Press review: February 2026

In this section you will find this month's press review, which contains a selection of some of the most interesting Japan-related online articles that have been published over the past month. To read them, please click on the following links:

• NHK - Japan's national debt hits record high in 2025
• The Japan Times – Japan's 2025 current account surplus hits record
• The Japan Times – More profit-making companies cutting jobs in Japan
• The Japan Times – Japan business bankruptcies hit 13-year high in January
• The Japan Times – What keeps Japan’s 1,000-year-old companies alive?
• NHK - Japan's foreign business owners stress over new visa rules
• The Japan Times – Japan's ratio of household spending on food hits 44-year high
• The Japan News - Green Tea Exports Hit Record High in 2025 Amid Growing Demand, Likely to Be Driving Force Behind Govt Export Target
• The Asahi Shimbun - Bill to require mega solar farm operators to recycle panels
• The Japan Times – Japan to subsidize measures to ease airport congestion
• The Japan News - Transport Companies See Opportunity in Narita Expansion; Airlines, Railways Prepare to Meet Expected Growth in Demand
• The Mainichi – 30% of Japan's private universities face high financial risk in 2040 as population shrinks
• NHK - Three Japanese national universities to accept more foreign students
• The Japan Times – Japan eyes development of national intelligence strategy
• NHK - Survey finds Japanese children using smartphones at younger ages
• The Mainichi – Print book, magazine sales in Japan below 1 tril. yen, 1st time since 1975
• The Mainichi – Relaxed dress codes spread across industries in Japan: a win-win for workers, businesses
• The Japan Times – Net population inflow into Tokyo area slowed in 2025, but concentration persists