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June 30, 2026
 

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DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

A toilet fitted with a portable toilet system. After use, waste is collected in a black disposal bag and treated with an absorbent.
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2025
Japanese group calls for emergency portable toilets to meet its standards
A nonprofit called Japan Toilet Labo has created a recommendation mark for emergency-use toilets that are compliant with its standards and encourages manufacturers to display it.
Participants play Master of Disaster, a board game about disaster preparedness, at a library in Valenzuela, Metro Manila, on Dec. 9.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 29, 2025
Filipinos master disaster readiness, one roll of the dice at a time
Called Master of Disaster, one board game aims to boost lagging preparedness in the Philippines, which has been ranked the most disaster-prone on earth for four years running.
Once set up, Japan’s disaster management agency is expected to consider responses to potential major earthquakes in the Nankai Trough in the Pacific Ocean off central to southwestern Japan, and the Japan and Kuril trenches off the Pacific coasts of northern to eastern Japan.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 26, 2025
Japan fine-tunes plans for disaster management agency
The government has adopted an outline of the envisaged agency, including its organizational structure and operations, ahead of its planned 2026 launch.
The government adopted a comprehensive regional revitalization strategy at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday with the aim of building a strong economy under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2025
Japan adopts local revitalization strategy to help realize a strong economy
The strategy aims to raise labor productivity per person in rural areas to or above that in the Tokyo metropolitan area and Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures by 2029.
A major quake in Tokyo would cause around ¥83 trillion in financial damages, with the effect of the nation’s crippled central functions — from politics, government to businesses — felt at home and abroad.
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2025
Japan forecasts 18,000 deaths in the event of a major quake in Tokyo
The government’s latest projection is over 20% lower than the previous one made in 2013 due to preparations made since then.
Japan hopes to harness large-scale data obtained via its next-generation electronic toll collection system for a variety of purposes, including easing traffic congestion.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2025
Japan to broaden use of ETC’s driving data for disaster response and tourism
The government aims to harness large-scale data from ETC 2.0 for a variety of public and economic purposes, including easing traffic congestion and improving disaster response.
An electronic road sign posts an advisory for subsequent quakes in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, last Wednesday, after the first such advisory was issued the previous day.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2025
Japan lifts quake advisory but urges continued caution
The Japan Meteorological Agency says there is still a possibility of a sudden, massive earthquake, despite the lifting of the advisory.
Nurlela Agusfitri, 40, walks on uprooted trees on her way to the site of her former home in Pengidam, Aceh Tamiang, northern Sumatra, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 16, 2025
‘The city was gone’: Survivors recount flood chaos during rare Indonesian cyclone
Decades of industrial land clearing may have turned an unusual storm into a catastrophe.
A road collapsed due to the earthquake in Aomori Prefecture on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2025
Cancellations of lodging bookings on rise amid quake advisory
The advisory warns that a possible subsequent major temblor may strike near northeastern Japan, calling on residents to take disaster prevention measures.
The torii gate of Yasaka Shrine, toppled by the earthquake, in the city of Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2025
Japan institute warns of megaquakes after Aomori temblor
According to the institute, quakes with magnitudes of 7 or 8 may strike south of the focus of Monday’s quake, or north off Iwate Prefecture.
A road information board publicizing the newly issued “off the coast of Hokkaido and Sanriku subsequent earthquake advisory” on Wednesday in the city of Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2025
Some care facilities unsure how to respond to new earthquake advisory
Japan’s first-ever megaquake advisory, issued after Monday’s earthquake off the coast of Aomori Prefecture, is set to remain in effect until Monday.
A worker clears debris from a shopping center in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, on Tuesday morning following Monday night's earthquake.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Dec 9, 2025
What were the long, slow shakes felt throughout eastern Japan on Monday?
Called “long-period ground motion,” this is a type of quake that has a far reach and can be felt strongly by people on the upper floors of tall buildings.
An official of the Japan Meteorological Agency holds a news conference in Tokyo early Tuesday in the wake of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake off Aomori Prefecture.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Dec 9, 2025
What is the ‘subsequent quake advisory’ the government issued?
The government is advising people to be on alert for about a week and to double-check their earthquake preparedness.
The Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo. The planned disaster management agency will be set up under the Cabinet.
JAPAN
Dec 2, 2025
Japan to set up disaster management agency next year
The government will submit legislation needed to establish the agency during the next ordinary session of parliament in 2026.
Ofunato Junior High School in Iwate Prefecture became one of the temporary shelters opened after a tsunami warning was issued following an earthquake near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula in July.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 30, 2025
60% of tsunami evacuation sites have no stockpiles: survey
The Cabinet Office is urging local governments to secure sufficient stockpiles and calling on households to advance their own preparations.
A truck transports timber across an Amazonian field during a Greenpeace flyover amid the U.N. Climate Change Conference, near Cachoeira do Piria, state of Para, Brazil, on Nov. 13.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 18, 2025
With more heat and storms, can COP30 boost front-line resilience?
The question of how to make vulnerable communities more resilient in a hotter world is a key debate in the vast compound hosting the COP30 talks.
The Japan Innovation Party has long sought to get Osaka designated as Japan's backup capital.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 13, 2025
What would a ‘backup capital’ look like for Japan?
The concept faces tough questions on its substance and whether its true purpose is to realize the Japan Innovation Party’s goal of making its Osaka base the natural choice.
Tokyo police plan to introduce a system that uses generative artificial intelligence to automatically transcribe consultation audio and generate summaries so they can more swiftly respond to stalking cases that may escalate into serious crimes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 6, 2025
Tokyo police to use AI to strengthen anti-stalking measures
The police will introduce a system that uses generative AI to automatically transcribe consultation audio and generate summaries to help improve operational efficiency.
Lawson is looking to upgrade 100 stores nationwide to turn them into key community hubs in the event of a disaster.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 17, 2025
Lawson looks to create network of ‘disaster relief convenience stores’
It hopes to upgrade 100 stores nationwide so that they are able to serve as key community hubs in the event of a calamity.
Nippon Ishin leader Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks to reporters at party headquarters in Osaka on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 30, 2025
Nippon Ishin draws up outline for secondary capital plan
The team defined the secondary capital as an economic center comparable to the Tokyo area that can function as the capital in the event that Tokyo becomes unable to do so.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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