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July 11, 2026
 

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CONVENIENCE STORES

JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jul 13, 2019
Convenience store operator struggles in wake of security fiasco
The operator of Seven-Eleven’s new smartphone payment service is under fire for appearing clueless at a news conference that was held after customers were allegedly defrauded through unauthorized access.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 8, 2019
Japan’s convenience stores work hard to stay relevant
Ride the Seibu Shinjuku Line to Iriso Station in the city of Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, and you can enjoy shopping at Japan’s oldest franchise convenience store, a Family Mart that opened in September 1973. The following May, the nation’s first 7-Eleven outlet was opened in Toyosu, Koto Ward — not...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
May 27, 2019
Behind the scenes of 24/7 service: The realities of ‘owning’ a Japanese convenience store
A familiar orange and green signboard glares in the pitch-dark, quiet street in a residential area. There, the owner of a 7-Eleven franchise store located in the suburbs of a small city in the Chubu region works the night shift every day by himself.
EDITORIALS
Apr 13, 2019
Keeping convenience sustainable
Moves are afoot among major convenience store chains to review the uniform 24-hour operation of their stores, the standard industry practice since Seven-Eleven Japan Co. started it a year after it opened its first outlet in 1974. The sustainability of 24-hour operations came under the spotlight after...
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2019
Japan’s famed convenience stores look to cut opening hours amid labor shortage
Apart from culture, food and a superefficient rail system, one of the things that most impresses travelers to Japan is its convenience stores, bursting with sushi, alcohol, underwear and ready-made food available at all hours.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 9, 2019
Just how convenient are convenience stores in Japan?
The recent trend of online videos showing “baito tero,” or “part-timer terrorism,” enacted by part-time workers has sparked another media discussion about the plight of low wage earners. Most of these videos were recorded by people working in food-related businesses, and explanations for why they are...
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 2019
Who’s sustaining the convenient 24-hour service?
Convenience store operators —and consumers — should also give thought to who is sustaining the convenience and at what cost.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Feb 27, 2019
Japan’s 24-hour convenience stores struggle to keep doors open all night due to labor crunch
A recent dispute between Seven-Eleven Japan Co. and one of its franchise stores has brought the convenience store industry’s around-the-clock service into the spotlight amid a severe nationwide labor crunch.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 16, 2019
Will removing porn from convenience stores in Japan hurt ailing tabloids?
Don’t go looking for titillation at your local convenience store.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2019
Japan’s convenience store giants to remove pornographic magazines from shelves
The three largest operators plan to stop selling pornographic magazines at outlets across the nation by the end of August.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 8, 2018
Irasshaimase!: Foreign-born clerks are becoming a familiar sight at convenience stores nationwide, but is Japan ready to welcome them?
Phan Hoang Tu Linh feels she has gotten the hang of working in a Japanese convenience store now, but she admits she found it tough at first.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 2, 2018
Seven-Eleven Japan asks all Tokyo stores to get rid of ashtray receptacles
Leading convenience store chain Seven-Eleven Japan Co. has asked franchise outlets in Tokyo to remove ashtray receptacles from the store premises, it was learned Sunday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
May 26, 2018
Stay clear away from Asahi’s Clear Latte
Picture this: the milky, coffee flavor of a latte, transformed into what looks like a bottle of water. That’s the driving idea behind Asahi’s Clear Latte.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
May 5, 2018
Coca-Cola Frozen Lemon: What’s Coke without the fizz?
It’s hot out. Accordingly, everyone is seeking out cooler treats to get them through a summer that hasn’t even fully settled in yet. Coca-Cola Japan is betting that people need a fix of cool in 2018, and have introduced a new product that takes their signature soda once more into uncharted territory....
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 30, 2018
Let’s discuss that Seven-Eleven that was forced to stay open in a blizzard
The owner of a Seven-Eleven convenience store in Fukui Prefecture was allegedly forced to work for about 50 hours without sleep in February after the chain rejected his requests to suspend business amid the heaviest snowfall in decades, a labor union has said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Apr 14, 2018
Koikeya’s ‘strong’ potato chips scream flavor, but do they deliver?
It takes a lot to stand out in the crowded Japanese chip market in 2018. The safest ways to catch a consumer’s eye is to either embrace some sort of novelty flavor, or to go flat out on the hyperbole. With its new line of “strong” (all caps, that is) potato chips that promise a “punch” of flavor with...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / Taking the Lead
Mar 22, 2018
Lawson chief bets on health, tech as future of convenience
Back in 2014, Sadanobu Takemasu was asked by his boss to go to Lawson, the convenience store chain known for its white milk can logo on a blue signboard.
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Mar 17, 2018
The true meaning of convenience
‘Do you wear your pajamas to the convenience store sometimes?’
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2018
Convenience-store squeeze shows deflationary dilemma facing Bank of Japan
Takanori Sakai works the graveyard shift four nights a week at the FamilyMart store he owns in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, because he can’t afford the higher pay employees demand these days.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 19, 2018
Ministop ends sale of porn magazines at convenience stores nationwide
Unrestricted displays of pornographic magazines at retail stores are rare overseas. With the number of inbound tourists expected to increase sharply for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo, calls for the removal of porn magazines from convenience store shelves in Japan have been increasing.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Japan’s southwestern islands on high alert as Typhoon Bavi approaches
A woman walks out of a shop with duct-taped windows to prevent damage from Typhoon Bavi as it approaches, in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, on Thursday.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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