All posts tagged "News"

  • After May 8, patients to defray cost of Covid tests and related services

    On May 8, 2023, Japan will downgrade Covid-19 to Category 5 (from Category 2) under the infectious disease law, classifying it to the same grouping as seasonal flu. This means that if ever you need PCR tests...

    • Posted March 11, 2023
    • 0
  • Archie and Lilibet Diana go from “master” and “miss” to “prince” and “princess”

    The two children of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, Archie and Lilibet Diana are now officially listed as “prince” and “princess,” ending uncertainty over their royal titles. The update made on the line of...

    • Posted March 10, 2023
    • 0
  • QR code most preferred payment method by Rakuten subscribers

    Subscribers of NTT Docomo, au, Softbank and Rakuten enjoy added perks from payment modes ranging from QR and barcode to credit cards. Mobile phone subscribers in Japan have become savvy and discerning with their choices. They understand...

    • Posted March 10, 2023
    • 0
  • Ito Yokado shopping malls will be reduced and apparel business stopped.

    There has been an air of inevitability for some time hanging over Ito Yokado, the family-friendly shopping mall which announced yesterday the closure of its thirty three non-performing stores nationwide. The struggling retail store’s apparel business popular...

    • Posted March 9, 2023
    • 0
  • Motherhood penalty impacts a woman’s lifetime earnings, says study.

    Despite the global movement toward gender pay equality, many women still face a motherhood penalty after having children, a study said Tuesday. The ‘motherhood penalty’ is a term coined by sociologists who argue working mothers face not only...

    • Posted March 9, 2023
    • 0
  • Japan wants English proficiency level of high school students raised

    In the existing five-year plan through fiscal 2022, 50 percent is the national target for English proficiency in high school and junior high students. It appears that’s going to change soon. On Wednesday, a Japanese government panel...

    • Posted March 9, 2023
    • 0
  • Japan’s horse-drawn carriages are back!

    After a 3-year hiatus, Japan’s horse-drawn carriages are back on the streets to drive ambassadors taking up their job posts, from Tokyo station to the south portico of the Imperial Palace and back. The trip to Imperial...

    • Posted March 8, 2023
    • 0
  • Rich Households in Japan hit record high in 2021

    Nomura Research institute said Wednesday the number of rich households in Japan has increased in 2021 by about 158,000 compared to the 2019 survey. The record-high increase refers to 1.48 million households with net financial assets of...

    • Posted March 2, 2023
    • 0
  • Number of births in Japan at an all-time low

    The number of babies born in Japan in 2022 dropped below the 800,000 mark for the first time since the country’s health ministry started collecting data in 1899, according to a preliminary report Tuesday. The number fell...

    • Posted March 1, 2023
    • 0
  • Japan to relax eligibility rules to attract many highly skilled career professionals

    The government of Japan announced today it will relax the conditions for obtaining residency status by foreign nationals in order to attract highly skilled career professionals such as researchers and engineers. The high skill level of foreign...

    • Posted February 17, 2023
    • 0
  • To mask or not to mask after March 13 is up to you says Japan.

    The Japanese government issued a statement Friday that it will leave the wearing of mask (indoors or outdoors) up to the individuals’ discretion when  COVID-19 rules are officially relaxed on March 13. It will however continue to...

    • Posted February 13, 2023
    • 0
  • Gotta Catch Them All!

    Not before long, Japan streets will be dotted by Pokemon-themed manhole covers as part of a marketing technique to boost tourism. According to Japan’s Mainichi news, Pokemon now produces colorful ‘Poke lids’ featuring its monster characters and...

    • Posted February 5, 2023
    • 0
  • ‘Sesame Street’ Co-creator Lloyd Morissette dies

    Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit Morissette co-founded in 1968 under the Children’s Television Workshop, has announced his death this week. Sesame Workshop says in a statement on Twitter, “A wise, thoughtful and above all kind leader of the Workshop...

    • Posted January 24, 2023
    • 0
  • Tepco applies for a 29.31% rate hike on households.

    High power bills are already making life difficult for many Tokyo households – and they face the daunting prospect of a further hike in June. On Monday, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. or TEPCO has applied...

    • Posted January 24, 2023
    • 0
  • Do you live in an aging wooden house in Tokyo? Expect to get a seismic circuit breaker from the government.

    Many wooden houses in the eastern and southern parts of Tokyo often built so close to each other are considered vulnerable to fires after an earthquake. The roads in between are also too narrow for fire engines...

