How Japan’s youngest CEO transformed Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty, arguably Japan’s best loved creation, is celebrating her 50th anniversary.

But all has not always been well at Sanrio, the Japanese company behind the character. The business has been on a spectacular journey of financial peaks and valleys.

Hello Kitty has been ranked the…[Read more]

Japan, EU Officials Condemn N. Korea’s Latest ICBM Launch

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and Josep Borrell, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, met in Tokyo on Friday and condemned North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile the previous day.

Nakatani criticized the ICBM…[Read more]

Japan, EU announce new defense pact

Japan and the European Union announced a sweeping new security and defense partnership in Tokyo on Friday. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell hailed it as a historic and “very timely” step.

Borrell and his Japanese counterpart, Takeshi Iwaya, unveiled the pact to develop cooperation on joint military…[Read more]

Sekiguchi Eyed as Next Head of Japan’s Upper House

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is planning to push Masakazu Sekiguchi as the next president of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, several party sources said Friday.

Sekiguchi, 71, who currently leads LDP members in the Upper House, would succeed current Upper House…[Read more]

Japanese man convicted of creating malware using generative AI

A Japanese court has convicted a man for creating malware using generative conversational artificial intelligence.

The Tokyo District Court sentenced Ryuki Hayashi, 25, to three years imprisonment, suspended for four years, for producing code that could be used as ransomware in…[Read more]

Fujikyu Railway weighs legal action over foreign tourist dance video

Fujikyu Railway is considering taking legal action over a dance video posted on social media that features people who appear to be foreign tourists performing in the middle of a train.
“We will not tolerate any dangerous or disruptive behavior in our vehicles, or any behavior t…[Read more]

Japan’s parliamentary election: Why it matters

Japanese voters go to the polls after new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called a snap election. The outcome could strengthen him, or further weaken the governing LDP.

Voters in Japan head to the polls on Sunday to elect members of their House of Representatives in an election seen as a test for t…[Read more]

Japan’s ruling party loses its majority in blow to new PM

The coalition led by Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has lost its majority in parliament, its worst result for over a decade.

Opposition parties secured more than half the seats in the lower house, provisional election results showed.

With 22 seats left to declare, the L…[Read more]

A Japanese boy was killed in China. Was cyber-nationalism to blame?

On a Tuesday morning in September, a 10-year-old boy was approaching the gates of a Japanese school in Shenzhen in southern China, when a stranger walked up and stabbed him.

He died of his injuries. The killing shocked Japan and China, and sparked a diplomatic furore.

The…[Read more]

Japan aid agency official punished for Philippines project info leak

An official of the Japan International Cooperation Agency leaked information regarding a bid for a railway rehabilitation project in the Philippines financed by low-interest yen loans, the Japanese government said Tuesday.

JICA imposed a one-month suspension on the official in…[Read more]

Only own-goals as Japan and Australia draw 1-1 in Asian World Cup qualifying

Two own-goals saw the points shared Tuesday as Japan and Australia drew 1-1 in Asian World Cup qualifying.

Shogo Taniguchi accidentally put Australia ahead just before the hour at Saitama Stadium, but Australia’s Cameron Burgess returned the favor soon after to leave…[Read more]

Election to test Ishiba’s ability to build a strong political base

The Oct. 27 general election — the first nationwide vote since a slush funds scandal was uncovered within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party — comes as an early test of the leadership of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is already grappling with a fragile party support base and…[Read more]

Ishiba omits divisive proposals in first policy speech as PM

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba gave his first policy speech to parliament on Friday, omitting some of the most divisive proposals he made during last month’s Liberal Democratic Party presidential campaign and instead prioritizing quickly actionable measures.
While he did not touch on p…[Read more]

The man behind Japan’s $170bn bid to prop up the yen

For several years, Masato Kanda hardly slept.

“Three hours a night is an exaggeration,” he laughs as he speaks to the BBC from Tokyo.

“I slept for three hours consecutively before being woken up but I then went back to bed, so if you add them up, I got a bit more.”

So why was this 59…[Read more]

Japan PM warns ‘today’s Ukraine could be tomorrow’s East Asia’

TOKYO: Japan´s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba warned in his first policy speech on Friday that “today´s Ukraine could be tomorrow´s East Asia”, saying that the world is becoming ever more divided.

The 67-year-old former defence minister, who took office this week, also dubbed th…[Read more]

Runway closed at Japan airport after WWII bomb explodes on taxiway

An unexploded World War II-era bomb exploded on a taxiway at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan on Wednesday morning, forcing the closure of its runway, although no injuries were reported, authorities said.

Video footage from the Civil Aviation College, which uses the airport…[Read more]

Regional victory brings Germany’s Scholz brief respite

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) staved off the far right in a regional election on Sunday, likely providing him only a brief reprieve from growing criticism of his leadership within his own party.

The center-left SPD staged a last minute comeback in the eastern sta…[Read more]

Germany honors Jürgen Klopp with highest civic award

German football coach Jürgen Klopp received the Federal Order of Merit for his contribution to democracy and his impact on the football world and more. He accepted the honor with customary modesty, asking “why me?”

German football coach Jürgen Klopp on Wednesday received the Federal Order of…[Read more]

Not just AfD: What’s the BSW, Germany’s rising populist left party?

The party founded in January espouses anti-NATO, anti-immigrant populist rhetoric while promoting left-wing economics.

It’s the new kid on the block in German politics — and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) is making waves.

A little more than nine months after its birth,…[Read more]