAY
 
TOKYO - Japan is planning to tighten regulation of tech giants like Google and Facebook after an expert panel called for better oversight on competition and privacy, an official said Thursday.
Japan has followed in the footsteps of other countries in scrutinising the dominant role p...

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BBC
 
Japan's Crown Princess Masako says she feels "insecure" about becoming empress in April, but will do her best to serve the people of Japan.
Masako Owada will become empress when her husband, Crown Prince Naruhito, succeeds his father Emperor Akihito.
Emperor Akihito, 84, is abdicating next ...

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