Japan

The EU and Japan trade deal celebrates second anniversary by further strengthening ties

The 1st of February marks the second anniversary of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The Joint Committee established under the Agreement, co-chaired by Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Japanese Minister of…

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No Plan B: Japan’s sponsors shelve ads as mood sours over Olympics

OKYO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Japan's Olympic sponsors are scaling back advertising campaigns and delaying marketing events for this year's Summer Games, concerned that public sentiment toward the event is…

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Photo Story: Snowless Mount Fuji

The top of Mount Fuji is seen almost free of snow, from Kyonan, Chiba prefecture, Japan, 10 January 2021 (issued 20 January 2021). Mount Fuji's top is famous for its…

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New coronavirus variant found in travellers from Brazil in Japan

A new coronavirus variant has been detected in four travellers from Brazil's Amazonas state, Japan's Health Ministry said on Sunday, in the latest instance the pandemic virus is evolving. A…

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Japan declares state of emergency for Tokyo area as COVID-19 cases surge

Japan declared a one-month state of emergency in the capital, Tokyo, and three neighbouring prefectures on Thursday to stem the spread of coronavirus infections, as new daily cases surged to…

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Photo Story: The traditional Toyosu Market New Year auction in Tokyo

Staff members pose before the auctioned tuna at a restaurant in Ginza, after the first auction for the year of Toyosu Market in Tokyo, Japan. Wholesaler Yamayuki bid for the…

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Tokyo daily coronavirus cases exceed 1,500, renewing record

Tokyo reported a record 1,591 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, as Japan's government faces increasing pressure from health experts to impose a strict state of emergency for the greater metropolitan…

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Tokyo to request new emergency declaration as COVID-19 cases increase

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will ask the central government later on Saturday to declare a state of emergency following a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, local media reported. Tokyo Governor Yuriko…

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Japan reports South African Coronavirus variant

TOKYO, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Japan on Monday detected a coronavirus variant found in South Africa, the government said, the first such discovery in a nation that has already identified…

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Japan bans new entries of foreigners

Japan on Saturday said it would temporarily ban non-resident foreign nationals from entering the country as it tightens its borders following the detection of a new, highly infectious variant of…

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Japan ex-PM Abe apologises, corrects parliament statements on funding scandal

TOKYO (Reuters) - Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday corrected statements he had made in parliament, apologising for what he said were mistakes regarding a political funding scandal…

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Tokyo governor urges residents not to go out during holiday season

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike on Monday urged the capital's 14 million residents to stay home during the upcoming holiday season to prevent the further spread of coronavirus infections, as the…

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In rare move, Japan sells gold to fill budget hole

TOKYO, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Japan has sold 80 tons of gold used for minting coins to another arm of the government to fund part of its huge stimulus package…

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Japan’s “Twitter killer” sentenced to death

Tokyo district court on Tuesday sentenced a man to death for the 2017 murders of nine people, local media reported, ending a case that grabbed headlines in Japan with the…

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Bird flu spreads to 10th Japanese prefecture

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's worst bird flu outbreak on record spread to new farms and now affects more than 20% of the country's 47 prefectures, with officials ordering cullings after…

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Study links Japan’s domestic travel campaign to increased COVID-19 symptoms

Researchers in Japan found a higher incidence of COVID-19 symptoms among people who have participated in a domestic travel campaign promoted by the government, suggesting that it is contributing to…

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Japan Covid cases reach daily record as ‘third wave’ hits, bird flu outbreak worsens

Japan has reported a record daily number of coronavirus cases, prompting health experts to urge people not to travel in the run-up to the New Year holidays. The country reported…

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Japan retrieves asteroid samples in hunt for origins of planets

TOKYO/MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Japan has retrieved a capsule of asteroid dust from Australia's remote outback after a six-year mission that may help uncover more about the origins of the planets…

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Capsule with clues about solar system’s origins tumbles towards Earth

A spacecraft has sent a capsule tumbling towards earth, carrying samples from an asteroid that could contain clues to the origin of the solar system, Japan's space agency has said.…

