Japan to provide additional $300 million to help Ukraine

Deep-sea camera captures giant 'yokozuna iwashi' in Pacific
NHK - Jul 01
Japanese researchers say they have successfully filmed a giant rare deep-sea fish in the Pacific called the "yokozuna iwashi."

Japan's GPIF logs first quarterly investment loss in two years
channelnewsasia.com - Jul 01
Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) reported on Friday an investment loss of $16 billion in January-March, the first quarterly negative return in two years, as higher U.S. interest rates and the war in Ukraine rattled financial markets.

Kirin brewery to withdraw from Myanmar
france24.com - Jul 01
Japanese drinks giant Kirin said Monday it will withdraw from Myanmar, after a failed bid to disentangle its operations from a joint venture with a junta-owned company after last year's coup.

Ex-KAT-TUN singer Tanaka arrested again for drug possession, 9 days after getting suspended sentence
Japan Today - Jul 01
Police in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, on Thursday arrested a former member of KAT-TUN, an all-male idol group, on suspicion of violating the Stimulants Control Law, just nine days after he was convicted and given a suspended sentence for a similar crime earlier this year.

Why Japan keeps handing out certificates to gay couples but won’t let them get married
VICE - Jul 01
In Japan, gay marriage is not legal. The national government has maintained that only a man and a woman can be wedded, a position backed as recently as last month by a court in Osaka.

Japan business mood dims for a 2nd quarter as costs rise: BOJ Tankan
Nikkei - Jul 01
Business sentiment among Japan's large manufacturers cooled for the second straight quarter amid economic headwinds, including the war in Ukraine, the extended lockdown in China, and global supply shortages and inflation, the Bank of Japan's latest Tankan survey showed Friday.

The most expensive bento in Japan
Tokyotronic - Jul 01
The Nikko Maizokin Bento is Y216,000 or $1,580. Comes with Nikko trout sushi & yuba, Tochigi wagyu steak, Hokkaido king crab, Kyushu prawns, Russian caviar, Japanese karasumi, pickles etc, and a carved, lacquered box with chopsticks.

Apple increases iPhone 13 prices in Japan ahead of iPhone 14 launch in Autumn
9to5mac.com - Jul 01
Apple on Thursday raised the price of iPhone models in Japan, making the product more expensive for Japanese consumers. In some cases, prices are now almost 20% higher, which may be a reflection of the local currency getting weaker against the dollar.

Japan’s growth prospects remain positive, at least in the short term
think.ing - Jul 01
Today's numerous data releases, from inflation to labour to business surveys, suggest a positive outlook for Japan in the near term. The overall picture is still mixed and the figures aren't good enough to change the central bank's current stance

Japan warns on 'interests' after Russia gas project decree
The Sun daily - Jul 01
Japan’s energy “interests must not be undermined”, Tokyo said Friday, after Moscow issued a decree transferring operations of a key oil and gas project to a new Russian company.

Charges dropped against elderly Japanese man for nailing Putin voodoo doll to sacred shrine tree
soranews24.com - Jul 01
Two weeks ago, investigators arrested Mitsunobu Hino, a 72-year-old resident of Matsudo, on charges of property damage after Hino was seen on security camera footage carrying a wara ningyo at a shrine shortly before one of the dolls was found nailed to the ground’s sacred tree.

Japan's land price up 0.5% in rebound from pandemic hit
Kyodo - Jul 01
The average land price in Japan as of Jan. 1 was up 0.5 percent from a year earlier, the National Tax Agency said Friday, rebounding from a fall in 2021 as the country recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.