TOKYO, Aug 26 (News On Japan) - The Japan Department Stores Association said July nationwide sales totaled 468.3 billion yen, down 6.2% from a year earlier, marking a sixth consecutive monthly decline.
A sharp fall in shoppers from Hong Kong and South Korea pushed the number of tax-free customers below 500,000 for the first time in 10 months, sending inbound tax-free sales down 36.3%.
Source: テレ東BIZ
Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.
Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.
Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.
Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.
A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.
The impact of tensions in the Middle East is spreading to familiar snacks in Japan, with Morinaga & Co. temporarily suspending sales of some caramel products, including its long-selling Hi-Soft brand, after difficulties emerged in securing certain raw materials.
The Nikkei Stock Average rebounded sharply on May 21st after falling below 60,000 at the previous day's close, briefly rising more than 2,200 points as hopes grew for progress in talks toward ending the fighting between the United States and Iran, while SoftBank Group gave the market a major boost following reports that OpenAI was preparing to file for an initial public offering.
Japan’s imports of crude oil from the Middle East plunged 67.2% in April from a year earlier, as the impact of the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz began to ripple through the country’s trade and energy supply chains.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Toshiba announced on May 20th that they had jointly developed a new stock index utilizing quantum technology.
TOTO, a major Japanese manufacturer of housing and bathroom equipment, reopened its showroom in London, England, on May 20th after undergoing its first major renovation in 16 years.
Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.
U.S. President Donald Trump was found to have traded large amounts of stock, including shares in Kura Sushi USA, in a wave of more than 3,700 transactions over a three-month period that has sparked criticism over possible conflicts of interest.
As conflict in the Middle East drags on, shortages of naphtha — a key raw material used in a wide range of petroleum-based products — are beginning to affect even Japan's traditional cheap snacks, with manufacturers facing steep rises in packaging and material costs while trying to keep products affordable for children.
