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July 06, 2025
 

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DRIVING

Shingo Kato, assistant manager at Homechigiru Driving School in Ise, Mie Prefecture, rides in a training vehicle with a smartphone equipped with the school’s translation app.
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jun 30, 2025
Translation apps help break language barriers at Chubu driving schools
Some driving schools have refused enrollment of foreign nationals with limited Japanese skills, sources have said.
A group of tourists drive go-karts in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on April 18, 2024. The ward will introduce new regulations on go-kart rental operators starting July 1.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025
Shibuya to regulate popular street kart rentals amid tourist boom
Go-kart-style vehicles have become a staple part of Tokyo’s inbound tourism scene, but they have also drawn complaints from locals.
A minivehicle that crashed head-on with another vehicle in the Enasan Tunnel in Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture, on June 11 after being driven the wrong way on the Chuo Expressway
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jun 18, 2025
Wrong-way driving on expressways proves a persistent problem in Japan
Around 200 cases of wrong-way driving on expressways are reported each year.
Serious labor shortages in the bus and taxi industries have prompted the government to consider easing language requirements for non-Japanese drivers.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2025
Eased language requirement proposed for non-Japanese bus and taxi drivers
Currently, foreign nationals wanting to work as bus or taxi drivers are required to have the N3 level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.
Keita Ueno (right), the owner of Kiki Driving School and an instructor who supports both foreign nationals and Japanese citizens returning from abroad in getting their foreign driver’s licenses converted, is worried about the current lax system for the process.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jun 6, 2025
Accidents raise concern over how Japan vets foreign drivers
A driving school owner points out that traffic signs could carry different meanings in other countries, and driving standards might vary significantly.
A tax-free shop in Kyoto in April 2024. Last week, members of a Liberal Democratic Party study group drafted a proposal seeking to scrap the country's tax-free shopping system altogether.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 5, 2025
Japan eyes tougher rules for foreign residents and tax hike for tourists
Ideas range from stricter driver's license tests for foreign nationals to increasing taxes on foreign visitors.
Japanese license plate samples — the top two are examples of nationwide license plates, while the bottom two are examples of "gotochi" license plates.
JAPAN
May 25, 2025
Japan to scrap monochrome special license plates
The ministry will soon allow only multicolor versions in an effort to ease the burden on license plate makers amid an expected increase in demand.
Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Itsunori Onodera (fourth from left) visits a driver's license center in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, on Wednesday to see how foreign driver's licenses are converted into Japanese ones.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 22, 2025
Japan considers toughening rules on driver's license conversions
The National Police Agency revealed the plan amid concerns that the system for converting a foreign license is too easy.
A blue car driving the wrong way on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Mie Prefecture, on Sunday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 20, 2025
Peruvian man held on suspicion of hitting vehicles while driving the wrong way
The Mie Prefectural Police believe the suspect continued to drive in the wrong direction after causing collisions.
Uber Technologies CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in New York on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2025
Uber to launch self-driving mobility service in Japan
The U.S. ride-hailing service provider plans to introduce autonomous rides in Japan once partner firms are ready, an executive said.
A 31-year-old man was taken into custody on Monday on suspicion of drunken driving after he caused a multivehicle crash in the city of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 6, 2025
Driver arrested at scene of Yokosuka crash that injured eight
A breathalyzer test showed the 31-year-old man's blood alcohol level was approximately three times the legal limit.
A Fuchu expressway entrance in western Tokyo is closed on April 6 due to a glitch in the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system.
JAPAN
May 2, 2025
Central Nippon Expressway won't collect tolls after ETC glitch
About 960,000 vehicles are estimated to have been affected by the problem, which lasted some 38 hours.
Under new rules, those who use smartphones while riding a bicycle would be subject to the maximum fine of ¥12,000.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 24, 2025
Japan set to fine cyclists on the spot for rule violations from 2026
Until now, police have usually responded to cycling violations by issuing verbal warnings or handing out red tickets that can lead to prosecution.
A vandalized sign indicating an ultralow emission zone in west London.
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 10, 2025
Clean streets versus business woes: Pollution charge divides Londoners
The plan in London requires motorists to switch to low-emission vehicles or face a daily charge.
The Kanagawa branch of the transportation company Maruhari in the city of Atsugi, Hokkaido in May 2024
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 9, 2025
Ex-company president referred to prosecutors over 2024 truck accident
The former president is suspected of forcing an ill driver to drive the truck involved in the accident on the Metropolitan Expressway's Ikebukuro Line.
A Fuchu expressway entrance in western Tokyo is closed Sunday due to a glitch in the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2025
Tollbooths now operational after ETC malfunction causes mass confusion
It was the first time such a large-scale problem involving the ETC system has occurred since Japanese expressways were privatized in 2005.
Aichi police investigate the scene of an accident where a passenger car barreled through a busy section of downtown Nagoya on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 1, 2025
Seven people injured after car runs into pedestrians in Nagoya
Police arrested the car's driver, a woman in her 70s, at the scene on suspicion of negligent driving resulting in injury.
Officials from the Meteorological Agency hold a news conference about the heavy snow forecast, on Sunday in the city of Saitama.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2025
Snow forces highway closures in Tokyo
The closures are set to begin at around 4 p.m. for major routes including the Tomei Expressway, Shin-Tomei Expressway and Joshinetsu Expressway.
JR East started the services in Minamiboso and Tateyama, cities in Chiba Prefecture, on Monday and will begin them in Senboku, Akita Prefecture, in the second half of this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2025
JR East to offer ride-hailing services at limited locations
The firm started the services in the cities of Minamiboso and Tateyama in Chiba Prefecture on Monday, and will begin them in Senboku, Akita Prefecture, later this year.
The number of fatal bicycle accidents and those causing serious injury that were attributed to cyclists' mobile phone use totaled 28 in 2024, a record high. Similarly, the number of such accidents involving cars driven by drivers distracted by mobile phones rose to the highest on record, at 136 cases.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 27, 2025
Accidents caused by distracted drivers hit record high in 2024
A total of 136 fatal car accidents and those resulting in serious injury due to mobile phone use were recorded last year, the highest since at least 2007.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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