1+ hour, 12+ min ago   (607+ words) YOKOHAMA - South Korean semiconductor giant Samsung Electronics has begun full-scale operations at a new semiconductor research center in Yokohama, seeking to accelerate development and strengthen cooperation with Japanese suppliers as demand for chips used in artificial intelligence continues to grow....

17+ hour, 22+ min ago   (594+ words) TOKYO - Japan's inflation-adjusted real wages rose 2.4% in July from a year earlier, marking a seventh consecutive monthly increase as higher base salaries and easing price pressures improved workers' purchasing power. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, average…...

1+ day, 5+ hour ago   (1608+ words) NARA - Japanese homebuyers are facing growing uncertainty as mortgage costs rise alongside a sharp increase in interest rates, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond briefly topping 3% last week for the first time in about 30 years. The rise…...

1+ day, 5+ hour ago   (775+ words) TOKYO - Toridoll Holdings, the operator of Marugame Seimen, has introduced an artificial intelligence system trained on the thinking and speaking style of President Takaya Awata, giving employees a way to consult a virtual version of the company's founder as the…...

3+ day, 21+ hour ago   (1382+ words) OSAKA - Applications for hotel business licenses are rising sharply in Osaka as property owners seek an alternative way to operate short-term rentals following the suspension of new applications under the city's special-zone minpaku program, with the approach drawing growing interest…...

6+ day, 14+ hour ago   (519+ words) TOKYO - Interest rates on Japanese government bonds for individual investors offered in September have risen to record-high levels, with the 10-year floating-rate bond reaching 1.95%, according to figures announced on September 2. The rate on the 10-year floating-rate bond increased by 0.08 percentage…...

1+ week, 13+ hour ago   (655+ words) TOKYO - Japan's benchmark long-term interest rate reached 3% on September 1, its highest level since 1996, as government bond selling accelerated on expectations of a possible Bank of Japan rate hike, rising U.S. yields and growing concerns over Japan's fiscal outlook. In the bond…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago   (684+ words) TOKYO - Japan's benchmark long-term interest rate briefly climbed to 2.95% on August 31, its highest level in about 30 years, as investors sold government bonds on expectations of further Bank of Japan rate increases, rising U.S. yields and concerns over the outlook for government…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago   (1498+ words) OSAKA - Japan's traditional neighborhood public baths are struggling with rising fuel, labor and operating costs, but unlike most businesses they cannot freely raise prices because admission fees remain regulated under a postwar price-control law introduced in 1946. The Price Control Ordinance…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago   (612+ words) TOKYO - Japan's nationwide core consumer price index rose 1.8% in July from a year earlier, with the pace of inflation accelerating for a second consecutive month as higher food prices and a rebound in energy costs outweighed a sharp decline in…...