    • Posted January 23, 2023
    • 0
  • License no longer required for e-kick scooters in Japan starting July

    With the growing number of electric kick scooters in Japan, the National Police Agency will introduce new rules to take effect from July 1. The newly revised road traffic law enacted last year wasn’t supposed to go...

    • Posted January 19, 2023
    • 0
  • Tokyo Governor spearheads an initiative to make childcare services free for second-born kids

    By year 2050, around 35% of Japan’s population will be 65 years old and above. The poses a threat to Japan’s economic growth and stability. The continuously tumbling numbers of pregnancies and marriages in Japan have resulted...

    • Posted January 14, 2023
    • 0
  • Japan tightens border controls for visitors from China

    On Dec. 30 last year, Japan started requiring all travelers from mainland China, where novel coronavirus infections are seeing a spike, to undergo simplified COVID-19 test and self-quarantine at designated facilities should they test positive. Owing to...

    • Posted January 8, 2023
    • 0
  • Montbell made a light version of the randoseru.

    Japan’s outdoor goods company Montbell recently developed ultra light backpacks upon the request of Tateyama Town Mayor amid the increasingly becoming expensive randoserus. Nearly every elementary school-aged child in Japan owns a randoseru, an expensive handcrafted backpack...

    • Posted January 5, 2023
    • 0
  • Japan insulates households from impact of rising power and gas bills

    Ten major power companies in Japan will be lowering electricity rates in February as a result of government subsidies. This means that a standard household consuming 260 kilowatt-hours a month in areas covered by Tokyo Electric Power...

    • Posted December 28, 2022
    • 0
  • Japan bumps up childbirth allowance by 80K from April 2023.

    Jiji press reports today that families can get an additional 80,000 yen childbirth allowance as broadly approved by Japan’s health ministry subcommittee. This raises the total amount of childbirth allowance from 420,000 yen to 500,000 yen per...

    • Posted December 15, 2022
    • 0
  • Families in Japan get a 100K Yen benefit for childbirths in or after April 2022.

    If you gave birth at the start of Japan’s fiscal year in April 2022 and after, you can apply for Pregnancy and childbirth benefits worth 100,000 yen. The aid will be funded by the Japanese government’s recently-enacted second...

    • Posted December 7, 2022
    • 0
  • Survey reveals pregnant women in Japan reluctant to take COVID-19 Shots

    A survey conducted by the National Center for Child Health and Development revealed on Saturday that about half of pregnant women in Japan are concerned over the side effects of COVID-19 vaccinations and are reluctant to take...

    • Posted December 4, 2022
    • 0
  • Peach Aviation cancels 92 domestic flights

    If you are planning to go on budget trips for the holidays, you might not like the news. Japanese low-cost airline Peach Aviation has announced it will cancel a total of 92 flights it had planned to...

    • Posted December 1, 2022
    • 0
  • Japan approves sale of Covid-19 and Flu Test Kits at Pharmacies and online sites

    Japan’s Ministry of Health has given its nod of approval for pharmacies and online vendors to be able to sell antigen test kits that will enable simultaneous testing of COVID-19 and seasonal flu. The Ministry hopes the...

    • Posted November 29, 2022
    • 0
  • Finland introduces critical thinking classes to schoolchildren from kindergarten.

    According to Jiji Press, Russia’s information warfare is creating social division and confusion in Europe and the United States, that is also giving rise to anti-immigrant sentiments. In Italy, an extreme right-wing party that seized power advocated...

    • Posted November 22, 2022
    • 0
  • Cirque de Soleil’s Alegria: In a New Light

    Cirque Du Soleil will be preforming in Odaiba from February 8, 2023 – June 4, 2023 and tickets are available here. https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/alegria Admission tickets start from ¥6,800 for adults, ¥5,800 for students and ¥4,800 for young children. ...

    • Posted November 22, 2022
    • 0
  • Digital app released to boost physical activity – and help get children moving

    On the eve of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, the World Health Organization, the Ministry of Public Health of Qatar and FIFA are launching a new digital app designed to help increase physical activity and improve...

    • Posted November 19, 2022
    • 0
  • USD drops to 139.30 yen

    The dollar fell sharply to around 139.30 yen in late Tokyo trading Tuesday following a decline in U.S. long-term interest rates. At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at 139.33-33 yen, down from 139.50-51 yen at the same...

    • Posted November 16, 2022
    • 0
  • Tokyo Opens Digital Art Foothold in Shibuya

    The Tokyo metropolitan government opened a foothold for digital art in Shibuya Ward in October, providing artists with a place to work on their creative ideas while promoting the Japanese capital as a cultural city. Civic Creative...

    • Posted November 5, 2022
    • 0