“No-Mask Picnic Day” Organizers See Reason and Cancel
The novel coronavirus has completely changed the daily lives for many across the world. It began spreading in Japan around February 2020, and as of…
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Sakura Shimbun 2021 eliminates FOMO with special hanami page spread in newspaper
The Sakura Shimbun, which started in Kyushu (Nishi-nippon Shimbun) last year and received a lot of attention on SNS and in the local media, has…
Japanese residents react to ruling that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional
Monumental cultural shifts are almost commonplace this day in age. The world has been turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many to live…
Naomi Watanabe praised online for reaction to bigoted pitch by Tokyo 2020 creative director
Bigoted “pig” pitch On March 17, 2021, a weekly magazine reported a statement by Hiroshi Sasaki, then creative director overseeing the planning and direction of…
Can Japan meet its carbon emissions reduction targets?
On October 29th last year, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that Japan would reduce its carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. This was a…
IKEA Japan sends help to healthcare workers during pandemic
Despite a number of countermeasures taken to prioritize safety during the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the world remains in a struggle against it,…
Universal Studios Japan will open Super Nintendo World finally on March 18th
Osaka-based Universal Studios Japan originally intended to open the highly anticipated Super Nintendo World area of their park in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,…
World’s first private mission to the moon now recruiting 8 crew members from general public
Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa announced today, March 3rd, 2021, that he is recruiting eight passengers from around the world to join what is planned to…
Tokyo hotels open up rooms to use as satellite offices during pandemic for just 500 yen
As a countermeasure to conditions caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus, many Japanese businesses have adopted telework models allowing their employees to work…
NHK Announcer Goes Off Script to Offer Comfort after Earthquake
On the night of February 13, 2021, an earthquake with a maximum seismic intensity of 6.0 on the Richter scale struck Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures….
Court rules Osaka school’s regulations “not illegal” after forcing student to dye hair black despite natural brown color
Back in 2017, news outlets and Japanese social media was set ablaze with the news of a girl from Osaka being forcibly made by her…
Shin-Aso Bridge to open in March, five years after Kumamoto Earthquakes
Not too long ago, during April of 2016, the southern Japan island of Kyushu was hit by a series of strong tremors, which collectively have…
Japanese company develops “floating image” no-touch touch panels to avoid direct button contact
Response to the spread of the coronavirus as an ongoing global pandemic has seen not only a focus on social distancing, but extra caution exercised…
United Nations global survey finds solid majority of Japanese believe in the climate emergency
With the beginning of the Biden and Suga administrations, both the U.S. and Japan are embarking on ambitious paths toward renewable energy and decarbonization. The…
Head of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Yoshiro Mori, Makes Misogynist Remark
The 83-year old president of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and former Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshiro Mori, made an unfortunate…