The number of insolvencies has reportedly risen for the first time in three years Japan recorded its first increase in the number of company bankruptcies in three years in 2022, according to a new survey by Teikoku Databank. The report showed that a total of 6,376 companies declared bankruptcy in …
Read More »Dream job: the Japanese man who gets paid to do nothing
Shoji Morimoto has what some would see as a dream job: he gets paid to do pretty much nothing. Shoji Morimoto was often chided for ‘doing nothing’ at work. The Tokyo resident says he started wondering ‘what would happen if I provided my ability to 'do nothing' as a service …
Read More »Japan imposes new sanctions on Russia
Tokyo has put Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and over 140 other people from Russia on its backlist
Read More »Man dressed as Joker terrorizes Tokyo train, injures 10 people
A 24-year-old man dressed in Batman’s Joker costume attacked passengers on a Tokyo train line on Sunday evening, injuring about 10 people as many party-goers headed into the city center for Halloween gatherings, media reported. Police arrested the suspected attacker on the spot, media reported. A man in his 60s …
Read More »Japan kicks off election campaign as support for the ruling LDP dips
Japan on Tuesday kicked off its first official day of campaigning ahead of the Oct. 31 general election, with a media poll showing support for the ruling party easing, in a blow for recently installed prime minister Fumio Kishida. Support for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was at 38.8 …
Read More »Magnitude 6.1 quake jolts Tokyo, causing blackouts but no tsunami warning
A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 jolted Tokyo and surrounding areas late on Thursday, stopping train lines and causing sporadic power cuts, but there were no reports of major damage, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK said. The tremor, at 10:41 p.m. (1341 GMT), registered “strong-5” on Japan’s intensity …
Read More »Japan’s next leader sets sights on wage hikes to fuel growth
Fumio Kishida, the man soon to become Japan’s prime minister, says he believes raising incomes is the only way to get the world’s third-largest economy growing again. Kishida says he wants to promote a “new capitalism” that would be more equitable, with fairer distribution of national wealth — the only …
Read More »Japan to extend COVID state of emergency in Tokyo area until last week of September
The Japanese government plans to extend a state of emergency in and around Tokyo until the last week of September in a further bid to contain the coronavirus epidemic, the Mainichi newspaper reported on Saturday. Japan last month expanded emergency curbs to cover about 80 percent of its population until …
Read More »Japan PM Yoshihide Suga to step down after a year in top job amid anger over COVID response
Japan’s prime minister Yoshihide Suga has announced he will not run for the leadership of his governing party later this month – paving the way for a new premier after just a year in office marred by an unpopular COVID-19 response. Mr. Suga was appointed to the role in September …
Read More »Japan suspends Moderna Covid vaccine after another million doses found contaminated, bringing total to 2.6 million
Japanese officials have suspended the use of millions of doses of the Moderna Covid vaccine after foreign substances were found in a number of batches and two people died after receiving jabs from the affected lots. The Japanese government discovered the contamination over the weekend in a batch of the …
Read More »Tokyo Paralympics to be held without spectators, Tokyo governor says
The four parties concerned with running the Tokyo Paralympics agreed on Monday that the Games will be held generally without spectators, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told reporters. Koike also said that municipalities and schools will still be able to have schoolchildren attend events as long as proper COVID-19 safety measures …
Read More »Four passengers stabbed on underground train in Tokyo, man arrested
A man with a knife stabbed four passengers on an underground train in Tokyo on Friday, and was arrested by police after fleeing, the train company and news reports said. NHK public television said two of the four passengers were seriously injured. It said the suspect left his knife behind …
Read More »Japan starts to ‘name and shame’ COVID-19 quarantine rule-breakers
Japan has carried out a threat to publicly shame people not complying with coronavirus border control measures, releasing the names of three people who broke quarantine rules after returning from overseas. The health ministry said late on Monday the three Japanese nationals named had clearly acted to avoid contact with …
Read More »Belarusian sprinter refuses to leave Tokyo (Pictures)
A Belarusian sprinter refused to get on a flight from Tokyo on Sunday after being taken to the airport against her wishes by her team following her complaints about national coaches at the Olympic Games. Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, 24, was still at Tokyo’s Haneda airport in the early hours of Monday. …
Read More »Tokyo2020 : What you need to know right now
Here’s what you need to know about the Tokyo Games: HISTORIC GOLD Lee, the youngest member of the U.S. team at 18, finished with a total of 57.433 points as reigning champion Simone Biles sat out the event citing mental health concerns. “It’s crazy. It doesn’t feel like real life …
Read More »Athletes parade in empty stadium as Tokyo Games open in shadow of pandemic (Video, Pictures)
Olympic organisers on Friday thanked medical workers at a Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony overshadowed by the coronavirus, as athletes from across the world paraded into an almost empty stadium, for the first time their smiles hidden behind masks. Normally a star-studded display teeming with celebrities, the ceremony was shorn of …
Read More »Japanese PM confident of successful Tokyo 2020
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has expressed his confidence in successfully delivering the Tokyo Olympic Games despite the specter of COVID-19. “Because of the COVID-19 pandemic since last year, the (pandemic) situation is making progress and sometimes backward, but vaccinations have come. After a long tunnel, an exit is now …
Read More »Olympics Tokyo governor vows city’s medical system is ready for Games
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said on Tuesday that a sufficient number of hospitals combined with a speed-up in the vaccination rollout among the elderly meant the city will be able to hold “safe and secure” Olympics in ten days. But Koike, speaking to Reuters in an interview at the Tokyo …
Read More »Fans banned at Olympics; Tokyo under state of emergency
Fans were banned from the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics which will open in two weeks, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said after meeting with IOC and Japanese organizers on Thursday. The ban came hours after a state of emergency in the capital starting from Monday, declared by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga …
Read More »Japan to place Tokyo under state of emergency lasting through Olympics
Japan is to place its capital Tokyo under a state of emergency, which will last through the upcoming Olympic games. There are fears coronavirus could surge during the event, and at a meeting with experts on Thursday morning government officials proposed a plan to start the state of emergency from …
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