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Yukana Inoue
Passengers wait to board a shinkansen at Kyoto Station.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 14, 2023
Nozomi shinkansen to halt nonreserved seats during peak periods
The restriction will apply between Dec. 28 this year and Jan. 4 as well as the Golden Week and Bon holiday periods.
An increasing number of companies are saying they won't use Johnny & Associates performers in new commercials.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2023
More companies move away from Johnny’s over sex abuse scandal
Many firms say they won't work with the agency again until it hears how Johnny's will help the victims and prevent further incidents.
Commuters walk through the rain near Tokyo Station on Friday morning.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2023
Tropical Storm Yun-yeung brings heavy rain to Kanto region
The storm prompted evacuation orders in some areas amid record-breaking rain.
A woman shops for medicine at a drugstore in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 5, 2023
More young women overdosing on over-the-counter drugs
In a country where illicit drugs are hard to obtain, many have begun to abuse cough and cold medications, which are legal and easily accessible.
Nihon Coffin showcases its products at Endex Japan 2023, an annual funeral and cemetery exhibition that was held at Tokyo Big Sight from Aug. 29 to 31.
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2023
End-of-life companies look to innovate as Japan's deaths keep rising
A record 1.57 million people died in 2022, up from 1.25 million in 2012, and facilities to store dead bodies are becoming increasingly scarce.
Visitors at the Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo on Aug. 25
JAPAN / Society
Sep 1, 2023
China banned seafood from Japan. Some tourists are eating it in Tokyo.
Travelers from China seem largely unfazed despite the ban, with many local seafood restaurants seeing little impact so far.
Nihon University's American football team restarts training on Aug. 11 in Tokyo after it was suspended.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Aug 23, 2023
Nihon University scandal puts focus on 'collective responsibility'
Critics of the approach of punishing an entire team for wrongdoing by some say it can unfairly affect athletes that weren't involved.
Rakuyo Otsuki (center), CEO of event firm TryHard Japan, during a news conference in Osaka on Monday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 21, 2023
Festival organizer files criminal complaint over DJ Soda groping
TryHard Japan filed the report to the police against two men and a woman over their alleged groping of the DJ’s breast and hugging of her without consent.
A women-only passenger train in Tokyo
JAPAN / Explainer
Aug 18, 2023
DJ Soda incident spotlights prevalence of groping in Japan
The groping of the South Korean DJ at a festival spurred online conversations about the issue, with a term translating as "groping country" trending on X.
Mariko Hayashi, chairwoman of the board of trustees at Nihon University, bows to the media after giving a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 8, 2023
Nihon University chairwoman apologizes for student drug scandal
Mariko Hayashi denied reports that she was kept in the dark about facts surrounding the case, which involves the university's American football team.
Yuzuru Hanyu attends a photo session in Tokyo in September 2022.
MORE SPORTS / Figure skating
Aug 5, 2023
Figure skating icon Yuzuru Hanyu announces marriage
Hanyu, who did not reveal the identity of his partner, said he will continue to skate to show the best version of himself.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police investigators search the dormitory of Nihon University's American football team in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 4, 2023
Illegal stimulants found in Nihon University football player dorm
Police are planning to conduct a further investigation into the 21-year-old male football player who is suspected of possessing them.
Shinjiro Atae, a J-pop idol who came out publicly as gay during a recent fan event, with his stylist and makeup artist in the afternoon prior to his announcement, in Tokyo on July 25.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 3, 2023
In Japan, LGBTQ celebrities fuel impetus for change
Celebrities coming out as LGBTQ can have a big impact in Japan and fuel change. But such announcements are rarely made easily.
The social media backlash to “Barbenheimer,” an internet trend centered on the simultaneous release of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” in the United States, led to the hashtag #NoBarbenheimer trending recently on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
CULTURE / Film
Aug 2, 2023
‘Barbenheimer’ memes trigger anger in atomic-bombed Japan
Warner Bros. Japan criticized its U.S. counterpart for participating in internet memes that appear to trivialize the effects of the atomic bombings.
A court illustration shows Kyota Hattori at the Tokyo District Court's Tachikawa branch on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 31, 2023
Tokyo ‘Joker’ train attacker sentenced to 23-year prison term
The Tokyo District Court ruled that Kyota Hattori stabbed a 72-year-old man and intended to murder 12 passengers by lighting a fire.
Transport ministry officials enter a Bigmotor dealership in Sapporo on Friday for an on-site inspection.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 28, 2023
Transport ministry conducts on-site probe of Bigmotor amid scandal
The surprise inspection, which covered dealerships in 24 prefectures, came after the ministry interviewed Bigmotor executives including newly appointed President Shinji Izumi on Wednesday.
Officials discuss preventing sexual abuse of minors in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 27, 2023
Japan unveils new measures to stop sexual assault against minors
As a part of the measures, the government plans to set up a hotline for male victims of sexual assault so that they can seek psychological support if needed.
Passengers escape through the windows of a Keio Line train at Kokuryo Station in Tokyo on Oct. 31, 2021, following a stabbing and arson attack onboard.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 26, 2023
Can Japan prevent crimes from happening on trains?
Trains are often targeted for attacks because they offer the most familiar, everyday setting. Railway companies are now exploring ways to bolster security.
The Sapporo home where the severed head of a man was discovered Tuesday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 25, 2023
Severed head in ‘love hotel’ murder case found in family home
The police suspect that the 29-year-old daughter, Runa Tamura, carried out the murder and beheading of a 62-year-old office worker by herself at a short-stay hotel earlier this month.
In Japan, 35% of students graduate with a degree in the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math — compared with 38% in the U.S., 42% in South Korea and Germany and 45% in Britain.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 21, 2023
Japan to give ¥300 billion to universities expanding science education
As the country's R&D status continues to drop, the ministry’s new program aims to fund schools pivoting toward STEM subjects.

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces