January 20, 2025

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Roxana Oshiro and her husband gather their belongings in front of their house in Furukawacho, in Kobe's Suma Ward, after the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995.

JAPAN / Society / FOCUS

Jan 17, 2025

The efforts to bridge the disaster information gap, 30 years on

By Himari Semans

Disaster information didn't reach many non-Japanese speakers after the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck. Thirty years later, has the situation improved?

The families of the victims of sexual violence and others hold a news conference in the city of Osaka on Dec. 4 after submitting a petition to the Osaka Prefectural Assembly calling for the continuation of the Sexual Assault Crisis Healing Intervention Center Osaka, a one-stop support center within a hospital.

JAPAN / Society / FOCUS

Jan 17, 2025

Osaka sexual violence support center faces existential threat

SACHICO, Japan's first one-stop support center within a hospital setting for women affected by sexual violence, has been asked to leave Hannan Chuo Hospital.

Mitsuaki Gatayama (right) poses for a picture with his wife, Miyuki, and their children, Kaede and Yo, in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, last week.

JAPAN / Society

Jan 16, 2025

Man born on day of Kobe quake strives to brighten lives

Thirty years later, Mitsuaki Gatayama still carries the hope of his parents in his name, in his heart and his career.

Tourists visit Fushimi Inari Shrine in the city of Kyoto on Monday.

JAPAN / Society

Jan 15, 2025

Kyoto to raise accommodation tax to a maximum ¥10,000 per night

By Yukana Inoue

The collected money under the new plan would be used to improve infrastructure in the city, such as increasing public transportation.

Mori Building has been offering yoga and body stretch programs in the shared common space of its Azabudai Hills complex in Tokyo's Minato Ward for workers of tenant firms.

JAPAN / Society

Jan 15, 2025

Realtors offer healthy options for office workers of tenant firms

Many companies have learned that preparing a workplace environment in which their employees can stay healthy is key to securing talent.

Staff Sgt. Akihiro Yamamoto reflects on the Great Hanshin Earthquake while looking at materials at the Ground Self-Defense Force's Itami base in city of Itami, Hyogo Prefecture in December.

JAPAN / Society

Jan 14, 2025

How the SDF has earned trust through disaster relief efforts

Public sentiment toward the SDF was markedly colder during the Great Hanshin Earthquake, service personnel recall.

Children play mahjong during a class held at Satsukigaoka community center in the city of Hiroshima.

JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Chugoku

Jan 14, 2025

Mahjong enjoys new wave of players that spans generations

Once associated with gambling, mahjong is becoming a popular pursuit for all ages, boosted by pro leagues, apps and "healthy mahjong" for cognitive and social benefits.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.

Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go

By Kazuaki Nagata and Richard Meyer

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

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