An elderly woman without a family registry was found dead from starvation in her home in Takaishi, Osaka, exposing the severe isolation faced by people who are legally “invisible” and therefore unable to access basic public support. The case highlighted deeply rooted structural issues affecting an estimated 10,000 or more individuals nationwide who, for various reasons, were never entered into Japan’s koseki system.
Tokyo High Court issued a ruling on November [insert month here if needed based on publication timing] that the government’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriage is constitutional, a decision that prompted deep disappointment among the plaintiffs who had argued that the current legal framework violates the Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of marriage.
Tokyo police carried out a search on a home-share facility and its operating company on Wednesday after investigators determined that the firm continued running its minpaku business on days explicitly banned under local ordinance and then submitted false reports to the authorities.
A 69-year-old security guard was lightly injured on November 28th when he was attacked by a bear inside a public restroom located in front of JR Numata Station in Gunma Prefecture.
A powerful earthquake struck the Aso region of Kumamoto at around 6:01 p.m. on November 25th, toppling a residential gate in Aso City and scattering roof tiles across the road, while rockfalls and damage were reported in nearby areas.
A Ferris wheel at the Expocity commercial complex in Suita, Osaka, known as the tallest in Japan at 123 meters, came to an abrupt stop on November 25th after a lightning strike disabled its operating system, leaving 20 passengers trapped in nine gondolas until the early hours of the following morning.
A Thai girl who was 12 at the time was forced to work illegally at a massage parlor in Tokyo, leading the Metropolitan Police Department to rearrest the store’s operator as investigators continue to examine how the girl was trafficked to Japan.
A man believed to have been involved in a fatal hit-and-run that left one person dead and 11 others injured in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward on November 24th was taken into custody as police began questioning him on a voluntary basis.