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Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday. Ishiba will be the first Japanese prime minister to join the General Debate at the U.N. General Assembly in two years.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 23, 2025

Ishiba departs for U.N. session in New York and meeting with Trump

The outgoing prime minister will be the first Japanese leader to join the General Debate at the U.N. General Assembly in two years.
Police investigate an area around the scene where a woman was killed in a knife attack in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Sept. 1.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 23, 2025

Tokyo police rearrest South Korean man suspected of murdering ex-girlfriend on stalking charges

Police allege that the suspect, Park Yong-jun, repeatedly stalked the victim, Bang Ji-won, and trespassed into her home in the days leading to her killing.
Suzu Hirose (left), Satoshi Tsumabuki (center) and Masataka Kubota (right) play childhood friends caught up in the simmering tensions of postwar Okinawa in Keisuke Otomo’s “Hero’s Island.”
CULTURE / Film
Sep 25, 2025

‘Hero’s Island’: Okinawa-set epic is lavishly realized but lacks bite

Keisuke Otomo recreates postwar turmoil in rich detail that is sometimes more vivid than the characters themselves.
Ducati rider Marc Marquez leads the San Marino MotoGP on Sept. 14.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 24, 2025

Brilliant Marquez poised to seal seventh MotoGP title in Japan

The Spanish Ducati rider is on a whopping 512 points and needs just three points more than his brother Alex Marquez to win the title.
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.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is preparing to issue a statement on World War II after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election on Oct. 4, government officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 24, 2025

Ishiba to release WWII message after LDP presidential race

To prevent the statement from impacting the LDP race, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has decided to release it just before his expected resignation early next month.
Carlos Alcaraz speaks during a news conference on the sidelines of the Japan Open in Tokyo on Wednesday.
TENNIS
Sep 24, 2025

Alcaraz expects Sinner to come back stronger after U.S. Open loss

Alcaraz is playing at the Japan Open in Tokyo this week, while Sinner will compete at the China Open in Beijing in his first appearance since the U.S. Open.
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, ex-LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi and agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi pose for group photos before a Liberal Democratic Party presidential election candidates' debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 24, 2025

LDP presidential hopefuls failing to stand out on policy

During a two-hour debate Wednesday, each candidate's policy stance seemed to overlap with one another's, making it hard for anyone to stand out.
American saxophonist Patrick Bartley is the leader of J-Music Ensemble, a jazz-fusion band specializing in instrumental covers of Japanese music.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 25, 2025

Finding jazz in J-pop: Patrick Bartley’s musical second language

The J-Music Ensemble leader translates Japanese culture into a classic American musical tradition.
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.
Hiroyuki Yamato (left), president of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, and Mantle Quest President Hiroyasu Ishiguro (right) receive certificates from Guinness World Records for deep-sea drilling, in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2025

Japanese deep-sea drilling research recognized by Guinness World Records

The research conducted last year sought to understand the mechanism behind the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (left), former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi (right) and agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi arrive to attend the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election candidates joint press conference at LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 25, 2025

Newcomer or veteran? LDP faces two choices for new party chief

Whoever wins the Oct. 4 leadership race must be able to work with senior members while also showing the public that the LDP is serious about reform.
Actor Kenshin Endo has denied allegations of possessing dried cannabis.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 25, 2025

Actor Kenshin Endo arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession

Tokyo police allege Endo had 0.4 grams of dried cannabis in his possession earlier this month at the home of fellow actor Hiroya Shimizu, who has been indicted.
Prince Hisahito looks at the Grand Ring during his visit to the Osaka Expo on Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2025

Prince Hisahito inspects Osaka Expo's Grand Ring

The 19-year-old prince looked around the Grand Ring's architectural structure from underneath before making his way to the top to view the expo from above.
The Nagoya High Court overturned a lower court decision that obliged the government to recognize a Syrian man as a refugee.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2025

Court rules government not obliged to recognize Syrian man as refugee

The court overturned a lower court decision that obliged the government to recognize a Syrian man as a refugee.
Police have arrested a 75-year-old woman after she allegedly confessed to keeping her adult daughter's body in a freezer for 20 years.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 26, 2025

