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July 12, 2026
 

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JAPANESE COURTS

A man in his 60s (left), one of the plaintiffs who have filed a lawsuit against Timee over last-minute cancellation of contracts, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 22, 2026
Users of ‘spot work’ app sue service over last-minute cancellations
Despite employers having accepted their applications, the nine users had their contracts canceled right before the day of work a total of 135 times.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Tomomi Inada (second from left) attends a party panel meeting on revising Japan's retrial system at the party's headquarters on April 15.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2026
LDP and Justice Ministry remain divided over how to revise retrial system
One key issue at the heart of the impasse in revising the retrial system has been whether to allow prosecutors to appeal a court decision to reopen a case.
Hideko Hakamata (front, second from left) and others participate in a protest against the proposed revision of Japan's retrial system, in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 18, 2026
Former death row inmate’s sister slams Japan’s retrial review plan
Iwao Hakamata’s elder sister called for public prosecutors to be barred from appealing court decisions granting retrials.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on Friday indicted five Japanese oil distributors, including East Japan Usami, Eneos Wing and Enex Fleet, over their alleged operation of a price cartel for gas oil.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 17, 2026
Five Japanese oil distributors indicted over cartel after FTC probe
According to the indictment, officials from the firms allegedly agreed to raise the selling prices of gas oil and curb price reduction at meetings in Tokyo in 2024.
Defendant Seiichi Katsurada, president of Shiretoko Yuransen, enters the Kushiro District Court in Kushiro, Hokkaido, on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 17, 2026
Five years sought for head of boat operator over fatal sinking
The court battle is centered on to what extent the head of Shiretoko Yuransen understood the planned course of the Kazu I boat and whether the accident was predictable.
The Nagoya District Court has sentenced Yuji Wada, a 42-year-old former elementary school teacher who started a group chat encouraging the sharing of indecent images of young girls, to two years and six months in prison.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 16, 2026
Ex-teacher who opened group chat for sharing indecent images gets jail
Yuji Wada, one of seven teachers who reportedly victimized more than 75 children, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison by the Nagoya District Court.
Ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers have asked the Justice Ministry to amend a bill aimed at revising Japan’s retrial system.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 16, 2026
LDP members demand rewrite of bill to revise retrial system
The bill proposes a one-year limit on court proceedings initiated by prosecutors’ appeal against a retrial ruling, but party members want such appeals banned entirely.
A woman is being tried before the Tokyo District Court for involvement in forcing a 12-year-old Thai girl to offer sexual services at a massage parlor in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 15, 2026
Suspected broker denies knowing age of Thai girl in Tokyo trafficking case
Punsiripanya Phakhaphon is being tried before the Tokyo District Court for acting as a broker between a 12-year-old Thai girl’s mother and a massage parlor owner in Tokyo.
According to court records, the plaintiffs include the Japanese branch of Jehovah's Witnesses in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 13, 2026
Jehovah’s Witnesses followers sue Japanese government
The plaintiffs claim that the guidelines violate religious freedom and are unconstitutional, also demanding compensation of ¥2 million per person from the state.
The government is set to delay the submission to parliament of a bill aimed at amending the country's retrial system.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2026
Government to delay submission of retrial system reform bill
The move came as the government sees the need to take more time for coordination.
Hunter Haruo Ikegami (left) receives an apology from a Hokkaido police official in the city of Sunagawa on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 9, 2026
Hokkaido returns rifle to hunter after court canceled revocation of his license
The hunter had his license revoked on the grounds that he could have damaged nearby structures when he shot a brown bear in 2018 at the request of the Sunagawa city government.
Hiroyuki Kuzuno, professor at Aoyama Gakuin University (left), and other legal experts on retrials hold a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 7, 2026
142 retrial experts blast Japanese government panel proposal
The Legislative Council proposal, which would maintain the right of the prosecution to appeal retrial orders, is saddled with “serious problems,” the group said.
The sons of late former Ohkawara Kakohki executive Shizuo Aishima during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday after suing the state
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 6, 2026
Bereaved family sues over ‘hostage justice’
It’s the latest in a series of lawsuits challenging Japan’s criminal justice system that critics say doesn’t always presume innocence and relies heavily on coerced confessions.
The apartment one of a son of Chizuo Matsumoto in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture. Matsumoto was the former leader of the now-defunct Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult. His son recently filed a lawsuit against the government and is seeking damages for an attempted inspection of his apartment.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 5, 2026
Ex-Aum leader’s son seeks damages from government
This is the first time that details of his remarks and behavior related to the agency’s inspection attempt have come to light.
The National Diet building in Tokyo. Some members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are opposed to a bill to reform the retrial system that the government is considering submitting.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 4, 2026
Many LDP members oppose retrial system reform bill
Many argued that retrial appeals by prosecutors should be banned, saying such appeals impede relief for wrongful convictions.
Followers of the Unification Church are preparing to establish a new organization following a Tokyo High Court order to dissolve the group, though the timing has yet to be decided.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2026
Unification Church followers consider new organization to continue practices
The planned organization may not have legal status, but would accept donations and manage funds.
Japan's rollout of a new joint custody system for divorcing couples has drawn mixed reactions from the public, with some abuse survivors voicing concerns over continued contact with or interference from former partners while proponents welcomed the move because it puts the country more in line with international standards.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 31, 2026
Japan rolls out new joint custody system
The change ends the country’s long-standing sole custody framework, under which only one parent could retain parental rights following a divorce.
The government adopted legislation at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday to revise auto laws by setting numerical standards for speeding and alcohol levels to clarify the application of dangerous driving offenses, aiming for enactment during the ongoing parliamentary session.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2026
Legislation adopted to set numerical thresholds for dangerous driving
Application requirements for the crime of dangerous driving are vague under current rules, and many cases have ended with convictions for negligent driving instead.
Men hiding their marital status to get women into a sexual relationship is nothing new. But a growing number of victims are speaking out on the men who deceived them for feigning singlehood — or dokushin gisō.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 31, 2026
Deceived women seek criminal penalty for married men pretending to be single
As it stands, men feigning singlehood to enter into sexual relationships can only be sued in the civil courts.
Maki Takubo, former mayor of Ito in Shizuoka Prefecture, was indicted without arrest on Monday by public prosecutors on suspicion of violations including contravening the local autonomy law through alleged academic fraud.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 31, 2026
Former mayor of Ito indicted after allegedly falsifying academic record
Maki Takubo was elected Ito mayor for the first time in 2025 and claimed to have graduated from Toyo University, but later revealed that she had been expelled.
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.
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