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August 08, 2025
 

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DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

A notice board at a station in Tokyo announces suspended shinkansen services due to a tsunami warning after a strong quake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday. 
EDITORIALS
Aug 1, 2025
A troubling reminder of Japan's vulnerability to natural disasters
There is considerable work to be done. Multiple studies and surveys of municipalities show that they are not prepared for a big incident.
The government has approves expanded disaster relief to better support the elderly and people with disabilities during emergencies, including armed attacks.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2025
Japan expands aid for the elderly and people with disabilities in emergencies
There have been concerns about some evacuees dying due to their health deteriorating after evacuation, and the need to strengthen protections in the event of armed attacks.
A "no swimming" sign and flag are displayed on the beach at Shonan Bellmare Hiratsuka Beach Park in the city of Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Aug. 10 last year, following the issuance of emergency information on the increased risk of a huge Nankai Trough earthquake.
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2025
Japan holds first meeting on Nankai quake information guidelines review
Japan issued its first Nankai Trough emergency information in August last year following a major quake off Miyazaki Prefecture.
A municipal library in Fujikawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, that opened in July 2023, has become a community hub.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2025
Work to consolidate public facilities gains traction across Japan
Municipal facilities such as libraries are increasingly being constructed within government office complexes in a bid to streamline public services.
48.0% of respondents living in the earthquake-hit Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture said there was a gap between those who could access information after the January 2024 quake and those who could not, a survey has shown.
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2025
Nearly half in quake-hit Noto area felt digital divide
A survey found that some people described a gap between those who could access information and those who could not after the January 2024 disaster.
Emperor Naruhito delivers a keynote speech via video at the Seventh Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters held at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2025
Emperor gives video speech at U.N. event on water and disasters
He urged people "to take new action" to tackle water-related issues around the world.
Utility poles in urban areas such as Tokyo have a high risk of collapsing in the event of a disaster.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2025
Japan eyes new target for replacing utility poles with underground power cables
The main goal is to remove utility poles along urban-area emergency transport routes that have a high risk of collapsing in the event of a disaster.
A house in Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, after it collapsed due to the Noto earthquake, in January 2024.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 5, 2025
Debates on disaster management lacking steam ahead of Upper House vote
References to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's project to establish a disaster management agency are scarce among political parties.
Yoko Koiso, who lost her daughter in the 2021 mudslide in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, prays during a memorial ceremony held in the city on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2025
People mourn victims of Atami mudslide four years on
Participants offered silent prayers for the 28 victims as sirens blared around the city.
The Central Disaster Prevention Council adopted a revised disaster-prevention plan that will encourage municipalities and logistics business associations to ensure there will be an emergency transportation system should a Nankai Trough earthquake occur, at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2025
Japan adopts target of reducing death toll by 80% in Nankai Trough quake
According to the latest estimate disclosed in March, the death toll from a Nankai Trough megaquake is expected to reach up to about 298,000.
A delivery driver takes a break in the shade during high temperatures in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 2024.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2025
How much does a heat wave cost? Insurers and CEOs want to know.
Some believe a new market for heat insurance — driven in part by artificial intelligence and the need to cool data centers — is around the corner.
The government is considering a program that would allow local governments to lease food trucks used following disasters to business operators during normal times and receive maintenance fees in return.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2025
Cabinet Office may lease government-owned disaster food trucks to businesses
The plan aims to offer local governments assistance from the private sector in preparing for natural disasters as the authorities confront severe financial conditions.
A resident carries his belongings from his damaged house in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 2, 2024 — the day after a major earthquake devastated parts of the area.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 29, 2025
Japan eyes body for local government disaster waste management
The institution will help local governments quickly collect and dispose of large amounts of disaster waste, a type of work in which many local governments have no experience.
Self-Defense Forces soldiers take part in an evacuation drill, at Nama Hama Beach on Yonaguni island, Japan's westernmost inhabited island in Okinawa Prefecture, in November 2023.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2025
Japan aims to complete Yonaguni evacuation shelter in 2028
The project was started bearing in mind a possible emergency over Taiwan in the Nansei southwestern island region.
People push a cart to receive water to distribute to neighbors in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 5, 2024, after a massive earthquake hit the area.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 28, 2025
Megaquake may hit central Japan within next 30 years, government panel says
There is a 16% to 18% chance of a large temblor hitting the Kinki western region and Hokuriku central region, according to a government panel.
A draft interim report calls on social media service providers to introduce voluntary regulations designed to suspend monetization in the event of a disaster, to curb the spread of disinformation.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 24, 2025
Japan aims to regulate social media monetization in disasters
The report calls on social media service providers to suspend monetization in the event of a disaster, to curb the spread of disinformation.
Under a new basic policy for reconstruction, the government will tackle such issues as the final disposal of soil removed during radiation decontamination after the nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2025
¥1.9 trillion over five years eyed for 2011 tsunami reconstruction
The amount tops ¥1.6 trillion for the five years through fiscal 2025, which ends in March.
The national government's envisioned disaster management agency is a signature project of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba,
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 16, 2025
Many regions eager to host branches of upcoming disaster agency
A total of 28 entities representing prefectures, municipal government and other bodies have expressed their interest.
A screenshot of a submarine cable map on TeleGeography’s website shows a network of cables connecting with Japan.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 16, 2025
The underlying risks to Japan’s undersea cables
What exactly are undersea cables, and how real is the threat of disruption in Japan?
Satoshi Fujii, head of a subcommittee at the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2025
Nankai Trough quake predicted to cause ¥1.47 quadrillion in damage
The Japan Society of Civil Engineers said that the damage would be spread over the course of 22 years.
How Pakistan shot down India's cutting-edge fighter using Chinese gear
An Indian Air Force pilot gets out of a Rafale fighter jet during its induction ceremony at an air force station in Ambala, India, September 2020.
Trump: The $550 billion pledged by Japan is 'our money'
U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday. He told CNBC that investment pledges are like signing bonuses.
The United States imposes 15% 'reciprocal' tariff on most Japanese goods
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House on Wednesday.
Japan's inheritance tax is high, unforgiving and sometimes avoidable
The National Tax Agency at the Ministry of Finance, Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. Japanese tax authorities can bill foreign residents in Japan for assets inherited globally.
Photographer Bleg Bayraktar is winning social media with politeness
A video on Bayraktar's Instagram account of the Belgian photographer approaching an elderly worker in Tokyo's Shibuya has gone viral, garnering almost 9 million views.
Japan's inheritance tax is high, unforgiving and sometimes avoidable
The National Tax Agency at the Ministry of Finance, Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. Japanese tax authorities can bill foreign residents in Japan for assets inherited globally.
Photographer Bleg Bayraktar is winning social media with politeness
A video on Bayraktar's Instagram account of the Belgian photographer approaching an elderly worker in Tokyo's Shibuya has gone viral, garnering almost 9 million views.
Australia announces new warships will come from Japan
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami-class frigate Niyodo sails at an undisclosed location in this image released Tuesday.
Fuji Rock's weekend of surprises was one of its best yet
Radwimps lead singer Yojiro Noda threw himself into the rock band’s Green Stage performance ahead of headliner Vampire Weekend.
How Trump is gaslighting on climate change — with Japan’s help
The Bishu Maru LNG tanker, owned by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, next to the Freeport LNG terminal in Texas

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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Longform

A mushroom cloud from the atomic bombing on Hiroshima taken from a U.S. military aircraft on Aug. 6, 1945. Copying the photo without permission is prohibited.
80 years on, a Japanese American hibakusha recalls the day the bomb dropped
By Elizabeth Beattie

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