Expected increases in building projects and overseas visitors in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics could raise Japan’s annual GDP growth by about one percent by 2018. The figure is part of an estimate that the Bank of Japan released on Monday. The central bank’s calculations assume that investment in building projects […]
Muslim guerrillas killed 10 civilians in the majority Catholic Philippines over Christmas, the military said Sunday, with some Christians in the affected areas now too scared to sleep in their homes. Guerillas from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) captured nine farmers and shot them dead on December 24 in the southern island of Mindanao, […]
Japan’s financial regulators will draft new laws to allow debit card holders to withdraw cash at supermarkets and convenience store counters. The service, called “cash-out” in some countries, is handy for areas without ATMs. In the United States, cardholders obtain funds by inputting their PIN numbers at store counters. The service has been unavailable in […]
Police arrested a popular comedian Saturday on suspicion of stealing dozens of girls’ uniforms from a Tokyo high school. Kenichi Takahashi, 44, from the comedy duo King of Comedy, was quoted by police as saying that he has committed similar thefts over 20 years to fulfill his sexual desires. Police have confiscated about 70 large […]
Tokyo police say the number of people to have their driver’s licenses revoked because of dementia continues to rise. Between January and the end of November this year, 60 people with dementia in the Tokyo metropolitan area had their licenses cancelled. The figure was 53 in 2014, and 7 in 2013. Japan’s road traffic law […]
A major international airport near Tokyo is crowded with travelers heading overseas for the New Year holidays. The annual exodus at Narita International Airport is hitting its peak on Saturday. Travelers in the departure lobby are forming long lines at check-in counters. The airport’s operator says more than 42,000 people are expected to depart for […]
Have you ever looked at a vending machine in Japan and had no idea what the strange, kanji-labelled drinks were? Now there’s a new interactive service that will explain everything for you! With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics fast approaching, Japan is gearing up for an influx of overseas tourists with a number of innovative projects […]
Japan is increasingly depending on foreign workers to meet a shortfall in the domestic working population, but many of the jobs are menial or ones that nobody else wants. Official figures show that a record 790,000 foreign nationals are now working in Japan, but the Japan Civil Liberties Union estimates there are more than 1 […]
Aichi Prefectural Police are investigating what is believed to be a murder-suicide case after finding two bodies inside an apartment in Nakamura Ward, reports Nippon News Network (Dec. 24). At approximately 2:0 p.m. on Thursday, officers entered the residence, located on the fourth floor of a building in the Nakajimacho area, and found the blood-stained body of a woman […]
In Japan the loneliest day to be single isn’t Valentine’s Day but Christmas Eve. And the staff at this restaurant doesn’t want to see any happy couples! If you’re feeling lonely because you don’t have a date for Christmas Eve, you could always try heading to the Philippines to see if you can catch the […]
