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April 06, 2025
 

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GOVERNMENT

Masayo Ishimaru, the head of volunteer group Tanpopo no Sato, cuddles cats rescued from a pet hoarder, in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, in September.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 4, 2024
Local governments tighten rules on pet ownership as hoarding persists
Municipalities are introducing mandatory reporting requirements for owners of large numbers of pets as well as fines for non-compliance.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike says she will continue to review work styles flexibly to ensure that women do not have to sacrifice their careers due to life events.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 4, 2024
Tokyo government to introduce four-day workweek to empower women
The capital is joining a growing number of local governments introducing similar measures to improve working conditions amid a labor shortage.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito greets supporters upon his arrival at the Hyogo Prefectural Government office in Kobe on Nov. 19.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2024
Lawsuit filed over Hyogo governor's alleged election law violation
A lawyer for Saito said that the president of a public relations company had engaged in activities as a volunteer, other than five items including making posters.
Yoshitaka Ito, minister for regional revitalization (right), and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba set up a signboard for an office in charge of regional revitalization on Nov. 8 in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2024
Japan will help revitalize willing municipalities, minister says
The government is working to create a 10-year basic plan for rural revitalization, said Yoshitaka Ito, minister for regional revitalization.
Tokyo's Odaiba waterfront area will host a major international art festival called Tokyo Odaiba Triennale 2025 from October to December next year.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2024
Triennale aims to energize Tokyo's Odaiba area with art
The event will bring together works by famed Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama and other artists from Japan and abroad.
People line up to board a bus in the city of Kyoto. To ease heavy congestion caused by an influx of visitors, the Kyoto Municipal Government in June launched sightseeing express buses that run directly from Kyoto Station to major tourist attractions.
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2024
Japan's local governments weigh implementing an accommodation tax
The number of visitors to Japan between January and September 2024 reached 26.88 million, setting a record-breaking pace.
Ten percent of municipalities said they did not know details of the megaquake warning system or how to respond to the alert, and 2.8% said they did not even know its name.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 27, 2024
Many municipalities in Japan lack understanding of megaquake advisory system
A Cabinet Office survey found that 12.8% of municipalities were not aware of what steps they should take when a megaquake advisory is issued.
The sought ¥21.3 billion will be used for making the revised family register law widely known to the public and setting up call centers to receive questions from the public.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 27, 2024
¥21.3 billion sought to help with adding phonetic readings in family registers
The planned funds will be used for making the revision widely known to the public and setting up call centers to receive questions from the public.
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito, speaking to reporters in Tokyo on Monday, denies alleged election law violations.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 26, 2024
Embattled Hyogo governor denies alleged election law violation
Embattled Gov. Motohiko Saito admitted Monday that he paid a PR agency to produce campaign posters, but he denied violating election law.
Ichiro Hirosawa (left) celebrates his victory in the Nagoya mayoral election in Nagoya on Sunday along with former Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura (right).
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 25, 2024
Ex-deputy mayor wins Nagoya mayoral election
During his campaign, Ichiro Hirosawa emphasized his intention to continue with predecessor Takashi Kawamura's policies.
Former Amagasaki Mayor Kazumi Inamura speaks to her supporters after she lost her bid to become Hyogo governor, on Nov. 17 in Kobe.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 23, 2024
Failed Hyogo governor candidate's team questions X account suspension
According to the group supporting former Amagasaki Mayor Kazumi Inamura, it set up an X account on Nov. 5, but it was suspended the following day.
Motohiko Saito talks to reporters on Monday after his reelection as Hyogo governor. His surprising comeback highlights rising populism in Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 22, 2024
Has the age of populism finally reached Japan?
Motohiko Saito's reelection in Hyogo sparks concerns over populist trends in Japan's politics.
Shizuo Aishima's son next to a photo of his father in March. Aishima was one of the executives of spray-dryer Ohkawara Kakohki arrested on charges of illegal exporting in 2020. The charges were later dropped by prosecutors.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 21, 2024
Ohkawara investigators referred to prosecutors over falsified documents
Executives at Ohkawara Kakohki were arrested in 2020 on suspicion of illegally exporting chemical machinery, but the charges were later dropped.
There have been confirmed cases across the country of fraudsters using credit card information stolen through phishing to obtain digital currencies managed by local governments.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 21, 2024
Japan's local digital currencies increasingly exploited by fraudsters
The fraudsters are believed to be targeting such currencies for the rewards that come with purchasing or making payments in the currencies.
Motohiko Saito speaks at a news conference in Kobe on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 19, 2024
Reelected Hyogo governor vows to serve with a 'humble heart'
Motohiko Saito returned for the first time in more than a month after being ousted from office over allegations of workplace harassment.
Motohiko Saito makes a speech following his reelection Sunday as governor of Hyogo Prefecture, a position he lost after the prefectural assembly unanimously passed a no-confidence vote against him in September.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 18, 2024
Hyogo governor reelected following ouster by assembly over harassment
Motohiko Saito garnered popular support despite strong opposition from political parties and a majority of Hyogo’s city mayors.
Kashiwazaki Mayor Masahiro Sakurai has expressed his willingness to conditionally green-light the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2024
Mayor accepting Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant restart is reelected
Following safety inspections at the plant's No. 7 reactor, Tepco has finished its preparations to restart the facility.
Democratic Party for the People head Yuichiro Tamaki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Nov. 8.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2024
DPP leader clashes with governors over tax-free income limit
Prefectural governors fear that raising the ¥1.03 million limit would means less central government tax money for local services.
A bear sighting warning sign in a park at a residential area in the city of Hanamaki in Iwate Prefecture. Hanamaki has deployed along riverbanks artificial intelligence-equipped cameras that identify bears and alert city officials.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 13, 2024
Municipalities in Japan turn to AI and digital maps to prevent bear encounters
Akita Prefecture's online map consolidates reports of sightings and incidents while the city of Hanamaki in Iwate Prefecture has deployed cameras that identify bears.
In 2017, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government became the first among Japan's local authorities to issue green bonds.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Nov 12, 2024
More municipalities tap green bonds as demand makes rates favorable
Green bond issuance by local government authorities in Japan has risen from ¥149.3 billion in 2022 to ¥443.1 billion in 2023.
3D printer used to construct train station building in Japan
A train station building (front) is assembled from parts printed using 3D printer technology, in Arida, Wakayama Prefecture, on Wednesday.
Nissan says it will not take new U.S. orders for Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs
A Nissan manufacturing complex in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Nissan says it will not take new orders from the United States for two Mexican-built Infiniti SUVs following new auto tariffs levied by the U.S.
Japan digs deep to address 'national crisis' caused by Trump tariffs
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on April 1. He has said that Japan is facing a "national crisis" following the introduction of new tariffs by the United States.
Tokyo’s KK Line to close for decadelong overhaul as public greenway
People enjoy running and yoga on Tokyo Expressway’s KK Line, a 2-kilometer elevated expressway cutting through the capital’s commercial Ginza district, when it was opened as a pedestrian space in May last year.
Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
‘Let’s make it practical’: NATO chief eyes greater defense-industrial ties with Japan
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte plans to visit Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday — his first to the Indo-Pacific region since taking office in October, as he seeks to implement lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Tottori takes a bold leap forward in the arts
The city of Kurayoshi in Tottori Prefecture celebrated the opening of its public art museum with festivities such as a parade that drew 1,000 revelers.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

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