By Christopher Thompson My bagels come individually wrapped in sealed plastic bags. At the counter, if I’m not paying attention, they’re carefully packed together in another plastic bag, before being placed inside a third plastic with the rest of my shopping. Japan’s obsession with hygiene combined with its pride in “omotenashi,” or customer service, dictates […]

By Christopher Thompson Coca-Cola (Japan) Co. has said it will start selling a beverage product next week packaged in bottles made entirely from recycled plastics. The move comes as beverage companies around the world are increasingly moving toward more sustainable packaging in a bid to protect the environment from plastic waste. Coca-Cola will use the […]

By Ryan Johnson Japan plans to make it mandatory to charge for plastic shopping bags at supermarkets, convenience stores, drugstores and department stores as the country combats marine pollution by plastic waste. Environment Minister Yoshiaki Harada said at a press conference on Monday his ministry plans to introduce a new law banning the practice of […]

The tourism industry in Hawaii is anticipating a boost from a stretch of Japanese holidays known as “Golden Week” that has been extended this year. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports the four national holidays typically held over seven days are a popular time for Japanese tourists to visit Hawaii. This year the holiday period has been […]

Google (Alphabet Inc.) has reportedly blacklisted keywords mentioning Ethereum (ETH) on its advertising platform Google Ads, smart contract auditing startup Decenter tweeted on Jan. 10. The official Google Ads account replied to the tweet stating that cryptocurrency exchanges targeting the United States and Japan can be advertised on the platform, and that targeting other countries could be the reason for the ad […]

Japan’s finance regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), has granted full permission for cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck to continue operating in the country. Cointelegraph Japanreported on the development on Jan. 11, quoting an official communique. Coincheck, which was hacked in January 2018, losing altcoin tokens worth $530 million at the time, now joins the slowly increasing number of officially sanctioned exchanges serving the Japanese market. The […]

Japan says it is to restart commercial whaling in July in a move that is likely to draw international criticism. It said it would withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the body tasked with whale conservation. Commercial whaling was banned by the IWC in 1986 after some species were driven almost to extinction. Officials […]

Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has been re-arrested on fresh charges, Japanese media report, dashing any hopes he could be released on bail. Mr Ghosn has spent the last month in prison, accused of misusing funds and hiding more than $40m (£31m) of income. But on Thursday a court rejected a request by the prosecution […]

On November 26, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan held an internal meeting to discuss the possibility of allowing private crypto initial coin offering (ICO) projects. Nikkei exclusively reported that local financial authorities are actively exploring the legalization of ICOs for institutional investors and accredited investors, as long as they are lawfully conducted within the boundaries […]

The Japanese arm of computer giant Microsoft has partnered with nascent blockchain startup LayerX to “accelerate” uptake of the technology, Cointelegraph Japan reported Nov. 30. LayerX, which formed in August as a joint venture from news curation app Gunosy and advisory service AnyPay, oversees blockchain integration for enterprise, including areas such as smart contracts and general consulting. Using Microsoft’s Azure Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) solution, the companies will seek […]