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July 12, 2026
 

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Yukana Inoue
Hairstyle examples shown follow the relaxation of hair regulations at police academies.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 21, 2026
Japan’s police force eases academy rules in bid to attract fresh faces
The move comes amid declining recruitment numbers fueled by the image of police academies being too strict.
An official from the Japan Meteorological Agency speaks about the powerful quake that hit northern Japan at a news conference in Tokyo Monday evening.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2026
Japan issues rare special advisory over chance of more powerful quake
The government issued the advisory to residents of 182 municipalities from Hokkaido to Chiba, urging them to be ready to evacuate at any moment.
A rickshaw is seen in the Asakusa district of Tokyo on Sunday. A “special heatstroke warning alert” will be issued when unprecedentedly dangerous heat levels are forecast for a particular prefecture between Wednesday and Oct. 21, the Environment Ministry says.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 20, 2026
‘Special heatstroke warning alert’ to be implemented for summer
The special alert is issued on a prefectural level if the heat index is thought to surpass 35 degrees Celsius at most observation points the following day.
Japan on Friday adopted a new name for days with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius or higher.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2026
JMA introduces new name for days of 40 C heat
Beginning this summer, the weather agency will refer to the hottest days as kokushobi, a description that translates as “severely hot day.”
Sanrio said Thursday it has suspended an executive suspected of receiving off-the-books compensation totaling several hundred million yen from a subsidiary.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 17, 2026
Sanrio executive suspended amid accusations subsidiary gave him extra money
Kiyoshi Saito is believed to have received compensation from a U.S. subsidiary of the group that he was in charge of, on top of his executive salary.
A vehicle carrying Yūki Adachi leaves the Kyoto Prefectural Police’s Nantan Station as the suspect is transferred to prosecutors on Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 16, 2026
Father admits to murder of son found dead in Kyoto Prefecture
The man had been arrested earlier on suspicion of abandoning his son’s body in the mountains.
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.
Investigators are seen at the family home of 11-year-old Yuki Adachi, a boy who was missing for three weeks before his body was found in the mountains near his school, in the city of Nantan, Kyoto Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 15, 2026
Police raid family home of boy found dead in Kyoto Prefecture
The body of elementary school student Yuki Adachi, who had been missing since March 23, was found on Monday in the mountains of Kyoto Prefecture, with the cause of death unknown.
Police officers are seen on Tuesday at the site where a body identified as that of a missing 11-year-old boy was found a day earlier, in the city of Nantan, Kyoto Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 14, 2026
Body found in Kyoto mountains identified as that of missing boy
The body was found in the mountains about 2 kilometers southwest of the school in the rural city of Nantan that 11-year-old Yuki Adachi attended.
Filipinos with specified skills qualifications learn how to prepare fish for sushi in Tokyo in 2022.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 13, 2026
Japan freezes visa applications for foreign restaurant workers
Visas will not be issued for applications received after Monday, but for those submitted prior to that, certificates will be issued in order as long as the quota is not exceeded.
Police officers search for 11-year-old Yuki Adachi in Nantan, Kyoto Prefecture, on March 30.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 10, 2026
Police are left with few clues as search for missing boy in Kyoto continues
Yuki Adachi, 11, went missing on the morning of March 23 after his father dropped him off at his elementary school in the rural city of Nantan.
Teruo Fujii, president of the University of Tokyo, holds a news conference on Wednesday in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2026
University of Tokyo to directly manage affiliated hospital in response to scandal
A string of corruption cases involving doctors at the hospital recently came to light, with one indicted for allegedly receiving ¥1.8 million in services at clubs and brothels.
In a survey of young people in six nations, only around 16% of Japanese respondents were optimistic about the future of their country.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 8, 2026
Young people in Japan express lowest hopes for themselves and their country in poll
Only 16% of Japanese respondents were optimistic about the future of their country, the lowest rate among young people surveyed in six nations.
An internal probe at the University of Tokyo found 21 cases of ethics violations among staff, with one case still under review by its disciplinary committee.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 7, 2026
Internal University of Tokyo probe finds at least 21 cases of ethics violations
The results of the investigation comes after a series of bribery scandals involving faculty members at the institution were revealed last year.
Police investigate the scene where a staff member of a Pokemon store was fatally stabbed, in Tokyo's Toshima Ward on March 26.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Apr 6, 2026
Pokemon store stabbing spotlights importance of treatment for stalkers
Revelations that the offender had been arrested for stalking begs the question: Why could the murder not be prevented?
Members of Japanese organized gangs made up around 15% of those arrested for selling cannabis and 22% of those cultivating it.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 3, 2026
Arrests over marijuana use hit record high in Japan
The figure of 6,832 has more than doubled from 2017, when it was 3,008.
A Japan Airlines airplane flies past an oil refinery as it approaches to land at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, as seen from a park in the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki, on March 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2026
Japan’s international flights to get pricier due to hike in fuel surcharge
Fuel surcharges are expected to rise up to double their current rates due to the ongoing Iran conflict.
Some utilities, for instance, tout that the utility costs will be cheaper under their plan without accounting for a variable fuel adjustment charge.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2026
Utility contract complaints persist nearly a decade after deregulation
Consumer officials are urging caution as complaints over electricity and gas contracts remain almost 10 years since Japan opened its utility markets.
An ambulance parked in front of Sunshine City, a commercial complex in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district, on Thursday night following a stabbing
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 27, 2026
Pokemon shop employee killed by stalker in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district
The suspected assailant, after attacking the 21-year-old victim, later took his own life.
In some cases, those posing as contractors deliberately destroyed parts of the building or fixtures during their inspections so that they then needed to be repaired.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 26, 2026
Cases of home-renovation fraud rose to new record in 2025, police data shows
The cost of damages in 2025 totaled ¥15.1 billion — more than three times that recorded during the previous year.
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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