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January 21, 2025
 

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Karin Kaneko
Fuji TV President Koichi Minato speaks at a news conference on Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Media
Jan 20, 2025
What went wrong at Fuji TV's news conference on allegations against Nakai?
The broadcaster, which imposed various restrictions for the event that included denying access to many media agencies, ended up worsening the scandal.
Fuji TV President Koichi Minato speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2025
Fuji TV to launch probe after allegations of sexual misconduct
The move comes amid rising criticism over the broadcaster’s handling of alleged sexual misconduct by former SMAP member Masahiro Nakai.
Fuji TV in the Odaiba waterfront area in Tokyo in 2021
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2025
Fuji TV scrutinized over handling of allegations against ex-SMAP member Nakai
The scandal has sparked widespread criticism, with many questioning Fuji TV’s corporate governance and crisis management.
The streets of Susukino district in the city of Sapporo, Hokkaido, in February 2020. Osamu Tamura, 61, is on trial to determine whether he was aware of the alleged actions of his daughter when he drove her to and from the hotel where a 62-year-old man was found dead and beheaded in July 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 14, 2025
Father of suspected killer pleads not guilty to aiding Sapporo murder
Osamu Tamura, 61, is on trial to determine whether he was aware of his daughter's alleged actions.
People remove snow in the city of Aomori on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2025
Caution urged as heavy snow forecast for Sea of Japan coast
Authorities have warned individuals to consider vehicle safety as well as the risks of traffic disruptions, snow falling from roofs and damage to buildings.
Beauty salon Dione, which has over 100 branches nationwide, offers hair removal treatments for children as young as 3 years old. It uses hair removal equipment that emits a special light heated to around 38 degrees Celsius, unlike conventional equipment that involves temperatures of 60 to 80 C.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 9, 2025
Hair removal for kids — boosting confidence or preying on insecurities?
Hair removal treatments are increasingly being extended to children as young as three years old in Japan, raising concerns over the risks.
According to the National Police Agency, a total of 3,326 romance scam were reported in the first 11 months of this year, more than double that in the same period of last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 30, 2024
'For our future together': The rising threat of romance scams in Japan
The prevalence of such scams, which prey on the lonely, has led authorities to step up measures to crack down on scammers who are often not even in the country.
A transport ministry panel experiments with a dummy to determine how quickly a person lying on the road during the night would be spotted when drivers use low and high beam lights.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 27, 2024
Japan drivers warned to steer clear of drunk pedestrians sleeping on road
Collisions involving pedestrians asleep on the road typically spike in December, when more people get imbibed at New Year's gatherings.
The streets of Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district in 2020. Consultations over matters relating to host clubs have been increasing every year at police stations nationwide, according to the National Police Agency.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 19, 2024
National Police Agency panel calls for stricter rules against host clubs
The expert panel recommends targeting malicious practices, rather than specific establishments, to cover more ground.
A flyer created by the Metropolitan Police Department to warn people about <i>yami baito</i>, or "dark" part-time jobs
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 17, 2024
Japan to let investigators go undercover to crack down on yami baito
Until now, undercover operations have been allowed only for drug- and gun-related criminal investigations.
During the trial of ex-principal Hisayoshi Kitamura, one of his victims testified that she could not consult anyone when she was assaulted as a student because she had been taught to follow the instructions of teachers.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 9, 2024
Ex-principal gets 9 years for raping middle school students in 2010
The crimes came to light after one of the victims reported her assault to the Tokyo education board in 2022.
Prosecutors said Tamotsu Shiiki, 58, had sex with a 12-year-old girl at a karaoke parlor on Aug. 20 after he approached her on the streets, well aware that she was underage.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 5, 2024
Former Nippon Ishin lawmaker pleads guilty to statutory rape
The lawmaker had approached her on the streets of the Kabukicho entertainment district in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on Aug. 20 and was aware she was underage.
Donna Nelson (fourth from left) with her family members. Nelson was found guilty of smuggling drugs to Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 4, 2024
Australian woman given six-year sentence over Japan drug smuggling
Donna Nelson has said that she was a victim of an online romance scam and that she was not aware she was carrying luggage containing illegal drugs.
Donna Nelson says her life was turned upside down when she learned that the man she was falling for had tricked her into smuggling 2 kilograms of methamphetamine into Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 3, 2024
Australian says romance scam tricked her into smuggling drugs into Japan
Donna Nelson says her life was turned upside down when she learned that the man she was falling for had tricked her into smuggling drugs.
A stone pillar at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, on which the word "toilet" was spray-painted in May
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 29, 2024
Chinese man pleads guilty to role in vandalizing Yasukuni Shrine
Jiang Zhuojun said he assisted with the vandalizing to protest against Japan's discharging of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
The National Consumer Affairs Center reports a growing number of consultations regarding "digital legacies" — data and online services left behind when people die.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 25, 2024
Are you leaving your loved ones digital legacies or headaches?
The National Consumer Affairs Center is getting an increasing number of consultations regarding data and online services left behind by deceased persons.
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.
Chinese buyer of Okinawa island to make visit in summer
Yanaha Island in Okinawa Prefecture as seen from a ferry.
More bird flu cases found in Japan; 1.44 million birds to be culled
Officials with the agriculture ministry hold a news conference in Nagoya on Friday following an outbreak of avian influenza in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, earlier this month.
Fuji TV loses more advertisers amid inquiry into host’s behavior
Fuji TV is losing more advertisers following allegations about inappropriate behavior by a celebrity host and questions about its handling of the case.
As Trump returns, will Japan be able to weather the storm?
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo in May 2019.
Top sumo pros to enter the ring in Paris in June 2026
Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku (right) alongside David Rothschild, the promoter of an upcoming tournament in Paris, on Sunday in Tokyo
As Trump returns, will Japan be able to weather the storm?
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo in May 2019.
Amid rising world hunger, a Japan-inspired group in Kenya is making a big impact
Wawira Njiru, the founder of Food4Education, serves food during the opening of a new kitchen in Mombasa County, Kenya, in 2022. The organization started in 2012 by feeding 25 children out of a single kitchen. Now it feeds nearly half a million every day.
From Tokyo to Manhattan, Takuma Watanabe stirs up a stiff drink
It's taken Takuma Watanabe little time to establish himself as one of New York's hottest bartenders.
For tourists in search of seasonal sights, Yamagata makes its case
For some time away from Tokyo's suffocating urban sameness, Yamagata Prefecture is home to a soothing array of natural abundance.
A slow dive into ‘a moment and an eternity’ with Ryuichi Sakamoto
From the mid-2000s onward, Ryuichi Sakamoto created a number of installation works, often in collaboration with Shiro Takatani, of multimedia art collective Dumb Type.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go
By Kazuaki Nagata and Richard Meyer

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