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library
How to get a start in reading books in Japanese
From picture books to manga and young adult fiction, here's how to find Japanese books that match your language level.
safety
Japan lowers travel alerts for some areas in the Middle East
The government said it has lowered its travel alerts for some areas in Israel, Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
Local
Shibuya Is Building Pop-Up Snack Bars While Real Ones Are Fighting To Survive
There’s a distinct smell to real history. Tokyo’s yokocho (drinking alleys) and neighborhood sunakku snack bars — intimate, casual drinking establishments — are a beautiful, gritty mix of vintage decor, decades of mild tobacco smoke, simmering oden broth and cheap shochu. These t...
Local
Japan demands correction to Equal Earth map over depiction of disputed islands
Tokyo claims the map uses the same color for the islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories, as it does for Russian territory.
parks
Mount Fuji’s Climbing Season Is Officially Over. Here’s What That Actually Means.
Mount Fuji’s Official Climbing Trails Are Now Closed Mount Fuji’s 2026 climbing season is now over. All four official routes to the summit ended their climbing seasons on September 10. From that point, using the closed sections of those trails is prohibited under Japan’s Road Act...
library
News in Easy English: Library in Japan lets people get chatty
AKASHI, Hyogo -- A city library here is now a busy place for local people. It opened in April 2025. It does not ask all people to be quiet all the tim
News
Japan’s consumer agency plans stronger curbs on ‘dark pattern’ user interfaces
The agency intends to submit related legislation, including a possible revision to the specified commercial transactions law.
Local
Discover Tokyo’s Hidden Railway Arcades Through Public Art
Art Arcade Tokyo: Quick Facts Dates: September 26 — November 30, 2026 Venues: Hibiya Okuroji, Edo Noren, 2k540 Aki-Oka Artisan Artists: Seiji Matsumoto (Hibiya Okuroji), Mameko Maeda (Edo Noren), Emu (2k540 Aki-Oka Artisan) Live Painting Sessions: September 26 — October 12, 2026 ...
News
A Guide to Solo Hiking in Japan
Three hiking regions to join Japan’s hiking community The post A Guide to Solo Hiking in Japan appeared first on Metropolis Japan .
Local
Advance payments for rice farmers sharply cut in 16 prefectures
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's agricultural cooperatives have slashed advance payments to rice producers by about 20 to 40 percent on average from the previ
parks
Tokyo Skytree glows gold as over 140 sites join childhood cancer awareness campaign
TOKYO -- Landmarks, medical institutions and other facilities across Japan are being illuminated in gold as part of the Gold September Campaign, an in
News
Kyoto’s Hidden Palaces
Escape the tourist mobs at former imperial villas The post Kyoto’s Hidden Palaces appeared first on Metropolis Japan .
News
The Fukushima Diamond Route
A cut above the rest The post The Fukushima Diamond Route appeared first on Metropolis Japan .
safety
Ransomware cases in Japan hit new high in first half of 2026
A total of 123 cases of ransomware attacks were confirmed in Japan in January through June, National Police Agency data on cyberthreats showed.
News
Cases of attempted suicide and self-harm rise for seventh straight year
About 120 people a day were transported to the hospital due to self-injury in 2025, according to the Japan Suicide Countermeasures Promotion Center.
library
All Time Best Japanese Fiction Books
From untouchable classics to the severely underrated The post All Time Best Japanese Fiction Books appeared first on Metropolis Japan .
News
4 Japanese win US Lasker Awards in medicine
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- Japanese sleep scientist Masashi Yanagisawa and three Japanese researchers who developed a hemophilia treatment drug at Chugai P
Local
Japanese experts offer tips on how to protect children's eyes from UV rays
TOKYO -- Along with sunscreen for their skin, sunglasses are gaining attention as a way to protect children's eyes from ultraviolet rays. However, Jap
business
Japan's Shizuoka Pref. names food maker Yataro as 1st intercultural-support business
SHIZUOKA -- Japanese food manufacturer Yataro has become the first business certified by the Shizuoka Prefectural Government under a system recognizin
Local
NEC discontinues quantum computer development, to continue related research
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp. has withdrawn from developing a quantum computer after determining that the project would requir
Local
Silver Week 2026 in Japan: Dates, Crowds, and What to Do in Tokyo
Japan's first full five-day Silver Week, with crowd forecasts and the best ways to spend it in Tokyo The post Silver Week 2026 in Japan: Dates, Crowds, and What to Do in Tokyo appeared first on Metropolis Japan ....
News
Japan considers accepting foreign workers into security sector
An expert panel will discuss how many foreign workers the security sector will be allowed to accept and which security tasks can be assigned to them.
government
BOJ will keep raising benchmark rate to cap price trend at 2%, board member says
Swap contracts show a roughly 97% probability that the Bank of Japan will raise borrowing costs from 1% at the end of a two-day meeting on Sept. 18.
News
Four Japanese scientists win prestigious U.S. Lasker Awards
One received the prize for his work on a sleep-regulating brain chemical, and a trio, for discovering an antibody therapy for hemophilia A patients.
Local
Japanese baseball’s all-time hit king Isao Harimoto dies at 86
Harimoto, who finished his career with 3,085 hits and is the only player in NPB history to reach 3,000, died at a Tokyo hospital on Wednesday.
Local
Sleep Your Way to ¥2.22 Million in Tokyo This October
What if the key to winning ¥2.22 million was simply falling asleep? That is the premise behind “Mattrace by Koala,” an unusual “sleep race” competition coming to Tokyo this October. Rather than running, jumping or lifting weights, contestants will climb into bed, close their eyes...
Local
Japan's Defense Minister Koizumi cancels visit to Indonesia: source
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has decided to forgo a planned visit to Indonesia arranged for around Thursday, a source f
Local
Sumo: Kirishima dominates practice bouts ahead of yokozuna bid
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Ozeki Kirishima signaled his determination to earn yokozuna promotion at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament with a dominant display dur
Local
Japanese baseball legend Harimoto, touted as 'hit machine,' dies at 86
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese baseball great Isao Harimoto, the Nippon Professional Baseball record holder with 3,085 hits, died at a hospital in Tokyo on