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July 12, 2026
 

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Yukana Inoue
Visitors flock to a Christmas market with a Christmas pyramid — a German decoration — Tuesday night at Tokyo's Shiba Park.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 24, 2025
Christmas markets are having a jolly moment in Japan
Heavily inspired by German markets, Christmas markets have become one of Japan’s favorite ways to celebrate the holiday over the last decade.
A major quake in Tokyo would cause around ¥83 trillion in financial damages, with the effect of the nation’s crippled central functions — from politics, government to businesses — felt at home and abroad.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2025
Japan forecasts 18,000 deaths in the event of a major quake in Tokyo
The government’s latest projection is over 20% lower than the previous one made in 2013 due to preparations made since then.
An Instagram post on Dec. 6 shows Cocona, a member of a popular Japanese pop group XG, coming out as transmasculine nonbinary, assigned female at birth.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 17, 2025
XG member Cocona’s coming out as nonbinary puts spotlight on gender identities
The announcement drew support from fans, but also backlash, which highlights a limited understanding of nonbinary identities in Japan.
Visitors take photos of Lei Lei at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2025
Panda fans throng Ueno Zoo to bid farewell to Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei
Visitors stood in line for hours to catch one last glimpse of the two remaining pandas in Japan ahead of their return to China in January.
Twin giant pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo in June 2023. They are expected to be sent back to China by the end of January.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2025
Amid China tensions, Japan will lose its two remaining pandas
Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, two twin giant pandas at the Ueno Zoological Gardens, are expected to be returned to China by the end of January.
An earthquake struck at 11:44 a.m. on Friday off the coast of Aomori Prefecture, registering shindo 4 in some areas on Japan's seismic intensity scale of 1 to 7.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 12, 2025
Magnitude 6.9 quake off Aomori triggers tsunami advisory
The quake struck at 11:44 a.m., registering shindo 4 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale.
Akita Gov. Kenta Suzuki speaks at a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 11, 2025
SDF played large role in bear control efforts, Akita governor says
While the troops were not involved in culling the bears, they helped transport traps and provided much-needed manpower to the aging prefecture.
Otani Junior and Senior High School apologized on Monday after confirming several students stole items from a store in Bali during a school trip.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 10, 2025
Kyoto high school confirms students shoplifted during Bali study trip
A video circulating online appeared to show a group of male Japanese students putting T-shirts into their bags and leaving the store without paying.
A car is seen trapped in a caved-in road on Tuesday in the town of Tohoku, Aomori Prefecture, after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the coast of the prefecture on Monday night.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2025
More than 30 injuries reported after Aomori earthquake
Evacuation orders issued across five prefectures, including Aomori and Hokkaido, have all been lifted.
Poor harvests of beechnuts are thought to be one of the major reasons behind the increase in bear attacks and sightings.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2025
High number of bear attacks possible in 2027 due to expected poor nut harvest
Beechnut harvests are considered to influence the number of bear incidents Japan sees each year.
Nearly 1 in 5 of those who said they smoke also said they wanted to quit, a health ministry survey has found.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 3, 2025
Japan sees drop in regular smokers, national health survey finds
Nearly 1 in 5 of those who said in the health ministry’s annual survey that they smoke also said they wanted to quit.
To prevent the spread of the flu, measures such as wearing a mask are recommended.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 2, 2025
Japan’s flu season comes early as new variant spreads
The risk of developing severe symptoms from “Subclade K” is no higher than other strains, but its continued spread is expected.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a ceremony Monday in Tokyo after her comment referring to her determination to work hard as president of the Liberal Democratic Party was awarded buzzword of the year for 2025.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 1, 2025
Takaichi’s work ethic sound bite wins Japan’s buzzword of the year
“Work, work, work, work and work” was named 2025’s buzzword of the year.
NHK’s crackdown is part of an effort to reduce the number of users who are currently watching NHK channels and accessing news on its website without paying its mandatory subscription fee.
JAPAN / Media
Nov 25, 2025
NHK moves to crack down on free riders
The public broadcaster is requiring users to log in to its news website to access all of its content and has set up a new team to collect reception fees.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2025
Niigata approves restart of world’s largest nuclear power plant
The resumption of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant’s No. 6 reactor would be a major development for Japan as it re-embraces nuclear power and reduces reliance on fossil fuels.
A view of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward at night. Last year in Japan, 66 people were put in protective custody as victims of human trafficking. Among them, 58 — including all 41 minors — were Japanese nationals. International pressure to act on human trafficking led Japan to make efforts to crack down on the crime, such as a tightening of conditions in 2005 for entertainer visas.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Nov 19, 2025
The reality of human trafficking in Japan
Its shifting nature, as well as the ever-changing demographics of potential victims, make it hard for authorities to crack down on trafficking.
Economic security minister Kimi Onoda speaks during a group interview in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2025
Economic security minister stresses crackdown on rule-breaking foreign nationals
Kimi Onoda says she is committed to implementing stricter management of non-Japanese workers and land acquisitions by foreign nationals.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (second from left) addresses a ministerial meeting on bear attacks at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2025
Government launches emergency bear attack prevention plan
Many of the proposed measures focus on increasing personnel and resources for bear management and culling.
Police cars leave the Akita Prefectural Police headquarters to cull bears, in the city of Akita on Thursday.
JAPAN / Explainer
Nov 13, 2025
As attacks surge, who can cull bears in Japan?
In Japan, few people typically own guns, and the process to qualify for a license to hunt the animals takes time and effort.
Shohei Ohtani (left), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (center) and Roki Sasaki of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate in the locker room after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in Game 7 to win the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center in Toronto, on Nov. 2.
BASEBALL / MLB
Nov 12, 2025
Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki generate ¥132.8 billion in economic impact
Merchandise sales, broadcasting rights and the popularity of the players are all thought to have contributed to the high number.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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