News On Japan

Japan's badminton association apologizes for wrongdoings

TOKYO, Oct 22 (NHK) - Japan's badminton governing body has apologized for a series of scandals and improper conduct involving staff members and published reprimands of its senior officials. But there was no announcement of resignations.

The Nippon Badminton Association held a news conference on Friday, attended by President Sekine Yoshio and others. The body published a summary of a third-party inquiry into the scandals, including embezzlement by a former employee.

The report said the association's council members abandoned their responsibility by agreeing to compensate for the embezzled money, which totaled about 6.8 million yen, or about 45,000 dollars, that was to be used for the national team's camps and other purposes.

The report referred to a case where the association falsely applied for government subsidies of about 230,000 yen, or about 1,500 dollars, at the Japanese Olympic Committee. The report pointed out a lack of management ability as senior officials did not correct the mistake. ...continue reading

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Starting January 27, Osaka City has implemented a citywide ban on smoking in public areas, including heated tobacco products, as part of preparations for the Osaka-Kansai Expo set to open in April.

A man has been arrested in connection with the stabbing of three individuals in front of JR Nagano Station in Nagano City, where one person was killed and two others sustained injuries of varying severity.

Japan is facing critical questions about how to navigate its relationship with the United States following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has decided to raise its policy interest rate from an annualized 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent. This marks the first rate hike in six months and appears aimed at correcting the historically weak yen.

Japan is facing an unprecedented rice shortage, with recent data highlighting alarming supply-demand imbalances in the domestic market. The Agricultural Newspaper reported on January 10 that the DI (Demand-Supply Index), a measure of rice market balance, reached a record high of 80. This figure indicates a critical shortfall in rice availability, surpassing even last year's levels when supermarket shelves were emptied.

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