The number of people who moved from urban to nonurban areas under a government program to help revitalize local communities increased by 710 in fiscal 2024 from the preceding year, according to the internal affairs ministry.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 4, 2025
Record 7,910 people served as 'community reactivators' in FY2024
About 70% of over 8,000 urban residents who moved to nonurban areas under the government program continued to live in areas where they served.
Pix (left), the mascot of the U.K. Pavilion at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, is seen alongside the event's official mascot, Myaku-Myaku, on Jan. 16 in the city of Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture
JAPAN / Society
Apr 4, 2025
Countries' mascots beat drum for Osaka Expo
Participating nations are taking on Japan's love of mascots by coming up with characters of their own, some of which incorporate the culture of the host country.
Rozan Al-Khazendar (second from left), an entrepreneur from the Gaza Strip, speaks to Kiyomi Kitamura (left), her Japanese partner in a T-shirt venture to raise funds for the Palestinian enclave, during a meeting at her office in the outskirts of Cairo, last December.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 2, 2025
Gaza woman launches clothing brand with Japanese partner
Entrepreneur Rozan Al-Khazendar is collaborating with a mail-order business operator out of Shiga Prefecture to launch a website selling T-shirts to fund aid to the region.
Power utilities, telecommunications carriers and other infrastructure companies are working on measures to minimize damage and strengthen cooperation beyond company boundaries to ensure early recovery in the event of a huge Nankai Trough earthquake.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 2, 2025
Japan infrastructure sector draws up contingencies for Nankai quake
Power utilities, telecommunications carriers and other companies are working on measures to reduce damage and strengthen cooperation to ensure rapid recovery.
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 1, 2025
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
The company is switching to paper cartons as a result of declining demand, environmental concerns and supply issues after its glass bottle supplier shut down.
Imabari Mayor Shigeki Tokunaga announces the containment of a wildfire that started more than a week ago during a news conference on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 31, 2025
Wildfire in Ehime Prefecture has been contained, mayor declares
The wildfire razed a total area of 442 hectares in the city of Imabari and the neighboring city of Saijo.
Associate professor Soko Aoki (right) and her sociology students at Tohoku University have helped compile documents in the recently published “50th Year of Menstrual Products” book.
Menstruation and gender equality: Student movement revisited 50 years on
As "period poverty" has become a social issue, former members of the group have self-published a reference book about their activities.

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it