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A polling station at a local school in Tokyo on Sunday
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 27, 2024

As it happened: Japan's Lower House election 2024

Recent polls have indicated Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito bloc might lose its majority in the lower chamber for the first time in 15 years.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during an interview with reporters at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday night
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2024

Japan faces political upheaval after LDP-led coalition loses majority

The electoral rout opens up a potential path for the opposition to steer the lower chamber’s agenda if they can act cohesively.
A Ground Self-Defense Force V-22 Osprey transport aircraft
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2024

GSDF suspends Osprey flights over accident during training

All GSDF Ospreys will remain grounded until the cause of the incident is identified and countermeasures are taken thoroughly.
Shoshi Maekawa speaks to reporters in Fukui on Monday following a decision by prosecutors to not object to the retrial of his case.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 29, 2024

Ex-convict to get retrial over 1986 murder in central Japan

Prosecutors decided against objecting to the retrial following a detailed examination of the court decision and a comprehensive consideration of evidence.
Election administration staff count ballots for the general election at a ballot station in Tokyo on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2024

Japan marks third lowest general-election turnout in postwar history

Low turnout typically benefit political parties with organizational power, but the LDP and partner Komeito struggled Sunday despite having powerful support bases.
Mitsumu Ejiri, selected as the first female leader of the wintering team of a Japanese Antarctic research expedition, speaks to the media at the education ministry on Monday.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2024

Japan selects first woman to lead Antarctic research wintering team

Mitsumu Ejiri is slated to leave for Antarctica in autumn next year and return to Japan in spring 2027.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a news conference at the Liberal Democratic Party's headquarters in Tokyo Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2024

Election result casts shadow on Japan's economic measures

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is hoping to secure cooperation from opposition parties to sustain his administration.
The health ministry’s report shows that the number of elementary, junior high and high school students who took their own lives in 2023 stood at 513, one fewer than last year's record of 514.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 29, 2024

Japan’s struggle with youth suicide sparks government initiatives

The health ministry’s report shows that the number of elementary, junior high and high school students who took their own lives remained alarmingly high.
A man waits for a train at Ebisu Station in Tokyo on Oct. 4.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 29, 2024

Japan's rail fans disapprove of new Seishun 18 tickets

Train enthusiasts are up in arms over changes to the iconic and inexpensive all-you-can-ride pass that will limit how and when it can be used.
Passersby take a break under a cooling mist as the Japanese government issued a heatstroke alert in Tokyo and other prefectures on July 9.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2024

Japan posts record number of heatstroke patients in five-month period

The number of people who were sent to a hospital for heatstroke from May to September came in at 97,578.
The Fukuoka Prefectural Police headquarters in the city of Fukuoka
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 30, 2024

U.S. serviceman detained after wife found dead in Fukuoka hotel

Security camera footage and hotel records showed that the couple entered the hotel Friday, and that the husband left alone Sunday morning.
The number of public elementary and junior high school buildings without quake-resistance in Japan totaled 135 as of April 1, down by 60 from a year before.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2024

Only 135 of Japan's public schools not quake-resistant

By prefecture, Ehime saw the lowest proportion of quake-resistant school buildings, at 98.0%.
A building in Tokyo housing the Tokyo District Court
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 30, 2024

Ex-ASDF colonel pleads not guilty to confidentiality breach

According to his indictment, So Kanno is alleged to have leaked information about the systems of E-2D early warning planes.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2024

Warm weather causes record-breaking delay for autumn foliage in Japan

In many regions, the vibrant color change has been pushed back by more than 10 days, according to a forecast released Wednesday.
Truant students at high schools numbered 68,770 in fiscal 2023, a record high.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2024

Truancy hits record high in Japan in fiscal 2023

The number of truant students at elementary and junior high schools rose by some 47,000 from the previous year to a record 346,482.
Various kinds of over-the-counter drugs seized by police after being illegally kept to be sold in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district and other locations
JAPAN / Society
Nov 1, 2024

