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October 14, 2025
 

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HOKKAIDO

Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
LIFE / Digital
Oct 11, 2025
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Set in Ezo (modern-day Hokkaido), the highly anticipated samurai action-adventure game contains familiar thrills but subpar substance.
Children play with the AED-themed Toy Cocoro.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 7, 2025
Hokkaido company president develops defibrillator toy to promote awareness
The toy sold out soon after going on sale last autumn, but it will be available for purchase again next March.
A Swedish snowboard instructor works at the Niseko ski resort area on Hokkaido, in Kutchan, in December 2022
JAPAN / Society
Oct 4, 2025
A Japanese ski resort town is roiled by a debate over immigration
Residents are protesting a planned housing facility for foreign workers, exposing the conflict between labor needs and worries over immigration.
Intrigued by Japanese wines, Burgundy winemaker Etienne de Montille decided to explore Hokkaido's wine scene, eventually setting up his outpost in Hakodate in 2017.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 3, 2025
Japan’s first foreign wine investor plants its roots in Hokkaido
Burgundy’s Domaine de Montille has opened a winery in Hakodate — a vote of confidence in the region’s terroir.
Hokkaido is reconsidering the possibility of hosting a casino resort, several years after Gov. Naomichi Suzuki halted plans for one.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Sep 29, 2025
Hokkaido cities consider fresh bet on casino resort
Citing concerns over gambling addiction and possible environmental impacts, Hokkaido's governor said it will be challenging to gain public acceptance for a casino bid.
The Sapporo Family Court on Friday ruled that a legal provision requiring individuals to undergo genital surgery to change their legal gender is unconstitutional and invalid.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 25, 2025
Court rules sex change appearance requirement unconstitutional
A court said that the world has made advances in medicine since the law was established, so genital surgery may not be necessary in some cases.
A rendering of the "big right whale of Sapporo," whose fossils have been found to be a new type of right whale
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2025
Fossils unearthed in Hokkaido revealed to be of new whale species
The fossil bones were first discovered by a local citizen along the Toyohira River in Sapporo in October 2008.
In “Ranshima Bound,” Yoshio (Tomoki Kimura, right) returns to his Hokkaido hometown with his supposed wife (Yuko Kii) when his estranged brother tells him their mother is in a coma.
CULTURE
Sep 19, 2025
‘Ranshima Bound’: Family fractures and buried truths collide in Hokkaido chill
Tomoki Kimura’s turn as a one-time punk rocker drifting through life grounds Kamada’s drama in rage, regret and reluctant tenderness.
The city of Obihiro, Hokkaido, under the scorching sun on July 23
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2025
Heatstroke patient numbers jumped in cooler Hokkaido and Tohoku this summer
In Hokkaido, the number of heatstroke patients rose 1.7-fold from the previous year, while Aomori Prefecture saw a 1.53-fold rise and Akita Prefecture saw a 1.42-fold rise.
A moment of silence is observed during a memorial service to mark the seventh anniversary of an earthquake in Atsuma, Hokkaido, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2025
Victims of 2018 Hokkaido quake mourned on seventh anniversary of disaster
The powerful earthquake, which struck on Sept. 6, 2018, killed 44 people and partially or fully destroyed more than 2,300 houses.
Redevelopment plans for Kawayu Onsen have hit some snags — an example of how bringing tourists back to declining rural communities is far from easy work.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 6, 2025
In rural Hokkaido, the stops and starts of tourism revival on full display
A new luxury resort might halt the decline of Kawayu, but only if locals and businesses can agree on how to move forward.
Sauries are landed in the port of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, on Tuesday, the first catch of the season for the port this year. A wholesaler official said many sauries caught in late August are 1.4 times as big as last year's.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2025
After years of poor catches, large sauries make a return
Mainly landed in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region, the fish is a delicacy enjoyed in Japan during summer and autumn.
Police have urged the public to be suspicious if an acquaintance on social media ends up asking for cash.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 3, 2025
Over the moon: Fake astronaut scams lovestruck Japanese octogenarian
The woman in Hokkaido met the fraudster in July on social media, a local police officer said, describing the case as a "romance scam."
