Japan

[ad_1] Despite what was largely seen as a swift response to the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit the Sea of Japan coast on New Year's Day, a week later the government is catching some flak from the opposition.Sixteen hours into the new year on Jan. 1, the Hokuriku region was shaken by a powerful quake with its epicenter on the Noto Peninsula, a sparsely populated strip of land stretching out […]

[ad_1] New Haven, Connecticut – Currency fluctuations affect different populations in different ways.Consider the recent decline of the yen, which slid from around ¥103 against the dollar at the end of 2020 to a multidecade low of around ¥151 in late 2023. The weak yen has forced some of my economist friends in Japan to cancel their research trips to the United States because their grants now fall far short […]

[ad_1] Yokozuna Terunofuji will compete at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament starting this weekend as he makes his return after withdrawing from three straight meets, his stablemaster Isegahama said Thursday. The 32-year-old lone grand champion won his eighth Emperor's Cup in May last year with a 14-1 record, but finished the ensuing Nagoya basho 1-3 with 11 days missed due to back pain. He sat out the following two […]

[ad_1] KUALA LUMPUR – Japanese firms have decided to drop their plans to get involved in a high-speed rail project connecting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, government and company sources said Thursday.The companies, including East Japan Railway, had hoped to utilize Japan's shinkansen system in the project but they have decided it will be too risky without the Malaysian government's financial support, said the sources, including those at the Japanese and […]

[ad_1] Though the publishing industry is still struggling to come out from under the cloud of the pandemic, with supply chain issues and cash flow problems plaguing all but the biggest presses, fans of Japanese literature have little need to worry about a lack of new releases. As I wrote in my 2023 list of upcoming must-read titles, readers have become spoiled for choice in recent years — and 2024 […]

[ad_1] The 225-issue Nikkei average reached its highest level since February 1990 on Thursday, with a weaker yen buoying exporters and caution over an impending hike by the Bank of Japan continuing to fade on the back of weak wage data. The Nikkei was up 1.94% at 35,110.52 by the midday close. The index is on track for a third straight day of gains and closing in on its largest […]

[ad_1] The government on Thursday designated the powerful earthquake that rocked Ishikawa Prefecture and other parts of central Japan on New Year's Day as a "disaster of extreme severity," boosting subsidies for reconstruction work in affected communities.Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government aims to boost its financial support for local authorities to implement measures such as the speedy reconstruction of roads and farmland, following the magnitude 7.6 temblor that left at […]

[ad_1] China's recent mediation of talks between Myanmar's ruling junta and three ethnic rebel groups in the country has highlighted a perceived absence of Japan's leadership in addressing the prolonged crisis there, which observers believe has reached a turning point since the 2021 coup.The mediation, which Beijing said brought a temporary ceasefire between the two sides in the country's northeast, raised questions about Japan's Myanmar policy that primarily deals with […]

[ad_1] Kawasaki – Sakie Yokota, 87, is increasingly fearful that time is ticking away, robbing her of the chance to once again see her daughter Megumi, who was abducted in Japan and taken to North Korea at the age of 13 some 45 years ago.For quite a while, she prioritized her busy schedule, dedicating much of her time to activities aimed at raising awareness about the abduction issue and urging […]