Heavy rain caused by the autumn rain front continued to disrupt rail services across the Tohoku and Kanto regions on September 7, with parts of the Shonan-Shinjuku Line and other routes remaining suspended while some major Tokyo commuter lines returned to normal operations after running reduced services earlier in the day.
Typhoon No. 24 (Krovahn) was near Minami-Daito Island, about 300 kilometers southeast of Okinawa, as of 3 a.m. on September 7, moving east-northeast at about 10 kilometers per hour and expected to weaken into a tropical depression by the afternoon, although strong winds and high waves were forecast to persist before its remnants move north and potentially intensify the autumn rain front over western and eastern Japan later in the week.
Prince Hisahito, the only son of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, turned 20 on September 6, as he continues to take part in a growing range of official duties as an adult member of Japan's Imperial Family.
Young people recruited into illegal "dark part-time jobs" through social media and friends are increasingly becoming involved in fraud and violent robberies across Japan, with interviews at a juvenile training school revealing how the promise of easy money, a desire for recognition and fear of criminal groups can gradually leave them feeling unable to escape.
Tokyo police are investigating the possibility of a serial arson spree after six suspicious fires were reported within about two weeks in the same neighborhood of Adachi Ward, leaving an 81-year-old woman with burns and damaging homes, political party posters, a vending machine and a bicycle.
A 52-year-old restaurant operator was sentenced to 17 years in prison on September 4 for killing his former girlfriend by repeatedly stabbing her in the abdomen and back with two kitchen knives at his home in Higashiosaka, Osaka Prefecture.
Hikone Castle in Shiga Prefecture has been formally selected as Japan's candidate for nomination as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, advancing a campaign that has continued for more than 30 years and aims to secure inscription in the summer of 2028.
Highway service areas around the Kanto region are becoming destinations in their own right, offering travelers everything from freshly harvested vegetables and popular regional restaurant dishes to baths, observation decks and family events during the busy summer vacation season.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry raised subsidies for aviation fuel used on domestic flights from September 3, doubling the support rate while ending subsidies for international flights.
Night trains are making a comeback across Japan, with railway operators introducing new overnight services and even experimenting with overnight Shinkansen trains as demand grows for alternatives that combine transportation, accommodation and the experience of traveling through the night.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said tax incentives on the Russian-held islands claimed by Japan have been successful, using a speech at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok to highlight economic development in Russia's Far East.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on September 3 that the economic policy of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government should not be equated with conventional reflationary policy, after returning from the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in the United States and briefing the prime minister on the talks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on September 2 that Japan bears full responsibility for the deterioration in relations between the two countries, defending Moscow's approach following criticism from Tokyo over his first visit to Etorofu Island in August.
The autumn red snow crab season has opened on the Sea of Japan coast, with the first auction at Kasumi Fishing Port in Kami, Hyogo Prefecture, recording a top price of 300,000 yen for a single crab on September 4.
Athletes competing in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games began arriving in Japan in greater numbers on September 6, with competitors from countries including Jordan and South Korea entering through Chubu Centrair International Airport in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, ahead of the September 19 opening.
A new generation of optoelectronic integration technology developed over four decades by Japanese companies is moving closer to commercialization, offering a way to transmit huge volumes of data with low latency while sharply reducing the electricity consumed by data centers as artificial intelligence drives explosive growth in computing demand.
A disaster prevention experiment has shown how quickly a rain-soaked slope can collapse once visible cracks appear, highlighting the need for people in landslide-prone areas to evacuate before conditions become critical as the risk of disasters remains elevated through early next week.
Applications for hotel business licenses are rising sharply in Osaka as property owners seek an alternative way to operate short-term rentals following the suspension of new applications under the city's special-zone minpaku program, with the approach drawing growing interest from wealthy Chinese and other overseas investors.
Asahi Kasei has grown from its roots in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture, into a global conglomerate with annual sales exceeding 3 trillion yen by repeatedly developing products and technologies that dominate their markets or occupy niches with few direct rivals.
The WoW Auction House can look chaotic when you first start using it. Hundreds of listings may appear for the same item, prices can differ dramatically, and a deal that looks excellent at first glance may not be a deal at all.
Tokyo stocks rebounded on September 4, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 65,020.94, up 806.46 points, or 1.26%, as buying returned to artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related shares after a Wall Street rally, while investors waited for U.S. jobs data and watched the yen, oil prices and Bank of Japan rate-hike expectations.