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October 10, 2025
 

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Jessica Speed
There has been a rapid rise in the number of business manager visa holders in recent years, triggering concerns that some are using it as an easy route to long-term residency rather than for genuine entrepreneurship.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2025
Business management visa requirements to be tightened from next week
There has been a rapid rise in the number of business manager visa holders in recent years, triggering concerns some are merely using it as an easy route to long-term residency.
Tokyo was ranked the world's best large city for the second year in a row in the Conde Nast Traveler's 2025 Readers' Choice Awards.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2025
Tokyo named world’s best big city for second straight year
Recognition from readers of luxury travel and lifestyle magazine Conde Nast Traveler comes after Japan welcomed a record 36.8 million foreign visitors in 2024.
Shuichi Tachihara, director of the forecast division at the Japan Meteorological Agency, holds a news conference regarding the special warnings for heavy rain and high waves due to the approach of Typhoon Halong, on Wednesday at the agency's office in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2025
Typhoon Halong brings strong winds and heavy rain to southern Izu islands
The national weather agency issued its highest-level emergency alert for the Izu islands before downgrading the warning after the rain passed.
Japan plans to introduce nationwide five-year bachelor's-master's programs to raise graduate school enrollment and train more highly skilled professionals amid a shrinking workforce.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2025
Japan to move toward five-year integrated bachelor's-master’s programs
The proposed reform would allow students to complete a one-year master’s program after a standard four-year undergraduate course.
Atsuko Mori, founder and director of Kyoto-based tea salon Camellia Tea Ceremony, prepares matcha during a tea ceremony in Kyoto.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 2, 2025
Tea ceremony experts see matcha boom as a big opportunity
Matcha’s sudden spike in popularity overseas has prompted debate in Japan about whether the global craze risks diluting tea’s cultural meaning.
The Justice Ministry's figures show the number of specified skilled worker visa holders hit a record high as of the end of June.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2025
Skilled worker visa holders hit record high ahead of new visa program
The Justice Ministry stated that the goal for a new program set to be rolled out in 2027 is to make Japan a "country of choice" for foreign workers amid a labor shortage.
Japanese researchers estimated that as of 2023, there were 316,900 people in Japan with ulcerative colitis and 95,700 with Crohn’s disease.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 29, 2025
Japan sees 40% surge in chronic bowel disease cases over eight years
On a population basis, a study published this month shows prevalence is now 254.8 cases of ulcerative colitis and 77.0 cases of Crohn’s per 100,000 people.
The Tokyo Game Show opened Thursday in the city of Chiba with 521 Japanese exhibitors and 615 exhibitors from overseas — the largest share yet.
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2025
Tokyo Game Show kicks off with largest lineup yet
The four-day event is hosting a record 4,157 booths and 1,136 exhibitors, more than half of which are from overseas.
A short-lived autumn is expected this year, with temperatures staying unseasonably high through October before plunging in late November, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2025
Autumn to be cut short as harsh winter arrives suddenly
In its three-month outlook, the weather agency forecast above-average temperatures nationwide in October, delaying the arrival of autumn weather.
With just three weeks left until the closing of the Osaka Expo, most admission slots are nearly fully booked. On auction sites, however, many reserved tickets are being traded at high prices.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2025
Osaka Expo tickets being resold at exorbitant prices as closing date nears
One adult 9 a.m. entry ticket for Oct. 5, originally ¥7,500, was selling online for ¥59,000 — over seven times the official cost.
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.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2025
End of U.S. de minimis exemption causes headaches for some businesses in Japan
Companies that ship to the U.S. are hoping customers will tolerate higher costs or that the de minimis treatment will be restored, but many believe it's gone for good.
Shigeko Kagawa, Japan's oldest person at 114, in Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture, on July 30
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
Aging Japan’s centenarian population nears 100,000
The number has grown steadily in recent years and comes as the birth rate continues to plummet.
Heavy rain hit Tokyo and surrounding areas Thursday afternoon, causing thousands to lose power, prompting flood warnings, grounding flights and causing transportation issues.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2025
Thousands without power in Tokyo as heavy rain batters Kanto region
