Rakuten Bank surged 33 percent in its debut in Tokyo on Friday following Japan's largest initial public offering (IPO) since 2018. (straitstimes.comstr)

Calling it an "awakening of youth and passion," Chinese fans of Slam Dunk, a Japanese sports manga series, swarmed into cinemas on Thursday at midnight. (Global Times)

Japanese experts say a ninth wave of the coronavirus in the country could cause many deaths, mainly of elderly people. (NHK)

The Bank of Japan maintained its upbeat economic assessment for most regions on Thursday, saying wage hikes were broadening, underscoring its conviction that the country was on a path to sustainably meet its inflation target of 2%. (Reuters)

When it comes to choosing the top casinos, you shouldn't depend on just any source of data. (newsonjapan.com)

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will set a goal for 60% of the people in Japan to get sufficient sleep, defined as between six to eight or nine hours depending on age, by fiscal 2032. (The Japan News)

Corporate governance in Japan has suddenly become a cause celebre, rousing the world’s third-largest stock market out of decades of lethargy and drawing in hordes of foreign investors. (financialpost.com)

Japan's trade deficit roughly quadrupled to a record 21.73 trillion yen in fiscal 2022 ended March, as increased energy costs and a weaker yen led imports to grow far more than exports, the Finance Ministry said Thursday. (Japan Today)

Japan takes names very seriously. Parents not only have to consider the sound of their child's name, but the meanings of the characters in it as well. (Japanalysis)

When he passed away in 2019, Johnny Kitagawa was the foremost figure in the world of J-Pop. (KOOKIELIT)

G7 countries reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and issued warnings to Russia, China and Sudan on the final day of meetings between the group's top diplomats in Japan. (euronews)

The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) office in Dubai has confirmed that, effective immediately, all foreign nationals resident in the UAE who would otherwise require a visa to visit Japan, can now apply online for a short-term tourism visa. (businesstraveller.com)

Eagle-eyed travellers have snapped up US$10,000 (S$13,300) business-class tickets on Japan’s ANA airline for just a few hundred dollars after a currency conversion blunder. (straitstimes.com)

The average unit price of a new condominium in Tokyo and its surrounding areas rose 8.6 percent in fiscal 2022 from the previous year to 69.07 million yen, hitting a record for the second consecutive year, a research institute said Tuesday. (Japan Today)

Mutsuhiko Nomura’s football career has spanned 18 World Cups, or 70 years, to be exact. (straitstimes.com)

Japan's immigration authorities have granted a lesbian Ugandan woman refugee status after a court ruled in favor of her. (NHK)

In mid-April, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released its Diplomatic Bluebook 2023, its most important guidebook on international affairs. (Asia Times)

A Japanese Justice Ministry panel has agreed to consider introducing a joint custody system for shared parental rights after a divorce, revising the current sole custody system. (NHK)

Visitors to Japan surged to a post-COVID high in March, official data showed on Wednesday, as many international tourists flocked to see the nation's famous cherry blossoms for the first time in four years as travel curbs were gradually lifted. (Reuters)

A new ceasefire between rival factions fell apart Wednesday night in Sudan. Japanese government officials say they are getting ready to airlift around 60 nationals from the country as deadly clashes continue. (CNA)

Junior high school third graders in Japan took an English-speaking test online for the first time Tuesday in the education ministry’s national achievement test held across the country. (Japan Times)

Police in Shibata, Miyagi Prefecture, said a 54-year-old man was fatally stabbed outside the front door to his house on Monday. (Japan Today)

Police in Japan have arrested three Indonesian nationals on suspicion of abandoning the body of a man in Fukushima Prefecture, northern Japan, last month. (NHK)

The malevolent entity that inhabits the doll known as Okiku has become famous over the last century as being one of the most compelling cases for a conduit between our world and something else. (Mystery Archives)

The Japanese stock market has underperformed and languished against the US since the infamous burst of Japan’s property bubble in early 1990 that led to two decades of sticky deflation. (actionforex.com)