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July 06, 2025
 

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HOKKAIDO

A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jul 6, 2025
Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste
Some scholars and activists are raising concerns that Indigenous voices are not being heard amid the debate over whether to host nuclear waste storage facilities.
Karuizawa Distillers, which runs Komoro Distillery in Nagano Prefecture, has teamed up with the city of Furano and real estate developer Seibu Group to open a whisky distillery in Furano.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 4, 2025
Beyond the lavender fields in Furano, a whisky distillery emerges
The region has teamed up with Karuizawa Distillers and property developer Seibu Group to build a state-of-the-art facility to make single malts.
Rice paddies in the city of Asahikawa, Hokkaido. Rice is a major crop for Hokkaido, with the region having produced 562,400 tons of it last year.
BUSINESS / Economy / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jun 30, 2025
U.S. import pressure raises concerns for Hokkaido agriculture
The U.S. is nudging Japan to import more rice, soybeans, and maize — vital crops that support Hokkaido's economy.
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.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 30, 2025
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji’s deadliest weekend still echoes today. Luckily, area rescue squads have leveled up their game.
Pat Gelsinger (left), former Intel CEO and general partner at Playground Global, and Peter Barrett, co-founder and general partner of Playground, in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2025
Former Intel CEO Gelsinger has some advice for Japan's Rapidus
He encourages the chipmaker to distinguish itself in some way from TSMC.
A single Type-88 missile is tested off the coast at the Ground Self-Defense Force's Shizunai anti-aircraft firing range in Shinhidaka, Hokkaido, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025
Japan conducts first domestic surface-to-ship missile test
Japan called its first surface-to-ship missile test within its territory necessary training given the current "severe security environment."
A view of Kunashir — known as Kunashiri in Japanese — one a group of Russian-controlled islands off Hokkaido that are claimed by Japan
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2025
Memorial services at sea to be held off disputed islands
Two of the five events will involve an overnight stay on a ship, with participants offering prayers toward part of Kunashiri Island.
Honda's experimental reusable rocket during a launching and landing test
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 18, 2025
Honda hails successful test of reusable rocket
Japan's second-biggest carmaker has successfully tested an experimental reusable rocket as it seeks to expand into the space sector.
The white-tailed eagle's wintering grounds include Hokkaido, northern Honshu, the Russian coast, the southern Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
May 26, 2025
Eagle nest discovery sparks opposition to megasolar project
Groups want to put a stop to the project near eastern Hokkaido's Kushiro Wetlands National Park.
The Hokkaido East Trail links some of the northern prefecture's most striking national parks and landscapes.
LIFE / Travel
May 24, 2025
In search of untouched Japan? Meet Hokkaido’s newest hiking trail.
The 410-kilometer Hokkaido East Trail links three national parks as it winds through marshland, calderas and more.
Sapporo’s Susukino district. Hiroko Tamura, the mother of a 31-year-old woman suspected of killing and beheading a man in the district in 2023, was sentenced on Wednesday to one year and two months in prison, suspended for three years, for aiding in the mutilation and concealment of a corpse.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 7, 2025
Mother of suspect in Sapporo beheading case sentenced for role in cover-up
Hiroko Tamura was sentenced to one year and two months in prison, suspended for three years, for aiding in the mutilation and concealment of a corpse.
Masaru Okawa (right), head of the Ainu association, receives ancestral remains from Peter Mathieson, principal of the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland on Wednesday.
JAPAN
May 1, 2025
Remains of Ainu people in Edinburgh to be repatriated to Japan
The remains, which had been kept at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, have been returned to the Ainu Association of Hokkaido and will arrive back in Japan on Saturday.
The Tomari nuclear power plant in Tomari, Hokkaido, in March 2024
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025
Japan approves restart of nuclear reactor for first time in four years
The Nuclear Regulation Authority approved a preliminary report saying Hokkaido Electric Power’s Tomari No. 3 reactor meets post-Fukushima safety rules.
A recently enacted ordinance aimed at respecting individual differences in Sapporo has not been without controversy.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Apr 28, 2025
Sapporo enacts ordinance to foster diversity and inclusion
The number of foreign residents in Sapporo has doubled over the past decade, despite an overall population decline in the city.
The remains of three Ainu indigenous people kept at the University of Edinburgh will be returned to Japan and placed at the National Ainu Museum and Park in Shiraoi, Hokkaido.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2025
Remains of Ainu people in Britain to be returned to Japan
It marks the third time that Ainu remains that were taken abroad for research have been returned to Japan, following similar arrivals from Germany and Australia.
Hokkaido's famous lamb is turned into a ragout or French-style stew and used as a pizza topping at Savoy Ezo.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 26, 2025
Savoy, Tokyo’s top pizzeria, fires up in Sapporo
The chain of pizza restaurants has opened its first branch in Hokkaido, offering locals a taste of its famous crisp and airy pizzas.
A bereaved family member prays at a port in Shari, Hokkaido, to mourn the victims of the Kazu I boat sinking on its third anniversary on Wednesday.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 24, 2025
Hokkaido fisher to hold memorial service for tour boat accident victims
Sakurai instantly decided to organize the offshore memorial service when he saw photos recovered from a 34-year-old Kazu I passenger's digital camera.
Masatoshi Asari is one of Japan’s foremost living authorities on cherry trees and their blossoms.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2025
The man who sent Japan's cherry blossoms out to the world
Masatoshi Asari's trees — symbols of peace and reconciliation — blossom in the U.K., U.S., Poland and China.
The Unification Church decided in June 2009 to give its residual assets to Tenchi Seikyo, based in the Hokkaido city of Obihiro, if the group is disbanded.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2025
Hokkaido group set as recipient of Unification Church assets
The controversial group decided in June 2009 to give its residual assets to Tenchi Seikyo, based in the Hokkaido city of Obihiro.
Rapidus is gearing up to mass produce semiconductors using 2-nanometer processes in 2027, which on paper would match Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2025
Rapidus begins pilot production of 2-nanometer chips in Hokkaido
The 2-year-old company aims to mass produce the next-generation semiconductors — vital for technologies such as artificial intelligence and autonomous driving — in 2027.
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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