A Tokyo-based investment firm that had planned to take over the closed zoo North Safari Sapporo in Minami Ward, Sapporo, and develop a new zoological park has decided to scrap the plan as of March 3rd.

All Nippon Airways held a press conference to announce a change in leadership, with Executive Vice President Hisaichi Hirasawa set to assume the role of president on April 1st, stating that sweeping reforms to the airline’s struggling domestic operations are urgently needed as profitability continues to deteriorate.

With company information sessions for university students set to graduate next spring opening in March, Japan’s job-hunting season has entered full swing, once again unfolding under what is widely seen as a candidate-driven seller’s market.

NTT’s next-generation optical communications infrastructure, known as IOWN, is moving toward global standardization as the company steps up efforts to promote the technology in Europe.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called on Iran to exercise restraint during a Lower House Budget Committee session on March 2nd, as tensions escalated following attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel, underscoring Japan’s commitment to diplomatic efforts aimed at calming the situation in the Middle East.

Shogakukan has come under mounting criticism after it was revealed that its manga app “Manga One” appointed a male manga artist as the original author of a new serialized work despite being aware of his past sexual misconduct, prompting the publisher to apologize and announce on March 2nd that it would establish an independent third-party committee to investigate the matter.

Japan byFood and Shizuka visit Tsukishima, Tokyo’s street food hotspot, to meet Bon-Chan, the famous tortoise adored by locals and visitors. (Japan by Food)

Tokyo Metro and Toshiba have launched Japan’s first demonstration test allowing passengers to pass through ticket gates without touching them by using their smartphones’ Bluetooth function.

Motors are embedded in countless electronic devices, from home appliances and robots to automobiles, quietly generating the power that underpins modern life, and now a Japanese startup is challenging long-held assumptions by developing a next-generation motor that delivers both high efficiency and high output while eliminating the need for rare earth materials.

The Tokyo Marathon was held on March 1st along a course running from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building to Tokyo Station, with Suguru Osako, who holds the Japanese national record and competes for Li-Ning, finishing 12th in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 59 seconds to post the best result among Japanese runners in the men’s race.

Japan is known for keeping tradition amidst modernization. While travelers visit temples that date back centuries, they will also see modern day neon skyscrapers.

This is behind the counter in Japan at Eiraiken, a small machi-chuka, or Japanese style Chinese restaurant, tucked away in a quiet Yokohama neighborhood. (Paolo fromTOKYO)

The number of foreign visitors staying at accommodation facilities across Japan reached a record 177.87 million guest nights last year, marking the highest level ever recorded and highlighting a continued shift toward regional destinations.

Honda announced on February 26th that it will introduce a new model of its SUV, the CR-V, with prices starting at 5,122,700 yen.

The name of a Japanese figure involved in a national government project has appeared more than 8,000 times in investigative records related to the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged with sex trafficking and other crimes, sparking controversy and raising concerns over the future of the state-backed initiative.

Mizuho Financial Group has decided on a policy to improve operational efficiency through the use of artificial intelligence, aiming to reduce administrative work equivalent to as many as 5,000 employees over the next decade.

An AI startup that emerged almost overnight, Akari had long been known only to insiders due to its limited media exposure, but after receiving investment from Mitsubishi Electric at the end of January and seeing its corporate valuation surge past 100 billion yen, the Tokyo-born venture has rapidly positioned itself as a leading unicorn candidate in Japan’s AI sector.

As price hikes spread from fast food to daily necessities and households grapple with rising living costs, the steady depreciation of the yen has emerged as a central driver of inflation, with multiple indicators showing that the currency’s purchasing power has fallen to roughly one-third of its mid-1990s peak, underscoring how three decades of economic stagnation, prolonged monetary easing and renewed fiscal expansion have left Japan far more vulnerable to imported inflation than other major economies.

The number of children born nationwide last year fell for the tenth straight year to a record low, but Tokyo saw a year-on-year increase for the first time in nine years, highlighting how local support measures and job opportunities may help counter Japan’s declining birthrate.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has submitted to the metropolitan assembly Japan’s first ordinance proposal that would in principle ban the installation of new utility poles, but how far has the effort to remove poles from above ground across the capital actually progressed?

Tsurui Village in Hokkaido is moving to purchase land designated for a large-scale solar power project near the Kushiro Wetland from an Osaka-based developer, in a bid to protect the surrounding landscape.

Food delivery service Wolt announced that it will withdraw from Japan on March 4th as competition in the domestic delivery market intensifies.

Olympic gold medalists Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, the pair known as “RikuRyu,” spoke at a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on February 25th, reflecting on their victory in pair skating at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and the determination that carried them through the competition.

The Japan Fair Trade Commission has conducted an on-site inspection of Microsoft’s Japanese subsidiary on suspicion of violating the Antimonopoly Act by potentially restricting the use of rival services.

A long-awaited spell of steady rain fell across Japan following a record stretch of low precipitation, offering much-needed relief to farmers and manufacturers that had struggled with water shortages.