Japanese customer service turns a disappointing experience into a heartwarming memory. 

When people hear the words “Starbucks breakfast” in Japan, they usually think of the chain’s “Good Start Morning” offer, which gives you a 40-yen (US$0.25) discount on the in-store price when you buy a qualifying drink and food item together. You can take advantage of the deal until 11 in the morning at most stores, but diehard fans of the chain know there’s a better deal hiding out at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward.

Here, you’ll find a luxurious breakfast that’s been described by diners as “hotel-quality”, but the only problem is it’s so popular it often sells out. That’s what happened when we stopped by to try it, but rather than leave disappointed, we ended up leaving with a full stomach and a warm heart, thanks to the help of staff who went above and beyond with their customer service to make our experience a great one.

▼ Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo

The official name of the popular breakfast is “Roastery Breakfast Mattina“, and it’s sold by Princi, the Italian bakery on the first floor. While it’s said to be incredibly delicious, it’s also slightly pricey, at 2,250 yen per set, and can only be ordered dine-in until 11:00 a.m. each day.

▼ Drinks are sold separately, so if you want to add coffee to your breakfast, you should be prepared to spend at least 3,000 yen.

Despite the price, the breakfast is incredibly popular – so much so that when we visited at 10:30am, staff told us that they’d just sold out, and when we returned the next day just after 9 a.m. staff told us they sold out at 8 a.m.

Fearing we may never get to eat breakfast, we asked staff if there was any type of workaround they might recommend. We told them we’d be happy to purchase the bread and ham from the breakfast set on their own if it were possible, and to our surprise, the staff member we spoke to said, “You can buy the bread individually. We also offer ham in sandwiches and such, but…please wait a moment.” They then started communicating with someone on their intercom system.

Eagerly waiting to find out what was about to happen, the employee then said, “Well, how about this? We have a menu item that we’d like to recommend, but please wait a moment while we check if it’s still available.”

Crossing our fingers for the best result, we waited with bated breath until the staff member turned and said, “It seems it’s still available, so I’ll guide you to the place where it’s being served.”

▼ They then led us to the Princi bakery, where they introduced us to a store-exclusive menu item called “Customize Bread”.

As the name suggests, this customisable bread menu allows for a wide range of customisation. You can choose your favourite bread, cheese, ham, and, if desired, olive oil, salt, and black pepper, to create your own unique set.

The price varies depending on what you add – cheese add-ons cost an extra 280 yen, while the butter, dip and cream options are less expensive.

You get to choose your bread yourself, but if you’re unsure about anything, you can simply tell staff your preferences for hard or soft textures and they’ll choose something that suits your taste. Staff were incredibly helpful, and when we asked if it might be okay to order pretty much all the toppings, they told us not to worry as customers often add all of them.

▼ So we ended up ordering the lot, except for the Hazelnut Cream, which we worried might be too sweet for our liking.

It was a veritable feast, and so good looking it resembled a breakfast you’d get at a fancy hotel.

▼ Olive oil, Maldon sea salt, and black pepper are free with every order.

We had no idea a breakfast like this was possible at Starbucks, and we were particularly impressed with the range of hams.

▼ We chose prosciutto crudo, prosciutto cotto, pistachio mortadella, and speck.

Sure, it may not be as colourful as the original breakfast set, but in every other respect it seemed overwhelmingly superior. Not only did it look like a high-class hotel breakfast, we also enjoyed being able to mix and match the bread with toppings to our liking.

As previously mentioned, the price of the set varies depending on what you add, and because we went all out with the add-ons, our total came to 2,934 yen, which was more than the sold-out breakfast.

Still, it was an experience we were happy to pay for, because not only did we get to discover a new way to eat breakfast at Starbucks, we got to experience the warmth of Japanese customer service as well. In fact, it was the customer service that left a lasting impression on us, as staff went out of their way to ensure we left happy, and never applied any pressure during our order, so we were able to make our choices calmly and with ease.

It added the pep in our step we needed to start the day, and now we know Starbucks is just as good a place to go for breakfast as it is for afternoon tea.

Cafe information
Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo / スターバックス リザーブ ロースタリー東京
Address: Tokyo-to, Meguro-ku, Aobadai 2-19-23
東京都目黒区青葉台2丁目19-23
Open 7 a.m.-11 p.m.
Website

Images©SoraNews24
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Some might say you haven’t truly seen Japan if you haven’t colour hunted.  

