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September 19, 2025
 

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Yukana Inoue
A notice is displayed at a McDonald's restaurant informing customers of the end of the Pokemon card promotion, on Tuesday in Tokyo's Toshima Ward.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 12, 2025
McDonald’s Japan apologizes over frenzy linked to Pokemon card promotion
Many customers bought Happy Meals in bulk to get their hands on limited-edition Pokemon trading cards, only to discard the food and resell the cards online.
Operations of a medical helicopter in Tokyo will be suspended for seven days this month due to a staff shortage.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2025
Tokyo temporarily halts medical helicopter operations due to staff shortage
The suspension began on Thursday and will continue through Sunday. The helicopter will also be out of service between Aug. 24 and Aug. 26.
A street in Tokyo's Shinjuku district on Wednesday
JAPAN / Society
Aug 7, 2025
Biggest drop in Japanese nationals seen alongside record high in foreign residents
The number of Japanese nationals on Jan. 1 was 120.7 million, while the number of foreign residents had risen 10.65% in a year to 3.68 million.
A rice farm in Niigata Prefecture. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Tuesday that the government will reconsider its long-standing policy of limiting rice production — a measure that has been in place since around 1969 in response to chronic oversupply.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2025
Ishiba to reverse rice curb policy as government admits to miscalculating demand
“We had assumed that production volume was adequate, despite the lack of sufficient analysis,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said.
A worker tries to cool down a street in central Tokyo Tuesday as wide swaths of the Kanto region sweltered under intense heat. In Gunma Prefecture, the temperature rose 41.8 degrees Celsius, the highest ever recorded in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 5, 2025
Japan swelters as previous heat record melts
The country experienced its new hottest day ever on Tuesday at 41.8 degrees Celsius, beating the previous record set just last week.
People shield their eyes from the sun as they walk through a street on a hot day in Tokyo on July 26.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2025
Extreme heat in Japan set to peak this week
Temperatures are particularly high in the Hokuriku region, where the mercury has exceeded 38 degrees Celsius in many areas.
Fuji TV headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward. Fuji TV came under fire over the manner in which it handled a case of “sexual trouble” involving former boy band member Masahiro Nakai and a female announcer.
JAPAN / Media / FOCUS
Jul 30, 2025
How the Japanese TV industry is changing
After a series of major scandals in recent years, Japan’s TV industry appears to be growing more sensitive to issues of harassment and misconduct.
Kansai Electric Power Company's Mihama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2025
Kepco to build Japan’s first new nuclear reactor since Fukushima meltdown
Kepco’s plan for a new reactor comes after the government adopted the Seventh Strategic Energy Plan in February, declaring policies to maximize the use of nuclear power.
Ayaka Shiomura, running for an Upper House seat on a Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan ticket in the Tokyo district, was one of 42 women elected in Sunday's election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 21, 2025
Japan elects record number of women to Upper House
Female candidates won 42 of the 125 seats contested on Sunday, up from 35 seats in the last election in 2022.
Pedestrians walk in front of an election notice board displaying posters of candidates in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 20, 2025
Voters in Tokyo reflect shifting political views across Japan
Many constituents, frustrated with the current state of affairs, have turned away from the LDP and are seeking possibilities in newer and smaller parties.
A think tank researcher said anti-government propaganda by Russian bot accounts was what has made the small far-right party Sanseito so popular leading up to the Upper House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 18, 2025
Concerns grow in Japan over possible Russian interference in Sunday’s election
A blog post from a member of the Japan Institute of Law and Information Systems went viral for stating Russian bots were interfering in the upcoming Upper House election.
The Tokyo district has the highest number of candidates in the 2025 Upper House election with 32 people in the running for seven seats.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 18, 2025
In Upper House race, younger voters in Tokyo turn to DPP for new direction
Many younger voters, especially in the capital, are drawn to the party's idea that the working generation must be supported for the sake of everyone.
Sanseito head Sohei Kamiya holds a board that reads "Japanese First" in Tokyo on July 2. In a joint statement on Tuesday, eight human rights nongovernmental organizations described the far-right party's stance as "hate speech."
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 9, 2025
NGOs condemn rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of Upper House vote
Sound bites such as “Japanese First” and “revision of preferential treatment for foreigners" illustrate a worrisome trend, they said in a statement.
An English conversation test paper and bubble answer sheet. A Chinese graduate student from Kyoto University is suspected of having attempted to use a small microphone under a mask to tell other takers of a popular English-language proficiency test the correct answers.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 8, 2025
Over 800 people found to be involved in TOEIC cheating scheme
For those identified as having cheated, their scores have been nullified and their accounts for the exam have been suspended.
A Lawson convenience store in Yachiyo, Chiba Prefecture. A new service from the company comes amid the rise in inbound tourists, making hotels and inns harder to book and more expensive.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2025
Lawson to let visitors use larger parking lots as paid car campsites
The convenience store operator hopes to capitalize on demand from out-of-town visitors in places where overnight accommodations are limited.
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2025
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
The discovery raises serious concerns about the integrity of the research in the papers and highlights flaws in academic publishing.
Japanese seafood in a supermarket in Hong Kong in July 2023
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2025
China partially lifts ban on Japanese seafood imports in bid to ease frictions
Tokyo labeled the move “a major turning point,” though improving the relationship still faces hurdles over China’s military moves near Japan.
The Justice Ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. Takahiro Shiraishi, who was sentenced to death in 2020 for killing nine people in the space of two months, was executed on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 27, 2025
Japan executes ‘Twitter killer’ in first hanging since 2022
Takahiro Shiraishi was on death row for killing nine people he met on social media in 2017.
The doctoral aid program has recently come under fire from some members of parliament, who point out that nearly 40% of those receiving the support are international students despite the fact the fund aims to foster future human resources in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 26, 2025
Japan mulls cuts to financial aid for Ph.D. students from abroad
The program, aimed at fostering human resources in Japan, has come under fire amid claims nearly 40% of those receiving the support are international students.
Fuji Media Holdings President Osamu Kanemitsu (center) and Kenji Shimizu (right), the president of Fuji TV, who serves on the board of Fuji TV's parent, at the annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2025
Fuji TV parent secures approval for new board members at shareholders meeting
The focus was on how much support there was for the proposal of activist Dalton Investments, which reportedly holds 7.5% of shares in the company.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
End of U.S. de minimis exemption causes headaches for some businesses in Japan
Proxy-shopping services — companies that ship Japanese products ranging from cosmetics and snacks to limited-edition stationery on behalf of customers abroad — are already feeling the impact of the U.S. suspending de minimis exemptions.
Over 90% of low-income families in Japan struggling to feed children
Save the Children Japan domestic program chief Sonoko Kawakami speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in July. A survey conducted by the group in June has found that over 90% of low-income households with children face food insecurity.
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
Still plenty to fight for, says Japan’s team leader at worlds
Race walker Hayato Katsuki earned bronze for Japan on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships on Saturday.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.

Podcast

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

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

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