On March 13, the day of concentrated responses in the spring labor negotiations, major corporations announcing significant wage increases exceed last year's figures. (News On Japan)

As the Chinese government announces measures to boost the economy by promoting the replacement of furniture and appliances, Japanese furniture retailer Nitori is accelerating its expansion in China. (News On Japan)

The Consumer Affairs Agency has ordered Mercedes-Benz Japan to pay a record fine of over 1.2 billion yen for violating the fair trade law. (News On Japan)

Japan's Corporate Goods Price Index (CGPI), which indicates the prices of goods traded among companies, rose by 0.6% last month compared to the same month of the previous year. (News On Japan)

With gold prices hitting another record high on Monday, people are flocking to pawnshops across Tokyo. (News On Japan)

As spring wage negotiations continue in Japan, the aviation industry sees All Nippon Airways (ANA) following Japan Airlines (JAL) in announcing a base salary increase of over 10,000 yen, the highest since 1992. (News On Japan)

On Sunday's broadcast of "Beat Takeshi's TV Tackle" (TV Asahi), Beat Takeshi warned against special fraud schemes, with the program featureding victims of investment fraud. (News On Japan)

Tokyo has launched a point rebate program utilizing QR code payments starting from March 11th. (News On Japan)

Tokyo's Nikkei fell over 950 points Monday morning, dipping below 39,000, marking the largest decline of the year. (News On Japan)

In recent times, it has become more common for fathers to take paternity leave around the time their partners give birth. Under Japan's employment insurance system, insured individuals can receive "Childbirth Paternity Leave Benefits" if they take paternity leave within eight weeks of the child's birth, for up to four weeks (28 days) in total, which can be split into two separate periods. (News On Japan)

Ise's renowned "Akafuku Mochi" sweets were transported from Nagoya to Niigata via the Tokaido Shinkansen, marking the start of a trial cargo service utilizing the train's unused space. This development enables goods transportation across Japan, from Hokkaido to Kyushu, using the Shinkansen. (News On Japan)

The British "Economist" magazine's "glass-ceiling index" was released on March 8th to mark International Women’s Day, ranking Japan 27th, third from the bottom, among OECD countries. (News On Japan)

A next-generation LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting fixture that can be freely controlled using tablet devices and other similar gadgets has been developed. (News On Japan)

Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released its January Household Survey, revealing that the average spending of households with two or more members was 289,467 yen. (News On Japan)

In January, workers' "gross cash earnings" saw a 2.0 percent increase compared to the same period last year, yet the "real wages," adjusted for price fluctuations, decreased by 0.6 percent. This marks the 22nd consecutive month of real wage decline. (News On Japan)

NTT Docomo has announced its acquisition of a majority stake in Orix Credit, a subsidiary of the financial services giant Orix Corporation. (News On Japan)