Experts call for action on OTC drug abuse among youth in Japan

A number of people have experienced organ damage, including liver failure, with some cases resulting in death.
Vietnamese technical interns work at a food processing factory in Saitama Prefecture.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2024

Criteria revealed for technical interns in Japan looking to change jobs

Applicants can select from a wide range of specific "unavoidable" situations, such as being the victim of harassment, set out in a list attached to the application form.
Hana Wakimoto hits her tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the LPGA Japan Classic in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Thursday. Wakimoto leads the event after two rounds.
MORE SPORTS / Golf
Nov 1, 2024

Outsider Wakimoto keeps two-shot lead at LPGA Japan

Japan's world No. 236 Wakimoto carded a 4-under-par 68 for 13-under score at Seta Golf Course.
Democratic Party for the People chief Yuichiro Tamaki’s personal YouTube channel has more than 326,000 subscribers, by far the highest number among party leaders.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 1, 2024

How Japan’s new kingmaker party won over young voters

The Democratic Party for the People's election gains can be traced to two different factors: its youth-oriented policies and skillful use of social media platforms.
The Meteorological Agency said that, as of 2:10 p.m Saturday, a total of 188 observation points in western and central Japan had recorded their largest-ever 24-hour rainfall for November
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2024

Western and central Japan drenched by record rainfall for November

The heavy rains saw the city of Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, issue the highest-level alert and urge nearly 190,000 residents to evacuate to shelters.
The United Nations Headquarters in New York City
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2024

U.N. panel adopts nuclear abolition resolution proposed by Japan

The resolution mentioned the selection of Nihon Hidankyo, the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, and comes amid a tense security environment.
Nobuaki Koga, former president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, speaks about receiving this year's Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2024

Japan recognizes 3,987 people in autumn honors

Among the recipients are Nobuaki Koga, the former president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, and former Environment Minister Sakihito Ozawa.
Members of the Lower House panel on the Constitution discuss issues related to constitutional amendments in June.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 5, 2024

Push for constitutional amendments in Japan wanes after election

The number of Lower House seats held by the parties positive toward constitutional amendments fell short of the 310 needed to put them up for a national referendum.
Takeo Akiba, secretary-general of Japan's National Security Secretariat, meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 5, 2024

Japanese and Chinese diplomats discuss bilateral summit

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has expressed a willingness to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this month in Brazil.
Takao Doi, a former astronaut and professor at Kyoto University, holds an engineering model of LignoSat wooden satellite during an interview at the university on Oct. 25.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2024

World's first wooden satellite, developed in Japan, heads to space

The palm-sized satellite is tasked to demonstrate the cosmic potential of the renewable material as humans explore living in space.
Since October, patients have been asked to pay more for brand-name drugs prescribed by medical institutions if the patents have expired.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2024

Japan raises out-of-pocket costs for off-patent drugs

With the increases, the government aims to reduce health care costs by encouraging greater use of generic drugs.
The National Cancer Center Hospital in Tokyo's Chuo Ward. A study by researchers at the hospital aims to determine whether restoring a healthy intestinal environment can enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy drugs used in cancer treatment.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 6, 2024

Japan explores intestinal flora transplants for cancer treatment

A study aims to determine whether restoring a healthy intestinal environment can make drugs used in the treatment of esophageal and stomach cancers more effective.
The body of Claudio Worm, a German university student who went missing in Wakayama Prefecture, has been found.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 6, 2024

Body of missing German tourist found off Wakayama coast

The 21-year-old's body was discovered off the Takurazaki coast after an individual alerted the Wakayama Coast Guard at around 2.50 p.m. on Nov 1.
Interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the city of Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2024

Japan's first interim spent fuel storage facility starts operations

The facility is scheduled to take in a total of eight casks by March 2027.
Defense equipment such as tanks and ships often require time to build, leading the government to conclude contracts spanning multiple fiscal years.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2024

Japan's future payment obligations for defense goods balloon

An increase in such obligations may put constraints on spending to procure new equipment and build facilities, resulting in budget rigidity.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell