Nearly two-thirds of Japanese companies employing overseas workers say their operations would be disrupted if they became unable to recruit more, according to survey results. The proportion of companies already employing foreign nationals was highest in accommodation and food services (at 42.9%), followed by manufacturing (40.1%) and nursing and healthcare (36.4%). The impact was particularly pronounced in nursing and healthcare, where 93.8% of employers said not being able t

Japan must “strengthen its defense capabilities,” Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has told the BBC, emphasizing the need to revisit the pacifist posture that has defined the country since World War Two. For the first time in about 50 years, Tokyo can now sell or transfer defense equipment and lethal weapons to the 17 countries with which it has signed formal agreements, including the US and the UK. Koizumi explained in a sit-down interview at his office in Tokyo: “This visi

Japan’s prime minister Abe Shinzo called an election last November, with the campaign slogan Kono michi shika nai (There is no other...