When Japan kicks off its World Cup campaign against the Netherlands at 5:00 a.m. Japan time on June 15 at Dallas Stadium in Texas, the Samurai Blue will do so without one of their most influential players. Liverpool midfielder and former captain Wataru Endo has been ruled out through injury, prompting coach Hajime Moriyasu to hand the captain's armband to Ajax defender Ko Itakura while relying on Leeds United midfielder Ao Tanaka and Crystal Palace playmaker Daichi Kamada to help fill the void left in central midfield.
Police in Kyoto Prefecture are investigating a hit-and-run after a vehicle crashed into the Maizuru office of Liberal Democratic Party Lower House member Taro Honda late on June 13 before the driver fled the scene.
Four people have been arrested on suspicion of defrauding a man in his 20s out of 870,000 yen by disguising a rental room in Osaka as a bar and luring customers through a matchmaking app.
A 25-year-old construction worker arrested for allegedly breaking into a high school in Mie Prefecture and stealing slippers and indoor shoes told investigators he wanted to become sexually aroused, police said.
A 62-year-old man riding a LUUP electric scooter died following a collision with a pedestrian at an intersection in Tokyo's Koto Ward on June 2nd, marking what is believed to be the first confirmed fatal accident involving a LUUP user on a Tokyo roadway.
Police have arrested a 19-year-old man on suspicion of murder after a 17-year-old high school student was found unconscious on a riverbank in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and later pronounced dead.
Kyoto welcomed a record 62.79 million visitors last year, an increase of more than 6.7 million from the previous year, according to the Kyoto city government, highlighting the continued recovery and expansion of the city's tourism industry.
Authorities in Kyoto Prefecture received another report of a bear sighting at the famous Amanohashidate sandbar on June 12th, just two days after a bear was captured in the area, prompting temporary road closures and heightened precautions for local residents and visitors.
Air travelers departing Japan for overseas destinations this summer will face record-high fuel surcharges after All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) announced significant increases for international tickets purchased in July and August, driven by soaring fuel prices linked to tensions in the Middle East.
A rare white orca has been filmed off the coast of Rausu in Hokkaido's Shiretoko region, marking its first reported sighting in about two years.
The Japanese government on June 12th released new guidelines calling for women’s toilets to have at least as many fixtures as men’s toilets in public facilities, seeking to address the persistent problem of long queues at women’s restrooms in places such as train stations and event venues.
Japan's parliament is expected to formally adopt a proposal on June 10th aimed at maintaining a stable number of Imperial Family members, endorsing measures that would allow female royals to retain their status after marriage and permit the adoption of male-line descendants from former imperial branches, while leaving the current line of succession unchanged.
Tamayo Nakamura, the actress and television personality whose career spanned more than seven decades and bridged the worlds of traditional Japanese theater, film, television drama and variety entertainment, died of pneumonia on June 9th. She was 86.
As bear sightings continue at an unusually high pace across Akita Prefecture, a veteran wildlife photographer who has spent nearly 30 years observing and photographing Asian black bears says the animals are appearing more frequently, moving closer to human settlements, and increasingly adapting their behavior to survive.
Toyota Motor will establish a next-generation technology research hub on the site of a former leisure complex in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, as part of its efforts to accelerate innovation in future mobility and related fields.
Japan's national soccer team arrived in Dallas, Texas, on June 12th after completing final preparations near Nashville, Tennessee, ahead of its opening Group F match against the Netherlands at the FIFA World Cup in North America.
Japan is expected to achieve a 100% alternative crude oil procurement rate by July, following government efforts to diversify import sources in response to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, government officials said.
The exchange of attacks between the United States and Iran following the reported downing of a U.S. Army helicopter by Iran is continuing to affect daily life in Japan, with higher energy prices raising concerns that inflationary pressures could spread further across the economy.
Oil inventories held by member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), including Japan and the United States, are expected to fall to their lowest level since records began in 2003 by the end of 2026, according to a forecast released on June 9th by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Japan's naphtha shock may be entering a new phase, with signs that product shortages are gradually easing in some industries while concerns grow that higher transportation costs could drive up prices across the supply chain.
Restructuring is often associated with companies in financial trouble, but a growing number of profitable Japanese corporations are now encouraging employees to take early retirement as part of efforts to reshape their workforces for the future, creating both opportunities and significant risks for workers considering a second career.
Seven-Eleven Japan announced that it will establish a new company with CyberAgent and Dentsu to develop advertising services, using digital signage installed in its stores to deliver targeted advertisements based on real-time conditions.
Domestic gold prices in Japan fell sharply on June 11, with the benchmark retail gold price announced by Tanaka Precious Metal Technologies dropping 906 yen from the previous day to 23,262 yen per gram as of 9:30 a.m., marking the lowest level of the year.
U.S. coffee giant Starbucks is considering selling its Japan business, with Bloomberg reporting that the company has begun preliminary talks with investment banks and that any deal could be worth between 400 billion yen and 500 billion yen.