Woman in Japan arrested for keeping daughter's body in freezer for 20 years

Keiko Mori, 75, told police the body was that of her daughter who was born in 1975. An autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death.
The Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center, which will close at the end of September, in Sendai on Sept. 1
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2025

Miyagi mental care center to close, 14 years after 2011 disaster

The Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center had offered consultations for about 63,000 cases by early this month.
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi said his ministry did not intend to grant a cultivation license for a prized grape variety without consulting producers.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2025

LDP leadership contender Koizumi seeks to quash criticism over prized grapes

Koizumi said his farm ministry did not intend to grant an overseas cultivation license for Shine Muscat grapes without consulting producers.
Pokemon said it has not given permission to use its upbeat theme music and imagery for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's deportation video posted on X and TikTok.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 26, 2025

U.S. Department of Homeland Security doubles down on Pokemon-themed deportation video

The Pokemon Co. said they had no involvement in the Pokemon-themed arrest and deportation video.
Investigators believe the man had been repeatedly coerced into drinking by the four suspects, as well as giving them money, leaving him too afraid to resist.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 26, 2025

Four people arrested for getting disabled man drunk and stealing his phone

Some of the suspects told investigators that they committed the act because “it was funny to see him so drunk.”
Sensoji Temple in the Asakusa district of Tokyo on Sept. 16. All five candidates in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race demonstrated a tougher stance on foreign tourists and nationals.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2025

LDP presidential hopefuls take hard-line stance on immigration

Unruly tourists, visa overstayers and increasing land purchases by foreign nationals were some of the issues spotlighted during debates.
Concern about prices in Japan is at or near record highs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 26, 2025

Inflation and ‘food situation’ concerns top key Japan survey

Rising prices have not been this much of a worry since just after the 1973 oil shock.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during an interview on Sept. 20 at parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2025

LDP presidential candidate Hayashi sees need for backup of Tokyo

The idea has been championed by opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai, which is seeking to turn Osaka into a backup capital.
A newspaper headline in Japanese about a  possible Nankai Trough earthquake. In a report issued Friday, the government's Earthquake Research Committee widened the probability range for a magnitude 8 to 9 earthquake occurring off the country's Pacific coast within the next 30 years from "around 80%" to 60% to 94.5% or higher.
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2025

Japan revises 30-year probability rate of Nankai Trough megaquake

A government panel has said that it now thinks a huge earthquake will occur along the Nankai Trough with a probability of 60% to 94.5% or higher within the next 30 years.
The average salary for men was ¥5.87 million, up 3.2%, and that of women was ¥3.33 million, up 5.5%, both marking record highs.
BUSINESS
Sep 27, 2025

Japan private-sector pay hits record in 2024

The average grew for the fourth consecutive year. The pace of increase exceeded 3% for the first time in 33 years.
Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia takes part in a practice session ahead of the Japanese MotoGP in Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, on Saturday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 27, 2025

Marc Marquez on brink of MotoGP title as Bagnaia wins Japan sprint

Ducati's Marquez is on the verge of winning his first world championship crown since 2019 and can seal the deal if he finishes second in Sunday's race at Motegi.
People take photos of Sanrio characters at an event organized by a transportation and real estate firm in the city of Okayama in July. Hello Kitty celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024, while My Melody reached its 50th anniversary this year.
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2025

Oshikatsu consumption grows in Japan, buoying related stocks

According to research company Intage, 35.1% of 5,000 people said they support certain characters or celebrities, and this proportion was higher among younger respondents.
People offer prayers during a memorial held on Saturday in Otaki, Nagano Prefecture, to mourn the victims of the 2014 eruption of Mount Ontake.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2025

Victims of Mount Ontake eruption remembered 11 years on

The eruption claimed the lives of 58 people and left five missing.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at the Prime Minister's Office on Sept. 1 during an anti-disaster drill simulating an earthquake in the Nankai Trough.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2025

Japanese team detects gradual seafloor caving near Nankai Trough

Long-term observations at multiple sites could aid in assessing the risk of major earthquakes and tsunamis.
The internal affairs ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2025

People warned of census-related fraud as survey begins

The census aims to cover everyone living in Japan, regardless of nationality, in order to compile up-to-date statistics on the country's population.

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An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo