ENEOS Holdings, Japan's largest oil refiner, is accelerating its push overseas as it seeks to raise the share of revenue generated outside Japan from roughly 20% today to 50% in the future, according to President Tomohide Miyata, who outlined the company's growth strategy in an extended interview that was not fully aired on TV Tokyo's World Business Satellite (WBS). (News On Japan)

The Japan Housing Finance Agency announced on June 1st the interest rates that will apply in June for Flat 35, Japan’s long-term fixed-rate housing loan program. (News On Japan)

SoftBank Group announced on May 31st that it will build a data center in France dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI), with total investment potentially reaching approximately 14 trillion yen. (News On Japan)

Japan's restaurant industry is facing growing uncertainty after the government suspended the acceptance of new foreign workers under the Specified Skilled Worker visa program for the food service sector, a move that is affecting businesses, language schools, and students who had hoped to build careers in Japan. (News On Japan)

As soaring valuations in AI and semiconductor stocks prompt concerns about concentration risk, market analysts are increasingly pointing to energy shares as a potential alternative investment theme in an inflationary environment. (News On Japan)

Toyota Motor has decided to halt development of the LF-ZC, a next-generation electric vehicle planned under its Lexus luxury brand, according to sources familiar with the matter. (News On Japan)

More than 1,000 food products and other consumer goods will see price increases from June, with the effects of instability in the Middle East now reaching supermarket shelves in unexpected ways, including the appearance of black-and-white potato chip packages. (News On Japan)

Fixed-rate mortgage costs in Japan are set to rise again in June as the country's five major banks increase home loan rates in response to higher long-term interest rates, with their flagship 10-year fixed-rate mortgages rising to preferential rates of 3.27% at Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, 3.5% at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and 3.25% at Mizuho Bank. (News On Japan)

Japan is facing a growing transportation dilemma. While a record number of foreign visitors in 2025 has fueled congestion and traffic jams in major cities and tourist destinations, many rural communities are grappling with the opposite problem: shrinking populations and aging residents are making it increasingly difficult to maintain public transportation services. (News On Japan)

Fujitsu announced its long-term management vision through fiscal 2035, unveiling plans to invest approximately 3 trillion yen over the next decade in growth businesses centered on artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and other advanced fields as it seeks to significantly boost profitability. (News On Japan)

Born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a rare disorder that makes bones fragile and prone to fractures, Toshiya Kakiuchi built a company with a mission to transform both the physical and emotional barriers faced by people with disabilities. (News On Japan)

Finland is positioning economic resilience as a core pillar of national security, with Finnish Economic Affairs Minister Sakari Puisto emphasizing closer cooperation with Japan in advanced technologies, supply chain security and dual-use industries during a recent visit to Tokyo. (News On Japan)

Japanese manufacturing giants are discovering that their legacy data structures cannot support modern AI demands. (News On Japan)

The National Police Agency announced on May 28th that it will launch a new framework in cooperation with nine financial institutions aimed at rapidly tracing money stolen through special fraud schemes and other scams, as damages from such crimes reached a record high last year. (News On Japan)

The “naphtha shortage” triggered by escalating tensions in the Middle East is now spreading into Japan’s housing industry, with shortages of paint, thinner, insulation materials and other building products forcing construction delays across the country. (News On Japan)

Toyota Motor has notified the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of a recall affecting about 43,300 vehicles across six models, including the Land Cruiser, after instrument panels were found to sometimes fail to start properly when the engine is turned on, causing parts of the display not to appear. (News On Japan)

A new fully automated freezer warehouse opening in Nagoya in August aims to tackle chronic labor shortages and harsh minus 25-degree working conditions in Japan’s growing frozen food logistics industry, while also introducing environmentally friendly refrigerants and futuristic remote-monitoring systems. (News On Japan)

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on May 27th that Japan's economy is facing an "oil price shock" as tensions in the Middle East drive up crude oil prices, speaking at an international conference hosted by the central bank. (News On Japan)

Japan's net external assets — the value of overseas assets held by the government, companies and individual investors minus liabilities — rose 4.4% from a year earlier to 561.7504 trillion yen at the end of 2025, the Finance Ministry announced. (News On Japan)

Seven & i Holdings announced on May 25th that former chairman and honorary adviser Toshifumi Suzuki, one of Japan's most influential retail executives credited with establishing convenience store culture and transforming Seven-Eleven into a vital part of the nation's daily infrastructure, died of heart failure on May 18th at the age of 93. (News On Japan)