The Japan Meteorological Agency urged vigilance against river flooding, inundation of low-lying areas and landslides, while also warning of lightning, sudden gusts and hail.
Asteroid Ryugu (left) and samples brought back by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 11, 2025
Asteroid ice discovery may change ideas about origin of water on Earth
The parent body of near-Earth asteroid Ryugu appears to have harbored water in the form of ice for over a billion years, Japanese researchers have found.
Emergency room visits for self-harm and suicide attempts have been rising since 2019, with the sharpest increases observed among young people and women, a report revealed on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 10, 2025
More people being hospitalized in Japan for self-harm, attempted suicide: report
In 2023, a total of 42,977 people were taken to hospital, 2,721 more than the previous year, according to the Japan Suicide Countermeasures Promotion Center.
The National Police Agency has issued a rulebook for cyclists detailing violations subject to fines from April 2026 onward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 5, 2025
New rulebook for cycling in Japan details fines for minor violations
Traffic offenses that will prompt police to issue tickets for fines on the spot include talking on the phone or staring at it while cycling and railroad crossing violations.
Takeshi Niinami, the former chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings, at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / EXPLAINER
Sep 4, 2025
What we know about the supplements scandal linked to Suntory’s ex-CEO
The ex-Suntory CEO’s side of the story offered some clarity, but much remains unknown.
Takeshi Niinami, who has resigned as Suntory Holdings chairman and CEO, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 3, 2025
Ex-Suntory CEO Niinami says he is confident he has 'broken no laws'
His comments came a day after Tuesday’s shocking revelation that he is the target of a police investigation over illegal drugs.
Takeshi Niinami, then-chief executive officer of Suntory Holdings, in May 2024
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 2, 2025
Suntory CEO Takeshi Niinami resigns over alleged possession of illegal drugs
Police are investigating Niinami over supplements he allegedly purchased overseas that are suspected to be illegal in Japan, a fact that he was unaware of.
Police investigate an area around the scene where a woman was killed in a knife attack in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 2, 2025
Korean man arrested in Tokyo on suspicion of killing ex-girlfriend
Police had told the suspect to leave the country after the victim reached out for help, and they saw him go through a security check at Narita Airport days before her death.
Typhoon Halong to cause windstorms, heavy rain and high waves on the Izu islands
Typhoon Halong is moving north near the Izu Islands, with strong winds, high waves and heavy rain expected as it passes early on Thursday, prompting warnings from the weather agency.
Japan to move toward five-year integrated bachelor's-master’s programs
Japan plans to introduce nationwide five-year bachelor's-master's programs to raise graduate school enrollment and train more highly skilled professionals amid a shrinking workforce.
Chemistry Nobel winner Kitagawa says downtime helped him think up new material
Susumu Kitagawa speaks to reporters at Kyoto University on Wednesday after receiving the news that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry the same day.
After 26 years, Komeito may be showing signs it will break with LDP
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito (left) and LDP counterpart Sanae Takaichi meet in Tokyo on Tuesday.
LDP and Komeito's shaky ties throw doubt on Takaichi becoming prime minister
Komeito head Tetsuo Saito and the party's executives (left) meet with the LDP's Sanae Takaichi and counterparts in Tokyo on Tuesday.
A Japanese comedian walks into an Aussie bar … and stays there
Takashi “Waka” Wakasugi stopped by the Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya Ward last month following his stint at Edinburgh Festival Fringe performing his show “Comedy Samurai.”
Chemistry Nobel winner Kitagawa says downtime helped him think up new material
Susumu Kitagawa speaks to reporters at Kyoto University on Wednesday after receiving the news that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry the same day.
University of Tokyo lands its highest spot ever in global higher education ranking
The University of Tokyo in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward
Tokyo named world’s best big city for second straight year
Tokyo was ranked the world's best large city for the second year in a row in the Conde Nast Traveler's 2025 Readers' Choice Awards.
With nuclear sub proposal, Japan faces array of political and tech challenges
The Jingei, the third of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Taigei-class submarines, was commissioned in March last year. It is equipped with lithium-ion batteries, enabling it to have a longer diving time and cruising distance than older models with lead-acid batteries.

Podcast

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

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Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?
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