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Companies hold in-person welcome ceremonies for new employees

Apr 04, 2023 (Japan Today) - Many companies and organizations across Japan held in-person welcome ceremonies for new recruits on Monday, the first day of the new fiscal year.

It is the first time that major companies held such ceremonies since the outbreak of the coronavirus in 2020. For the past three years, welcome ceremonies were mostly held remotely.

Among companies welcoming new workers was Japan Airlines which held its ceremony inside a big hangar at Haneda airport in Tokyo. Around 2,000 employees from JAL’s group firms were present.

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Record rainfall caused 19 rivers to overflow across Fukui Prefecture, flooding roads and homes, triggering landslides and temporarily forcing authorities to issue the highest-level heavy rain emergency warning from early Sunday morning.

Drones were used to deliver food and daily necessities to an isolated mountain community in Himi City, Toyama Prefecture, on August 30 after torrential rain triggered a landslide that cut off road access, while volunteers continued flood recovery work in neighboring Ishikawa Prefecture.

Two typhoons east of Japan were moving northward on August 30, with Typhoon No. 23 (Banlan) overtaking Typhoon No. 22 (Artau), although neither storm is expected to have a direct impact on Japan.

A 9-minute, 13-second drone video filmed inside Aeon Mall Kumamoto two days after the deadly explosion has provided a detailed view of the destruction, showing collapsed ceilings, heavy dust and widespread damage that may have affected between one-third and nearly half of the shopping center.

Strong Typhoon No. 18 was moving northwest through the East China Sea on the night of August 26, gradually pulling away from Okinawa and the Amami Islands as lingering rain, strong winds and high waves were expected to ease. As of 9 p.m. on August 26, the typhoon was over waters north-northwest of Kume Island and moving northwest.

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Toyota Motor plans to introduce passenger vehicles equipped with advanced automated driving technology from 2028, allowing drivers to travel with almost no manual operation, including taking their hands off the steering wheel on ordinary roads.

Consumer prices in central Tokyo rose 1.8% in August from a year earlier, with the pace of inflation accelerating for a third consecutive month as higher food prices continued to put upward pressure on household costs.

Tokyo stocks rose on August 28, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 66,405.56, up 273.58 points, or 0.41%, as information-technology, software, automaker and selected semiconductor-related shares gained after a U.S. technology rally, while investors remained cautious before Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech.

Japan's toy market continues to expand despite the country's declining number of children, reaching a record 1.1664 trillion yen in fiscal 2025 as manufacturers increasingly target adults and introduce products reflecting social issues ranging from sustainability to investment.

Tokyo stocks slipped on August 27, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 66,131.98, down 130.18 points, as early buying in artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related shares following Nvidia’s strong earnings forecast faded into profit-taking, while the broader TOPIX edged higher for a sixth straight session.

Seven-Eleven Japan and Yamato Transport announced on August 26 that they will introduce self-service shipping machines allowing customers to send parcels without lining up at a staffed checkout counter.

Tokyo stocks rose on August 26, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 66,262.16, up 405.73 points, or 0.62%, as investors bought back selected semiconductor and financial shares, although trading was thin ahead of Nvidia’s earnings and uncertainty remained over artificial intelligence valuations, the yen and Bank of Japan policy.

Tokyo stocks fell on August 25, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 64,980.53, down 0.8%, as investors sold semiconductor and electronics shares ahead of Nvidia’s earnings while a weak yen, elevated bond yields and renewed U.S. pressure on Iran kept risk appetite subdued.