Asia Japan In 2531 all Japanese will be called Sato, unless the old law and tradition requiring married people to have the same surname is changed, according to Hiroshi Yoshida, a professor of economics at Tohoku University
Asia Japan Oji Holding, specialized in the production of disposable diapers, has decided to focus only on adult and senior products, exiting the market of diapers for babies
Asia Japan Commenting international concern about current spread of streptococcal infections, Hitoshi Honda, professor and infectious disease expert at Fujita Health University said pandemic-level infections are not expected and travel restrictions not required
Asia Japan 157 hospitalizations have been traced back to dietary supplements at the center of an expanding health scare, an increase from the 114 cases that last week Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said were linked to its products containing red yeast rice 'beni kōji'
Asia Japan The film Oppenheimer was first shown in Japanese theaters, several months after its US release in July 2023
Asia Japan The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has issued a health warning due to the spread of A streptococcus bacterial infections that can lead to streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS), with a 30% mortality rate; cases as of 17 March have exceeded half of 2023
Asia Japan The number of foreign nationals residing in Japan counted over 3,4 million in 2023, +10,9% on 2022, marking a record high for the second consecutive year, with employment-related visas seeing growth amid the country's acute labor shortage
Asia Japan A traditional rice-planting dance was performed on 18 February at Kusano shrine in the Ukedo area in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture; the shrine was rebuilt after being swept away by tsunami triggered by the March 2011 earthquake
Asia Japan Recent survey by Taisho University shows Japanese people in smaller towns and villages with at least 5% foreign population do not regularly interact with the foreigners who live in their communities, underscoring the need to work on integrating society
Asia Japan 40 female participants have formally applied and will for the first time take part in the 'naked man festival', thus changing a 1650-year-old tradition; the event will take place at the Konomiya temple, Inazawa, on 22 February
Asia Japan A Japanese court has sentenced to death Shinji Aoba, the man behind the 2019 attack on Kyoto Animation, one of Japan's most important animation studios; Aoba, now 45, set fire to the studio's headquarters, causing 36 deaths and several injuries
Asia Japan Celebrated filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki won the first Golden Globe for 'The Boy and the Heron', a film based partly on Miyazaki's childhood and the first in a language other than English to win the Golden Globe for Best Animated Film
Asia Japan Japan Airlines is preparing to launch its first direct flight from Tokyo's Haneda Airport to Doha, Qatar, from 31 March 2024, becoming the first Japanese airline to provide a non-stop service to the Middle East