Recently, an activity called “colour hunting” has been gaining popularity in Japan. Simply put, it involves choosing a colour theme and then, while walking around town, taking photos of things that match that colour, before compiling them into a single image.

The results are remarkably mesmerising, but what’s even more interesting is the way it encourages you to notice details you wouldn’t have noticed otherwise, giving you a whole new perspective on your surroundings.

Always keen to try out a trend, we decided to conduct our very own colour hunt, both in a rural residential area and in the heart of Tokyo, to see what we could find. The theme we chose was yellow, and as we set out on our walk, which was a familiar one, it didn’t take long for us to spot things we’d never noticed before.

▼ Like the fittings on a metal barrier…

▼ … flowers growing by the side of the pavement…

▼…netting over garbage collection areas…

▼…and, of course, the road signs.

Moving further down the street and into the main hub of town, our eyes began to spy yellow in slightly more unusual places, like the cube of partially melted butter on the “butter chicken curry” banner outside an Indian restaurant.

▼ The yellow “prescription services” sign outside a local drugstore…

▼ …and the yellow on a pack of Calbee chips.

With our eyes now instinctively zoning in on shades of yellow, the sunny colour began to lift our mood. It also became something of a scavenger hunt, and after around an hour of walking, our prize was this composite image of all the yellow we’d seen.

The images actually painted a picture of quaint countryside life, and now we were ready to take things up a notch by colour hunting in the heart of Tokyo.

Walking around Shimbashi, it didn’t take long for our eyes to zone in on yellow, with this “Money Exchange” sign being our first find of the afternoon.

▼ We also spotted a large bee on a coin locker nearby.

This was already turning out better than expected, and our search for the sunny hue continued in earnest when we stopped to photograph a yellow lantern advertising Suntory whisky highballs.

▼ Crates of Hoppy, a beer-flavoured low-alcohol drink were also outside.

▼ And nearby, a branch of the Go Go Curry chain.

At this point, we were so honed in on yellow that people wearing the colour, or carrying yellow items, began to stand out as they attracted our gaze.

▼ When our eyes landed upon Sora-jiro doing a live weather forecast, we couldn’t help but smile.

▼ Sora-jiro is the mascot character for Nippon Television and its weather forecast.

Continuing on our stroll, we came across even more yellow sightings.

We began to realise just how well yellow works in attracting the eye, leading it to be used on a number of signs like the “advertising recruitment” ones on these coin lockers…

▼ …and this one, which reads “Last two buildings”.

Just as we thought we were done for the day, we came across these figures, which are actually designed to be used as seating benches.

Compiling our photos from Shimbashi, the look and feel was entirely different to our rural collection, capturing the finer details that give Tokyo its unique charm.

Hunting for the same colour in two different locations revealed an interesting contrast in subjects and mood – whereas the rural scenes mostly contained images of flowers and signs, in Tokyo there was more grit and extra variety, as objects and characters played a greater role. It was such a fun, eye-opening adventure that we’re now keen to hunt for more colours around town, and connect with all the hidden finds areas we would otherwise miss.

Images©SoraNews24
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TOKYO, June 12 — For centuries, exhausted parents have relied on a familiar checklist when a baby starts wailing: hungry, sleepy, wet nappy, wind or simply in need of comfort.

Now, a growing number of parents in Japan are adding something else to the routine — artificial intelligence.

Meet the latest entrant into the booming world of parenting tech: apps that claim they can translate infant cries into actionable advice, turning late-night guesswork into something that looks a little more like a diagnostic dashboard.

One of the buzziest newcomers is Babylingual, a free app launched in March by 25-year-old Japanese father Moto Numazawa. The idea came not from a Silicon Valley lab, but from the living room of a first-time parent trying to prepare for the chaos of raising a newborn.

According to Kyodo News, Numazawa developed the app after his wife became pregnant, believing modern parents — especially those in increasingly common nuclear families — often have fewer relatives around to lean on for childcare advice.

In late April, he tested the app on his three-month-old son, Saku. Holding a smartphone close as the baby cried, Babylingual returned its verdict within seconds: “I’m hungry.”

The app didn’t stop there. It displayed a probability gauge comparing different possible causes of distress before suggesting: “It might be feeding time.”

The diagnosis wasn’t entirely off-base. About three hours had passed since Saku’s last feed. After being fed, he promptly drifted off to sleep in his mother Yu’s arms.

