1+ mon, 2+ day ago   (156+ words) The Japan Times Hiroshi Okuda, who served as president and then chairman of Toyota Motor Corp. in the late 1990s and early 2000s, has died. He was 93. A lifetime Toyota employee, Okuda joined just as it began establishing itself as a manufacturing…...

1+ mon, 2+ week ago   (132+ words) The Japan Times Japanese shoppers are driving up luxury jewelry sales to a record as consumers seek a safe haven from inflation and the weakening yen.Sales of gems, precious metals and artwork at Japan’s department stores climbed 19% in…...

3+ mon, 2+ week ago   (272+ words) Japan was overtaken by China as the world’s second-largest creditor nation in 2025 despite setting a fresh record for its tally of overseas assets. Japan’s net external assets rose to an all-time high of ¥561.8 trillion ($3.5 trillion) at the end of 2025, according…...

3+ mon, 4+ week ago   (125+ words) The Japan Times Anglophone bookworms unite across Japan Reading doesn’t always have to be a solitary activity: A burgeoning book-based social scene in Tokyo and other cities is allowing English-language bibliophiles to find kindred spirits. While literary types in Japan…...

4+ mon, 4+ day ago   (116+ words) Koji Suzuki, the Japanese author known for horror novels including "Ring," died at a Tokyo hospital Friday. He was 68. "Rakuen" (Paradise), his debut novel, received the Superior Award at the 1990 Japan Fantasy Novel Awards. "Ring," released in 1991, was adapted into…...

4+ mon, 3+ week ago   (293+ words) The Japan Times In major policy shift, Japan scraps limits on lethal arms exports In a major policy shift, Japan has abolished restrictions limiting military equipment transfers to five nonlethal categories, paving the way for the export of lethal weapons…...

4+ mon, 3+ week ago   (335+ words) The Japan Times Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Cabinet on Tuesday made a landmark decision to abolish decades-old restrictions limiting military equipment transfers to “nonlethal” categories, paving the way for the export of lethal weapons even…...

6+ mon, 21+ hour ago   (102+ words) The Japan Times Growing up in Wakayama Prefecture, the heartland of ume (plum) cultivation in Japan, Mami Kubota enjoyed umeboshi (pickled plums) and plum juice in her daily life.Every summer, she watched her grandmother partake in the ritual of…...

6+ mon, 1+ week ago   (111+ words) The Japan Times Businesses in Japan are working to address increasingly complex demands and expectations related to workplace anti-harassment measures. This year marks four decades since the equal employment opportunity law came into force, and 20 years since employers were first…...

7+ mon, 2+ week ago   (630+ words) Tsunan Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tsunan, Niigata; CEO: Kengo Suzuki), located in one of Japan’s heaviest snowfall regions, successfully hosted two trainees from Greece in late January 2026. This cultural exchange program, conducted in partnership with the Sake Sommelier Association…...