TOKYO - Toho Cinemas, Japan's sixth largest film entertainment company, showed a 4.7% increase in net profit from March to November 2023, on the back of "Godzilla Minus One," which exceeded 5.3 billion yen in domestic box office revenue, and the distribution of anime "Jujutsu Kaisen".
Source: TV Tokyo BIZ
Typhoon No. 26 (Surigae) is forecast to intensify into a strong typhoon with a storm-force wind zone as it approaches waters south of Okinawa around September 26, raising concerns over severe weather in the region and the possibility of further heavy rainfall across mainland Japan next week as a stationary autumn rain front remains over Honshu.
A major traffic accident involving 10 vehicles, including trucks and passenger cars, left one man seriously injured and nine others with minor injuries on the Daini Shinmei Road in Kobe on September 24, forcing the closure of part of the expressway.
Japan celebrated two landmark performances on Day 6 of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on September 24, with the men's table tennis team defeating China 3-2 to claim its first gold medal in 60 years and 17-year-old swimmer Shin Ohashi breaking the men's 200-meter breaststroke world record.
An All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight bound for Saga Airport made an emergency landing at Naha Airport in Okinawa at 10:05 p.m. on September 23 after developing trouble with its right engine shortly after takeoff, with some passengers suffering minor injuries during an emergency evacuation.
Japan's Asian Games campaign produced another day of records and medals on September 23, with Shoon Mitsunaga setting a national record to win the men's 100-meter butterfly, both Japanese gymnastics teams taking silver behind China, and Toshikazu Yamanishi adding to the host nation's athletics medal haul.
Prices of used condominiums in Tokyo fell for the first time in two years and four months in August, ending a 28-month streak of increases, while neighboring Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures recorded their fourth consecutive month of gains.
SoftBank Group announced on September 24 that it will issue approximately 1.76 trillion yen worth of foreign currency-denominated bonds, the largest simultaneous bond offering in its history, to finance a further $10 billion investment in OpenAI as founder Masayoshi Son accelerates his strategy of building a global business spanning artificial intelligence, semiconductors and data centers.
Tokyo stocks rose on September 24, with the Nikkei 225 climbing to 65,647, up 628 points, as investors returned from the Silver Week break with renewed appetite for artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related shares, while the broader TOPIX edged lower as value and financial stocks came under pressure.
Japan's beer industry is preparing for a major transformation as a liquor tax revision takes effect on October 1, unifying tax rates across beer, happoshu and third-category beer for the first time, with conventional beer becoming cheaper while lower-priced alternatives face tax increases.
Japan is stepping up efforts to revive its shipbuilding industry, aiming to double annual construction volume by 2035 through government-backed investment in next-generation vessels, ship repair facilities and liquefied natural gas carriers, while Japanese manufacturers accelerate the development of hydrogen-powered engines and other advanced maritime technologies.
Japan's transition toward an economy with higher interest rates is creating sharply different outcomes for households, with younger generations facing rising mortgage repayments while older savers stand to benefit from increased deposit interest, following the Bank of Japan's decision to raise its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1.25%.
Bankruptcies among Japan's bento shops are surging, with 83 businesses failing in the first eight months of 2026, putting the industry on course to surpass last year's record of 89 as rising ingredient costs and intensifying competition from supermarkets, convenience stores and drugstores squeeze smaller operators.
Tokyo’s stock market was closed on September 21 for Respect for the Aged Day, leaving the Nikkei 225 without a cash close after finishing the previous session at 65,019, while currency and futures markets focused on the yen, the Bank of Japan’s latest rate hike and intervention risks during Japan’s Silver Week holiday.
