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Max Verstappen celebrates leading team Red Bull to their second consecutive constructors’ title at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture on Sunday.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 24, 2023

Tsunoda fails to score points in Japan GP as Red Bull clinch title

Max Verstappen took the chequered flag for the Honda-powered Red Bull, clinching the team’s second consecutive constructors’ title.
Currently, part-timers lose their status as dependents if their annual income surpasses ¥1.3 million, requiring them to pay social insurance premiums.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2023

Japan mulls relief measures for dependent part-timers

Currently, part-timers lose their status as dependents if their annual income surpasses ¥1.3 million, requiring them to pay social insurance premiums.
People take part in a protest against the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's redevelopment project for the Meiji Jingu Gaien district in Tokyo in February.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 25, 2023

Petitioners try to halt razing of thousands of trees in historic Tokyo park

Tokyo's percentage of public green space is far lower than other major cities such as New York, Seoul and London.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako release young barfin flounder and shrimp into the sea during the 42nd annual national marine convention in the town of Akkeshi in Hokkaido on Sept. 17.
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2023

Talks on imperial succession stall under Kishida administration

The prime minister has said that ensuring stable imperial succession is "an issue that cannot be put off," but no concrete steps have been taken.
Tsushima Mayor Naoki Hitakatsu addresses the city's municipal assembly on Wednesday, announcing his decision not to take part in the government's preliminary survey to assess the suitability of a location as a nuclear waste disposal site.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 27, 2023

Tsushima mayor turns down request for nuclear waste site survey

The mayor expressed his decision at a municipal council meeting, saying that “there is not enough consensus building among citizens.”
The baby hatch at Jikei Hospital in the city of Kumamoto
JAPAN / Society
Sep 28, 2023

Tokyo hospital hopes to launch baby hatch next year

San-ikukai Hospital is preparing to set up a baby hatch next spring or later, along with a system to allow women to give births confidentially.
Makoto Nishimoto during his campaign rally in December 2022. On Wednesday, Nishimoto, a member of the Miyazaki Municipal Assembly who goes by the name Super Crazy-kun, was indicted on sexual assault charges.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 28, 2023

Japan politician Super Crazy-kun indicted on sexual assault charges

Makoto Nishimoto was charged on the grounds of nonconsensual sexual intercourse resulting in injury. The victim was a female acquaintance in her 30s.
The idea of renting a library bookshelf has proved popular in some areas.
CULTURE
Oct 3, 2023

Libraries with individually owned bookshelves spreading in Japan

Such libraries are helping revitalize local communities by creating a place where people can mingle through events.
Two Japan Sumo Association officials have been sanctioned.
SUMO
Oct 1, 2023

Sumo association officials punished over harassment claims

The association will suspend Tetsuji Miyata, its administrative affairs chief, for one month, and demote the head of the office in charge of accounting.
Yukio Edano, former leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, speaks in Miyazaki Prefecture last month.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 1, 2023

Yukio Edano moves to return as CDP leader

Yukio Edano, former leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, is believed to have begun his bid to return as party leader.
By prefecture, Gunma has had the highest number of bicycle accidents involving high school students on their way to school for nine consecutive years.
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2023

Bicycle accidents involving high schoolers highest in Gunma in 2022

The rate for junior high school students was also highest in Gunma Prefecture with 32.03, followed by Kagawa with 16.30.
Johnny & Associates president Noriyuki Higashiyama (second from right), flanked by Johnnys' Island President Yoshihiko Inohara (second from left), unveils the company name Smile-Up during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 2, 2023

Johnny's to form new company in wake of sexual abuse by founder

The move comes after the agency acknowledged abuse and apologized to victims in a news conference last month.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a government panel meeting on measures to tackle Japan's declining birthrate on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2023

Debate begins on funds to tackle Japan's low birthrate

The prime minister has instructed relevant ministers to draw up a road map for securing necessary funds by reducing social security spending.
Parents of children refusing to go to school attend a session organized by a nonprofit support group in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in July.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 4, 2023

Number of absent schoolchildren in Japan hits record high

The number of elementary and junior high school children who refused to go to school for at least 30 days in fiscal 2022 jumped 22.1%.
The Justice Ministry is considering revising the law that requires wills to be handwritten so that people can write them on computers and smartphones.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 4, 2023

