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Heavy rain forecast in Kanto-Koshin and other regions

The Japan Meteorological Agency called for caution against landslides, flooding of low-lying areas and swollen rivers.

Turning dual-use technology into defense capability

What Japan now needs is an end-to-end implementation process that can transform dual-use technologies into operational capabilities at meaningful scale and speed....

1 teen missing, 2 safe after being swept away off western Japan beach

TOTTORI, Japan (Kyodo) -- One person remained missing after three teenage boys were swept away while swimming off a beach in western Japan on Saturday

Retro Japan in Photos: Univ. hall in Nishinomiya an architectural legacy of landmark hotel

1 in 4 low-income Japan households did not offer children experiential activities: poll

TOKYO -- A survey by a private organization found that 24.8% of low-income households with elementary school children in Japan didn't take part in any

Japan Prince Hisahito, 2nd in line to throne, turns 20

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prince Hisahito, the nephew of Emperor Naruhito and second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne, turned 20 on Sunday, a year after a s

2 dead, 3 taken to hospital in fire at cake shop in central Japan

GIFU, Japan (Kyodo) -- Two people were found dead and three others were taken to hospital after a fire broke out at a cake shop in the central Japanes

Free legal consultation service expanding for Japanese abroad

The initiative was first introduced in China last year and has since been launched in the Philippines and Thailand.

Quake-hit residents in Japan's Kumamoto begin new life in temporary housing

KUMAMOTO, Japan (Kyodo) -- The first group of people began moving into temporary housing Saturday in a southwestern Japan town struck by a powerful ea

Opposition to accepting more foreign residents growing in Japan: study

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The percentage of people in a panel study who opposed accepting more foreign residents in Japan grew to 56.3 percent this year, up 20

Japan PM Takaichi rejects criticism over revised Imperial House Law

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Saturday rejected criticism that the revised Imperial House Law blocks female succession to

Sumo: Veteran Takayasu ready for Autumn meet despite injury

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Veteran wrestler Takayasu said Saturday he feels ready for the upcoming Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament despite resuming sparring only a

Retro Japan: Koshien Hall at Mukogawa Women's Univ. a timeless architectural gem

NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo -- A building cherished for generations stands in this western Japan city overlooking the Rokko mountain range. Mukogawa Women's Un

Photographer traces history of Japan's secret wartime suicide divers

YOKOHAMA -- A 25-year-old Japanese photographer has turned the story of the former Imperial Japanese Navy's suicide divers into a photo book, hoping t

China cultural festival in Tokyo bustles despite frayed ties

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A festival introducing Chinese culture to Japan kicked off Saturday at a Tokyo park, drawing crowds to booths selling Chinese food an

Can Japan take on South Korea in the race to sell warships?

Tokyo's growing appetite for overseas sales of defense equipment will draw it into markets Seoul has spent decades cultivating.

Okinawa gubernatorial race focus shifts to ties with central government

Challenger Genta Koja vowed to stop portraying Tokyo as a villain, while incumbent Gov. Denny Tamaki pledged to hold the government to account.

Japan's traditional 'kendama' cup-and-ball toys capture global attention

HATSUKAICHI, Hiroshima -- "Kendama" traditional Japanese cup-and-ball toys made by Iwata Co., the only remaining manufacturer of the models in this we

At university in Taiwan, Kansai dialect course explores another voice of Japan

TAIPEI (Mainichi) -- There may be no foreign place where people encounter Japanese on street corners as often as in Taiwan. Signs reading "kawaii" (cu

Trend of foreigners leaving Japan may 'accelerate' under tighter visa rules

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Ray Hoe left Japan to return to Singapore on July 18 after failing to renew his business manager visa following abrupt changes to the

Japan's Toei denies issuing licenses for 'Dragon Ball' theme park in France

PARIS (Kyodo) -- Toei Animation Co. has denied media reports that a theme park inspired by the Japanese manga and anime series "Dragon Ball" will be b

Uber, city near Mt. Fuji join hands in measures against overtourism

KOFU, Japan (Kyodo) -- The Japanese unit of U.S. ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc. and a municipality at the foot of Mt. Fuji signed an acco

News in Easy English: Japan plans more AI study at school

TOKYO -- Japan's education ministry made a draft plan for the next school curriculum guidelines. It released a short version of the draft on Aug. 31.

