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July 09, 2026
 

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TOKYO

Parliament passed a bill Wednesday to add six islands to the list of inhabited border islands eligible for state support aimed at promoting settlement and tourism.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2026
Japan enacts bill to boost settlement on six more border islands
The revised special measures law calls for promoting tourism on listed islands and requiring prefectural governments to make efforts to address depopulation.
Hikers wait for a bus at a train station in Okutama on the outskirts of Tokyo on June 14 as local authorities urge visitors to take precautions following increased reports of bear sightings in the region.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 8, 2026
Tokyo considers lifting ban on bear hunting for the first time in nearly 20 years
With the move to permit culling in the capital, authorities are hoping to put pressure on the wild animal and avert human-bear conflicts.
Notebooks and related materials seized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, on Tuesday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 8, 2026
Three arrested in Japan over illegal brokering of overseas organ transplant
It was the first time for Japanese police to take action against suspected organ transplant mediation for fees, according to Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department.
A bloodstained helmet worn by an ambulance crew member who became involved in a case of violent abuse against the crew
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2026
Violence toward ambulance crews in Tokyo higher in 2025 and rising this year
Incidents not only impact the well-being of emergency personnel but also reduce the availability of emergency services for others.
Osaka’s infrastructure earned higher marks than Tokyo’s in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Global Liveability Index.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 7, 2026
Osaka trumps Tokyo as both ranked among world’s top 10 most livable cities
Osaka ranked seventh, while Tokyo, which improved its culture and environment score, moved up three places to reach 10th.
The National Police Agency encourages people to use a crime prevention app that blocks international calls made to mobile phones by fraud groups.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 6, 2026
Fake police scams in Tokyo down nearly 40% in January through May
The number of such cases decreased to 548, while the total financial damage from such scams shrank 38.3% to ¥6.17 billion.
Rina Takahashi of Kitani Suisan fillets a tuna at the Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo's Chuo Ward, on June 25.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2026
Women increasingly active in Japan’s fish markets
The development is part of the country’s shift toward a more gender-neutral society.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Osaka Prefectural Police have issued arrest warrants for three people, including a suspected fraud network leader, over alleged immigration and residency violations.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 5, 2026
Suspected Asian fraud ring exec served fresh warrant in Japan
The man, Hu Shi, and two others were initially arrested last month by Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of submitting a false move-in notification.
Stephen Lancaster says Sezanne's loss of its Michelin stars is an opportunity to move one of Tokyo's newest fine dining institutions in a new direction.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 5, 2026
Stripped of Michelin stars, Sezanne embraces a changing of the guard
Once awarded three stars, the restaurant now holds none. But new executive chef Steven Lancaster sees the sudden change as a golden opportunity.
La & Le, a new Parisian-style cafe in the posh Minamiaoyama neighborhood, includes two oversized lamps meant to evoke the iconic streetlights of the French capital.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 5, 2026
La & Le brings a slice of Paris cafe culture to Tokyo
After 20 years at the French capital’s iconic Cafe de Flore, Tetsuya Yamashita returned to Tokyo to open a restaurant that captures the spirit of traditional Parisian cafes.
Veteran improvisers Kazuo Imai and Atsuhiro Ito brought some unruly energy to NU Festival, a three-day multimedia event held at the Takanawa Gateway City complex.  
CULTURE / Music
Jul 4, 2026
NU Festival tests Takanawa Gateway City complex’s culture cred
JR East has been positioning the sprawling new Takanawa Gateway City as a cultural hub since before it even opened. The music, art and tech NU Festival put that claim to the test.
With a golden-brown broth and a host of classic toppings, Rairaiken's shoyu ramen carries on a legacy dating back to 1910.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 3, 2026
Japan’s first standalone ramen shop reopens in Asakusa
Fifty years after it closed its doors, Asakusa Rairaiken is now back to court a new generation of ramen lovers with the shoyu-seasoned broth it created in 1910.
Hitoshi Kato (left), head of San-ikukai Hospital in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, speaks during a news conference at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building on Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 3, 2026
Tokyo hospital baby hatch accepts 20 newborns in first year
Seven of the babies were born under conditions of confidentiality, with only a few hospital workers knowing their mothers’ identities.
Takashi Tachibana, a politician known for his criticism of public broadcaster NHK, has been referred to prosecutors by Tokyo police for suspected defamation.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 3, 2026
Anti-NHK politician Takashi Tachibana referred to prosecutors for defamation
The Metropolitan Police Department have sent papers to prosecutors over Takashi Tachibana’s suspected defaming of Ayaka Otsu through posters.
Open from July 3, the Fender Cafe Shimokitazawa hopes to be just another musically inclined entry to the neighborhood's web of live houses.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 3, 2026
Fender opens a second, more unplugged Shimokitazawa cafe
Open from July 3, the Fender Cafe Shimokitazawa seeks to sit alongside the neighborhood’s reputation as a hotbed of Japan’s indie music scene.
Tokyo police have arrested four people over an attempted theft at a multistory parking lot at Haneda Airport in the capital's Ota Ward in January.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2026
Four arrested over attempted theft before Haneda Airport cash ambush
The Metropolitan Police Department suspects that the four mistook the victim, a man in his 20s, for their intended target.
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 2, 2026
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
Once volunteer-based, the system is shifting toward shared responsibility between local governments and trained professionals.
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2026
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
“I always wanted to become a bridge between Japan and Nepal ... but my dream is broken,” Budhathoki Samjhana said.
During the first day of a lay judge trial at the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday, 44-year-old Kenichi Takano admitted to stabbing a 22-year-old woman to death in the capital's Takadanobaba district in March last year while she was livestreaming.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 1, 2026
Man indicted over livestreaming murder in Tokyo admits to charges during trial
Kenichi Takano attacked Airi Sato as she was walking and livestreaming on a street in Tokyo last March, stabbing her face and chest multiple times with a knife.
The Hakuba Cross-Country Course in the village of Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture, in February. For a third year in a row, roadside land prices in the village have increased at the highest rate across Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 1, 2026
Roadside land prices rise in popular Japanese tourist sites
Across the board, the prices of land facing major roads in Japan as of Jan. 1 went up by 2.9%, marking a fifth consecutive year of increases.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Osaka trumps Tokyo as both ranked among world’s top 10 most livable cities
Osaka’s infrastructure earned higher marks than Tokyo’s in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Global Liveability Index.
Japanese teen arrested for booting users off streaming service
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly creating a malicious program and canceling subscription accounts on the Bandai Channel.
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Long-stalled maglev line finally gets green light from Shizuoka Prefecture
Environmental concerns relating to the construction of Central Japan Railway’s high-speed maglev line had contributed to years of delays for the project.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.

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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