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November 24, 2025
 

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HOKKAIDO

For Hokkaido, the most important inbound tourism markets are Taiwan, South Korea and China.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 21, 2025
Japan’s dispute with China may impact Hokkaido tourism this winter
As Japan and China continue their war of words, the potential impact on Hokkaido’s tourism industry this winter season has officials increasingly concerned.
A brown bear gnaws at the cage it is trapped in, in Sunagawa, Hokkaido, in 2024. Small towns can face cost concerns when responding to bear sightings.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Nov 20, 2025
How a small-town spat in Hokkaido nearly derailed its bear response measures
Tensions brewed after a local politician accused hunters of being money-hungry and inefficient, leading to a weekslong halt in bear-culling operations.
The spent fuel pool at the No. 3 reactor of the Hokkaido Electric Power's Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2025
Mayor of Hokkaido village agrees to nuclear plant restart
The mayor cited the village assembly's approval of the restart and the fact that broad understanding has been gained from residents.
The transport ministry has proposed extending the runway at Sapporo's Okadama Airport from 1,500 meters to 1,800 meters to support longer routes amid rising inbound tourism.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Nov 17, 2025
Two plans proposed for runway extension at Sapporo’s Okadama Airport
A longer runway will increase commercial flight capacity, attract more business jets and facilitate medevac flights.
Before Japanese encroachments onto their native land, the Ainu people in what is present-day Hokkaido lived hunter-gatherer lifestyles supplemented by fishing.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Nov 15, 2025
Timeless tales throw the march of ‘progress’ into relief
Maybe the Ainu had it right after all? Maybe humankind should have remained in that state? What if we had?
Seiichi Katsurada, president of tour boat operator Shiretoko Yuransen, bows in front of the Kushiro District Court on Wednesday prior to the first hearing of his trial.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 12, 2025
Head of Hokkaido tour boat operator pleads not guilty over fatal sinking
The operator’s president apologized to the bereaved families of the accident, which left 20 passengers and crew members dead and six others unaccounted for.
Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Nov 9, 2025
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years
A surge in bear attacks in Japan may be nothing new, revealing a complex mix of ecology, policy and culture.
Fisheries minister Norikazu Suzuki announces the resumption of Japanese scallop exports to China at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting on Friday at the National Diet Building in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2025
Japan resumes scallop exports to China
China banned imports of Japanese fishery products following the release of treated water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the sea.
A test launch of an upgraded Type 12 ground-launched antiship guided missile
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2025
Japan to deploy ground-based long-range missiles at four sites
The Defense Ministry plans to field ground-launched missiles in Hokkaido, as well as Shizuoka, Kumamoto and Miyazaki prefectures.
A highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak has been confirmed at a poultry farm in the city of Tainai, Niigata Prefecture, authorities said Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 4, 2025
Japan confirms third bird flu outbreak of season
A total of 630,000 egg-laying chickens at a poultry farm in Niigata will be culled.
Ground Self-Defense Force personnel unload a box trap during a training exercise on wildlife damage control.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2025
SDF to provide logistical aid for bear capture efforts
There have been over 8,000 reported bear sightings in the prefecture this fiscal year, and 50 people have suffered injuries, including three fatalities.
A front page report from November 1950 indicated that the government was in talks with French and British companies about launching television for the first time ever in Japan.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Nov 1, 2025
Japan Times 1950: Negotiations under way to bring TV to Japan
In November 1950, British and French officials were offering their broadcasting technology to help Japan launch its first television channel, pending a permit from the government.
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 31, 2025
Russia says peace talks with Japan only possible if Tokyo abandons ‘anti-Russian course’
Soviet troops took control of four islands off Hokkaido at the end of World War II.
Flotation devices from the missing tour boat Kazu 1 drift at a rocky coastal area of the Shiretoko Peninsula in Shari, Hokkaido, in April 2022.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2025
First hearing on fatal Hokkaido tour boat sinking set for Nov. 12
The Kazu I tour boat sank off the Shiretoko Peninsula in April 2022, killing 20 of its 26 passengers and crew members and leaving the other six missing.
Haruo Kataoka (center) applauds after being reelected as mayor of Suttsu in Hokkaido, in the town on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 29, 2025
Hokkaido town mayor backing nuclear waste survey reelected
The 76-year-old independent incumbent, Haruo Kataoka, defeated former town council member Shingo Ogushi.
Kunashiri Island is seen across the Nemuro Strait, just before sunrise from Rausu, Hokkaido. A strong earthquake struck the area at a depth of about 40 kilometers early Saturday.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2025
Strong quake shakes Hokkaido as authorities urge vigilance
The quake, with an estimated magnitude of 5.8, measured a lower 5, the fifth-highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, in the city of Nemuro.
Hokkaido Prefectural Police on Thursday seize items during a search of locations linked to the now-closed North Safari Sapporo zoo.
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2025
Police raid closed Hokkaido zoo for unauthorized land development
As of Oct. 4, 312 animals, including tigers and lions, still remain at the zoo.
Japan reported its first bird flu outbreak of the season on Wednesday, raising concerns that egg prices could rise further.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 23, 2025
Bird flu outbreak in Hokkaido raises concerns over rising egg prices
About 459,000 laying hens at poultry farm in Hokkaido will be culled to prevent further infections.
Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki attends a meeting to tackle bird flu held in Sapporo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 22, 2025
Bird flu season begins in Japan with infection confirmed at Hokkaido farm
The Hokkaido government has started to cull some 459,000 laying hens at the farm and imposed a ban on the transportation of hens within a 10-kilometer radius.
In early October, 100 grams of autumn salmon roe in central Sapporo was priced at just below ¥2,000.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Oct 20, 2025
Prices for Hokkaido’s autumn salmon roe jump as catch numbers fall
As of early October, 100 grams of autumn salmon roe in central Sapporo was selling for just under ¥2,000.
Two men suspected of smuggling 1 ton of gold into Japan from South Korea
U.K. gold bullion bars and coins are displayed at Baird & Co. in Hatton Garden in London.
Japan plans higher visa fees for foreign residents
Along with planned higher fees for foreign residents to stay, Japan is looking to raise the ¥3,000 single-entry visa fee for inbound tourists to Western standards in the next fiscal year.
Japan set to lean on U.S., allies for support if China escalates
U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo, on Oct. 28.
Japanese court orders Cloudflare to pay ¥500 million over manga piracy
Cloudflare has been ordered to pay ¥500 million after four major publishing firms accused the firm of copyright infringement for its role in hosting sites that distribute pirated copies of manga titles.
Japan businesses brush off worries over China tourists
Tourists board a bus after sightseeing in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district on Wednesday.
Japan plans higher visa fees for foreign residents
Along with planned higher fees for foreign residents to stay, Japan is looking to raise the ¥3,000 single-entry visa fee for inbound tourists to Western standards in the next fiscal year.
First foreign president of Hosei University looks abroad for change
Hosei University President Diana Khor, who herself was an international student, aims to encourage students to look outward and cultivate a global mindset.
Japanese companies advised to change mindset about investment in Africa
Bernard Laurendeau, chief of Enkopa Lab Japan, in Tokyo last month
Munetaka Murakami headlines quartet looking to move to MLB via posting system
The Swallows' Munetaka Murakami has 246 career home runs in eight NPB seasons.
The reality of human trafficking in Japan
A view of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward at night. Last year in Japan, 66 people were put in protective custody as victims of human trafficking. Among them, 58 — including all 41 minors — were Japanese nationals. International pressure to act on human trafficking led Japan to make efforts to crack down on the crime, such as a tightening of conditions in 2005 for entertainer visas.

Podcast

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

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40
By Weiwen Lin

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