During a survey to collect the remains of victims from the Taito Maru, one of the vessels involved in the Three Ships Incident, a metal helmet was found near the stern of the vessel on Aug. 5, 1984, at Rumoi Port. No human remains were discovered.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Sep 1, 2025
Why Stalin didn’t invade Hokkaido still largely unknown, 80 years after WWII
Declassified cables between U.S. President Harry Truman and Soviet leader Josef Stalin reveal the Soviets had advanced plans to invade Hokkaido and occupy half of it.
The Betsukai Pilot Spirits welcomed new players (left to right) Yuta Yamanaka, Roman Guthrie, Scott Bellina and Leo Jiminian this year, pictured here with Yassir Lachkar of the Ishikari Red Phoenix.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Sep 1, 2025
Overseas sluggers step up to bat in small-town Hokkaido
The residents of Betsukai, Hokkaido — where cows outnumber people 7-to-1 — have extended a warm welcome to five players from overseas who joined the Pilot Spirits.
A building which houses the Hokuhoku Financial Group headquarters in Toyama.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 30, 2025
Best-performing Japan bank plays BOJ outlook with short debt
The president of Hokuhoku Financial Group said he expects the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates in October or December if "things go smoothly.”
An All Nippon Airways passenger plane landed on a runway where a work vehicle was operating at Wakkanai Airport in Hokkaido on Wednesday, according to the transport ministry.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2025
'Serious incident' to be probed after ANA plane lands while vehicle on runway
The Japan Transport Safety Board has appointed two aviation accident investigators to begin an investigation into the event at Wakkanai Airport in Hokkaido.
The Firefly Aerospace mission operations center in Leander, Texas
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 18, 2025
Firefly Aerospace eyes Japan rocket launches for Asia market
The plan could make Japan the first launch site in Asia for Firefly, the Texas-based rival to Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The Rausu mountain range at Hokkaido's Shiretoko National Park. A man in his 20s who went missing after being attacked by a bear while hiking on Mount Rausu has been found dead.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2025
Hiker missing in Hokkaido after bear attack found dead
The man, in his 20s, went missing after a brown bear attacked him while he was descending a mountain in eastern Hokkaido on Thursday.
Ottawa Senators defenseman Jordan Spence helps lead the Dreamskate Japan hockey camp in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, on July 5.
MORE SPORTS / Ice Hockey
Aug 3, 2025
From Osaka to the NHL: Jordan Spence hopes to inspire young Japanese hockey players
The Ottawa Senators defenseman briefly returned to Japan last month to help run a hockey camp in Hokkaido.
As the Osaka Expo comes to a close, what will its legacy be?
After a run-up marked by apathy, organizers soon found they had the opposite problem as crowd control became a concern.
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
After ruling bloc collapses, LDP and opposition scramble to find needed votes for PM
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday after leaving the ruling coalition earlier in the day.
After plenty of ups and downs, Osaka Expo concludes with message of unity
The sun sets on the Grand Ring on the final day of the Osaka Expo on Monday.
Hamas hands over surviving Israeli hostages as Trump visits region
Released Israeli hostages, twins Gali and Ziv Berman, held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, speak to each other after being released, as part of a prisoner-hostage swap and a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Reim, Israel, on Monday.
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
At Osaka Expo, gas giants promote a greener future. But is it a lot of hot air?
The Gas Pavilion had welcomed around 500,000 visitors by the end of August, making it one of the most popular exhibits at the Osaka Expo.
‘Takaichi trade’ starts unwinding as political calculus upended by Komeito exit
Less than a week ago, Sanae Takaichi seemed set to become Japan's first female prime minister.
‘Save the Ring’ calls intensify as Osaka Expo’s end nears
Visitors lounge on the grassy hill on the top of the Grand Ring during the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka in May.
A Japanese comedian walks into an Aussie bar … and stays there
Takashi “Waka” Wakasugi stopped by the Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya Ward last month following his stint at Edinburgh Festival Fringe performing his show “Comedy Samurai.”

Podcast

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

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building
By Patrick St. Michel

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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