U.S. Marines have begun a partial transfer from Okinawa to Guam, 12 years after Japan and the United States agreed on their realignment to reduce the heavy burden of American troop presence on the ... ( read original story ...)
New $35 billion bullet train in Japan dramatically cuts travel times — here’s how it’ll impact passengers
The roughly $35 billion project began construction in 2019. Now, just four years later, the new line is fully operational. To compare that to U.S. train infrastructure, four years is around how long ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo police seek public’s help on Setagaya family murder 24 years ago
In the high-profile homicide case, a couple and their two children were killed at their home in the ward's Kamisoshigaya district in December 2000. ( read original story ...)
Japan top diplomat Iwaya arranging to meet China’s Wang on Dec. 25
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya is arranging talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Dec. 25, a Japanese government source close to the matter said Saturday, in what will be his first visit to the neighboring country as Japan's top ... ( read original story ...)
Japan ‘peace ambassadors’ report on their activities in Norway
Four Japanese high school students working as "peace ambassadors" for the abolition of nuclear weapons have pledged to inherit the wishes of atomic bomb survivors for a world free of nuclear arms. ( read original story ...)
People across Japan gather to protest misogyny after writer’s ‘uterus removal’ remark
Demonstrators took to the streets in prefectures and cities including Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Sapporo. A large crowd gathered along Gyoko-dori street in front of Tokyo Station, where participants ... ( read original story ...)
Shogi match in Tokyo reaches unusual end as player with leg pain resigns
A match during the top-level Meijin shogi ranking tournament on Dec. 13 came to an unusual end when 40-year-old Akira Watanabe resigned becau ... ( read original story ...)
Japan promotes 4-day workweek
Japan wants its hardworking citizens to take a break. The country is pushing for a four-day workweek to address labor shortages and improve work-life balance. ( read original story ...)
Japan PM Ishiba visits Fukushima, hit by 2011 quake, nuclear crisis
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Saturday visited Fukushima Prefecture, hit hard by an earthquake in 2011 that triggered a crisis at ( read original story ...)
Japan Festival 2024 blossoms
Japan Festival got off to a ground-breaking start, literally, on Saturday, December 7, as the Embassy of Japan in Kingston announced before the event that it would be working with Royal Hope Botanical Gardens and the Nature Preservation Foundation for the ... ( read original story ...)
Visitors to 2025 Osaka Expo to get taste of Japan’s custom of bowing
When visitors come to the World Expo in Osaka next year, guides for the global event will welcome them with the Japanese customary gr ... ( read original story ...)
Crime surges in Japan as ‘shady part-time work’ ensnares youth as disposable runners
TOKYO: One of the safest countries in the world has been hit by a tidal wave of crime. In Japan, hardly a week has gone by since October without news reports urging people to secure their homes. ( read original story ...)
Japan’s first private space firm makes second attempt to put a satellite in orbit
Tokyo-based Space One’s Kairos rocket will make its second blastoff from the company’s launch pad in the rural western region of Wakayama ( read original story ...)
Naomi Osaka nearly dethrones Iga Swiatek and all of 2024’s best WTA matches
When Barbora Krejcikova and Elena Rybakina met in the Wimbledon semifinals, they had a hard act to follow. Jasmine Paolini had just defeated Donna Vekic in the longest women's singles semifinal in ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo offers 4-day workweeks to young couples — for extra time to procreate
Tokyo is offering its employees a four-day workweek in an attempt to boost the city’s birthrate. Governor Yuriko Koike recently announced that the city’s government employees will be given the option ... ( read original story ...)
Tokyo to offer free daycare for all preschool children
On Dec. 10, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced that the city will offer free daycare for all preschool children starting in September 2025, Japanese news outlet Mainichi Shimbun reported. ( read original story ...)