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Children walk home from school in Ishikawa Prefecture on Sept. 26. Cases of hand, foot and mouth disease peaked a second time this year in the second week of September.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 4, 2024

Hand, foot and mouth disease rebounds in Japan

The latest data — for the week of Sept. 16 to 22 — showed cases averaging roughly six times the number from the same week last year.
A several-meter-wide hole at Miyazaki Airport caused by the explosion of an unexploded WWII bomb on Wednesday
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2024

Japanese airport reopens after WWII U.S. bomb blast

There were no reports of injuries but dozens of flights were cancelled on Wednesday.
Rikiya Morita, a suspect wanted in connection with a robbery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 4, 2024

Suspect in violent Kanto burglaries placed on public wanted list

Rikiya Morita and three other men allegedly broke into an elderly couple’s residence in the city of Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture.
A lifeguard waving a tsunami flag during a demonstration
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 4, 2024

Meteorological agency ramps up 'tsunami flag' awareness efforts

Visual communication tools like tsunami flags are critical at swimming beaches, where sound can be obscured by waves and wind.
Shigeru Ishiba's nascent administration is attracting something of a reputation for flip-flopping — and it hasn’t even been a week.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 4, 2024

Don’t take Japan's new leader literally. But should you take him seriously?

Ishiba will discover that his supply of capital with the public will run out quickly if he offers no break from his predecessor.
The Japanese market for secondhand items is growing, with more consumers using flea market apps such as Mercari.
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2024

Japan's used goods market is expanding, but that may hurt its GDP

The trend is seen as friendly to consumers and the environment, but it can have the undesirable consequence of pushing down the country's GDP.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers his inaugural policy address to parliament in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 5, 2024

LDP to endorse 'slush fund' lawmakers in general election

Opposition parties are turning up the heat on Ishiba, who had earlier signaled his intention to take action against those implicated in the scandal.
Sakie Yokota shares her thoughts ahead of her abducted daughter's 60th birthday, on Thursday in Kawasaki.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2024

Sakie Yokota expresses hopes for a reunion on daughter's 60th birthday

Megumi Yokota was abducted by North Korea in 1977 at the age of 13. If a reunion is realized, "I just hope to hug her silently," Sakie said.
Jera's liquefied natural gas fired power plant inside the company's Anegasaki Thurmal Power Station in Ichihara, Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 5, 2024

Japan firms unite to cut methane emissions from LNG supply

Twenty-two firms are joining an initiative that aims to leverage their buying power to curb methane emissions from liquefied natural gas supply chains.
 A giant mural of Shohei Ohtani on the side of a hotel in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles
BASEBALL / MLB
Oct 5, 2024

Japanese baseball fans flock to LA to see playoff-bound Ohtani

Inside Dodger Stadium, the influence of Japanese fans is clear, from Japanese-language merchandise to cuisine that included bento boxes, sushi and fried octopus.
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs on Saturday
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2024

11 Japanese nationals flee Lebanon on SDF plane

This was the first evacuation of Japanese nationals from Lebanon using SDF aircraft since tensions flared up in the Middle East in October last year.
Japanese film director Kiyoshi Kurosawa gestures as he poses for photos during a press conference at the 29th Busan International Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 5, 2024

Japan's 'master of horror' Kiyoshi Kurosawa highlights 'B-movie' appeal

The director, who received the Busan International Film Festival's Filmmaker of the Year Award on Wednesday, said he'd like to see more artists explore genre cinema.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba inspects the area around a morning market, which was heavily damaged in the Jan. 1 earthquake, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2024

Torrential rain in Noto Peninsula to be designated a severe disaster, Ishiba says

Ishiba announced the plan during a visit to areas damaged heavily by the rain and the powerful Jan. 1 earthquake.
Prominent food critic Yukio Hattori has died after collapsing at his cooking school in Tokyo, it was learned Saturday.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 6, 2024

'Iron Chef' star Yukio Hattori dies at 78

Best known for his television appearances, Hattori garnered international acclaim, including the Chevalier award for promoting French cuisine in Japan.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 6, 2024

Ishiba says LDP will not endorse some 'slush fund' lawmakers in general election

The new leader hinted that "a fair number of non-endorsements is likely" as the party looks to rebuild public trust that has eroded following the scandal.
A damaged road in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 6, after a major earthquake struck the area on New Year's Day
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / OUR PLANET
Oct 6, 2024

Important tool or alarmism? Japan experts split on megaquake advisories.