Babylingual draws on previous research indicating that babies may produce distinct vocal patterns linked to different needs. It sorts cries into five categories, while also allowing parents to save recordings to share with other caregivers and access voice-guidance features intended to help soothe infants.

Yu told Kyodo News the app had proven useful in situations where Saku’s needs were harder to decipher.

“I didn’t understand why he was crying when he had a build-up of gas in his stomach, so the app helped me,” she said.

Numazawa is quick to position the technology as an assistant rather than a replacement for parental instinct.

“Parents and children develop alongside each other,” he said. “I hope the app can help communication between them.”

Babylingual isn’t alone in this increasingly crowded corner of the AI economy.

Cross Medicine, a venture company affiliated with Tokushima University, has developed Awababy, an app trained using more than 160,000 recordings of baby cries alongside data on soothing techniques.

Awababy analyses infant vocalisations across 11 emotional categories and suggests possible responses. According to company president Koga Nakai, usage spikes during the middle of the night — precisely when sleep-deprived parents are least likely to have someone they can call for reassurance.

The company also believes the technology could help ease parental stress and potentially reduce the risk of post-partum depression. Local governments are already taking notice.

Mishima city in Shizuoka prefecture recently trialled Awababy with residents and is considering offering the service free of charge. Meanwhile, the town of Oyama has begun distributing user IDs to eligible parents of newborns.

For all the hand-wringing about AI replacing human connection, Japan’s crying-baby apps offer a different vision of the future — one where algorithms don’t take over parenting, but simply help decode one of humanity’s oldest mysteries.

After all, every parent wants the same thing at 3am: to know what the baby is trying to say.

Animals & Monsters: Cute, Scary, and a Little Weird is the perfect exhibition for anyone who delights in art that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

This summer, once you’re done shopping in the trendy streets of Tokyo’s Harajuku district, you won’t have to go far to enjoy a little taste of high culture. In fact, there’s some conveniently located right in front of Tokyo Metro Meiji-Jingumae Station and just around the corner from JR Harajuku Station at the Ota Memorial Museum of Art, a preeminent museum of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints and drawings. However, this repository is offering a fun twist in its upcoming exhibition that might leave you laughing in the gallery.

From June 23-August 23, the Animals & Monsters: Cute, Scary, and a Little Weird exhibition will have 140 works on display, approximately one-fifth of which are new to the museum’s collection. The event will also be split into two parts that will display entirely different works of art during each.

So what makes it “cute, scary, and a little weird,” you ask? It’s the fact that even master artisans from 200 years ago weren’t afraid to be a little bit silly with their craft. Take this print that’s part of Yoshikazu Utagawa’s Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido series, for instance. At first glance, it appears to show some people being startled at a potato with a tail and legs (for the record, it’s actually a stone tiger–which still leaves us with lots of questions).

▼ “Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road: Oiso” by Yoshikazu Utagawa

If anthropomorphized animals are more your thing, you’ll enjoy the series of cat-humans (human-cats?) going about daily life in a variety of settings such as at a public bathhouse. This print would make for an excellent addition to your bathroom with the ability to potentially disturb your guests.

▼ “Cats’ Bathhouse” by unknown artist

Meanwhile, these cats seem to have rented a property with a bunch of their Japanese yokai friends and are throwing an all-night rager.

▼ “Cats’ Blowdart Stand” by Yoshifuji Utagawa

On the cuter side of things, there are plenty of prints of animals engaging in all kinds of antics. Take this fox that seems to be wearing the latest in cabbage couture and practicing the choreography to “Thriller.”

▼ “Dancing Fox” by Koson Ohara

Moving into the realm of the bizarre, don’t be weirded out by this chimera of all 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac that’s supposed to bring good luck to the household. Good luck in getting people to give a name to this guy, that is…

(Hey, at least it doesn’t look like it’s about to say, “Ed…ward…”)

▼ “Twelve Animal Signs of Oriental Zodiac Gathering to Form One Animal” by Yoshitora Utagawa

Finally, the jury’s still out on whether the below image is bizarre versus downright scary, but we’ll let you decide for yourselves. In all honesty, though, hopefully the museum will be selling merch with this print so that we can commemorate our visit to the real-life pond in Japan where human-faced fish are supposed to live with one.

