TOKYO, Aug 20 (News On Japan) - JR East and other operators announced on Tuesday that they will resume sales of personalized Suica and PASMO cards on September 1. Sales had been suspended since August 2023 due to a shortage of semiconductors necessary for the production of these cards.
With the semiconductor supply now recovering, continued supply is expected, although sales of the non-personalized cards will remain suspended.
Source: テレ東BIZ
A 52-year-old newspaper deliveryman was killed in the early hours of July 12th after being attacked by a bear in a residential area of Fukushima Town, Hokkaido.
A hot spring inn in the popular resort area of Niseko, Hokkaido, has been forced to suspend operations at one of its baths after an unauthorized open-air bath was found to have been built near its hot spring source.
A first-generation Hermes Birkin bag has been sold at a Paris auction for approximately 1.47 billion yen, marking the highest price ever paid for a handbag. The winning bidder was a Japanese collector, and the sale was held by Sotheby’s.
The National Police Agency has announced a plan to tighten regulations on converting foreign driver's licenses to Japanese licenses—a process known as "gaimen kirikae"—by no longer allowing short-term visitors such as tourists to apply.
A sudden swarm of dragonflies blanketed the skies over a residential area in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, stunning local residents and prompting reactions ranging from unease to delight.
A recent survey by the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) has revealed that business leaders view wage hikes as the most effective policy response to rising prices, ahead of the July House of Councillors election. The findings reflect growing concern among corporate executives about the impact of inflation outpacing wage growth, and highlight a preference for structural solutions over short-term subsidies.
Suzuki has announced plans to release its first-ever electric vehicle, the e-Vitara, in Japan within the current fiscal year. The model will also be introduced in Europe and India.
Rakuten Group has filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government, claiming that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' decision to effectively ban reward points from the furusato nozei (hometown tax donation program) starting in October is unlawful.
Nissan Motor, which has been grappling with sluggish business performance, is set to delay the production of two electric vehicle models it had planned to launch in the United States. The affected models are sport utility vehicles originally scheduled to be produced at the company’s Mississippi plant starting in 2028. The company did not disclose a new timeline for the start of production.
Japan Post’s improper vehicle safety checks have sparked wider concerns, with more than 30,000 vehicles now potentially subject to suspension—raising fears that Yu-Pack deliveries could also be affected.
The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau has pointed out that an asset management company wholly owned by Yusaku Maezawa, founder of online fashion retailer ZOZO, failed to report approximately 400 million yen in income.
Japan’s current account surplus for May reached a record 3.4364 trillion yen, up 16.5% from a year earlier, according to preliminary data released by the Ministry of Finance. This marked the fourth consecutive month of surplus.
As rice prices across Japan continue to remain high, major convenience store chain Lawson has begun selling rice balls made exclusively with aged rice for the first time, starting on July 9th.
