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July 12, 2026
 

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JAPANESE COURTS

Do Van Tuan shows some of the Vietnamese books he took with him to the Sendai Detention House in Sendai in December.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Mar 9, 2026
The Vietnamese interpreter who sends his imprisoned countrymen books
Do Van Tuan, 45, hopes that through books, detainees might be able to make good use of their time while under detention to build a better future.
Japanese film director Hideo Sakaki was sentenced to eight years in prison Friday for sexually assaulting two women actors under the guise of “acting instruction,” media reports said.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2026
Japanese film director jailed for 8 years for sexual assault
Hideo Sakaki’s film “Confession” was pulled following the accusations in 2022, part of a string of sexual abuse allegations to hit Japan’s film and television industry.
A high court on Thursday upheld a seven-year prison sentence for a U.S. Marine convicted of sexual assault in Okinawa Prefecture in May 2024.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2026
Japan high court upholds seven-year sentence for U.S. Marine in sexual assault case
The 23-year-old Marine was charged with sexual assault resulting in injury to a woman in Okinawa Prefecture in May 2024.
A picture of Kumiko Yasufuku taken from a high school yearbook
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2026
Woman indicted over 1999 fatal stabbing in Nagoya
Kumiko Yasufuku is suspected of killing a woman with a knife at the victim’s apartment.
Lawyers for plaintiffs put up a sign reading, "unjust ruling," following a court's rejection on Wednesday of their case against a restart of the Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2026
Court rejects bid to block Shika nuclear power plant restart
Six plaintiffs claimed that restarting the reactors may cause irreparable damage to Hokuriku Electric Power.
A former Nomura Holdings employee accused of arson, attempted murder, and robbery of an elderly client has been sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Hiroshima District Court.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 3, 2026
Ex-Nomura employee sentenced to 18 years in home robbery case
The incident, involving an elderly client, attracted widespread attention in Japan, where house calls by financial workers have long been a routine part of doing business.
The Manga One website by Shogakukan announced the establishment of a third-party committee over its hiring of two manga authors convicted of sexual misconduct.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 3, 2026
Publisher to investigate its hiring of two manga authors convicted of sex crimes
Shogakukan was found to have hired a manga writer convicted of sexually assaulting a woman under the age of 20 and another found guilty of indecent assault.
A prosecutor holds a news conference in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on Monday after submitting a written request to establish a third-party committee to investigate possible harassment among prosecutors nationwide.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 3, 2026
Prosecutor in Japan calls for third-party harassment probes nationwide
The written request from the prosecutor called for a third-party committee to conduct a fact-finding survey on harassment among prosecution staff nationwide.
The murder of a volunteer probation officer in 2024 sparked discussions on how to better ensure the safety of such officers.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 2, 2026
Man sentenced to life in prison over murder of volunteer probation officer
The case had sparked discussion on how to ensure the safety of such officers, who use their homes to conduct interviews with probationers under their support.
Norio Kimura (right), head of a group of 162 residents in Yamaguchi Prefecture and other areas seeking an injunction against the Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime Prefecture, speaks at a news conference on Thursday in the city of Iwakuni after their lawsuit was dismissed.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 27, 2026
Court rejects bid to halt nuclear reactor in western Japan
The plaintiffs had argued that operations at the No. 3 reactor of the Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime Prefecture should be suspended due to safety concerns.
The death penalty has been sought for a 43-year-old man charged with killing three members of a family in Hanno, Saitama Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 26, 2026
Death penalty sought over triple murder in Saitama
The defendant, 43-year-old Jun Saito, is charged with killing three members of a family at their house in the city of Hanno in December 2022.
Hirotsugu Sakahara (left), Hiromu Sakahara’s eldest son, shakes hands with Hideko Hakamata, an older sister of a former defendant who received a not-guilty verdict in a retrial, after they learned that Sakahara’s father case would be reopened, on Tuesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 25, 2026
Top court grants retrial for deceased inmate over 1984 murder in Shiga
The decision makes it the first case in recent history in which a retrial was granted for a deceased inmate.
Prosecutors said Tuesday during a trial at the Otsu District Court that the murder of a probation officer had a grave impact on the operation of the probation officer system.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 25, 2026
Indefinite term sought for 2024 murder of probation officer in Otsu
The key issue of the trial at the Otsu District Court is whether the defendant has the capacity to bear criminal responsibility for killing the volunteer probation officer.
A prosecutor speaks during a news conference in the city of Osaka on Tuesday after suing the state for damages related to a sexual assault case involving a former head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 18, 2026
Japan prosecutor sues state over sexual assault by boss
The prosecutor said her life “has been chipped away by the prosecution organization’s terrible response over the past two years since reporting the assault.”
According to the Justice Ministry, this was the first case in which a probation officer was murdered by a person under his or her support.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 17, 2026
Defense in probation officer murder case cites mental incompetence
A 36-year-old man has admitted to murdering his probation officer, but his defense team argued that he is not mentally competent to bear responsibility for the crime.
Co-representative Yasuyuki Tokuda (left) of the defense team speaks at a news conference in the city of Fukuoka on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 17, 2026
High court rejects retrial appeal over 1992 Fukuoka child murder
The defense plans to file a special appeal with the Supreme Court against the decision.
According to a ruling, Toshiya Fujita was involved in a total of seven robbery cases in Tokyo and three other prefectures between October 2022 and January 2023, including one in which a 90-year-old woman was killed in Komae, Tokyo.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2026
‘Luffy’ crime ring member sentenced to life in prison
Of the four arrested and indicted senior members of the crime ring, Toshiya Fujita, 41, was the second to receive a sentence.
The Saitama District Court. In the first trial hearing at the court for a triple murder case on Monday, defendant Jun Saito said he did not know about the case.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 16, 2026
Man pleads not guilty to triple murder in Saitama Prefecture
According to the indictment, Jun Saito killed U.S. national William Ross Bishop Jr., his wife, Izumi Morita, and their daughter.
After the family members of Chizuo Matsumoto argued over who should inherit his remains, a family court decision designating the second daughter as the recipient was finalized in 2021.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2026
High court orders ex-Aum leader’s remains handed over to daughter
The government had said that if the remains were handed over, they would be misused by the cult’s successor group and followers, harming public safety.
Prosecutors on Thursday sought a life sentence for Toshiya Fujita, a senior member of the "Luffy" crime ring responsible for a series of robbery and fraud cases across Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 5, 2026
Life sentence sought for ‘Luffy’ crime ring member
The case involves Toshiya Fujita, a senior member of a crime ring behind a series of robbery and fraud cases across the country.
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.

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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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