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August 29, 2025
 

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JAPANESE COURTS

Fuji TV is suing its former president, Koichi Minato, and former executive vice president, Toru Ota, for ¥5 billion ($34 million) over their mishandling of a “sexual violence” scandal involving former TV personality Masahiro Nakai.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 28, 2025
Fuji TV seeks ¥5 billion in lawsuit against former execs over Nakai scandal
The broadcaster claims its former president, Koichi Minato, and former executive vice president, Toru Ota, failed to respond appropriately to the scandal.
Kyushu Electric Power's Sendai nuclear power plant is seen from the shoreline in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2025
Court backs restart of nuclear reactors in Kagoshima Prefecture
Plaintiffs had questioned the rationality of a volcanic assessment guide used for safety screening.
Nikkei and the Asahi Shimbun have sued Perplexity AI over alleged copyright infringement.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 26, 2025
Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun sue Perplexity AI over alleged copyright violations
The newspapers are seeking an injunction and ¥2.2 billion each in damages from Perplexity, they said in a joint statement. The suit was filed at the Tokyo District Court.
Senior police and prosecutor officials bow Monday in Yokohama before the grave of Shizuo Aishima, a former adviser to Ohkawara Kakohki, who died in detention while being wrongfully indicted.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 26, 2025
Authorities apologize to family of former Ohkawara Kakohki adviser
Shizuo Aishima was found to have stomach cancer during his detention and later died while being wrongfully indicted in a case involving the machinery-maker.
A former MUFG Bank employee said in a court hearing that she committed thefts to make up for losses she had suffered from foreign exchange margin trading and horse-race betting.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 26, 2025
Ex-MUFG Bank employee reveals ¥1.7 billion safe-deposit thefts
A former MUFG Bank employee said during a court hearing on Monday that she stole items worth ¥1.7 billion to ¥1.8 billion, including cash and gold, from around 100 people, in a high-profile safe-deposit theft case.
The Kyoto District Court on Thursday delivered a guilty verdict on the founder of video-sharing service FC2 over obscene videos that appeared on the platform.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 21, 2025
Founder of video platform FC2 found guilty of hosting obscene videos
A Kyoto court sentenced Riyo Takahashi, 51, to three years in prison — suspended for five years — and fined him ¥2.5 million.
Hideko Hakamata, sister of Iwao Hakamata, after his retrial reached a not-guilty verdict in September 2024 in the city of Shizuoka.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 19, 2025
Hakamata, acquitted after 47-year jail term, to seek ¥600 million in damages
Lawyers for Iwao Hakamata said the damages claim covers lost income during his time in custody and care expenses after his release.
LDP lawmaker Koichi Hagiuda
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2025
Secretary of LDP's Hagiuda fined over funds scandal
The 46-year-old secretary, Toshifumi Ushikubo, was ordered to pay ¥300,000.
A Yomiuri Shimbun staff prepares to distribute a special edition of the newspaper on the tariff deal between the United States and Japan, in Tokyo on July 23.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 8, 2025
Major Japan newspaper sues 'free-riding' AI firm Perplexity
The Yomiuri Shimbun is seeking damages of $14.7 million from the U.S.-based AI firm for using its articles "without permission."
Hisaaki Ikeuchi (right), chief of Shiga Prefectural Police department, bows in apology to former nurse Mika Nishiyama (left) during their meeting in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 7, 2025
Shiga police chief apologizes to ex-assistant nurse acquitted after prison term
The apology came after a local court ruled that the prefectural police's investigation was illegal.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Koichi Hagiuda
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 4, 2025
Summary indictment eyed for secretary of LDP's Koichi Hagiuda
A panel of citizens ruled that the secretary of Hagiuda, a member of the House of Representatives, should be prosecuted.
Shoshi Maekawa (left) celebrates in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on July 18 after a high court acquitted him of a 1986 murder of a junior high school girl.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 1, 2025
Man's acquittal over 1986 murder of Fukui junior high school girl finalized
Prosecutors have decided not to appeal against the acquittal of Shoshi Maekawa, now 60, whose retrial was granted years after he had served time for the crime.