Japan's Foreign Minister Motegi likely to be retained in Cabinet reshuffle

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is likely to retain Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in an upcoming reshuffle of her Cabinet

Japanese motor-maker Nidec says it found hundreds of cases of quality control misconduct

TOKYO (AP) -- Scandal-ridden Japanese motor maker Nidec Corp. released Friday the findings of a company investigation that found 844 cases of miscondu

Japan aims to bolster defense capabilities from Iran war analysis

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's Defense Ministry said Friday it will aim to strengthen its defense capabilities after examining the U.S.-Iran conflict.In its

The Mainichi News Quiz: Japan's justice and education ministries want big budgets for what?

How closely have you been following events in Japan? Try The Mainichi News Quiz for Sept. 5 to test your news knowledge. Ready?What areas did Japan's

From farmers to chefs, Japan’s culinary voices tell their tales

"The Art and Craft of Japanese Cooking: Artisans, Chefs, Recipes" combines recipes with essays on chefs' approaches as well as the artisans behind the ingredients they work with....

Punch Room Tokyo shakes its way to the top

Under the creative direction of bartender Yasuhiro Kawakubo, Punch Room Tokyo has climbed to the top of Japan's bartending scene.

Japan weather agency warns of landslides amid heavy rain on Yakushima

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's weather agency on Saturday continued to urge maximum vigilance for landslides caused by heavy rain on Yakushima Island in the

Pagodas in Japan's Shikoku preserve memories of Burma front veterans

MATSUYAMA -- Mount Bizan in the western Japan city of Tokushima, which appears in the ancient poetry anthology "Manyoshu," rises about 290 meters abov

Sugoroku: A Classic Japanese Game

The traditional board game sugoroku became hugely popular in the Edo period, when many highly artistic versions were produced.

Students from across Japan drawn to a Hokkaido high school's 'space education' program

TAIKI, Hokkaido -- A public high school in this northern Japan town of about 5,000 people on Hokkaido's Tokachi Plain is offering a "space education"

Japan's finance chief denies US pressure on monetary policy

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Friday that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made no specific demands regarding

Dollar rebounds to 156 yen after fall on hopes for narrower rate gap

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The U.S. dollar rebounded to the 156 yen range Friday in Tokyo, briefly dropping to the lower 155 yen level, following a plunge on sp

272 lost pet reports filed after M7.1 Kumamoto quake, less than half found

KUMAMOTO (Kyodo) -- Animal shelters in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto had received 272 reports of missing pets as of Aug. 25, after the

Sumo: Promotion-seeking Kirishima, Onosato go head-to-head in practice

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Ozeki Kirishima put in a confident performance in practice Friday ahead of his second straight bid for yokozuna promotion at the Autu

The woman at the center of Japan’s currency fight

Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama is under pressure to strengthen the yen while balancing competing demands from the prime minister and Washington.

Japan not considering letting foreign nationals serve in Self-Defense Forces: minister

TOKYO -- Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said at a news conference on Sept. 4 that the government is not considering recruiting foreign nat

A year of Lear: Four new stagings hone in on the tragedy’s timeless lessons

Four separate productions of "King Lear" in one year in Japan signal renewed interest in the Shakespeare play that hasn't always been the first choice....

