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September 24, 2025
 

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The municipal assembly of Toyoake in Aichi Prefecture passed an ordinance Monday that will limit daily leisure-related screen time for all residents to two hours.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2025
City in Aichi Prefecture passes ordinance capping screen time to two hours
There are no penalties for violators, with the city's mayor saying the aim is for residents to see whether they are losing sleep by using smartphones too much.
The "Playground of Life: Jellyfish Pavilion" at the Osaka Expo on Thursday. Fukuyama in Hiroshima Prefecture aims to relocate the pavilion to a site in the city after the event ends on Oct. 13.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2025
Reuse pavilions and equipment, Osaka Expo organizer urges
The organizer is encouraging local governments and companies to reuse buildings and equipment including air conditioners and lighting.
Ito Mayor Maki Takubo (right) notifies the municipal assembly of its dissolution on Wednesday in the city in Shizuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 10, 2025
Ito mayor dissolves municipal assembly after it passed no-confidence motion
Ito Mayor Maki Takubo had claimed that she graduated from Toyo University, but said in July that she had, in fact, been expelled from the school.
Kobe Mayor Kizo Hisamoto addresses in May in Kobe a meeting of a study group discussing the idea of taxing owners of vacant units in high-rise condominiums.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Sep 10, 2025
Kobe eyes tax on vacant or underused units in high-rise condos
Since taking office, Kobe Mayor Kizo Hisamoto has highlighted problems associated with high-rise condominiums, pushing to strengthen regulations and address aging buildings.
Hideo Kojima, a former mayor of the town of Ginan in Gifu Prefecture who resigned over 99 sexual harassment allegations, has been elected as a town councilor, officials said Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2025
Ex-mayor in Gifu with 99 harassment complaints wins town council seat
The election of Hideo Kojima, who stepped down last year after an official investigation, has sparked anger and outrage online.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike (right) and Takayuki Morimura, head of Tomin First no Kai, during the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election campaign in Tokyo in June
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 8, 2025
Tokyo Gov. Koike seen keeping three-party alliance involving LDP
Attention is also turning to whether the Tokyo governor will seek cooperation with the Democratic Party for the People, which won its first seats in the metropolitan assembly.
A native of Saskatchewan, Canada, Jon Heese naturalized as a Japanese citizen in 2007 and embarked upon a career in local politics the following year.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 8, 2025
Canadian-born politician tackles Ibaraki’s issues big and small
After being elected to four terms in the Tsukuba Municipal Assembly, Jon Heese now serves as a prefectural assemblyman — and one of Ibaraki Prefecture’s biggest cheerleaders.
People buy groceries from a mobile supermarket in a rural area of Nagomi, Kumamoto Prefecture. The government is considering a new "hometown resident" registration system to help strengthen regional revitalization measures.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2025
Japan eyes two types of 'hometown resident' registration
The system is included in the government's basic vision for regional revitalization, adopted in June.
Minimum hourly wages in Japan's 47 prefectures are set to average ¥1,121, up by a record ¥66 from the previous year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2025
Japan to hike minimum wage by record amount, backing BOJ’s rate hikes
A record 6.3% increase takes the minimum wage to an average of ¥1,121 per hour across the country's 47 prefectures, the largest increase since 1978.
A revamped 3D diorama of the Chiran airfield and its surroundings is displayed at the Chiran Peace Museum in Minamikyushu, Kagoshima Prefecture, on July 31.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2025
Hometown donations program used to help preserve wartime memories in Japan
Initiatives are under way in some regions to keep the tragic history of World War II from fading by using digital technology to renovate exhibition facilities.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (center) speaks at a meeting of the government's Headquarters for Creating New Regional Economies and Living Environments on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 2, 2025
System launched to support regional cooperation across prefectures
The central government plans to provide grants and subsidies to help local governments and businesses with regional development initiatives, and will relax regulations on request.
The city assembly of Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture, unanimously passes a no-confidence motion against Mayor Maki Takubo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 1, 2025
No-confidence motion passed against embattled mayor of city in Shizuoka
Mayor Maki Takubo, who claimed to have graduated from Toyo University but was actually expelled, must now decide whether to dissolve the assembly or resign.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba addresses a ministerial meeting on nuclear power policy held at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2025
Japan to give aid to more municipalities near nuclear plants
The move will make around 150 municipalities in 22 prefectures eligible for the aid.
The ministry of labor has suggested a 6% minimum wage increase, but most prefectures reporting so far are opting to go slightly higher.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 25, 2025