A Tokyo court has upheld a lower court ruling ordering Dentsu to pay a fine for rigging Olympic-related bids.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 31, 2025
Tokyo court upholds fine of ¥300 million for Dentsu in Olympic bid-rigging case
The high court also upheld a ruling that sentenced the former assistant head of the sports department of Dentsu to two years in prison, suspended for four years.
AI developer Alt, which recently disclosed accounting irregularities, has filed for bankruptcy protection under the civil rehabilitation law at the Tokyo District Court.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2025
Japanese AI developer Alt goes bust after accounting fraud
Suspicions of accounting fraud surfaced at the company in April this year.
Storage tanks containing treated water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture in March 2021.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 30, 2025
Tepco ordered to pay ¥100 million in damages over 2011 disaster
Presiding Judge Masahiko Abe ordered the payment mainly as compensation for damage to property and consolation money.
The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday sentenced Tomohiro Koyama, who is believed to be the third-highest-ranking member of the "JP Dragon" crime ring, to three years and six months in prison for fraud.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 29, 2025
Senior 'JP Dragon' crime ring member jailed for 42 months
Tomohiro Koyama, 51, is believed to be the third-highest-ranking member of the ring comprising Japanese nationals.
A Justice Ministry expert panel called for expanding the scope of cases subject to video and audio recordings of suspect interrogations, on Thursday at the ministry.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 25, 2025
Panel calls for expanding interrogation recordings
Mandatory recordings of law-enforcement authorities' interrogations were introduced in 2019.
Tomonobu Kojima arrives at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in February 2023 after being deported from the Philippines.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 23, 2025
Senior member of 'Luffy' crime ring gets 20 years in prison
Tomonobu Kojima, 47, was the first of the four indicted members of the group, whose members went by the nickname "Luffy," to receive a court ruling.
Lawyers enter the Osaka High Court to file a lawsuit on Tuesday to nullify the results in six electoral districts, including Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo, of Sunday's House of Councillors election, claiming that the election was unconstitutional in terms of vote-value disparities.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 22, 2025
Lawyers file lawsuit to nullify Upper House election
The lawyers argued that the apportionment provisions for Upper House seats did not meet the constitutional requirement of population-based proportional representation.
Trevor Hill, former head of equity at SMBC Nikko Securities, arrives at the Tokyo District Court in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 22, 2025
Former SMBC Nikko managers found guilty in market manipulation case
When the allegations of market manipulation surfaced in early 2022, they shone a spotlight on Japan’s financial sector and led to regulatory penalties against the brokerage.
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Koshien’s dark summer forces reckoning for high school baseball
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.
Akazawa's trip to Washington for tariff talks abruptly canceled
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, had been set to fly to Washington on Thursday.
Confusion over Japan’s ‘hometown’ plan overshadows African development event
First Lady Yoshiko Ishiba (center, in white and blue dress) hosts an event on Japanese culture with the first ladies of African leaders on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama on Aug. 21.
Mitsubishi’s wind-power retreat a blow to Japan's alternative-energy goals
Wind turbines in the town of Happo in Akita prefecture. Wind power is a key part of Japan's alternative energy drive.
Koshien’s dark summer forces reckoning for high school baseball
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.
Is Kishida plotting a return of the king? Or would he rather stay a kingmaker?
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida chairs a plenary session at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama on Aug. 21.
Japanese prefectures break with labor ministry on minimum wage
The ministry of labor has suggested a 6% minimum wage increase, but most prefectures reporting so far are opting to go slightly higher.
Philippines quietly deepening ‘unofficial’ defense ties with Taiwan
Filipino soldiers take part in a flag-raising ceremony on Mavulis Island during a visit by the Philippines' Armed Forces chief of staff, in Batanes, the Philippines, in June 2023. Batanes, a group of idyllic islands at the country’s northernmost tip, sits about 160 kilometers from Taiwan.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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