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July 02, 2026
 

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Kyoko Hasegawa
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2026
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
“I always wanted to become a bridge between Japan and Nepal ... but my dream is broken,” Budhathoki Samjhana said.
Visitors in the Dotonbori area of Osaka
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2026
Chinese tourists ditch Japan for third month running
Previously Chinese travelers were the biggest source of tourists to Japan, with South Korean visitors now taking their place.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is also leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), speaks during an election campaign event ahead of the Feb. 8 snap election, in Tokyo, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 7, 2026
Takaichi talks tough on immigration on eve of vote
In a final appeal to voters, the prime minister pledged to make Japan “more prosperous and safer,” including through tougher immigration screening.
An election notice board displaying posters of candidates in Tokyo on Tuesday
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2026
Few women on Japan’s election ballot
The proportion of female candidates within Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling LDP is just 12.8%, according to Jiji Press.
Chef Kiyoshi Fujimoto seasons bear meat at his restaurant in Sapporo in December.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2026
From predator to plate: Japan’s bear crisis sparks culinary craze
Although far from an everyday dish, bear has long been eaten in mountainous villages across Japan.
Hajime Sasaki displays a decorative item made of ivory and designed in the shape of vegetables at his shop in Tokyo on Dec. 4.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2025
Japanese ivory trade attracts fresh global scrutiny
The country hosts one of the world’s largest remaining legal domestic markets for elephant ivory, the international trade of which is illegal.
A bear warning sign is displayed in Shirakawa-go, a popular tourist spot in Gifu Prefecture. A town in Miyagi Prefecture has retracted its social media post warning of a bear sighting after discovering an image submitted to it had been generated using artificial intelligence.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 27, 2025
Japan town retracts bear sighting warning sparked by AI image
The town of Onagawa in Miyagi Prefecture issued the warning after receiving the image of a bear in a residential area, but later discovered it was generated using AI.
Tourists board a bus after sightseeing in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 22, 2025
Japan businesses brush off worries over China tourists
With less Chinese customers, “it’s become a bit easier for Japanese shoppers to visit, so our sales haven’t really dropped,” a shop manager said.
Toyota's Chief Financial Officer Kenta Kon (right) speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2025
Toyota hikes profit forecasts ‘despite the impact of U.S. tariffs’
The firm’s share price fell by as much as 5% in Tokyo, however, as the new guidance fell short of market estimates.
Past visits by top Japanese leaders to Yasukuni Shrine, which also honors convicted war criminals, have infuriated China and South Korea, and no prime minister has visited since 2013.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 17, 2025
Takaichi sends offering to Yasukuni Shrine but will not visit
Top Japanese leaders visiting the shrine also honoring convicted war criminals have infuriated China and South Korea in the past, and no prime minister has visited since 2013.
A member of staff works on a production line that manufactures small metal coils at Mitsuwa Electric in Tokyo on July 11.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2025
Japan’s smaller firms say they are ready to adapt to Trump tariffs
Millions of small- and medium-sized firms that make up 99.7% of Japan’s companies are world-class in their specialist niche, giving rise to confidence about weathering tariffs.
A tank containing liquid hydrogen in Kobe, where a special shipping terminal has been built in order to import liquid hydrogen from Australia.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2025
Japan-Australia flagship hydrogen project stumbles
The blockbuster project is hanging in the balance over questions about its climate credentials.
Shizuko Nishio — who will turn 86 on March 10, when Japan will commemorate 80 years after the bombing of Tokyo — gives an explanation in February in front of a map showing the areas that were burned in the air raids.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2025
‘Eerie’ sky, charred bodies: 80 years since Tokyo’s World War II firestorm
Because of the atomic bombings and Japan’s surrender a month later, the firebombing of Tokyo is often overlooked in history.
Ground Self-Defense Force helicopters return after dropping water as they fight a wildfire around Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Sunday. Firefighters were still battling Japan's biggest forest fire in half a century on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2025
Japan’s worst wildfire in half a century spreads
White smoke billowed from a forested area around the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, six days after the blaze began amid record low rainfall.
The Kangei Maru, a 9,300-ton whaling mothership, was launched in May.
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2024
Japan shows first commercial fin whale catch in 48 years
The country this year added the fin whale to a catch list that already includes minke, Bryde’s and sei whales.
Tomiji Suzuki (back) attends a workshop in Tokyo. The 89-year-old is now making apps for the fast-growing elderly demographic, using ChatGPT to fine-tune his skills.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2024
ChatGPT a mentor for 89-year-old app developer
So far, Tomiji Suzuki has developed 11 free iPhone apps to help Japan’s aging population.
Former Self-Defense Forces member Rina Gonoi arrives Tuesday at the Fukushima District Court, which found three ex-soldiers guilty of sexually assaulting her.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 12, 2023
Guilty verdicts in SDF sexual assault case
Rina Gonoi, 24, took to YouTube last year to share her account after an internal military probe was dropped for lack of evidence.
Honda raised its full-year net profit forecast to ¥930 billion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 9, 2023
Honda and Nissan hike full-year forecasts
The car giants, however, also pointed out that fierce price competition in China was posing a challenge for Japanese automakers.
People take part in a protest against the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's redevelopment project for the Meiji Jingu Gaien district in Tokyo in February.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 25, 2023
Petitioners try to halt razing of thousands of trees in historic Tokyo park
Tokyo’s percentage of public green space is far lower than other major cities such as New York, Seoul and London.
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2023
Japan boosts fishing sector aid after Fukushima water release
The increased aid comes as more than 100 fishermen and locals living near Fukushima prepare to file a lawsuit this week seeking to stop the discharge.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
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.
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.
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.
Reform panel calls for easing data center building standards
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasized that the government will promote reforms of regulations and systems that fit the artificial intelligence era.
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."
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.
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.

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
By Alex K.T. Martin

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