Supporters say the advisories are about reducing risk, but critics see a system that isn’t based on science and one in which the cons outweigh the pros.
Players on Nintendo Switch game consoles. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is reportedly weighing deploying more capital to Nintendo and its sector peers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 7, 2024

Nintendo jumps after Saudi fund expresses interest in bigger stake

The Saudi government is keen to mold the kingdom into a global gaming industry player and diversify its oil-heavy portfolio.
Pope Francis addresses the crowd from the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter's Square during the Angelus prayer in the Vatican on Sunday. The pontiff announced the appointment of 21 new cardinals on Sunday.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2024

Japanese archbishop named cardinal

Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, the archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Tokyo, will also be eligible to vote in a papal conclave.
Shinjuku Mayor Kenichi Yoshizumi (left) and Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2024

Tokyo mayors ask people to follow rules during Halloween

Shibuya and Shinjuku wards have each set an ordinance to prohibit drinking on the streets.
Tokyo Metro is seeking to raise at least ¥319.6 billion at a time when the nation’s equity market is showing signs of recovery.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 8, 2024

Tokyo Metro unveils range for biggest Japan IPO since 2018

The price range of ¥1,100 to ¥1,200 values the subway operator at between ¥639.1 billion and ¥697.2 billion.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato attends an interview with media outlets at the Finance Ministry on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 7, 2024

Japan's new finance minister vows to finish the job as deflation czar

Katsunobu Kato's message indicates that financial conditions might remain accommodative for some time.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a Lower House session on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 7, 2024

Ishiba fends off questions on endorsement of scandal-tainted LDP members

The prime minister was grilled in parliament on the extent of support the ruling party will give those implicated in a recent slush funds scandal in upcoming polls.
A dolphin approaches a swimmer in the sea off the coast of the city of Fukui in 2022.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 8, 2024

Cases of dolphin attacks spike in Fukui Prefecture this summer

A total of 15 cases have been reported, compared with five last year, with victims sustaining injuries that require multiple stitches.
Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko stroll around a cabbage field in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, in August. Empress Emerita Michiko underwent surgery for a broken bone on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2024

Japan's Empress Emerita Michiko has surgery after breaking thighbone

Empress Emerita Michiko, turning 90 on Oct. 20, was hospitalized for surgery for the first time since 2019, when she was found to have breast cancer.
Philippine Navy Flag Officer-in-Command Vice Adm. Toribio Adaci Jr. speaks during the opening ceremony of exercise Sama Sama 2023, the annual bilateral exercise between the Philippine and U.S. Navy, in Manila in October 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 8, 2024

Six countries conduct naval drills off the Philippines amid China tensions

This year's drills, which involve almost a thousand sailors and personnel, are high-intensity exercises focusing on antisubmarine, antisurface and antiair warfare.
Saitama police have arrested Rikiya Morita, 24, in connection with a string of robberies in Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 8, 2024

Suspect in Kanto robbery spree arrested in Niigata

Rikiya Morita, 24, had been on the run after being publicly identified as a suspect in a violent robbery in Saitama on Oct. 1.
Japan's real wages fell in August year-on-year after turning positive for the previous two months for the first time in more than two years.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 8, 2024

Real wages in Japan drop in August after two months of gains

Analysts say that real-wage growth could turn positive again in September, in part due to the reintroduction of electricity bill subsidies.
Sapporo City Board of Education officials apologize on Tuesday over a case in which an elementary school boy was sexually assaulted by a junior high school boy.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 8, 2024

Sapporo school boy sexually assaulted by junior high student: panel report

The offending student previously went to the same elementary school as the victim, and the two were members of the same youth sports team.
Iwao Hakamata, together with his sister Hideko, speaks to his supporters on Sept. 29 in the city of Shizuoka after the Shizuoka District Court handed down a not-guilty verdict in a retrial of a 1966 quadruple murder case against him.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 8, 2024

Ex-boxer Iwao Hakamata finally exonerated over 1966 murder case

Prosecutors have decided not to appeal against the Shizuoka District Court's not-guilty verdict at the end of a rare retrial, his lawyers said.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 9, 2024

LDP pulls endorsements of 12 'slush fund' lawmakers for Oct. 27 election

Former LDP policy chief Koichi Hagiuda, ex-party Diet affairs chief Tsuyoshi Takagi and former education minister Hakubun Shimomura are among those not endorsed.

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