Japanese prefectures break with labor ministry on minimum wage
Many prefectures are choosing increases higher than the 6% suggested by the ministry.
The Ground Self-Defense Force's Camp Yonaguni in Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 25, 2025
Okinawa town elects independent mayor cautious about defense expansion
Independent candidate Tsuneo Uechi has been elected mayor of the town of Yonaguni, Okinawa Prefecture, a result that could influence the central government's defense policy.
Tatsuaki Igarashi, mayor of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, exits a ride-sharing vehicle at Tsukuba Station in January.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2025
Japan to boost support for joint ride-hailing services
There is currently just one joint ride-hailing service in the country, despite 2,057 areas nationwide where transportation options are limited or unavailable.
The Toyoake Municipal Government in Aichi Prefecture is planning to enact an ordinance to urge all smartphone users in the city to limit screen time to two hours a day outside work or school.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 22, 2025
Japanese city proposes two-hour daily limit for smartphone use
Toyoake's cap will not be binding and there will be no penalties incurred for higher usage, according to a draft ordinance.
Damaged buildings on the burnt-down Asaichi-dori street in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, after the Jan. 1, 2024, earthquake
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2025
Japan eyeing measure to speed up disaster damage recognition
The new system is designed to dispatch personnel with damage assessment experience to affected areas promptly once a disaster occurs.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura addresses a meeting of Osaka Ishin no Kai on July 30.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 13, 2025
Osaka governor eager to make another bid for metropolis plan
The plan, which has been rejected twice in referendums, would scrap the city of Osaka and reorganize it into special administrative districts under Osaka Prefecture.
Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki delivers a speech at a conference held by Mayors for Peace, a worldwide organization of city leaders, on Friday in the city of Nagasaki.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2025
Mayors for Peace start general conference in Nagasaki
The conference will discuss actions to be taken by 2029 and adopt a resolution on the abolition of nuclear weapons on the closing day.
South Korea’s baby bust threatens its demographic future
Marriage is rapidly declining in South Korea as rising education and career aspirations collide with traditional gender norms.
German companies choosing Japan as Asia manufacturing hub: survey
Japan has many positive qualities for German companies, but the market does face some challenges, such as talent acquisition and retention, particularly as demand for skilled workers grows, a survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan showed.
The Japanese face and body patches that have had the world wondering
Japan's Mebuki Suzuki in action with Uganda's Oscar Chelimo in the men's 10,000 meter final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sept. 14
Abuse of 'zombie cigarettes' among Okinawa youths raises alarm
A street in Naha in August. In entertainment districts in southern Okinawa, a drug known as "laughing gas vape" is being abused at nightclubs and bar. Now, some establishments have put up warning notices.
Twice-a-year injection could make HIV prevention easier, developer argues
Jared Baeten, Gilead Sciences' senior vice president and virology therapeutic area head, hopes regulatory approval elsewhere for lenacapavir as a preexposure prophylaxis — for reducing the risk of contracting HIV — could lead to real discussions toward ending HIV in Japan.
Who’s who in the LDP presidential race?
(Clockwise from top left) Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi; former foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi; Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi; former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi; and former minister of state for economic security Sanae Takaichi
Aichi Triennale’s message from the world: Free Palestine
“Between Currents and Bloom,” an eye-popping crocheted seascape by Indonesian artist Mulyana, dazzles with Instagram-ready cuteness while recalling a vibrant ocean now threatened by warming seas.
Twice-a-year injection could make HIV prevention easier, developer argues
Jared Baeten, Gilead Sciences' senior vice president and virology therapeutic area head, hopes regulatory approval elsewhere for lenacapavir as a preexposure prophylaxis — for reducing the risk of contracting HIV — could lead to real discussions toward ending HIV in Japan.
Behold the glory of Japan’s fruit boxes
Otherwise common sights in Japan's supermarkets, the country's fruit and veggie boxes can hide surprising symbols of local pride.
YouTuber Gigguk shifts from talking anime to making anime
The process of making “Baan” was personal and enlightening for Maneetapho, who spent years talking about anime on his YouTube channel and podcast before making the jump to becoming an anime creator himself.

Podcast

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

Longform

"Shake hands with Lima-chan," a statue that shares the name of the Peruvian capital looks in the direction of Peru, where a sister statue, "Sakura-chan," is located. Erected in Yokohama's Rinko Park in 1999, it commemorates Peruvian-Japanese friendship.
The journey of Peru’s Nikkei: Finding identity in Japan
By Christoph Sponsel

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