▼ “Goldfish Resembling Kabuki Actors” by Yoshiiku Ochiai

Admission to the Ota Museum of Art is by cash only, at 1,200 yen (US$7.53) for adults and 800 yen for university and high school students. Junior high school students and younger enter for free, though you’ll have to be the judge of whether any kids you take with you will find the artwork to be hysterical or terrifying.

Come to think of it, our team of writers will have to take a field trip to see the exhibition when it opens. They’ll fit right in with all of the strange antics being depicted.

Exhibition information
Animals & Monsters: Cute, Scary, and a Little Weird / アニマル＆モンスター  かわいい・怖い・ちょっと変
Ota Memorial Museum of Art / 太田記念美術館
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Jingumae 1-10-10
東京都渋谷区神宮前 1-10-10
Duration: June 23-August 23 (Part I: June 23-July 20, Part II: July 25-August 23)
Open: 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (last entry at 5 p.m.)
Closed: June 29, July 6, July 13, July 21-24, July 27, August 3, August 10, August 17
Website

Source, images: Ota Memorial Museum of Art press release
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Outer Senshi join their anime/manga magical girl sisters on the streets of Minato Ward.

Sailor Moon features some pretty fantastical settings, with much of its mythos involving ancient kingdoms on the moon and antagonists hailing from even farther reaches of the cosmos. However, most of the series takes place in Minato, one the actual wards of real-world Tokyo, where Usagi and her friends live, go to school, and fight many of the manga/anime’s monsters of the week,

So a while back, Minato Ward decided to celebrate the connection by installing Sailor Moon manhole covers featuring artwork of Sailors Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus. As fans will be quick to point out, though, that’s actually only half the series’ roster of magical girls. As time went on, creator Naoko Takeuchi added new heroines to the cast, and now Minato Ward is adding new Sailor Moon manhole covers to its streets.

Out of the first five covers, four featured the Inner Sailor Senshi (Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus), while power couple Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask shared the fifth. The two new designs will both once again feature the Inner Senshi, but they’ll be joined by the Outer Senshi, Sailors Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn, as well as disruptive and divisive time-traveler Sailor Chibi Moon.

The first of the new manhole covers has the fully assembled Senshi standing amidst the branches of a cherry blossom tree with the sakura in full bloom. It was installed towards the end of March in Minato Ward’s Roppongi district, specifically on the Roppongi 7-4-2 block, not far from the Tokyo Midtown shopping and entertainment complex.

The second new Sailor Moon cover, the seventh overall, will also show all 10 Sailor Senshi, this time with a pastel rainbow color scheme to the background. But while we know what it’ll look like, Minato Ward is keeping its location a secret for now, and will only be publicizing where to find it after it’s been installed.

Minato Ward is keeping the exact timetable under wraps too, but the Sailor Moon official website says that the rainbow Sailor Moon cover should be in place by the end of this month. And if you’re looking for even more crossovers between anime artwork and public infrastructure, don’t forget about the new Pokémon manhole covers in a part of Japan that’s looking to bounce back from a natural disaster.

Source: Minato Ward, Sailor Moon official website
Images: Minato Ward
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TOKYO, June 5 — The Japanese prosecutors office will launch an investigation into harassment within the organisation, the justice minister said today, in light of a rape allegation involving a former regional chief.

Very few women in Japan speak out about sexual assault but a prosecutor who uses the pseudonym Hikari came forward in 2024 to accuse her former boss of raping her six years earlier.

She demanded an independent probe, but her request was rejected, prompting her to resign in April.

Kentaro Kitagawa, who retired after serving as head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutor’s Office, was arrested and admitted the assault but later withdrew his statement, saying the sex was consensual.

Justice minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi told reporters today that “a probe into harassment is scheduled for this fiscal year for all staff” at the prosecutor’s office.

But the question of an independent panel “needs to be decided with the utmost caution” due to the ongoing criminal case, he said.

Hikari made a request to the justice ministry and the prosecutors’ office that such a panel be set up to investigate cases involving others in the legal profession and to implement measures to prevent harassment.

She told AFP today that an internal investigation was “completely pointless”, adding that an independent probe was “absolutely necessary”.

“They seem to completely fail to grasp that the cause cannot be identified and the problem will recur unless a fair and impartial investigation is carried out,” she said.

Hikari has previously said she is “certain that there are other instances of harassment and additional offences” inside the prosecutor’s office.

She has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and her condition worsened after she learned in 2024 that people close to Kitagawa, especially an assistant prosecutor — who Hikari says is his lover — had spread malicious rumours about her.

She filed a criminal complaint against the assistant prosecutor the following year, but the Osaka prosecutor’s office dismissed it, only imposing a reprimand.

Hikari has said she was not used to drinking strong alcohol and lost her memory halfway through an office gathering in 2018.

The next thing she knew, she said, she was in Kitagawa’s home and was being raped.

Hikari kept quiet after it happened, as Kitagawa had pleaded with her not to go public, saying it would be a damaging scandal for the organisation and threatening to harm himself, she said. — AFP

* If you are experiencing sexual violence, the following hotlines offer free and confidential support: Talian Kasih at 15999 or WhatsApp 019-2615999 (24/7); All Women’s Action Society at 016-2374221/016-2284221 (9.30am-5.30pm); and Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) at 03-30008858 or SMS/WhatsApp TINA 018-9888058 (24/7)

The spots people queue for despite bad weather might surprise you.

When you live and work in a city, you tend to move through it in different ways to a tourist who might be seeing it with fresh eyes. So when Typhoon Jangmi approached Tokyo on 3 June, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the capital, locals who could work from home did just that, while others took earlier trains on their morning commute to avoid being late for work. For many tourists, though, sightseeing was still on the agenda.

Our reporter Seiji Nakazawa, who lives in Shibuya, could’ve worked from home on the day of the typhoon but decided to stick to his usual routine of catching the subway to the office in Shinjuku. That meant he was able to get a feel for what Shibuya was like, and to his surprise, it was much, much emptier than usual.

▼ The typhoon was eventually downgraded to a tropical storm, but the rain remained heavy throughout the day.

▼ In some areas there was more water than people.

Shops, streets, and even the area around the station felt strangely deserted, but there were two places where people gathered, with the first being the Dotonbori Theater.

Though most people will associate the word “Dotonbori” with the lively theatre and entertainment district of the same name in Osaka, this theatre is located in Shibuya’s Dogenzaka district, a short walk away from the station.

The retro, lantern-style sign out front is evocative of Dotonbori’s exciting atmosphere, and that excitement continues inside because this is a Japanese strip club. Popular with older locals and curious tourists, this live adult entertainment venue is restricted to adults aged 18 and over.

Bemused at the realisation that people will brave extreme weather conditions to watch an erotic performance, Seiji wondered what else might have the power to draw crowds in a typhoon-turned-tropical-storm. That’s when he saw another gathering of umbrellas right outside the station.

▼ What were they queuing for?

▼ The Hachiko statue.

Seiji was surprised to see so many people taking commemorative photos with Hachiko in the pouring rain, and what’s more, they were all foreign tourists with big smiles on their faces. As a local, Seiji usually walks by the statue of Shibuya’s famously loyal dog without giving it a second thought, but seeing the joy it brought these tourists made him appreciate its significance. It also made him realise how these people in the queue might be visiting Japan only once in their lives, and this might be their only day to see Hachiko, so his appreciation for the statue, and the tourists who braved the weather to see it, grew exponentially.

As he walked by, Seiji was struck by another surprise – the vibe of the queue. Usually, lines like these have a sense of tension to them that can make you feel a little on edge, but this one gave off a sense of warmth, due to the joy and passion of everyone in line. It was as if everyone here was living life with no regrets, and as he thought about it, that’s kind of what he felt outside the strip club too.

The pure warmth, free from negativity at the weather, transferred itself onto Seiji as he walked past the strip club and the line of Hachiko admirers. It was as if everyone’s emotions had intensified in the rain, and the energy he felt buoyed his own spirits as he dodged puddles on his way to work. He soon found himself smiling like the tourists, and as he did he realised that’s the power of Shibuya, a place that never loses its magical charm, even in the pouring rain.

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TOKYO, June 16 — The Bank of Japan hiked interest rates to a 31-year high on Tuesday as it battles inflation caused by the Middle East war — even after Washington and Tehran agreed a peace deal.

The central bank for the world’s fourth-largest economy raised its benchmark rate 25 basis points to 1.0 percent, the highest since 1995 and marking the first increase since December.

The widely expected decision followed rate rises by the European Central Bank and in Indonesia last week after the conflict caused economic havoc and rising prices worldwide.

With US inflation at a three-year high, expectations are growing that the Federal Reserve will follow suit, albeit not at new boss Kevin Warsh’s first gathering this week.

“While higher crude oil prices have been exerting downward pressure on economic activity, the economy has generally been supported by factors such as high levels of corporate profits and an improvement in the employment and income situation,” the BoJ said.

The consumer price index (CPI) has been below two percent thanks in part to government energy subsidies.

“However, the price pass-through stemming from the rise in crude oil prices has been progressing at a relatively fast pace in business-to-business transactions, which could spread to an increase in consumer prices across a wide range of items,” the central bank added.

“Against this backdrop, taking into account that medium- to long-term inflation expectations have also continued to rise, there is a risk of underlying CPI inflation deviating upward to a level above the price stability target of two percent.”

Looking ahead, the BoJ said that it will “continue to raise the policy interest rate and adjust the degree of monetary accommodation”.

“In this regard, it will consider the timing and pace of adjustment, while closely monitoring the impact of the future course of the situation in the Middle East on Japan’s economic activity and prices,” it said.

It also indicated that it would pause the tapering of its colossal programme of bond purchases after next April.

US-Iran deal

The United States and Iran agreed to end their three-month war on all fronts and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which pre-conflict about a fifth of world oil and gas passed.

The accord was set to be physically signed in Switzerland on Friday, but hundreds of ships remain stuck, and it will likely take considerable time for trade flows to normalise.

Japan relied on the Middle East for around 90 per cent of its crude supplies before the war began on February 28.

Its problems have been exacerbated by a falling yen, caused by the rise in oil prices and the gap between US and Japanese interest rates, which are among the lowest in the developed world.

The government spent around 11.7 trillion yen (US$72 billion) last month propping up the currency, which has been languishing at around 160 yen against the dollar.

The yen briefly jumped against the dollar after the announcement on Tuesday, while the Nikkei 225 stock index rose above 70,000 points for the first time.

BoJ deputy governor Shinichi Uchida was slated to address the media on Tuesday afternoon after the rate decision, filling in for governor Kazuo Ueda, who is in hospital.

The central bank is under pressure from markets to keep tightening interest rates, and also from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government not to snuff out growth with high borrowing costs.

The BoJ began hiking rates from below zero in 2024 after nearly two decades of ultra-loose monetary policies.

Akino Fukuda at Moody’s Analytics said Tuesday’s move was “another step toward policy normalisation”.

“Real rates remain negative, financial conditions are still relatively loose, and inflation pressures are turning higher, so more hikes are necessary,” Fukuda said.

“The question now is the pace.” — AFP

TOKYO, June 11 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today reaffirmed the Unity Government’s commitment to its coalition partners, saying it would not take any action that could be perceived as a betrayal of the existing political consensus.

Anwar, who is Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, said the government remained stable, with all parties continuing to respect the understanding reached to ensure the country’s political stability.

“So far, I have not heard any such views. In fact, members of the Cabinet and the leadership represented in it have consistently maintained that the Unity Government at the national level must remain strong,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

The Unity Government, formed after the 15th general election in 2022, comprises PH, Barisan Nasional (BN), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and several other parties.

Anwar, who is also PKR president, was commenting on claims that several former Bersatu state assemblymen could join PKR following recent developments in the political relationship between Bersatu and PAS.

PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang on Monday announced that the party had formally decided to end its political cooperation with Bersatu after taking into account reports, studies and current assessments of the relationship between the two parties.

Anwar stressed that the coalition’s political approach remained rooted in consultation, discussion and cooperation, rather than abruptly severing ties.

“In politics, this business of divorcing, pronouncing ‘talak’ and remarrying is not our way. We negotiate properly, discuss matters properly and cooperate properly. For now, the Unity Government remains intact, although there are some differences of opinion at the state level,” he said.

He said decisions made at the state level were the responsibility of the respective leadership and those involved should be accountable for them.

The prime minister said the government’s main focus remained on implementing the national development agenda, including fulfilling international commitments and strengthening economic cooperation.

Anwar is scheduled to attend the Asean-Russia meeting in Kazan next week before travelling to Turkmenistan to explore cooperation opportunities in the energy sector, particularly in relation to gas resources. — Bernama

TOKYO, June 10 — The world is currently facing a shortage of leadership clarity rather than power, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.

Speaking at the Nikkei Forum on “Navigating Strategic Uncertainty”, Anwar urged renewed global cooperation to address mounting geopolitical challenges, stressing that effective leadership requires a clear sense of direction amid global uncertainty.

