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July 01, 2026
 

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Jessica Speed
Deep snow at Iyahiko Shrine in central Sapporo on Monday
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2026
Heavy snow continues to batter northern Japan
Thousands of travelers have been left stranded by transportation disruptions caused by above-average snowfall.
Former Kadokawa Chairman Tsuguhiko Kadokawa (center) speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Thursday after a court handed him a suspended jail sentence of two years and six months over bribes linked to sponsorship contracts for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 22, 2026
Former Kadokawa chairman given suspended jail sentence over Olympic graft scandal
Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, 82, was found guilty of bribing a former senior official of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee.
Cartoonist Mitsuru Yaku (center) and other executives of Freelance League of Japan announces their survey to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 21, 2026
One in 10 Japanese creatives see income fall due to generative AI
Survey respondents cited being asked to accept shorter deadlines and lower fees, or losing commissions altogether.
Shimbashi Station in Tokyo's Minato Ward is crowded with commuters on Friday morning following East Japan Railway's suspension of major train lines.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2026
Power outage takes major Tokyo train lines offline during morning rush
The suspensions of the Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines affected approximately 673,000 people.
Cedar pollen is expected to start dispersing in northern Kyushu, Shizuoka and southern Kanto in early February, spreading across much of western and eastern Japan by mid-month, Weathernews said Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 15, 2026
Cedar pollen season to start in early February; above-average levels expected
Nationwide pollen volumes are forecast to be 18% higher than last year’s levels and 28% higher than the long-term average.
A weather map shows snow depths in Hokkaido on Tuesday night
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2026
Hundreds of passengers stranded at Hokkaido airport after severe blizzard
Snowfall prompted the cancellation of 126 flights on Tuesday, with inbound and outbound flights having since resumed.
Japan's pilot Hiroshi Suzuki (front) and Hisashi Miyazaki during the two-man bobsled event at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Japan’s bobsled athletes had been aiming to qualify for the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014, but a misunderstanding has doomed such hopes.
OLYMPICS / Bobsled
Jan 14, 2026
Planning failure dooms Japan’s Olympic bobsled hopes
Japan’s bobsled federation acknowledged that a misunderstanding by its competition committee had proved fatal to its Olympic hopes.
Police have arrested the 49-year-old operator of a bar in the town of Hidaka, Hokkaido, after a woman’s body was found concealed inside the establishment's wall.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 13, 2026
Man held after body found inside wall of bar he ran in Hokkaido
A woman’s body was concealed inside the wall of the bar for days while the operator continued serving customers, according to local media.
Kimono-clad young men walk on their way to a venue during their Coming of Age Day celebration ceremony in Yokohama on Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2026
Number of young people in Japan becoming adults drops to second-lowest ever
Some 1.09 million people — 560,000 men and 530,000 women — reached adulthood as of Jan. 1, according to government data.
Cabaret-turned-kissaten 27 Kissa in the Kabukicho nightlife district in Tokyo is a cafe that operates during the day and becomes a bar at night.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 12, 2026
Young coffee shop owners in Tokyo keep the dwindling coffeehouse culture alive
Younger generations in love with the feel of the Showa Era are working to preserve its traditional coffee shops and offer their own take on them.
Makoto Suwa will be the eighth Japanese astronaut to conduct a long-duration stay on the ISS.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2026
JAXA astronaut Makoto Suwa to join ISS crew in 2027
Suwa, who joined the space agency in 2023, is the eighth Japanese astronaut to be assigned to a long-duration mission.
A helicopter engages in fire suppression efforts as a forest fire spreads on Mount Ogi in Uenohara, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2026
Over 140 residents told to evacuate as crews struggle to contain wildfire in Yamanashi
The wildfire has burned approximately 8 hectares as of Friday morning and had advanced to within 150 meters of the nearest residence.
According to a report released by the National Police Agency, criminal organizations are paying higher prices to acquire bank accounts that are then used to move illicit funds.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 8, 2026
Police move to tighten money-laundering laws
While penalties for selling a bank account include a maximum of one year in prison or a ¥1 million fine, a report from the National Police Agency deemed them insufficient.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority has reported the loss of a work-issued smartphone containing highly sensitive contact information after an employee misplaced the device while traveling in China late last year.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2026
Nuclear regulator employee loses phone containing sensitive info in China
The device, which has not been recovered, contained the names and contact details of staff in charge of nuclear security, all of which is highly confidential.
Older adults with no remaining teeth had a mortality risk about 1.7 times higher than those with 21 or more teeth, according to Japanese researchers.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 5, 2026
Dental hygiene key to predicting mortality, Japanese researchers find
Studies concluded that poor oral health among older adults is closely linked with higher mortality rates and a higher risk of requiring long-term care.
Tape marked 'immigration' indicates where people should wait in line. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s headquarters on foreign-national policy has compiled an interim draft of recommendations to submit to the government in January, aiming to tighten coordination across ministries and local governments on policies affecting foreign nationals.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 24, 2025
LDP policy panel drafts interim report on foreign nationals
The party has set up three project teams to tighten coordination across ministries and local governments on policies affecting foreign nationals
Under the plan, only sectors where shortages remain severe after those adjustments would be permitted to accept foreign labor.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 23, 2025
Japan aims to take in 1.23M foreign workers under labor migration programs
The number was calculated by estimating labor shortages at the end of fiscal 2028 and subtracting expected gains from productivity improvements and domestic recruitment.
While the H3 was able to lift off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 10:51 a.m., the second-stage rocket engine did not start properly and stopped burning earlier than scheduled.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 22, 2025
JAXA fails in third attempt to put Michibiki No. 5 satellite into orbit
The H3 rocket that carried the satellite was able to lift off, but its second-stage rocket engine did not start properly and stopped burning prematurely.
Tourists visit Fujikawaguchiko for sightseeing on May 20, 2024. The total number of foreign entrants to Japan reached approximately 40.34 million in 2024, the highest figure on record.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 22, 2025
Advisory council calls for digital border controls and tighter immigration oversight
The advisory council for immigration policy said in its report that digitalization was one of the core pillars of future immigration policy in Japan.
An expert cautions that recent increases in crimes in Japan must be viewed in the context of a much longer overall declining trend.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 19, 2025
Reported crimes rise for third consecutive year, government data reveals
Police recorded 737,679 reported offenses under the Penal Code in 2024, up 34,328 cases — or 4.9% — from 2023.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

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

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