Technology investor SoftBank Group sees profitability return on AI boom

Japanese technology and telecoms giant SoftBank Group Corp. swung back into profitability in the last quarter of 2025 as its investments in OpenAI and other

Northern areas hit by heavy snowfall, as warnings issued for more

People clear snow near a building in Aomori Heavy snow piling up in northern Japan in the last two weeks has blocked roads and is

People mark Setsubun with bean-throwing to ward off evil spirits

Scores gathered at a shrine in Japan’s Hakone to try and catch “lucky beans,” hoping to ward off evil spirits as they celebrate the last

Chinese tourists avoid Japan amid concerns

Chinese tourist numbers to Japan have plummeted amid diplomatic frictions, security warnings, large-scale flight cancellations, and growing concerns over natural disasters and disease outbreaks, experts

Man who assassinated prime minister Abe gets life in prison

A Japanese court sentenced a man who admitted assassinating former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to life imprisonment yesterday. The case has revealed decades of cozy

Manila and Tokyo sign a new defense pact as they face growing China influence

Japanese FM Toshimitsu Motegi (left) and Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro shake hands in Manila, yesterday Japan and the Philippines signed a defense pact yesterday

Takaichi wins fans not with politics but with her style, and ‘work, work’ mantra

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrives to her office in Tokyo The pledge by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to “work, work, work, work and work”

China’s pressure on Japan could last for some time

Just days after China issued an advisory against traveling to Japan, the cancellations started. About 3,000 Chinese visit Rie Takeda’s tearoom in an alley

Baumkuchen ‘tree cake’ survived a disaster and world wars to become a Japanese favorite

Baumkuchen originated in Germany but has become a wildly popular sweet in Japan, where a prisoner of war on a small western island started making the

A spat over Taiwan is threatening China-Japan ties

President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ahead of their meeting in Gyeongju, last month Less than a month into her term,

Beijing signals tougher measures after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks

Sanae Takaichi (2nd R, front) attends the extraordinary session of the House of Representatives in Tokyo, last month Beijing has issued a cascade of warnings following

Gov’t warns residents to remain vigilant when traveling to Japan, following Beijing

Following the unexpected release of a notice by the Chinese authorities on Friday, advising Chinese citizens to “temporarily refrain from traveling to Japan,” and a similar

Japan resumes seafood exports to China two years after Fukushima wastewater release

Japan announced Friday that its seafood exports have resumed for the first time since China imposed a ban over the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater from the

Powerful quake strikes off the coast, tsunami advisory issued 

A powerful quake rattled northern Japan yesterday evening, followed by several more temblors, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. A tsunami advisory was issued. The earthquake,

South Korean and Japanese leaders vow to improve ties in face of global uncertainty

Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (above, left) and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japan’s new Prime Minister

Motegi plans to tell Trump it will build up military

Toshimitsu Motegi, newly appointed foreign minister, arrives at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo Japan’s new foreign minister said yesterday his country plans to show its determination

Parliament elects Takaichi as nation’s first female prime minister

Lawmakers applaud as Sanae Takaichi was elected as Japan’s new prime minister during the extraordinary session of the lower house, in Tokyo, yesterday Japan’s parliament elected ultraconservative

Court rejects an appeal by Australian who says she was tricked into smuggling drugs

Kristal Hilaire, a daughter of Australian citizen Donna Nelson, speaks to reporters at the Tokyo District Court, yesterday A Japanese court yesterday dismissed an appeal by an Australian

A movie about the Kabuki theater is a surprise hit in soul-searching Japan

A three-hour film about the esoteric world of Kabuki is defying the odds at the Japanese box office, with tickets selling out at some cinemas. “Kokuho,” which

South Korea’s president highlights friendly ties in Japan before key summit with Trump

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (left) meets Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, in his first summit with Japanese

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