Japan will impose additional sanctions targeting Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday, joining the United States and Europe in piling pressure on Moscow. Speaking at a press conference, Kishida said the new package of sanctions includes export controls on semiconductors and other products, a freeze on assets held by…
The evening of January 1 is a pretty quiet, laid-back time in Japan. Most people do their New Year’s shrine/temple visits either at the stroke of midnight as the new year begins or by the afternoon of New Year’s Day, so after the sun goes down, the majority of the country is relaxing over a…
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday became head of the largest faction within Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party upon his return to the intraparty bloc following a nine-year absence. Abe was officially named successor to Hiroyuki Hosoda, a former chief Cabinet secretary, by faction members during a meeting Thursday, a day after Hosoda was…
A snow crab fetched 800,000 yen at a fishing port auction in Fukui Prefecture on Saturday, as the fishing season began the same day in the Sea of Japan for the winter delicacy. The price was a record for a prime male crab marketed by the prefectural government under the “Kiwami” brand. The successful bidder,…
This supplied photo shows Princess Mako taking a stroll in the Akasaka Estate in Tokyo on Oct. 6, 2021. (Photo courtesy of the Imperial Household Agency/Kyodo) TOKYO (Kyodo) — Princess Mako, a niece of Emperor Naruhito, is known by people close to her as an independent and friendly woman who has pursued a career as…
Princess Mako met with her grandparents former Emperor Akihito and former Empress Michiko on Monday, a day before her controversy-hit marriage to her commoner boyfriend Kei Komuro. The 30-year-old princess visited the couple for the first time in 19 months to bid farewell as she is set to register her marriage to Komuro, also 30,…
“Shinjuku Mitsukoshi completed, opens October 10,” one of the posters Hisui Sugiura created in his work at the department store’s design department, is seen in this image provided by The Museum of Art, Ehime. TOKYO — Before Japan had graphic designers, it had designers known as “zuanka.” And before the graphic design itself was an…
For many visitors to Japan, a trip to Kyoto is an unforgettable experience. The historic neighborhoods, with their beautifully preserved buildings and thoroughfares, create a traditional atmosphere so unique that you’d be hard-pressed to find anything like it anywhere else…except if you were over in a city in northeastern China, where they’ve built a “Little Kyoto”…
As a Brit living in Japan, I’ve found myself on a number of occasions needing to defend my version of English against those from other nations, namely those that form the core Anglosphere – Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States Back home, I recall intrigue for accents and dialects from across the pond(s)…
Customers in Japan have been waiting 15 years for this moment. Every time a new season rears its head on the calendar, you can bet Starbucks is one step ahead of it with a brand new limited-edition offering on the menu. Now that autumn is just around the corner, customers in Japan will be treated…