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Japan may ban sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles in mid-2030s

Japan's government is considering abolishing sales of new gasoline-engine cars by the mid-2030s in favour of hybrid or electric vehicles in line with a global shift from traditionally powered cars,…

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Most Japan firms cancel year-end parties due to COVID-19

Nearly 90% of Japanese companies plan to skip year-end and New Year parties to prevent the spread of COVID-19, a private survey showed on Thursday, underscoring the pain the coronavirus…

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Japan maintaining behind-the-scene dialogue with North Korea

on Monday that Japan is maintaining dialogue with North Korea to resolve long-standing issues on its nuclear and missile developments and on Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents decades…

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Biden reassures U.S. allies in calls with leaders of Japan, S.Korea, Australia

In their first calls with Joe Biden since the U.S. election, the leaders of Japan, South Korea and Australia on Thursday reaffirmed plans to form close ties with the president-elect…

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Japan formally proclaims Crown Prince Akishino heir to throne

Japan formally proclaimed Crown Prince Akishino the first in line as heir to the throne on Sunday, the last of a series of ceremonies after his elder brother, Emperor Naruhito,…

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Japan opens airport coronavirus test lab for departing travellers

Japan’s largest airport opened a novel coronavirus testing facility on Monday as it takes steps to reopen international travel that has been largely grounded for months by the pandemic. The…

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Japan’s ANA likely to suffer $5 bln net loss this year

Japanese airline operator ANA Holdings is expected to suffer a net loss of around 530 billion yen ($5 billion) for the fiscal year ending in March after the COVID-19 pandemic…

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New study shows Coronavirus survives on skin five times longer than flu

The coronavirus remains active on human skin for nine hours, Japanese researchers have found, in a discovery they said showed the need for frequent hand washing to combat the Covid-19…

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Reports Japan preparing to release Fukushima’s contaminated water into sea

Nearly a decade after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan’s government has decided to release contaminated water from the destroyed plant into the sea, media reports said on Friday, with a…

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Reports that Japan to waive landing fees to prop up airlines

Japan's government will waive airport landing fees worth up to 12.5 billion yen ($120 million) to ease the financial burden on airline operators, two sources familiar with the matter said,…

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Photo Story: Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force unveils new submarine

The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force's new submarine Taigei is unveiled at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe Shipyard in Kobe, western Japan, 14 October 2020. Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force unveiled its new…

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Japan fishermen oppose ‘catastrophic’ release of Fukushima water to ocean

Japanese fish industry representatives have urged the government not to allow the release at sea of tonnes of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, saying it would undo years…

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Takeda-led COVID-19 plasma treatment enters clinical trial with first patient

Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co said on Friday an alliance of drugmakers it spearheads has enrolled its first patient in a global clinical trial of a blood plasma treatment for COVID-19…

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Japan to remove travel ban for 12 countries including China next month

Japan is planning to remove a ban on overseas travel to China and 11 other countries next month, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Thursday. The 11 other countries and regions…

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Japan Airlines aims for discount network to capture post-coronavirus tourism

Japan Airlines wants to create a low-cost carrier network with three of its discount carriers to tap leisure travel that, unlike business travel, could rebound as the coronavirus wanes, the…

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Tokyo Stock Exchange suspends day’s trade after worst-ever system glitch

The Tokyo Stock Exchange suspended share trading for the full day on Thursday as a glitch in its electronic trading system caused the worst outage ever suffered by the world's…

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Malta: new embassy opens in Japan

The Embassy of Malta in Japan has opened its doors from Monday, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday. The decision to open a permanent representation in Tokyo was…

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Photo Story: New attractions at Tokyo Disneyland

A staff member wearing a face mask cleans an artwork with disinfectant in the new 'Minnie's Style Studio' at Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, east of Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo Disneyland unveiled…

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Japan determined to host Tokyo Olympics in 2021

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is set to tell the United Nations General Assembly on Friday that Japan is determined to host the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after the games…

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Japanese researchers trial early warning test for acute COVID-19 cases

Japanese researchers have developed a blood test they say appears to serve as an early warning system for serious cases of COVID-19, and deployed 500 prototype machines to trial its…