Japan considers law revision to allow computer-written wills

The Justice Ministry hopes that not requiring wills to be handwritten will both ease the burden of creating the documents and promote their use.
Fujitsu and Riken say they have developed Japan's second quantum computer.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 5, 2023

Fujitsu and Riken develop Japan's second quantum computer

The 64 qubit quantum computer from Fujitsu and state-backed Riken will be integrated with a 40 qubit quantum computer simulator.
Police officers work to control a crowd gathering to celebrate Halloween in the Shibuya district of Tokyo on Oct. 31, 2022.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 5, 2023

Shibuya mayor vows to keep things civil as Halloween nears

The mayor made headlines last month when he told would-be partiers to stay away from the Tokyo ward this year for the occasion, citing safety concerns.
A U.S. military MQ-9 Reaper unmanned reconnaissance drone at a Maritime Self-Defense Force air base in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, in November last year
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2023

U.S. spy drones may be relocated from Kagoshima to Okinawa

The move is part of efforts to strengthen surveillance around the Nansei island chain.
The "Toyoko" area in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district
JAPAN / Society
Oct 8, 2023

Japan considers shelters for young runaways

The Children and Families Agency hopes the shelters will help prevent youth involvement in downtown area crime.
A bill would have banned the act of letting children play in a park or travel to school on their own, as well as parents going out and leaving their high school-age children behind to take care of younger siblings.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 10, 2023

Saitama to withdraw proposed ban on leaving children unattended

The bill had been criticized by many parents in the prefecture and beyond as being too restrictive and impossible to follow.
The Environment Ministry previously planned to carry out the probe on the so-called forever chemicals, which have been detected in well water in many parts of Japan, in fiscal 2024.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 10, 2023

Probe into PFAS contamination to take place earlier than planned

The Environment Ministry previously planned to carry out the investigation on the so-called forever chemicals in fiscal 2024.
Shogi player Sota Fujii holds a card that says "eight titles," in the city of Kyoto on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 12, 2023

Sota Fujii becomes first player to win all eight major shogi titles

The 21-year-old took the Oza crown, having won Game 4 to finish the best-of-five match against 31-year-old Takuya Nagase.
The government will ask the Tokyo District Court to revoke the religious corporation status of the Unification Church.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 12, 2023

Government seeks court order revoking Unification Church’s status

If the request is approved, the group would forfeit its religious corporation status along with the associated tax benefits.
An official speaks during a government-sponsored tour of the 2025 Osaka Expo site on Yumeshima island, Osaka, on Sept. 14.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 12, 2023

As 2025 Osaka Expo nears, foreign pavilion woes continue to mount

Over 50 countries had been expected to design and build their own pavilions. So far, only two have been greenlighted by Osaka city to begin construction.
A visitor to the Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in September takes a picture of paintings inspired by Pokemon.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 15, 2023

Van Gogh Museum scraps Pokemon cards over safety concerns

The Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam said it would no longer hand out a prized Pokemon card.
A new government panel will discuss the salaries and work styles of local government employees.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 16, 2023

Japan panel to probe work conditions for local government staff

Panel members are expected to exchange opinions about salary, personnel management systems and work styles.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara speaks during a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon in Washington on Oct. 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 16, 2023

Defense chief retracts comments implying LDP vote would be good for SDF

Article 61 of the Self-Defense Forces Law explicitly forbids SDF personnel from engaging in political activity, with the exception of voting.
A Japanese research team has identified three genetically distinct populations of the Japanese honeybee.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 16, 2023

Three genetically distinct groups found for Japanese honeybee

Temperature rises caused by global warming could lead to a decline in the species.
An attendee tries out the XR Catch game at the Sony Group booth at CEATEC in Chiba on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 17, 2023

Major Japan tech show opens with focus on sustainability

The major trade show kicked off on Tuesday, with firms keen to showcase how their latest technologies could contribute to creating a sustainable society.
Voters listen to a speech by a candidate in the Tokushima-Kochi Upper House district in the city of Kochi on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 18, 2023

Upcoming by-elections first test of Kishida’s new Cabinet

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida faces his first electoral test after making Cabinet and Liberal Democratic Party leadership changes last month.

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Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat