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November 08, 2025
 

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Yukana Inoue
Officials set up traps to capture bears in the city of Kazuno, Akita Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2025
GSDF deployed to Akita Prefecture amid rise in bear attacks
Troops will assist in the setting up of traps in the prefecture, though they are not permitted to help cull the bears themselves.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a ministerial meeting on policies regarding foreign nationals and immigration on Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 4, 2025
Takaichi leads first ministerial meeting on policies regarding foreign residents
The government envisions a tougher crackdown on visa overstayers, as well as on foreign residents who fail to pay social insurance premiums.
A SpaceX Super Heavy booster carrying the Starship spacecraft lifts off on its 11th test flight at the company's launch pad in Starbase, Texas, on Oct. 13.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Oct 31, 2025
International collaboration seen as key to commercial space tourism in Japan
When it comes to furthering the potential of future space travel, Japan is behind countries like the U.S., making collaboration essential.
A bear roams around a field in the town of Kuzumaki, Iwate Prefecture, on Oct. 12.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 30, 2025
Japan’s government ramps up bear control efforts amid rise in attacks
With the move, which pulls together more agencies than have previously been involved, authorities hope to cull bears that enter residential areas more quickly and accurately.
The most common factor behind work-related mental health issues in Japan is “relationships with people,” a government white paper on death by overwork found.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 28, 2025
Record number of applicants seek compensation for job-related mental stress
Despite efforts to reduce overtime hours and workplace harassment in Japan, a white paper released Tuesday shows the problems remain persistent.
The health ministry's Suicide White Paper for 2024 has found that numbers for both men and women peak at age 21, with “concerns over future career paths” being identified as the most likely cause.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 24, 2025
Number of suicide cases among students in Japan hits record high in 2024
The figure for those in their 20s also remained high, underscoring the need to beef up care for the younger generation.
Kimi Onoda, economic security minister and minister for harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals, arrives at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 23, 2025
New ‘immigration minister’ post signals Takaichi Cabinet’s priorities
The creation of a new post specifically for handling foreign residents shows how immigration is a key policy focus for the Takaichi Cabinet.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi poses with members of the newly formed Cabinet on Tuesday night.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 22, 2025
Japan's first female PM promised more women in her Cabinet. She picked two.
Takaichi appointed just two women to her 18-member Cabinet on Tuesday, despite promising high levels of female representation earlier.
Lawson is looking to upgrade 100 stores nationwide to turn them into key community hubs in the event of a disaster.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 17, 2025
Lawson looks to create network of 'disaster relief convenience stores'
It hopes to upgrade 100 stores nationwide so that they are able to serve as key community hubs in the event of a calamity.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to extend the Oedo Line northwest with three new stations in Nerima Ward to improve rail access in underserved areas.
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2025
Tokyo's Oedo Line to expand northwest improving access for Nerima Ward
Three new stations in the predominantly residential ward will improve rail access in areas of the capital currently underserved by public transportation.
Bear warning signs at the Akita Prefectural Government building
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2025
As temperatures drop in Japan, bear attacks shoot up to historic highs
A total of 39 people sustained injuries from bear attacks in September alone.
Japanese teachers work significantly longer hours than their peers in other countries, with time spent on extracurricular activities being a heavy burden, an OECD study shows.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2025
Teachers in Japan still work the longest hours, OECD survey finds
Teachers worked an average of over 50 hours per week, but much of it was spent on out-of-classroom work.
A not-in-service train is seen derailed early Monday morning after colliding with a passenger train late Sunday at Kajigaya Station on Tokyu Railways' Den-en-toshi Line in Kawasaki.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2025
Den-en-toshi Line trains collide, halting service
No one was injured in the collision, which saw one train derail and disrupted train services on two lines Monday.
An owl cafe in Tokyo
JAPAN / Society
Oct 3, 2025
Investigation finds poor infection controls at some animal cafes in Japan
Through microbial examinations, investigators found a type of pathogenic E. coli in four of the stores and a type of salmonella bacteria in two.
Costumed revelers stand next to police officers controlling crowds at the scramble crossing in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Oct. 31, 2022.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 3, 2025
Tokyo's Shibuya calls on foreign visitors not to have a ‘disruptive Halloween’
The ward, a hot spot for Halloween revelers, is taking a step back from its “don’t come” messaging of the recent past.
In 2019, the Japan Fair Trade Commission issued a warning to what was then Johnny & Associates for allegedly pressuring broadcasters to not offer work to three former members of now-disbanded boy band SMAP after they left the agency to pursue independent careers.
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2025
Japan’s antitrust watchdog issues new rules urging agencies to treat talent fairly
The Japan Fair Trade Commission’s new guidelines come after a survey last year found that some agencies were mistreating their performers.
Climbers on Mount Fuji's Yoshida Trail in July 2024
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2025
Yamanashi Prefecture doubles Mount Fuji revenue to ¥590 million
This year the prefecture doubled the entrance fee for the mountain’s most popular route — the Yoshida Trail — from ¥2,000 to ¥4,000.
The Tokyo government revised its flood prevention guidelines to implement preventive measures for underground spaces that are considered to be at the highest risk of flooding, such as subway stations.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 29, 2025
Tokyo revises flood guidelines amid recent years’ abnormal weather
The revision, the first since 2008, incorporates the use of artificial intelligence for risk assessments and updates flood prevention measures.
Payments using the PayPay app will soon be possible in South Korea.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 26, 2025
SoftBank’s PayPay to become available in South Korea as company looks outward
Japan’s largest mobile payment platform decided on South Korea because it is the most popular country for people in Japan to visit.
The “Africa Hometown Initiative,” announced by the Japan International Cooperation Agency at an African development conference in Yokohama in August, sought to foster exchanges that would help bridge four municipalities in Japan with four countries in Africa.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 25, 2025
JICA scraps Africa ‘hometown’ agreement after migration mixup
Persistent online misinformation about the plan being a ploy to ease immigration from Africa led to the initiative being canceled.
The Toyota buyout is a major test for Japan’s reforms
Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota Motor, speaks during a media preview at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Oct. 29. Minority investors are challenging the carmaker's bid to take affiliate Toyota Industries Corp. private.
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
New satellite images suggest 'mass graves' in Sudan's El-Fasher
A general view of a berm construction in Kinin Village near El-Fasher.
High-speed rail is expensive and difficult, but seen as a key to growth
Achal Khare, former managing director at India’s National High Speed Rail Corporation, gives a presentation during the IHRA Forum 2025 in Tokyo on Oct. 23.
SoftBank is said to have explored potential takeover of Marvell
SoftBank explored a potential takeover of U.S. chipmaker Marvell Technology earlier this year, in what would have been the semiconductor industry's largest-ever deal.
These are the hottest lower-division rikishi to watch right now
Fukazaki (right) grapples with Enho at the IG Arena in Nagoya on July 13.
Across borders and screens, Tokyo film festival finds humanity in migration
“Mother Bhumi” takes place in a multiethnic rice-farming community where Chinese, Thai and Malay lineages intertwine.
Takaichi’s balancing act: Supporting Taiwan and stabilizing China ties
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with Lin Hsin-i, Taiwan’s presidential adviser, on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday in this image posted to Takaichi's official X account.
From 1973 to 2025: A Japanese American skater’s long ride to recognition
Judi Oyama at Winchester Skatepark in San Jose, California, in January 1979. The Skateboarding Hall of Fame inductee and Guinness World Record holder still skates and hopes to inspire older women.
More Japanese universities pushing toward teaching in English
Waseda University in Tokyo

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes
By Alex K.T. Martin

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