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October 14, 2025
 

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Maki Takubo
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 12, 2025
Thirty people enter Ito Municipal Assembly race over controversial mayor
If the assembly passes a fresh no-confidence motion in its first assembly session, Takubo will lose her post of mayor under the local autonomy law.
The city of Izumisano, in Osaka Prefecture, has successfully challenged a decision by the central government to cut special tax grants based on its revenues under the <i>furusato nōzei</i> (hometown tax donation) system.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 10, 2025
Government cuts to Izumisano's tax grants illegal, Osaka High Court rules
The city in Osaka Prefecture raised about ¥49.8 billion in donations in fiscal 2018, the most among the local governments under the hometown tax donation program.
The Mie Prefectural Government plans to create an ordinance to penalize customer harassment.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 8, 2025
Mie eyes Japan's first penalty against customer abuse
The ordinance would define customer abuse as excessive nuisances that go beyond social norms and harm employees' working environment.
Smartphones help passengers pass the time on a train near Toyoake, an industrial suburb of Nagoya.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2025
Can this city make residents put down their smartphones?
The ordinance, which was approved in a 12-7 vote by the city assembly last week, is largely symbolic, but there is heavy social pressure in Japan to follow official guidelines.
Ryosuke Takashima, mayor of Ashiya in Hyogo Prefecture
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2025
Youngest-ever Japan mayor among Time's 100 most influential emerging people
"In Japan, a country shaped by its gerontocratic politics, Ryosuke Takashima is breaking the mold," the magazine said.
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 city of Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, used a crowdfunding-style hometown donation program to help fund fireworks during the Matsue Suigosai festival held in August.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Sep 29, 2025
Crowdfunding-style hometown donations gain traction in Japan
Such initiatives set clear fundraising targets and deadlines to solicit contributions to address specific local challenges.
The internal affairs ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. The ministry has barred four municipalities from taking part in Japan's <i>furusato nōzei</i> hometown donation program for two years due to their excessive spending on the program.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2025
Four municipalities to be banned from hometown tax program after overspending
The municipalities affected are Soja in Okayama Prefecture, Unzen in Nagasaki Prefecture, Miyaki in Saga Prefecture and Yamato in Kumamoto Prefecture.
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.
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.
What if everything we think about obesity is wrong?
Recent research shows obesity may be driven by ultraprocessed and hyperpalatable foods that disrupt fullness signals and lead to overeating.
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.
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

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