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Karin Kaneko
The Tokyo District Court has found Nagumi Osada, 27, guilty of sexually abusing seven girls between the ages of 3 and 6.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 14, 2024
Former day care center worker given 14-year term for child sex abuse
The man was found guilty of abusing seven girls between the ages of 3 and 6 at day care centers where he worked and of filming the acts over a period of two years.
A screenshot of a suspicious job listing on Timee went viral on social media platform X. The job listing was later taken down by Timee.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 13, 2024
Alleged 'dark' part-time job listings popping up on reputable sites
Such jobs, which promise unusually high wages for ostensibly simple work, have been linked to a series of home burglaries and other crimes in recent months.
The headquarters of Bungeishunju, Shukan Bunshun's publisher, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 8, 2024
Comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto to withdraw Bungeishunju defamation suit
The lawsuit was filed over a Shukan Bunshun article that detailed sexual assault allegations made by two women.
American voters in Tokyo gather at an election watch party, organized by Democrats Abroad Japan, at a British bar in Tokyo's Shimokitazawa district on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2024
American voters in Japan reflect divisions in home country
Several Republican voters said they believed Trump’s leadership could address the problems they are most concerned about, such as illegal immigration.
Staff work at a sake brewery in Fukushima Prefecture in October. Sake, a traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage made from grains and water, holds deep cultural significance in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2024
UNESCO panel recommends sake brewing for intangible cultural heritage list
A UNESCO intergovernmental committee meeting in December is expected to make a final decision on its inclusion in the Representative List.
Ai Kamishige, who lives in Yokohama’s Kohoku Ward, allegedly strangled her 11-year-old son and drowned her 5-year-old daughter in a bathtub.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 31, 2024
Yokohama woman arrested over daughter's drowning and attempted murder of son
The woman allegedly strangled her 11-year-old son and drowned her 5-year-old daughter in a bathtub.
Plaintiffs seeking the right for same-sex couples to marry react Wednesday to the Tokyo High Court's ruling that Japan's ban on such marriages is unconstitutional.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 30, 2024
Tokyo High Court rules same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional
It is the second high-court ruling in Japan to describe the ban on same-sex marriage in those terms.
A team of lawyers head to the Osaka District Court on Tuesday to file a lawsuit against Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, on behalf of their clients, who are victims of investment scams linked to fake advertisements on the social media platforms.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 29, 2024
Meta faces Japan lawsuits over fake ads linked to investment fraud
Those affected claim that the owner of Facebook and Instagram neglected to remove the ads from its social media platforms, which led to them being scammed.
A police officer stands guard on Oct. 16 near a home in Yokohama where an elderly man was found dead in a robbery-murder case.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 24, 2024
'Dark lists' shed light on how Japan's robbers narrow down targets
Since August, at least seven residents have been robbed across Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures with a similar modus operandi.
Teruo Naka (right) and Hironori Kondoh, both lawyers for a plaintiff stating the nationality law is unconstitutional, speak to reporters on Thursday at the Tokyo District Court.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 17, 2024
Tokyo court upholds dual nationality ban, rejecting teen's citizenship case
The lawsuit centered on whether the parents' decision to acquire British citizenship for the child could be regarded as a decision made by the plaintiff.
NHK President Nobuo Inaba speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in September.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 17, 2024
NHK to resume contracting former Johnny's performers
The broadcaster's president said the decision was based on the agency’s clear efforts to compensate Johnny Kitagawa's sexual abuse victims.
Raita Fukusaku arrives at Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture in August 1994 to be extradited to the United States.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 16, 2024
First Japanese national extradited to U.S. killed by Hawaii cellmate
Raita Fukusaku was found bleeding on the floor of his cell with trauma to the head and neck at the Halawa Correctional Facility in Honolulu.
Yuri Kondo (center), who filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Japan's ban on dual nationality, speaks at a news conference in the city of Fukuoka in December 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 10, 2024
Ban on dual nationality is constitutional, Fukuoka High Court rules
The court dismissed a claim filed by a woman who lost her Japanese citizenship after she became a naturalized American citizen.
A bill to grant compensation to victims of forced sterilization clears the Lower House on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 8, 2024
Parliament clears bill to compensate all victims of forced sterilization
With the latest legislation, all victims — whether or not they are plaintiffs in related lawsuits — will be compensated, paving the way for resolution.
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 6, 2024
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
A weak yen, robust inbound tourism and social media have shone a spotlight on a park in Tokyo where men gather in search of sex.
The city of Kumamoto on Sept. 18, when the temperature climbed to 37.5 degrees Celsius
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2024
High temperatures to continue in Japan throughout October
The recent heat continues a run of high temperatures stretching back through the summer, with eastern and western Japan witnessing their hottest Septembers on record.
According to a man seeking compensation through the courts for his forced hospitalization at a psychiatric ward, it was clear from his medical records that there was no need for him to stay in hospital from 1988.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 1, 2024
Plaintiff denied compensation for decadeslong stay at hospital
Plaintiff Tokio Ito, who is diagnosed with schizophrenia, claimed that he suffered emotional damage from the extremely long and involuntary stay.
The former treasurer of the Liberal Democratic Party's former largest faction has been found guilty in a case tied to a major political funds scandal that the party has been mired in since late last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 30, 2024
Former Abe faction treasurer given suspended three-year prison term
Junichiro Matsumoto underreported political funds totaling ¥670 million between 2018 and 2022.
Ayuko Kato (center), state minister in charge of building an inclusive society, and government officials bow their heads in apology to victims of forced sterilization, at a meeting to sign a compensation agreement in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 13, 2024
Forced sterilization victims to receive ¥15 million in compensation
The agreement covers those involved in 13 ongoing lawsuits at courts across Japan.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Thursday that the government will do everything it can to assist a Japanese man, named by media outlets as Masatoshi Nakanishi, who has been held in Belarus since July.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 5, 2024
Belarus detains Japanese man over alleged violation of local laws
Local media said the man in his 50s was allegedly involved in intelligence gathering on social and political conditions at the Belarus-Ukraine border.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?