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March 08, 2025
 

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TOURISM

Japan is grappling with a budget shortfall, and while raising the tax-free threshold has sparked political debate, the country's booming tourism industry presents an untapped revenue source.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 7, 2025
Japan has a revenue hole. Plug it with tourists
More than 35 years after sales tax was first introduced, it remains incredibly unpopular and reducing it is a regular promise of opposition parties.
Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, on Jan. 26, the final day of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Mar 5, 2025
Can sumo avoid becoming another soulless corporate sport?
Whether sumo also falls into the trap of creating greater separation between supporters and athletes remains to be seen.
Trash cans have been installed at Nara Park for the first time in about 40 years following a rise in littering alongside an increasing number of foreign tourists in recent years.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 5, 2025
Rise in tourists prompts Nara Park to install trash cans to protect deer
Increased littering in the park has created a health hazard for the protected animal.
JR East started the services in Minamiboso and Tateyama, cities in Chiba Prefecture, on Monday and will begin them in Senboku, Akita Prefecture, in the second half of this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2025
JR East to offer ride-hailing services at limited locations
The firm started the services in the cities of Minamiboso and Tateyama in Chiba Prefecture on Monday, and will begin them in Senboku, Akita Prefecture, later this year.
The luxury Seven Stars in Kyushu train trades the hyper-efficiency of typical rail travel in Japan for a slower, more decadent version.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 1, 2025
Aboard Japan’s most luxurious train, the journey is the destination
For those with yen to burn, the Seven Stars in Kyushu is one of the most luxurious ways to experience some of southern Japan’s best hidden gems.
A drone to shoot videos from the sky of customers at tourist spots, in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2025
Japanese firms to offer drone video-shooting services for tourists
The three companies plan to launch the services at a national park on Shodo Island in Kagawa Prefecture on Aug. 1.
Visitors line up to take photos in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji in the background at the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Jan. 29.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 25, 2025
Japan’s ‘hidden gems’ overwhelmed as social media drives influx of tourists
Local stakeholders struggle to cope with the surge in visitor numbers whenever a location suddenly goes viral.
People ride in cable cars over the Chandragiri hilltop on the outskirts of Kathmandu on Feb. 3.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 24, 2025
Nepal community fights to save sacred forests from cable cars
Five cable car projects have opened in the past two years — and 10 more are under development, according to government figures.
Tokoro Ruins Museum Director Yuuki Nakamura says that 'most Japanese people don’t know' the history of the Okhotsk culture, but he and others are betting that travelers might be intrigued enough to visit and find out more.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 22, 2025
Bear skulls and pit dwellings: Hokkaido aims to sell ancient history
The Okhostk culture thrived in northern Hokkaido from the fifth to ninth centuries and may have provided the Ainu with some of their best-known rituals.
In Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, an entire street is dedicated to Japanese spirits, monsters and ghouls — a sign that the overall region is rich in spine-tingling tourist draws.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 22, 2025
Shimane and Tottori to bewitch tourists with supernatural charms
The two prefectures are leaning on spooky folklore to draw more travelers.
An image of the Asuka III, a new Japanese luxury cruise ship, which will begin service in July
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 21, 2025
Luxury cruise ship Asuka III to enter into service in July
The Asuka III has 385 cabins across three classes, all equipped with a balcony.
A visitor feeds the deer at Nara Park in Nara on Jan. 27. The monthly number of foreign visitors to Japan hit a record high in January.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2025
Monthly number of visitors to Japan hit record high in January
The number of inbound visitors is estimated to have risen 40.6% from a year before to 3,781,200, exceeding 3 million for the fourth consecutive month.
Minor Hotels and Royal Holdings executives explain their joint venture at a news conference last week in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 17, 2025