Easy Japanese news in translation: Children call for traffic safety in Oita Prefecture

To coincide with the lowering of the speed limit on residential roads to 30 kilometers per hour, children from Kirari Kodomoen, a certified child care

Japan passport applications rise across all 47 prefectures after fee cut

TOKYO -- Passport applications increased in all 47 Japanese prefectures in July after a sharp reduction in issuance fees, surging to between 1.5 and 2

Editorial: Japan PM Takaichi's social media posts should be preserved as public records

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is stepping up her use of the social media platform X. Her posts should be managed as public records so that po

391 books by well-known authors missing from libraries in southwestern Japan city

KITAKYUSHU -- The Kitakyushu Municipal Board of Education reported 391 paperback books missing from two local public libraries on Sept. 3, and both fa

Japan says progress made on $550 billion investment pact with U.S.

Trade minister Ryosei Akazawa declined to comment in detail, but said discussions on AI and chips will carry "very significant weight."

Red-hot Japan sets 3-point records in win over Mali to open FIBA Women’s World Cup

Akatsuki Japan shot 57.1% from the 3-point line and set a World Cup record by making 20 from deep.

Football: Ueda scores winner on Lille debut against Toulouse

TOULOUSE, France (Kyodo) -- Japan forward Ayase Ueda scored on his debut for Lille on Thursday, hitting a winner in their 1-0 victory away to Toulouse

Japan, US commerce chiefs meet, possibly to discuss investment projects

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- Japan's trade and industry minister Ryosei Akazawa met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday, with investment

Dollar posts weekly loss as yen jumps amid shifting rate bets

The Japanese currency posted its best week since July, gaining about 2.4% against the dollar.

Takaichi lauds ‘transparency’ of Japan’s record budget requests

Her government has promised to review and cut back on unnecessary spending programs and is trying to incorporate more forward-looking investment into the budget....

Japan quake-hit community holds traditional festival in hope of lifting spirits

HIKAWA, Kumamoto -- A festival dedicated to praying for children's health and well-being was recently held in this town, which was hit by an earthquak

Japanese scientist posthumously wins Ig Nobel prize for nose-blowing study

ZURICH (Kyodo) -- The late Japanese researcher Tokuji Unno won this year's Ig Nobel Prize in medicine on Thursday for his study on how to blow one's n

Toilets a Top Concern When Disaster Strikes in Japan

From earthquakes and tsunami to typhoons and torrential rains, Japan is no stranger to natural disaster. Food, water, and shelter are key concerns when disaster strikes, but surveys show that access to toilet facilities is a central worry for residents in Japan....

Soccer giant FC Barcelona looks to open academy in Japan's Nara Pref., 1st in Asia

NARA -- Nara Gov. Makoto Yamashita said Sept. 2 that the western Japan prefecture is likely to host FC Barcelona's Barca Residency Academy in the town

voids and vertical space reinterpret traditional japanese machiya on a compact site in tokyo

voids and vertical space reinterpret traditional japanese machiya on a compact site in tokyo Designboom

Finnish Design Diplomacy: Elna Nykänen Andersson Explores Cultural Synergies in Tokyo

Finnish Design Diplomacy: Elna Nykänen Andersson Explores Cultural Synergies in Tokyo freeyork.org

The top Japanese amusement park operator in sales is Oriental Land operating Tokyo Disneyland Resort

The top Japanese amusement park operator in sales is Oriental Land operating Tokyo Disneyland Resort トラベルボイス

Kim Shin-young, a dream fulfilled.. Pop-up store opens in Tokyo, Japan: "A lifelong wish" [I Live Alone]

Kim Shin-young, a dream fulfilled.. Pop-up store opens in Tokyo, Japan: "A lifelong wish" [I Live Alone] starnewskorea.com

Yu-Gi-Oh! WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2026 Crowns Champions in Tokyo

Yu-Gi-Oh! WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2026 Crowns Champions in Tokyo PlayDayOne

Japan urged to consider hiring foreign nationals for Self-Defense Forces

Japan urged to consider hiring foreign nationals for Self-Defense Forces 毎日新聞