Asahi Group Holdings said on September 29th that a cyberattack had caused a major system failure which has yet to be restored and shows no signs of resolution, with the impact now spreading across its operations even as the company stressed that no leaks of personal information or customer data have been confirmed. (News On Japan)

FamilyMart has put Shohei Ohtani at the center of its latest push, casting the global baseball star in a nationwide TV campaign tied to a revamped onigiri line. During a two-hour shoot in Los Angeles in December, Ohtani—whom President Kensuke Hosomi describes as soft-spoken and “sun-bright”—sampled 19 rice balls and even asked to take the leftovers home. (News On Japan)

A toy trade fair was held in Osaka ahead of the year-end shopping season, bringing together 84 manufacturers from Japan and abroad who showcased products ranging from educational toys to collectibles. (News On Japan)

A 24-year-old entrepreneur is drawing attention with a new business model that relies on goats to provide weed control, a service that could also help sustain life in depopulated communities. (News On Japan)

Seven Bank has announced plans to replace all 16,000 ATMs currently installed in FamilyMart stores nationwide through agreements with E-Net and Japan Post Bank with its own machines. (News On Japan)

Japan's National Tax Agency announced on Friday that the average annual salary for private-sector employees in 2023 rose to 4.78 million yen, the highest level since the survey began, marking the fourth consecutive year of increases. (News On Japan)

While corporate profits continue to reach record highs, employee wages remain stagnant, leaving a growing segment of Japan’s workforce struggling. Since the collapse of the bubble economy, non-regular employment has steadily increased, creating a widening gap between regular and non-regular workers. Today, 15.4% of the population earns less than half the median standard of living, the second-highest proportion among the G7 countries after the United States. (News On Japan)

Tokyo consumer prices rose 2.5% in September compared with a year earlier, with the index excluding fresh food—often subject to sharp fluctuations—reaching 110.0 across the capital’s wards, while the pace of growth remained unchanged from the previous month. (News On Japan)

Panasonic Holdings will begin soliciting early retirement applications next month at one of its core operating companies as part of broader restructuring efforts. (News On Japan)