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July 12, 2026
 

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JAPANESE POLICE

Tokyo police arrested six people for allegedly smuggling 49 kilograms of gold bars worth about ¥1,075 million from China by hiding the bars inside life-size dolls.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 23, 2026
Six held for alleged gold-smuggling attempt from China
With an estimated worth of over 1 million yen the gold was concealed in life-size dolls.
The Metropolitan Police Department's headquarters in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 22, 2026
Japan arrests man suspected of links to alleged scam syndicate Prince Group, media report
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department have arrested Hu Shi, a Cypriot national, on suspicion of falsifying documents.
Firefighters examine rooms burned in a fire at Takinogawa Daisan Elementary School in Tokyo's Kita Ward on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2026
Fire at Tokyo elementary school believed to be accidental
The fire is believed to have started on the fourth floor of the school building.
Koji Sakahara (center), the eldest son of Hiromu Sakahara, and others attend a news conference at the Shiga Prefectural Government building on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 19, 2026
Man given life sentence likely to be acquitted posthumously
Hiromu Sakahara was convicted of robbery-murder after a liquor shop owner was killed and her safe was stolen in the town of Hino, Shiga Prefecture. He died in 2011.
A lawyer representing the mother (left, blurred for privacy reasons) of a girl who died after being detained speaks during a news conference in Kobe on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 19, 2026
Japanese mother sues state over teen’s ‘hostage justice’ death
The mother of a girl who died from emaciation following detention and alleged interrogations by authorities is seeking compensation, in the latest case of “hostage justice.”
The National Police Agency said it has dispatched a liaison officer to Bangkok in order to strengthen cooperation with police authorities in Southeast Asia and crack down on fraud cases.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 18, 2026
Police force deploys liaison officer to Bangkok to coordinate on fraud cases
The dispatch is part of a broader push to crack down on fraud groups operating scam hubs in Southeast Asia.
As fraud involving mobile payment apps grow increasingly sophisticated, PayPay has adopted an artificial intelligence system dedicated to detecting fraudulent transactions and assigned staff for the effort.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 17, 2026
Man with possible tokuryū ties arrested over mobile payment fraud
The man reportedly told police he got involved in the scheme when he applied for a job a few years ago after seeing a recruitment notice on X.
Suspect Yusuke Sasaki arrives at Haneda Airport on Tuesday after being deported from Thailand. He is accused of leading a special fraud operation based in Cambodia.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 17, 2026
Alleged Japanese leader of Cambodia-based fraud ring arrested
The suspect, Yusuke Sasaki, was arrested by the Aichi Prefectural Police after being deported from Thailand the same day, where he had been detained by local authorities.
Cyanide is an acutely toxic substance that has been used in murders and terrorist attacks.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 16, 2026
Japanese researchers find new ways to detect cyanide poisoning
The study, conducted by researchers from institutions including Kindai University and the Aichi Prefectural Police Department, was published in a toxicology journal in May.
Shinnosuke Abe announces his resignation as the manager of Yomiuri Giants during a news conference in Tokyo on May 26.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 16, 2026
Ex-Giants manager Abe spared indictment over alleged assault of daughter
“We took into account the nature of the alleged assault, the circumstances surrounding the case and other relevant evidence,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The Nagoya District Court has convicted Fumiya Kosemura, a 38-year-old former elementary school teacher, of sharing illicit voyeuristic images of schoolchildren in a private online chat group of teachers.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 15, 2026
Ex-teacher given eight years in prison over voyeuristic images of children
Fumiya Kosemura, 38, secretly photographed girls in underwear at an elementary school in Yokohama and shared the images in a chat group.
Bobby Ologun
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 14, 2026
TV personality Bobby Ologun held for alleged sexual assault
Ologun, 60, whose real name is Bobby Konda, has denied the allegations.
The site in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, where a missing girl was found in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest at around 1:50 a.m. Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 12, 2026
Man arrested after body of high school girl, 17, found in Sagamihara
The police has been questioning the man, the girl’s acquaintance, on a voluntary basis, suspecting that he has information about the situation.
Self-storage units and rental containers can be used by lone wolf attackers as a place to store gunpowder or as a workshop to make dangerous goods.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 11, 2026
Police in Japan seek to cooperate with businesses over lone-wolf attacks
The aim is to collect information that point to signs of individuals making firearms or explosives alone, including unusual smells and noises, to help prevent terrorist attacks.
A group of high school students arrested over allegedly trying to extort money from a boy in western Tokyo may have used ChatGPT to decide how much to demand, police said.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 11, 2026
Teenagers in Tokyo allegedly used ChatGPT to decide extortion amount in assault case
Five teenagers were arrested in January over the alleged assault and attempted extortion of ¥150,000 from a high school student in the city of Hachioji.
Smartphones and PCs seized by Osaka Prefectural Police in connection to a social media scam that led to the arrest of 41 people
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 11, 2026
Osaka police arrest 41 over side-job scam affecting 2,300 people
In the scam posted on social media, victims were told they could earn large sums through a side job if they first paid for training courses.
Nara police have arrested a self-proclaimed "messenger of God" and six others over the confinement of a company executive's teenage son at a relative's house in Yokohama.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 10, 2026
‘Messenger of God’ and six others arrested over teen’s confinement
The seven people, including a company executive, allegedly confined the executive’s teenage son to a relative’s house in Yokohama between May 6 and 8.
Hideko Hakamata attends a parliamentary session on May 27 to observe deliberations on a Criminal Procedure Code revision bill.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 9, 2026
Sister of ex-death row inmate calls for full disclosure of evidence by prosecutors amid retrial system review
A bill under consideration would limit the scope of evidence disclosure and mandate that the defense not be provided with a list of evidence.
Former Yomiuri Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe was referred to prosecutors on suspicion of assaulting his eldest daughter, though it is believed the police attached a recommendation for leniency.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 9, 2026
Former Giants manager Abe referred to prosecutors over alleged assault
The Metropolitan Police Department is believed to have attached a recommendation for leniency to the papers they sent to prosecutors.
Takafumi Sugawara (second from left) is detained at Suvarnabhumi Airport on the outskirts of Bangkok on Sunday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 9, 2026
Japanese man held in Thailand over Cambodia-based scams
Suspect Takafumi Sugawara is believed to be a ringleader of a fraud group based in Cambodia and is alleged to have been involved in scams targeting Japanese nationals.
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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