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July 12, 2025
 

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RAIL

Albin Enbacke is among the train drivers responsible for ferrying iron ore from the Kiruna mine.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 3, 2025
Sweden’s arctic railway prepares for a more militarized future
Should Finland’s border with Russia ever become an active front, the track would be one of the best ways for NATO to transport vehicles and supplies.
East Japan Railway’s iconic Cassiopeia sleeper train arrives at Ueno Station in Tokyo Monday evening, completing its final journey.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2025
Cassiopeia luxury sleeper train ends final run after 25 years
Originally launched in 1999, the Cassiopeia gained a loyal following for its fully double-decker design and upscale sleeper accommodations.
In addition to prepaid transportation integrated circuit (IC) cards, such as Suica and Pasmo, a growing number of railway operators are introducing contactless credit card payments.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2025
Railway firms diversify ticket gate access methods
A growing number of railway operators are introducing contactless credit card payments.
Australian singer Donna Burke in Tokyo on May 29. People comment on how familiar her voice is when footage of Burke performing shinkansen announcements go viral online.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 27, 2025
A trained star: The Australian singer who became the voice of the shinkansen
The “JR voice” has built a career that encompasses voice work for prominent game franchises including Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy.
East Japan Railway will halt individual operations of E8 series Shinkansen trains until the cause of the trouble is identified.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2025
JR East to suspend E8 shinkansen trains for time being
On Tuesday, a malfunction led to a service suspension between Tokyo Station and Sendai Station in Miyagi Prefecture for about five and a half hours.
The classic red brick arches of Tokyo’s first “gādo-shita,” built in 1910, are what most Japanese people think of when they think about commercial spaces under elevated railways.
LIFE / Style & Design / Longform
Jun 16, 2025
Revitalizing the space under Tokyo’s train tracks
Rail underpasses in big cities are being transformed into vibrant spaces for artisans, foodies and travelers — without erasing their past.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting Anji Khad bridge, India's first cable-stayed railway bridge, during its inauguration as part of a new Kashmir rail link.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 6, 2025
India's Modi opens strategic railway in contested 'crown jewel' Kashmir
With 36 tunnels and 943 bridges, the new railway runs for 272 kilometers and connects Udhampur, Srinagar and Baramulla in the disputed region.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at the Regulatory Reform Promotion Council on Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN
May 29, 2025
Japan may allow bus and railway firms to enter ride-hailing business
The council called for promoting ride-hailing services to address the nationwide transportation shortage and suggested a trial for bus and railway operators.
All services on East Japan Railway's Yamanote Line in Tokyo were suspended for early Friday morning due to wire trouble.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2025
Tokyo's Yamanote Line resumes suspended train operations
The loop line was suspended Friday morning due to wire trouble, affecting some 197,000 passengers.
While the cost and logistics of installing platform doors have proven challenging, railway operators are adopting new solutions to lower expenses and increase flexibility.
JAPAN / Society
May 20, 2025
Japan sets goal of having doors on 4,000 train station platforms by fiscal 2030
The decision to raise the target reflects ongoing safety concerns, as accidents involving passengers continue to occur.
Walking along Osaka's Kanjosen brings you closer to a different side of the city that the head-in-the-clouds Expo 2025 misses.
LIFE / Travel
May 17, 2025
Fighting Osaka Expo fatigue? Walk the 21-km Loop Line for a cure.
Officially completed in 1961, the Osaka Kanjosen runs through the city’s most famous and less touristed neighborhoods alike.
Bereaved family members observe a moment of silence on Wednesday at a memorial ceremony for a train collision that killed 42 people in the city of Koka, Shiga Prefecture.
JAPAN
May 14, 2025
34-year memorial held for victims of Shiga train collision
On May 14, 1991, an SKR train and a JR West train collided head-on in Shigaraki, now Koka, killing 42 people and injuring more than 600.
Trainees from Indonesia and Vietnam learn about the mechanisms of train doors using a model at East Japan Railway's training center in Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, in March.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 14, 2025
JR East to start training foreign nationals under new skills program
JR East aims to train around 100 people each year, and more than 10 railway operators have already expressed interest in joining the initiative.
Yoshitaka Toda, the suspect in Wednesday's knife attack at Todaimae Station on the Tokyo Metro Nanboku Line, leaves a police station in the Japanese capital the same day for a pre-detention medical examination.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 12, 2025
More details emerge about stabbing near Tokyo University metro station
Yoshitaka Toda, 43, claimed he stabbed a student to show how academic pressure could push a child off course.
Yoshitaka Toda is escorted out of a police station in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward on Friday to be sent to prosecutors.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 9, 2025
Suspect in Tokyo Metro stabbing chose station to highlight ‘educational abuse’
Yoshitaka Toda, 43, said he struggled with mental health issues as a result of his parents’ expectations for him to excel academically.
The number of passengers on shinkansen and other express trains during Golden Week increased 3% from a year earlier to over 13 million, data from six Japan Railways group companies showed Wednesday.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2025
JR express train passengers during Golden Week up 3%
The result is believed to reflect the impact of the 2025 World Exposition in the city of Osaka, as well as demand from foreign visitors.
Kazuo Sumi, former president and chairman of railway operator Hankyu Hanshin Holdings
JAPAN
May 7, 2025
Ex-Hankyu Hanshin Holdings chief Kazuo Sumi dies at 76
The Kansai native died at his house in the city of Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, on April 26.
Public transportation ridership across the U.S. hasn’t yet returned to its pre-COVID peak.
WORLD
Apr 30, 2025
A $6 billion shortfall has U.S. mass transit facing a death spiral
The Trump administration is drastically reining in federal spending, creating fear of job losses that could again decimate ridership.
A message using candles is seen during a memorial event held in the city of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, on Thursday ahead of the 20th anniversary of the 2005 Fukuchiyama Line derailment on Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2025
JR West marks 20 years since fatal derailment with renewed vow for safety
The 2005 Fukuchiyama Line derailment in the city of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, claimed 107 lives and injured more than 560 others.
Sections of the outer loop of Tokyo's Yamanote Line and the Keihin-Tohoku Line will be shut down all day Saturday, and from the start of service through around noon on Sunday.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2025
Parts of Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines to be suspended over weekend
The suspensions come as JR East pushes ahead with its Haneda Airport Access Line project.
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
Air India crash report to offer peek into last seconds
Members of the Indian Army's engineering arm prepare to remove the wreckage of an Air India aircraft in Ahmedabad on June 14.
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.
NGOs condemn rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of Upper House vote
Sanseito head Sohei Kamiya holds a board that reads "Japanese First" in Tokyo on July 2. In a joint statement on Tuesday, eight human rights nongovernmental organizations described the far-right party's stance as "hate speech."
Japanese dancers find a home abroad at Houston Ballet
“Giselle” lead Yuriko Kajiya (center), performing with Connor Walsh as Albrecht, is one of six Japanese dancers at Houston Ballet.
From the Abes to the Ohtanis: How siblings shape athletic development
Olympic judoka Uta Abe (second from left) and Hifumi Abe (second from right) with their brother Yuichiro (center) and their parents. “I’m always consciously trying to be a good older brother,” Yuichiro said.

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning
Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

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