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Bill for swift removal of defamatory posts on social media enacted
Japan's lower house passed a bill on Friday aimed at facilitating the swift removal of defamatory content on social media platforms like X, Instagram, and YouTube with more transparency. The bill calls for operators to set up points of contact for accepting deletion requests and disclose criteria for removing posts,… Read
Japan's lower house passes child care aid bill to tackle falling births
Japan's lower house passed a bill Friday to expand monthly child allowances and parental leave in an effort to tackle the country's persistently declining birthrate. The bill is expected to be enacted during the current Diet session through June following deliberations at the upper house. A new funding scheme will… Read
Average price of Tokyo area condo up 9.5% to record high in FY2023
The average unit price of a new condominium in Tokyo and its surrounding areas rose 9.5 percent in fiscal 2023 from the previous year to 75.66 million yen, hitting a record for the third consecutive year, a research institute said. Sales of ultrahigh-value properties in central Tokyo and soaring materials… Read
Japan begins release of 5th batch of Fukushima treated water
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said Friday it started releasing a fifth batch of treated radioactive water into the sea from the plant, amid opposition from China. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc will discharge 7,800 tons of water through May 7 in the first… Read
63 doctors, dentists sue Google for keeping reviews they say are unfair
A group of doctors and dentists in Japan on Thursday filed a lawsuit seeking a total of about 1.4 million yen in damages from Google LLC for keeping what they say are unfair reviews posted on its navigation app. The plaintiffs, made up of 63 professionals in the health care… Read
Japan court denies salmon fishing rights to Ainu people
A court in Japan dismissed a bid by Ainu Indigenous people to reclaim rights over river fishing for salmon, an official said Thursday. It was the first court decision on Indigenous rights related to Ainu people, who traditionally lived in what is now northern Japan as well as in territory… Read
Court orders compensation to 26 unrecognized Minamata victims
A Japanese district court on Thursday ordered a chemical maker to pay 4 million yen each to 26 unrecognized sufferers of the Minamata mercury-poisoning disease, while dismissing claims against the Japanese government. The Niigata District Court recognized that 26 of the 47 plaintiffs in the lawsuit, who were not eligible… Read
M6.6 quake in western Japan leaves at least 12 injured
At least 12 people were injured following a magnitude-6.6 earthquake that struck a wide area of western Japan the previous night, authorities said Thursday. The quake at 11:14 p.m. Wednesday registered lower 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Ainan, Ehime Prefecture, and Sukumo, Kochi Prefecture, both… Read
Japan records highest-ever monthly visitor numbers in March
More than three million foreigners visited Japan in March, a record for a single month, government data showed Wednesday in a major boost for its tourism sector. The total of 3.08 million represented an increase of 69.5 percent from March 2023 and a 11.6-percent gain compared to March 2019 before… Read
Japan opposition party to propose using BOJ's ETF dividends for child care
Japan's biggest opposition party is set to propose the government taps dividend income from exchange-traded funds (ETF) owned by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to help fund a planned $23 billion child care support package. The proposal, to be submitted to the parliament by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan… Read