“The sailors of old could not predict every storm. They could not control the currents, nor could they see beyond every horizon. What they possessed was a clear sense of direction,” he said.

He said the world does not lack power but clarity, with institutions needing reform and renewal rather than abandonment, cooperation preferred over division, and leadership requiring initiative rather than resignation.

“If we remain guided by these principles, I earnestly believe we can transform today's challenges into tomorrow's opportunities,” he said.

Anwar’s address was the first item on the agenda of the 31st Nikkei Forum, under the theme “Working Together for a More Resilient and Prosperous Asia”. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — The Ministry of Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development (Kuskop) is stepping up efforts to accelerate the internationalisation of Malaysian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), with a particular focus on expanding their presence in the East Asian market, especially Japan.

In a statement today, Kuskop said the initiative is taken through the participation of its minister, Steven Sim Chee Keong, in the official working visit of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to Tokyo, which begins today and runs until June 10.

The ministry said the visit is expected to create new opportunities for Malaysian MSMEs in trade, investment and access to international markets in Japan.

As part of the programme, Kuskop, together with Bank Rakyat, will organise the Bank Rakyat BizMatch: Make Malaysian Businesses Great initiative in conjunction with the Nikkei Forum Future of Asia 2026, one of the region’s most influential economic forums.

The programme will bring together Malaysian and Japanese entrepreneurs to explore new avenues for trade, investment and business collaboration, while building on the success of Kuskop’s existing MSME internationalisation initiatives.

Kuskop highlighted the strong performance of Malaysian companies at FOODEX Japan 2026 in Tokyo, where 31 Malaysian companies and cooperatives generated total sales worth RM350.8 million, comprising RM318.9 million in potential sales and RM31.9 million in actual sales.

The achievement significantly exceeded the initial target of RM80 million in potential sales. The participation also resulted in the signing of four memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and two memorandums of agreement (MoAs) between Malaysian companies and international business partners.

According to Sim,  the achievement demonstrated the strong competitiveness of Malaysian products and businesses in the global marketplace.

“The success proves that Malaysian products and enterprises can compete at the highest level internationally. Our next challenge is to help more local companies expand beyond domestic borders and establish a stronger regional and global presence,” he said.

Sim added that the Japan visit is part of Kuskop’s ongoing efforts to open up new market opportunities, expand business networks and attract strategic partnerships that can benefit Malaysian entrepreneurs.

“As global companies assess investment and collaboration opportunities across the region, we want Malaysian MSMEs to be part of those conversations. This will help them gain access to technology, new markets and strategic partnerships that can elevate their growth to the next level,” he said.

During the visit, Sim is scheduled to accompany the Prime Minister in a series of engagements with Japanese industry leaders and major corporations, as well as participate in regional economic forums involving government leaders, investors and business communities from across Asia.

MSMEs account for 96.1 per cent of all businesses in Malaysia, contribute 39.5 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and recorded exports worth RM196.8 billion in 2024. — Bernama

TOKYO, June 5 — An “extremely intelligent” bear that injured four people in northern Japan remains at large as of today, after apparently unlatching a window while evading capture and turning on a water tap, officials said.

A record 13 people were killed by bears in Japan last year, and there has been a jump in sightings as the animals emerge hungry from hibernation.

After attacking four people at two factories in Fukushima on Tuesday, the bear took shelter inside one of the buildings, local media reported.

It dodged capture despite efforts by hunters and responders equipped with traps and anaesthetic guns, and escaped late Wednesday.

The bear remains at large as of this morning, a Fukushima official told AFP.

Fukushima city mayor Yuki Baba told reporters yesterday that evidence suggested the animal “unlocked the window on its own” to flee, adding that claw marks had been found near the exit.

It is also believed the bear “turned on the water tap” to drink, he added, describing it as “extremely intelligent”.

“With the cooperation of hunters, police and firefighters, I believe we took all possible measures available to us” to catch it, Baba said.

“That we failed to achieve our goal despite our best efforts is extremely regrettable,” he said.

In the last fiscal year to March, bear sightings nationwide topped 50,000, more than double the previous record set two years earlier, according to official data.

The animals were seen entering homes, roaming near schools and rampaging through supermarkets and hot spring resorts on an almost daily basis.

Bears are thriving thanks in part to an abundance of food — including acorns, deer and boars — under the influence of a warming climate, experts say. — AFP