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Nearly 36,000 Japan firms shut down business due to COVID-19

Nearly 36,000 Japanese companies have chosen to discontinue their business so far this year, mainly due to the hit from the coronavirus crisis and up sharply from a year ago…

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Fujifilm’s Avigan shown to be effective in Japanese Phase-3 trial for COVID-19

Fujifilm Holdings Corp said on Wednesday its Avigan drug reduced viral loads and symptoms of COVID-19 patients, paving the way for regulatory approval in Japan after months of delays. The…

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Study shows face shields ineffective at trapping aerosols

Plastic face shields are almost totally ineffective at trapping respiratory aerosols, according to modelling in Japan, casting doubt on their effectiveness in preventing the spread of coronavirus. The Guardian reports…

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Japan’s Bridgestone to close tyre factory in France due to low demand

Japan's Bridgestone announced that it will begin talks to close its tyre factory in France due to low demand and high competition. The factory in Béthune employs 863 people and…

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Japan’s Suga elected as country’s first new PM in 8 years

Yoshihide Suga was elected as Japan's prime minister on Wednesday, becoming the country's first new leader in nearly eight years and facing a raft of challenges including reviving an economy…

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Japan’s Suga wins ruling party leadership race to replace Abe

Japan's governing party has elected Yoshihide Suga as its new leader to succeed Shinzo Abe, meaning he is almost certain to become the country's next prime minister. Last month Mr…

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Magnitude 6.1 earthquake near Japan’s coastline

A handout image made available by the US Geological Survey (USGS) shows an intensity shake map of a magnitude 6.1 earthquake at a depth of 32.1 kilometres, some 57 km…

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UK and Japan strike Britain’s first post-Brexit trade deal

Britain struck its first post-Brexit trade deal with Japan on Friday, hailing the agreement as a "historic moment", just as it is struggling to clinch a deal with its closest…

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Race for Abe’s succession starts in Japan

As Japan's ruling party formally kicked off its leadership race on Tuesday, frontrunner and chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said that preventing the spread of the coronavirus should take priority…

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Astrazeneca to begin Phase 1/2 clinical trials of coronavirus vaccine in Japan

Astrazeneca said on Friday it is beginning Phase 1/2 clinical trials in Japan of its coronavirus vaccine candidate. Trials of the vaccine, known as AZD1222, will be conducted at multiple…

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Japan’s tuna market, the world’s largest, hit hard by coronavirus pandemic

Japan's tuna market, the world's largest, is taking an outsized hit from the coronavirus pandemic, pressuring restaurants and wholesalers at Tokyo's sprawling Toyosu fish market to adapt to survive. Businesses…

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Japanese coast guard says rescued cattle ship crew has died

The Japanese coast guard said a man rescued earlier on Friday who was believed to be one of the crew of a capsized cattle ship has died, Kyodo news said.…

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In race to replace Japan’s Abe, loyalist Suga emerges as strong contender

Yoshihide Suga, a longtime lieutenant of Japan's Shinzo Abe, has emerged as a strong contender to succeed him as prime minister, an outcome that would extend the fiscal and monetary…

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What’s next after Japan PM Abe resigned? Potential successors?

The abrupt news that Japan's longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe resign over a worsening health condition, set off a flurry of attention on Friday over the path ahead for the…

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Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigns

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned on Friday due to health reasons. Abe said he would not comment on his potential successors, but added that the next premier should continue…

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Japan, eyes Olympics through vaccination

Japan is making an aggressive move to grab enough coronavirus vaccine to inoculate its population four times over, a push the government hopes will instil confidence that it can host…

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Reports Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set to resign

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to resign, national broadcaster NHK said on Friday, adding that he wanted to avoid causing problems to government due to a worsening of…

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Researchers in Japan say ozone effective in neutralising coronavirus

Japanese researchers said on Wednesday that low concentrations of ozone can neutralise coronavirus particles, potentially providing a way for hospitals to disinfect examination rooms and waiting areas. Scientists at Fujita…

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