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Yukana Inoue

People attend a vigil for a recently deceased 43-year-old Japanese woman in central Budapest on Feb. 4

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

Feb 13, 2025

Hungarian police discipline officers over Japanese woman’s death

Despite repeated claims of domestic abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, local police failed to follow up with an investigation until it was too late.

A new scam causing concern in Japan starts out simple, but when victims request to continue, they are instructed to set up an account on a certain app or website where they are to enter their personal information.

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

Feb 12, 2025

Japan's consumer watchdog raises alarm over new social media scam

The deceptively innocent scheme requires users to do one simple thing to earn some extra cash: take screenshots of videos.

Giving out courtesy chocolates to coworkers on Valentine's Day is becoming obsolete.

JAPAN / Society

Feb 10, 2025

How giving chocolates on Valentine’s Day is evolving in Japan

One change is fewer people are handing out chocolates to others at work, which had been a widespread practice over the past few decades.

Ippei Mizuhara, former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, leaves the courthouse in Santa Ana, California, on Thursday.

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

Feb 7, 2025

Ohtani's ex-interpreter Mizuhara sentenced to nearly five years in prison

The case involved the illegal transfer of nearly $17 million from the star's account to pay off gambling debts.

Investigators pursue a criminal case in the town of Oshima in Tokyo in January.

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

Feb 6, 2025

Concern over crime grows in Japan as cases rise for third straight year

The most drastic increase was seen in the number of fraud cases, which numbered 57,324 — up 24.6% from the previous year and with a total of ¥307.5 billion in damages recorded.

Shukan Bunshun published an editorial from the editor-in-chief on Thursday apologizing for the inaccuracy in its reporting on the Masahiro Nakai scandal.

JAPAN / Media

Jan 30, 2025

Shukan Bunshun criticized by former Osaka governor for not being upfront about correction

Toru Hashimoto has been critical of how the magazine had not been upfront about the change, despite it being a core issue of the scandal.

Fuji TV adviser Hisashi Hieda in 2005

JAPAN / Media

Jan 29, 2025

Who are the key figures involved in the growing Fuji TV scandal?

Koichi Minato, who resigned as president of Fuji TV on Monday, will be one focus of a third-party probe, given his executive role when the incident occurred.

Members of the media raise their hands for questions as outgoing Fuji TV President Koichi Minato attends a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.

JAPAN / Explainer

Jan 28, 2025

What we learned at Fuji TV's marathon Nakai scandal news conference

Longtime executive of Fuji TV Hisashi Hieda, who has been dubbed the “emperor” of the broadcaster, was not present at the news conference and did not resign.

Fuji TV President Koichi Minato (left) and Chairman Shuji Kanoh, also chairman of the broadcaster's parent company Fuji Media Holdings, bow during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday. The two have announced their resignations.

JAPAN / Society

Jan 28, 2025

Fuji TV president resigns over handling of Masahiro Nakai scandal

Koichi Minato has been the target of criticism following the revelation that he became aware of the incident involving Nakai right after it occurred in June 2023.

Fuji Television's poor handling of sexual misconduct allegations against celebrity Masahiro Nakai has led to an exodus of sponsors from the broadcaster.

JAPAN / Media / FOCUS

Jan 24, 2025

What are the real issues behind the Fuji TV scandal?

Fuji TV's handling of sexual misconduct allegations against TV personality Masahiro Nakai led to a firestorm of public disapproval. Where did it go wrong?

TV star Masahiro Nakai abruptly announced his retirement Thursday as the fallout from sexual misconduct allegations against him continued to expand.

JAPAN

Jan 23, 2025

Ex-SMAP member Masahiro Nakai to retire amid sexual misconduct allegations

The 52-year-old former SMAP member said his contracts had been wound up, and that negotiations with sponsors were in progress.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on Stargate, as Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman look on in the Roosevelt room at the White House.

BUSINESS / Companies

Jan 22, 2025

SoftBank to help fund and lead Trump-backed Stargate AI project, a $500 billion venture

The president said it will be the largest AI infrastructure ever built and that it will help counter technology threats from China and other countries.

Fuji TV President Koichi Minato speaks at a news conference on Friday in Tokyo.

JAPAN / Media

Jan 20, 2025

What went wrong at Fuji TV's news conference on allegations against Nakai?

The broadcaster, which imposed various restrictions for the event that included denying access to many media agencies, ended up worsening the scandal.

More Japanese students are reluctant to study abroad following the pandemic, when borders were closed for many countries.

JAPAN

Jan 17, 2025

Tokyo to offer financial aid to students studying abroad

Applicants need to be Japanese nationals who are either enrolled in or set to enter a university or technical college in Japan and whose parents reside in Tokyo.

A map of the hypocentral region of an anticipated Nankai Trough earthquake

JAPAN / Science & Health

Jan 16, 2025

Possibility of Nankai Trough megaquake now 80%, government panel reports

Last year, the likelihood of an earthquake in the zone had been projected at “between 70% and 80%.”

Tourists visit Fushimi Inari Shrine in the city of Kyoto on Monday.

JAPAN / Society

Jan 15, 2025

Kyoto to raise accommodation tax to a maximum ¥10,000 per night

The collected money under the new plan would be used to improve infrastructure in the city, such as increasing public transportation.

A mirror reflects a collapsed house in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Dec. 10, nearly one year after a major earthquake struck nearby on New Year's Day in 2024.

JAPAN / Explainer

Jan 14, 2025

Miyazaki quake falls short of triggering Nankai Trough megaquake advisory

Though Monday's temblor struck a similar area to one in August that sparked the first advisory, no such alert was issued.

A portion of the Grand Ring at the site of the Osaka Expo during a media tour late last month

JAPAN

Jan 10, 2025

Race circuit and resort among post-event proposals for Osaka Expo site

One proposal envisages an entertainment complex housing a circuit and a large arena.

A busy street in Tokyo on Dec. 30. The number of influenza patients per clinic, on average, in the final week of December was the highest since health ministry records began in 1999.

JAPAN / Science & Health

Jan 10, 2025

Japan's health ministry reports record-high flu cases

In the week through Dec. 29, the total number of reported flu cases was nearly three times the number from the same period in 2023.

The Toyama City Library, designed by Kengo Kuma, in November. The library is part of a building called Toyama Kirari that also houses the Glass Art Museum.

JAPAN / Society

Jan 8, 2025

New York Times chooses Toyama and Osaka as top places to go in 2025

The city of Toyama was praised by the Times as a place where tourists could “enjoy cultural wonders and culinary delights while skipping the crowds.”

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

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