Japanese media join Google news platform
Google News Showcase was launched last year, and is expected to see the US firm invest one billion dollars as subscription fees to media partners over the next three years.
So far, more than 450 news organizations, including those in Europe and South America, are reportedly taking part. Among them are the Reuters wire service and leading French newspaper Le Monde.
Google has not released the names of Japanese organizations that signed partnerships or when the service will begin.
There are increasing moves to force IT giants such as Google and Facebook to pay for news items that appear in their feeds or search results.
The Australian government is seeking to establish a law under which the big platforms would be required to pay local media outlets to link their content.
But Google and Facebook have threatened counter measures if payments are effectively made compulsory in the country.
- NHK

RTE - May 20
Japan's core consumer prices posted their biggest jump in seven years in April, official data showed today, as global commodity prices soared and the yen slumped against the dollar.

marketwatch.com - May 19
TOKYO — Japan recorded a trade deficit in April as its imports ballooned 28% due to soaring energy costs and the yen’s weakness against the dollar.

newsonjapan.com - May 19
Japan is planning to open its first casino on 'Dream Island.'

Nikkei - May 18
Hyundai Motor's latest electric vehicle that hit the Japanese market this month can travel 220 km on a five-minute charge, a far cry from the lengthy charging Japanese EVs require using low-output chargers.

NHK - May 18
Japan's gross domestic product contracted an annualized 1.0 percent in real terms from January to March, compared to the previous quarter.

CBS Sunday Morning - May 17
In Japan, grass-and-straw tatami mats – once a privilege reserved for the elite – have been a key feature of home design since the Middle Ages, crafted by gifted artisans. But now, with cheap knockoffs and changing lifestyles, the industry is at a crossroads.

Nikkei - May 17
Suntory Beverage and Food, one of Japan's top sellers of soft drinks, will serve up its most wide-ranging price hike yet in a move expected to push rivals to follow suit in an industry squeezed by higher costs.

Nikkei - May 17
Saizeriya, a Japan-based chain of family-style Italian restaurants, has discontinued certain dishes over supply chain disruptions abroad and is turning to domestic procurement of certain ingredients.

NHK - May 17
A Japanese court has ruled a local government broke the law by ordering a restaurant chain to shorten its business hours to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Nikkei - May 16
For over a year, the Federal Reserve insisted that the rise in U.S. inflation was "transitory," while evidence mounted to the contrary. It dropped the claim in November and the word is now a punchline for critics of the central bank, who say it should have acted to tame prices sooner.

Business Times - May 16
Japan's wholesale prices in April jumped 10 per cent from the same month a year earlier, data showed on Monday (May 16), rising at a record rate as the Ukraine crisis and a weak yen pushed up the cost of energy and raw materials.

South China Morning Post - May 15
The term “Zen” has outgrown its origins as a sect of Buddhism, becoming an ubiquitous descriptor for design, lifestyle and even fashion, leaked from the East to the West and now prefixing a plethora of commodities, from “zen grey” paint to beauty products.

Nikkei - May 14
Japanese audio equipment maker Onkyo Home Entertainment filed for bankruptcy at Osaka District Court on Friday, with total liabilities of around 3.1 billion yen ($24 million).

Nikkei - May 13
Nintendo's founding Yamauchi family will redevelop the neighborhood around the company's former headquarters in Kyoto, eyeing restaurants, an art gallery and more.

Nikkei - May 12
Ayako Koizumi recently sent a message to her colleagues in the product development section at Japan Tobacco to thank them for the preparation of a training program for new employees.