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November 14, 2025
 

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A farmer harvests rice in a field in Chikusei, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Oct. 9. Prices will most likely remain in the ¥4,000 range for 5 kilograms of the grain at least until the 2026 harvest is released next summer.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
New Cabinet searches for effective rice policy amid resurging prices
Officials are considering the distribution of “rice tickets” to make the nation’s staple grain more affordable for certain households.
JAPAN / Society
Businesses in Japan tighten bear safety measures as sightings surge
Convenience stores and delivery companies are taking action to protect employees and customers as the predators are spotted in record numbers.
JAPAN / Society
Tokyo looks to keep ‘monster parents’ at bay with new protocols
Measures from limiting the duration of meetings to having a lawyer handle complaints aim to protect teachers from irrational requests and abusive behaviors.
Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Nov 9, 2025
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years
By Yukana Inoue
A surge in bear attacks in Japan may be nothing new, revealing a complex mix of ecology, policy and culture.
Abandoned Japanese-style inns in the Kinugawa hot springs resort in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, in March 2023
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2025
Japan to subsidize demolition of abandoned inns
Many large hotels running since the end of World War II were left to rot in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Financially struggling families are burdened with educational expenses, as many schools require students to purchase designated uniforms and digital devices, according to a survey.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 7, 2025
Educational expenses for schoolchildren on the rise, survey finds
By Jessica Speed
The average cost of uniforms for first-year junior high and high school students has risen by about ¥10,000 this year.
Shiori Ito at the National Board of Review Awards Gala in New York in January
JAPAN / Society
Nov 7, 2025
Shiori Ito’s documentary to be finally screened in Japan next month
By Jessica Speed
The Japanese release of “Black Box Diaries” includes revisions, although it’s not clear precisely what edits have been made.
Only about half as many people in the Noto Peninsula chose to repair their homes that were damaged by last year's earthquake and heavy rain as those who decided to demolish them, sources said Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 7, 2025
More choosing demolition over repair for Noto homes damaged by disasters
Many applied for publicly funded demolition because fixing the houses on their own would have been much costlier.
A bear seen in a residential area in the city of Akita on Oct. 30. The National Police Agency will allow riot police officers to cull wild bears with rifles amid a series of attacks on people across Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 6, 2025
Japan riot police allowed to cull bears with rifles
Police are set to cull bears in Akita and Iwate, which have seen an increase in attacks on local residents, with operations scheduled to begin on Nov. 13.
Women hold toys depicting Myaku-Myaku, the official character for the 2025 Osaka Expo, during a media day ahead of the event's public opening day in Osaka in April.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2025
ChatGPT nickname and Trump tariffs nominated for Japan’s buzzword of 2025
By Kanako Takahara
Words and phrases related to the election of Japan’s first female prime minister and the country’s bear problem also made the list of nominations.

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.
Descendants in Philippines denied Japanese citizenship
As attacks surge, who can cull bears in Japan?
Police cars leave the Akita Prefectural Police headquarters to cull bears, in the city of Akita on Thursday.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years
Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Government and bad actors are at the root of the foreign national issue
A maiko walks down a street crowded with tourists in Kyoto. Challenges that come with a massive influx of overseas visitors and foreign nationals buying up real estate are just some of the immigration problems that have become hot-button political issues in Japan.
Tatsuya Nakadai: A masterful leading man and postwar icon
Tatsuya Nakadai had the look of a leading man in his youth, but his large and searching eyes suggested the pain and loneliness of an old soul.
As Japan’s female leader rises, can she cross sumo’s sacred line?
Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku (front center) delivers a speech on the first day of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center on Sunday. Centuries of belief and tradition still underpin the all-male association's stance of excluding women.
Takaichi doesn’t mince words on Taiwan, but dramatic policy shift unlikely
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi responds to questions during a House of Representatives Budget Committee session in parliament on Tuesday.
Florist Nicolai Bergmann flourishes outside the box
Florist Nicolai Bergmann shops for fresh flowers at the Ota flower market in Tokyo on Friday.
China delivers warning to U.S. and Japan with third aircraft carrier
The Fujian, China's third aircraft carrier, carries out sea trials at an unknown location in May last year.

Podcast

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

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years
By Yukana Inoue

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo

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