Tokyo: Japan kept the overall assessment of its economy unchanged for a second straight month in July, retaining the view that conditions remain severe due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.In a monthly report approved by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s cabinet this week, the government said full attention should be given to the way […]
Read MoreTokyo: A Tokyo hotel has apologized and removed signs reading “Japanese only” and “foreigners only” from elevators after the anti-COVID-19 precaution sparked outrage on social media ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics.Tokyo entered a state of emergency on July 12 amid concerns that an influx of tens of thousands of athletes and officials during the […]
Read MoreTokyo: Eleven people were arrested off the coast of Hokkaido in northern Japan this week during a massive sea cucumber heist — a daring nighttime attempt to make off with 1,500 pounds of contraband, per Hokkaido news channel HTB News.The Japanese coast guard team stationed in the port city of Rumoi, Hokkaido, received a tip-off […]
Read MoreWilliam Pesek Tokyo: The Bank of Japan is turning heads as it joins peers in adding melting glaciers and environmental wokeness to the list of reasons to cut interest rates. To monetary purists, combating climate change is central bank mission creep run amok — this can only end badly. To others, it is wise recognition […]
Read MoreNewswire Tokyo: An international production about a Japanese soldier who remained in the Philippine jungle for 29 years after the end of World War II, will make its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this month.Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle, which is set to debut on Wednesday, is expected to receive glowing reviews from […]
Read MoreTokyo: Japan has one of the lowest food self-sufficiency rates out of all the major world economies. Caloric intake was 79% in 1960, but has fallen sharply, and currently stands at around 40%.The country’s goal is to reach 45% food self-sufficiency by 2030, but it faces many challenges. Two-thirds of the nation’s surfaces are mountainous, […]
Read MoreNewswire Islamabad: The 8th Japan-Pakistan Politico-Military Dialogue was held virtually in Tokyo and Islamabad this week.Kobayashi Kenichi, Director-General, Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, and Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, Additional Secretary (Asia Pacific) who also serves as the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan represented respective sides. […]
Read MoreNewswire Tokyo: The Japanese government has just unveiled its annual economic policy guidelines, which include new recommendations that companies permit their staff to opt to work four days a week instead of the typical five. Japan’s famously hard-working salarymen — and, increasingly, salarywomen — are to be encouraged to reduce the amount of time they […]
Read MoreTokyo: Ueno Zoo in Tokyo announced this week that there were signs that Panda Shin Shin was pregnant. Share prices for restaurants with outlets around the zoo soared. And then came the happy news: Shin Shin had given birth to not one cub, but two. The twins, whose gender has not yet been determined, were […]
Read MoreNewswire Tokyo: Japanese lawmakers this week passed legislation restricting purchases of land near defense force bases or other areas with national security implications. The law, which seeks to prevent foreign owners from misusing such land, passed in an upper house vote with cross-partisan support.It aims to fill what proponents say is a reporting vacuum on […]
Read MoreDaniel Leussink Tokyo: Japan’s economy likely grew and avoided slipping into recession this quarter but an extension of emergency measures to stem a rise in coronavirus infections has dented the growth outlook, a poll showed.Just over a month before Tokyo is set to host the Olympic Games, the world’s third-largest economy was seen expanding an […]
Read MoreWaiyee Yip A little Japanese girl trudges home through a snowy blizzard – an iconic television scene from the 1980s that many around the world would remember. It’s from the drama Oshin, which was a hit not just at home in Japan but also in more than 60 countries. Long before the age of Korean […]
Read MoreNewswire Islamabad: H.E. MATSUDA Kuninori, the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan this week expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in a tragic train accident in the district of Ghotki, Sindh, leaving scores of people dead and injured. In his condolence message, the Ambassador conveyed his heartfelt grief and sympathies to the […]
Read MoreTokyo: A few years ago if someone asked you to imagine spaceships as a mode of everyday transport, you would dismiss the idea, right? But the Japanese government, along with private companies, is all set to develop an intercontinental passenger spaceship network that will enable people to fly to the major cities of the world […]
Read MoreElizabeth Howell Tokyo: Japan plans to deploy a baseball-sized rover to explore the moon’s surface in 2022. The Japanese company ispace will deliver the small rover to the moon for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) using the commercial HAKUTO-R lander. JAXA will use the rover to snap pictures of the moon and collect data […]
Read MoreNewswire Tokyo: In what might be the unlikeliest indicator of a post-pandemic recovery, a pair of premium Japanese melons have sold for US$24,800 at auction, over 22 times more than last year’s virus-hit price.The 2.7 million yen price tag at the season’s first auction for the famed Yubari melons is still a snip compared to […]
Read MoreAlex K T Martin Tokyo: The COVID-19 pandemic couldn’t have come at a worse time for Japan’s tourism industry.The nation was anticipating an influx of big-spending foreign travelers to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The quadrennial sporting extravaganza was postponed for a year, however, and is now slated to be held in July without […]
Read MoreNewswire Tokyo: Japan this week accelerated its rollout of coronavirus vaccines with the aim of completely inoculating all people age 65 or older by the end of July amid a fourth wave of infections. Over the next two weeks starting Monday, the government will send vaccines to municipalities to administer shots to over 9 million […]
Read MoreIslamabad: Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Omer Ayub Khan this week said that Pakistan values the bilateral and friendly relations with Japan and both countries share common views on most of the regional and international economic issues.He made these remarks in a virtual meeting with the Chief Representative, JICA Pakistan, Shigeki Furuta to discuss the […]
Read MoreNewswire Islamabad: Pakistan has begun a process to market its professionals from Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector in Japan, aimed at fetching a maximum quota in the jobs recently announced by Tokyo for the overseas workers.Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC), an attached department of Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (OHRD), has recently […]
Read MoreNewswire Tokyo: Pakistan’s exports to Japan have jumped by 40% in the first quarter (Jan – Mar) during the current year as compared with the last quarter of 2020.According to trade figures released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance, the increase is more than 47% when compared to the same period last year i.e. Jan – […]
Read MoreNewswire Islamabad: Japan and Pakistan have agreed on debt deferral amounting to JPY 40 billion (approximately USD 370 million) for making fiscal space to fight against COVID-19 in Pakistan.This is in line with the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) agreed on April 15, 2020 and the MOU signed between Pakistan and the creditor countries […]
Read MoreNewswire Islamabad: Special Assistant on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari has said that Pakistan will soon start sending its skilled workforce to Japan under a government-to-government Memorandum of Understanding. Addressing the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Overseas Employment Corporation and International System Engineering and Services in […]
Read MoreNewswire Tokyo: Japan continues to outstrip Singapore as the world’s most powerful passport in a new update to a global index.It noted that Japanese passport holders can travel without a prior visa to a record 193 destinations, up from 191 in the first quarter of this year. Singapore remains in second place with access to […]
Read MoreTokyo: Think of Japan in the spring, and the image that comes to mind is likely the country’s famous cherry blossoms, also known as “sakura” — white and pink flowers, bursting across cities and mountains, petals covering the ground. The flowers, which experience a “peak bloom” that only lasts a few days, have been revered […]
Read MoreIslamabad: MATSUDA Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, extended his best wishes to the people of Pakistan upon the start of the Holy month of Ramadan. Ambassador MATSUDA said, “I would like to express my sincere respects and solidarity with the Pakistani people and Muslims on the occasion of Ramadan-ul-Mubarak. I wish you a blessed […]
Read MoreIslamabad: Chairman, Senate, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani on Monday said that Pakistan attaches great importance to its relations with Japan and looking forward to further expand the friendly ties in different sectors for mutual benefit of the people of both sides.He was talking to Kuninoro Matsuda, Ambassador of Japan in Pakistan who called on him here […]
Read MoreNewswire Islamabad: Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan MATSUDA Kuninori has appreciated the start of nationwide Immunisation campaign for a polio-free Pakistan, which continued until April 2.The Ambassador hoped that the campaign would be implemented successfully and it would lead to a polio-free Pakistan in the near future, said a press release issued here. He paid […]
Read MoreNewswire Islamabad: As Japan acknowledged Pakistan’s geo-economic location with its connectivity potential, the two countries on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to enhance mutually beneficial economic cooperation in diverse fields.The affirmation came during the 7th Pakistan-Japan High Level Economic Policy Dialogue held in virtual format.The Pakistan delegation was led by Noor Ahmed, Secretary Economic Affairs Division, […]
Read MoreIslamabad: On the auspicious occasion of Pakistan Day, H.E. Mr. MATSUDA Kuninori, the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, has extended his warm congratulations and good wishes to the people and the Government of Pakistan, saying the meritorious sacrifices rendered by the resilient people of Pakistan over the decades towards achieving the goal of a peaceful […]
Read MoreIslamabad: The 7th Japan-Pakistan High-Level Economic Policy Dialogue was held virtually on March 19, 2021. Mr. SUZUKI Hiroshi, Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, and Mr. Noor Ahmed, Secretary of Ministry of Economic Affairs of Pakistan represented respective sides. The Ambassadors of two countries and officials from related Ministries and agencies also attended […]
Read MoreIslamabad: The Government and the people of Japan commemorated the 10th anniversary of the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami that struck the north-eastern coast of the country on March 11, 2011, causing colossal loss of human lives and property while rendering thousands of people homeless. While paying tributes to the victims of the […]
Read MoreIslamabad: The Government of Japan has awarded the Foreign Minister’s Commendations for FY 2020 to WADA Akiko, representative of Rumbur Development Welfare & Conservation Society, in recognition of her significant contribution towards the promotion of mutual understanding between Japan and Pakistan. MATSUDA Kuninori, the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, on behalf of the Government of […]
Read MoreIslamabad: Matsuda Kuninori, the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, has expressed his deep appreciation and heartfelt congratulations to all the stakeholders involved in successfully holding the Davis Cup World Group 1 tie at the Pakistan Sports Complex between Japan and Pakistan teams from March 5-6 despite the challenging conditions in the midst of coronavirus pandemic. […]
Read MoreTokyo: The head of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee said Thursday that how to deal with spectators for this year’s Summer Games amid the coronavirus pandemic may become clearer around March 25.Seiko Hashimoto, who became president of the committee a week ago following a sexism row sparked by her predecessor, said she wants to set […]
Read MoreTokyo: Firms in Japan slashed spending on plant and equipment for the third straight quarter in October-December as manufacturers cut costs, casting doubt on the strength of the country’s recovery as the COVID-19 pandemic hit private demand.Weakness in capital expenditure is likely to worry policymakers counting on private-sector investment to help the world’s third-largest economy […]
Read MoreNewswire Islamabad: MATSUDA Kuninori, the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, has expressed his deep appreciation for Prime Minister Imran Khan’s initiative of adopting the Japanese Miyawaki planting technique in the country’s urban localities to fight environmental pollution. The Ambassador, while lauding the PM Khan’s vision for Green Pakistan, in a statement on Tuesday, said that […]
Read MoreIslamabad: The Government of Japan this week announced a contribution of USD 3.7 million to support UNHCR’s programmes and activities for Afghan refugees and host communities in Pakistan.This three-year project will focus on education, livelihoods assistance and community structures in the provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, benefitting over 240,000 individuals. The announcement was […]
Read MoreGeorge Lloyd Matsumoto: Matsumoto Castle in Nagano Prefecture is one of the best-known of Japan’s historic castles, alongside Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture and Kumamoto Castle in Kyushu.The castle is a National Treasure of Japan and is the oldest surviving six-story castle in the country, as well as one of the most complete. Its imposing […]
Read MoreCasey Baseel Tokyo: Pretty much as soon as it arrived in Japan, Netflix made anime a major pillar of its content mix. No doubt emboldened by the success anime found on streaming platforms outside Japan, Netflix has continued to expand its presence within the Japan anime industry (most recently with thick-thigh Godzilla), and now it […]
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