Thailand's Minor Hotels entering Japanese market with Royal Holdings JV
The 50-50 joint venture aims to have 21 hotels in Japan by 2035.
Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2025
Himeji Castle entrance fee to go up 2.5-fold for nonresidents
The city plans to use the resulting windfall for maintenance, online ticket sales, bag check services and guided tours for foreign visitors.
As peckish deer chase delighted tourists in Japan's temple-dotted Nara Park, a quiet but dedicated team of litter-pickers patrols the stone paths, collecting plastic waste that threatens the animals' health.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 15, 2025
New street patrol helps Nara's deer clean up their act
Garbage dropped by tourists can pose a serious risk to Nara's famous deer, but a new group is cleaning up the town.
Travel officials from the Middle East experience test cutting for Japanese swords in Setouchi, Okayama Prefecture, in January.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2025
Government touts exchanges with nations participating in Osaka Expo
Local governments expect their plans to boost youth exchanges, accelerate overseas expansion and promote tourism.
Tourists carry their luggage as they leave the village of Fira, following increased seismic activity on the island of Santorini, Greece, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Feb 5, 2025
Thousands leave as fresh tremors shake Greece's Santorini
Some 750 earthquakes have shaken the island and the surrounding 1,000 square kilometers since Jan. 24.
Japan aims to attract more digital nomads from abroad, who are expected to stay longer in the country than tourists.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2025
Japan to support efforts to attract digital nomads
The tourism agency will provide subsidies to cover part of the expenses for preparation of workplaces and accommodation for such workers.
English-language signs and other materials seized from men’s aesthetic salon Sparaku by the Metropolitan Police Department on Tuesday in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 4, 2025
Tokyo police arrest brothel operator catering to foreign tourists
About 60% of the brothel's customers were non-Japanese, drawn in by promotions on its English website, introduction videos and street touts.
The Hyatt Regency hotel in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 3, 2025
KKR and Gaw look to sell Tokyo Hyatt Regency for over ¥100 billion
The two investment firms bought the hotel in the Shinjuku area for an estimated ¥60 billion less than two years ago.
Cherry blossom season set to kick off on March 21 in Tokyo
A Weathernews forecast shows the cherry blossom season will begin on March 21 in Tokyo.
Tokyo responds to Trump remarks on 'interesting' Japan-U.S. security pact
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive for a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on Feb. 7.
Nagoya High Court rules not recognizing same-sex marriage unconstitutional
Following the Nagoya High Court ruling on the same-sex marriage lawsuit, lawyers and others raise banners and boards that read "unconstitutional" and similar statements on Friday in Naka Ward, Nagoya.
Foreign single mothers struggle with language barriers and visas
Forbidden from seeing friends and forced to devote herself to housework, Reina (whose name has been changed), a 37-year-old Filipino national living in the city of Nagoya, became socially isolated.
At 102, world's oldest pharmacist celebrates her calling
Kesa Hatamoto, a 102-year-old Japanese woman who is recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest pharmacist, speaks during an interview on Jan. 28 in Tokyo's Meguro Ward.
Cherry blossom season set to kick off on March 21 in Tokyo
A Weathernews forecast shows the cherry blossom season will begin on March 21 in Tokyo.
‘Granny hobbies’ are the new self-care
Yarn shortages are a sign that hobbies like knitting and crochet are gaining in popularity.
Can Shiori Ito’s documentary open Japan’s black box?
Shiori Ito is the first Japanese director to have been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature film. "Black Box Diaries," which tells the story of her quest for justice following her rape in 2015, hasn't been released in Japan.
Japanese stocks stalled at 1989 levels as investors weigh tariffs and rates
An electronic sign displays the benchmark Nikkei stock average on a street in Tokyo. The stock average has been range-bound between about 38,000 and 40,000 since hitting a new all-time high in July last year.
Redevelopment and resistance in historic Nishiogikubo
Tsuyoshi Mizukoshi, owner of a pub in Nishiogi’s commercial area, is a community organizer who is rallying local residents against the road development plan.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly
By Tomoko Otake

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