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October 31, 2025
 

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Sotatsu Yanase, a 46-year-old tatami shop owner, was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison by the Tokyo District Court on Thursday for burning his girlfriend's body and dumping it in the sea off Izu Oshima.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Tokyo court sentences man to 30 months in prison for burning girlfriend’s body
According to the indictment, Sotatsu Yanase abandoned his girlfriend's remains in 2024 near Izu Oshima's southwest coast, with police still investigating how she died.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Lawmaker Kei Sato testifies at Abe shooter trial
Sato, who witnessed the shooting, expressed his resentment and grief over the fatal attack.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Court finds July poll was held in an unconstitutional state
A group of lawyers sought the invalidation of the Upper House election.
The Tokyo headquarters of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, also known as the Unification Church
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 29, 2025
Hearings on Unification Church dissolution order to end in November
The church had allegedly inspired the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe three years ago.
Participants march through Tokyo for the Tokyo Rainbow Pride parade in April last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Oct 29, 2025
Gender identity law reform stalls despite court rulings
Strong opposition from conservatives in parliament have dimmed prospects for reform.
Members of the media gather outside the Nara District Court in the city of Nara on Tuesday hours before the start of the trial of Tetsuya Yamagami, the man accused of fatally shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 28, 2025
Abe shooting suspect Yamagami pleads guilty to murder
By Tomoko Otake
On the first day of his trial, Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, admitted to the 2022 killing of the former prime minister.
The Children and Families Agency plans to launch a system in December 2026 that would allow employers to verify whether job seekers who will work with children have a sexual offense record.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 27, 2025
Japan faces gaps in new system to track teachers with sex offense records
The new system excludes offenses such as stalking, as well as cases that end without indictment because the crime is deemed minor or a settlement is reached with the victim.
The Nara District Court has scheduled 19 days for the trial of Tetsuya Yamagami before it hands down a ruling on Jan. 21 next year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 27, 2025
Three years later, trial begins for man accused of ex-PM Abe’s assassination
By Tomoko Otake
The delay was due to pretrial proceedings and a lengthy psychiatric evaluation for Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, to determine his fitness to stand trial.
The scene near the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo where a riot police officer was injured on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 25, 2025
Man arrested near U.S. Embassy in Tokyo carried more weapons
The man armed with knives who was arrested near the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo was also carrying a foldable saw and scissors.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 24, 2025
Man with knife arrested near U.S. Embassy in Tokyo after police officer injured
The man became violent after being questioned by police near the embassy.

Takaichi buys time and builds trust with ‘near-perfect’ Trump summit
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during a visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
Trump trims fentanyl-linked China tariffs after 'amazing' Xi meeting
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping greet each other as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base, next to the Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Kyushu banzuke sets the stage to cement 2025’s sumo narratives
Onosato ahead of his bout against Aonishiki at The Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 18
Takaichi pushed back on U.S. request to ban Russian gas imports, sources say
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly turned down a request from the U.S. to cease imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia.
At Japan Mobility Show, BYD gears up to conquer Japan's EV market
BYD Auto Japan President Atsuki Tofukuji unveils the Racco at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Oasis returns to Tokyo: Rain, rapture and rock
Fans wait to get into the Oasis show at Tokyo Dome on Saturday. While lining up in the rain, some broke into impromptu versions of the British rock group's hits.
Kyushu banzuke sets the stage to cement 2025’s sumo narratives
Onosato ahead of his bout against Aonishiki at The Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Oct. 18
Tokyo Film Festival opens with global stars and a spotlight on Asian storytelling
Director Junji Sakamoto (left) walked the Tokyo International Film Festival red carpet with Sayuri Yoshinaga (center) and Non (right), who both play mountaineer Junko Tabei, the first woman to summit Mount Everest, in the biopic "Climbing for Life."
Spanish artist and Japanese writer duos diversify the manga talent pool in Japan
"Menheim” is a dark fantasy manga with a story that centers on a girl’s quest to find a cure for her ill brother.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo
Foreign wrestlers have a long history in sumo

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