Japan | News

Severe tropical storm Jangmi ripped across Japan on Wednesday, with fierce winds and torrential rain disrupting transport and businesses, and knocking out power for tens of thousands of homes. The storm’s centre lay about 150 kilometres south of Tokyo as of early Wednesday afternoon, moving northeast with maximum sustained winds of up to 25 metres per second, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said. The storm is set to pass very close to the Pacific side of eastern Japan and heightened vigilance is needed, the agency added. At least 15 people have sustained minor injuries, according to authorities. The storm, with a central pressure of 985 hectopascals, has cut power to nearly 60,000 households so far, and authorities have been receiving reports of flooding, fallen trees and debris, and landslides across a wide stretch of regions, government spokesperson Minoru Kihara said during a regular press briefing. “If you sense any danger, please do not hesitate to take early action to protect your lives,” Kihara said. Eva...

The Parliamentary Association for the Promotion of Blockchain delivered recommendations to Japan’s finance minister on crypto and blockchain. A group of lawmakers within Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are seeking reforms to the country's cryptocurrency taxation system, as well as support for initiatives for the development and adoption of yen-denominated stablecoins. According to a Monday Nada News report, the LDP’s Parliamentary Association for the Promotion of Blockchain delivered recommendations to Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, including provisions on stablecoins, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and applications for blockchain technology. The document proposes doubling the leverage cap for retail cryptocurrency derivatives trading and establishing a framework for ETFs tied to digital assets. Read more

Türkiye is ready to deepen cooperation with Japan in the defense industry, particularly in the development and production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Japan has contributed $14,658,000 (approximately JPY 2.2 billion) for the implementation of NATO's Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative.

Spectators at a top beach volleyball competition in Japan this weekend will be banned from taking photos or videos after organisers said fans had been responsible for “malicious” shots of players. The Japan Volleyball Association said recording images on any device, including smart glasses, would be prohibited at the Tonarino round of the country’s beach volleyball tour for men and women, taking place on Saturday and Sunday. The ban carries on from last week’s round in the coastal city of Hekinan, where the JVA said players had complained that they were “unable to concentrate on their performance”. “Despite our repeated guidance and reminders regarding the rules and etiquette for photography, we have observed malicious photography by some spectators at the Hekinan round,” the JVA said upon introducing the ban. “We take a very serious view of the fact that inappropriate photography has not improved despite repeated warnings.” The JVA expanded its ban for this weekend’s event to include binoculars, opera glasse...

Japan is populairder dan ooit. In 2025 ontving het 42,7 miljoen bezoekers, een record. Het levert miljarden yen op maar ook zorgen.

Prediction market Polymarket eyes Japan entry, Harvard sells off its Ethereum holdings, and other news: Hodler’s Digest

Polymarket is reportedly seeking entry into Japan amid falling trading volumes and rising regulatory scrutiny, targeting approval by 2030. Polymarket, a global prediction market platform, is reportedly seeking entry into Japan amid growing regulatory scrutiny of the sector worldwide. The company has appointed Mike Eidlin, head of Japan at crypto firm Jupiter, to lead its local efforts and is preparing to lobby for authorization of prediction markets in the country, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Polymarket is targeting government approval in Japan by 2030, viewing the market as a major untapped opportunity. Read more

Mike Eidlin, head of Japan at cryptocurrency exchange Jupiter, is leading Polymarket's efforts, according to reports.

Japan is executing the most consequential crypto pivot in Asia. Once taxing crypto gains at up to 55%, the country has now recognized stablecoins. The post Japan’s Crypto Revolution: 20% Tax Rate and Institutional ETF Gateway appeared first on Cryptonews.

Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik met with the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, Akamatsu Shuichi, during his visit to the Geoscience Advanced Research Laboratories (GARL) of the Geological Survey of Pakistan on Tuesday.

Stablecoins and tokenized deposits could help Japan modernize payments and reduce reliance on foreign rails, the proposal says.

Bitcoin faces renewed Treasury yield pressure after Japanese investors sold $29.6 billion of US government, agency, and local authority debt in the first quarter, the largest quarterly net sale since the second quarter of 2022. As Bloomberg reported, the catalyst was an abrupt turnaround in Federal Reserve rate expectations when oil prices jumped, making existing […] The post Bitcoin faces Treasury yield pressure as Japan sells nearly $30 billion of US debt appeared first on CryptoSlate.

In Japan groeit vanwege de vergrijzing de druk op de zorg en het pensioenstelsel. Harder en langer werken is daarom de boodschap van de overheid.

Amerikaanse wapenfabrikanten kunnen, door de Iran-oorlog, beloofde leveringen niet nakomen. Defensiebedrijven uit Zuid-Korea en Japan springen in dat gat. 

Wildfires that scorched forests in northern Japan, reportedly the second biggest in over 30 years, have been brought under control after 11 days, officials have said. Hundreds of firefighters and more than 1,000 military personnel had battled the blazes since late April, as they burned around 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres) across the mountainous Iwate region. The affected area is almost five times the size of New York City’s Central Park. At least eight buildings were damaged, and two people suffered minor injuries, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Thousands of people were evacuated as fires picked up. Otsuchi town mayor Kozo Hirano told reporters on Saturday that he had been “informed that… the fire had been brought under control” after visiting the area with fire officials. He credited aerial and ground firefighting operations, as well as heavy rainfall, for containing the flames. But Hirano said authorities would remain vigilant as there was a possibility that smouldering embers would re...

Japan reportedly stepped into the currency market with roughly $35 billion of yen buying, sending the dollar down nearly 3% to 155.5. Bank of Japan (BOJ) money-market data imply that size is accurate. Once the Ministry of Finance's monthly release confirms it, this would rank as Japan's first official yen-support action in almost two years […] The post Japan has moved to save the yen again, and Bitcoin traders may pay the price appeared first on CryptoSlate.

SBI Holdings is in discussions to make Bitbank a subsidiary, adding to its push to acquire crypto exchanges amid improving regulatory clarity in Japan. Tokyo-based SBI Holdings has opened talks to acquire shares in cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank and make it a consolidated subsidiary, extending its push to consolidate regulated crypto trading platforms in Japan as the country moves toward securities-style rules for digital assets. The financial conglomerate said Friday it is considering a share acquisition as part of a potential capital and business alliance with Bitbank. The deal remains subject to due diligence, negotiations and internal approvals, SBI said. The talks come a month after SBI VC Trade absorbed Bitpoint Japan on April 1, with SBI VC Trade becoming the surviving company. A Bitbank acquisition would give SBI a larger position in Japan’s crypto exchange market at a time when policymakers are preparing to bring crypto assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. Read more

Four Japanese government agencies have warned against the AML risks posed by crypto in real estate transactions, instructing industry bodies to enforce stricter compliance. Japan's financial, law enforcement and real estate regulators have issued a joint guidance request warning that crypto assets pose money laundering risk in property transactions. The request, published on Tuesday, was issued by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Financial Services Agency, the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Finance. It was addressed to major real estate and crypto industry bodies, including the Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association and several national real estate federations. “Crypto assets, which have the nature of being transferred instantly across national borders, are considered to pose a high risk of being used as a payment method in real estate transactions for the purpose of money laundering,” the request states. Read more

Japan has deployed 1,400 firefighters and 100 Self-Defence Force personnel to battle mountain blazes in ​the northern part of the country, with the fires, ‌now burning on Sunday for a fifth straight day, continuing to threaten a picturesque coastal town. The area consumed by the fires reached 1,373 hectares as of early Sunday morning, up seven per cent from ​a day earlier. A helicopter conducts firefighting operations, as wildfires continue in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan on April 26, 2026. — Reuters The fires threaten residential districts of Otsuchi ⁠on the Pacific Coast — a town that lost nearly a ​tenth of its population in one of Japan’s worst disasters, the ​March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Evacuation orders are in place for 1,541 households or 3,233 residents, roughly a third of Otsuchi’s population. A firefighter works as wildfires continue in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan on April 26, 2026. — Reuters “Although the Self-Defence Forces are ​fighting the fires from the sky (with helicopters), t...