A social media dispute between a 17-year-old high school student from Tokyo's Itabashi Ward and a 16-year-old boy from Edogawa Ward escalated into a planned group fight involving around 30 youths, some of whom allegedly brought weapons including a rusty saw, iron pipes, a special baton and even a shovel.
Japan's population stood at 123.05 million in 2025, according to preliminary results from the national census released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, marking a decline of 3.097 million people over the past five years.
A traffic accident that occurred beneath an elevated section of the Meitetsu railway line in Kasamatsu, Gifu Prefecture, on Thursday morning claimed the life of a 21-year-old woman who was riding in the front passenger seat of a car.
Police in Hyogo Prefecture on May 27th released a new image of a wanted murder suspect believed to have changed clothes multiple times while fleeing after the killing of a mother and daughter in Tatsuno City, raising concerns that he may still be hiding in the surrounding area.
Two junior high school students were injured after being attacked by a monkey in a residential area of Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, on May 26th, as reports of similar incidents continue across the city.
Black bears trapped inside box cages have been filmed thrashing about violently and attempting to lunge at handlers, as a sharp rise in bear sightings across Japan this spring raises concerns among local communities and hunters alike.
Osaka City will stop accepting new applications for its special-zone minpaku program on May 29 as complaints over noise, garbage disposal and other issues involving guests continue to increase.
Sanmarc Holdings is betting on Kyoto's global appeal and the growing popularity of gyukatsu among foreign tourists as it accelerates overseas expansion, with President Yuki Fujikawa positioning the beef cutlet chain as a key driver of the restaurant group's inbound tourism and international growth strategy.
A new travel style known as “Otetutabi,” which combines short-term work with tourism, is rapidly gaining attention across Japan as both travelers and local businesses search for new ways to address changing social and economic realities.
The route dispute surrounding the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Osaka has been thrown back into uncertainty, with the long-discussed "Obama-Kyoto Route" effectively returned to square one as ruling coalition lawmakers consider eight alternative plans, including a route via Maibara Station in Shiga Prefecture.
Japan has enacted legislation allowing a sharp increase in fees charged to foreign residents for immigration procedures, with the cost of applying for permanent residence expected to rise from the current 10,000 yen to around 200,000 yen once the new system is implemented.
Japan's declining population is set to trigger another review of single-seat electoral districts for the House of Representatives, with new census data highlighting widening disparities in voter representation and adding momentum to discussions over reducing the number of lawmakers.
World-renowned musician YOSHIKI is betting on Hokkaido wine as Japan's next global export success story, joining a growing list of international figures and industry leaders who see the island as one of the world's most promising emerging wine regions.
Japan will begin rolling out a major overhaul of its disaster weather information system from the afternoon of May 28th, reorganizing warnings and advisories to make it easier for residents to understand when they should evacuate.
Unfinished dreams, midnight errands. Televisions murmuring in the background of a Tokyo hotel in 1990. (TRNGL)
A large solar power facility built on a mountainside in Fukushima City is generating reflected sunlight for far longer than originally projected, with a city survey finding that glare at some locations lasted up to 53 minutes per day—more than ten times the maximum duration predicted by the operator.
More than 1,000 food products and other consumer goods will see price increases from June, with the effects of instability in the Middle East now reaching supermarket shelves in unexpected ways, including the appearance of black-and-white potato chip packages.
The “naphtha shortage” triggered by escalating tensions in the Middle East is now spreading into Japan’s housing industry, with shortages of paint, thinner, insulation materials and other building products forcing construction delays across the country.
Rising tensions surrounding the closure of the Strait of Hormuz are beginning to ripple through Japan’s economy, with higher energy costs and shortages of petroleum-based materials threatening to accelerate inflation just as the country heads into another extremely hot summer.
Construction projects across Japan are being suspended as shortages of paint, thinner and waterproofing materials linked to worsening tensions in the Middle East place mounting pressure on small and midsize builders, with some contractors warning they may soon be forced out of business.
Fixed-rate mortgage costs in Japan are set to rise again in June as the country's five major banks increase home loan rates in response to higher long-term interest rates, with their flagship 10-year fixed-rate mortgages rising to preferential rates of 3.27% at Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, 3.5% at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and 3.25% at Mizuho Bank.
Japan is facing a growing transportation dilemma. While a record number of foreign visitors in 2025 has fueled congestion and traffic jams in major cities and tourist destinations, many rural communities are grappling with the opposite problem: shrinking populations and aging residents are making it increasingly difficult to maintain public transportation services.
Born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a rare disorder that makes bones fragile and prone to fractures, Toshiya Kakiuchi built a company with a mission to transform both the physical and emotional barriers faced by people with disabilities.
Finland is positioning economic resilience as a core pillar of national security, with Finnish Economic Affairs Minister Sakari Puisto emphasizing closer cooperation with Japan in advanced technologies, supply chain security and dual-use industries during a recent visit to Tokyo.