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June 30, 2026
 

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Elizabeth Beattie
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Jun 28, 2026
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
With research on microplastics and the health of coral reefs, the crew of the Tara are making a difference as the world’s environmental issues mount.
Luup adopted a system that makes its electric scooters come to a halt automatically when users enter an area near the Kamo River in Kyoto where riding them is prohibited.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2026
Luup scooters introduces automatic stop function to avoid nuisance use in Kyoto
Luup scooters, a favored transportation source for tourists in Japan, will automatically halt when nearing prohibited areas in Kyoto.
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Sakura Uchikoshi (right) and Kazuki Yuda of Touch Immigration Law Firm during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2026
Tighter immigration rules could tarnish Japan’s image, opposition lawmaker says
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Sakura Uchikoshi cautions against a shift in Japan toward exclusionism and xenophobia.
Manish Kumar, who asked that his face not be shown, at his restaurant in Tsurugashima, Saitama Prefecture, on June 1.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 8, 2026
Fear and uncertainty for foreign business owners after Japan revises rules
The life that restaurateur Manish Kumar built in Japan for he and his family has been upended after Japan enacted stricter rules for the business manager visa.
James "Weston" Higginbotham was last seen in Kyoto on May 29.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 4, 2026
Kyoto police search for missing American tourist
James Higginbotham, who also goes by Weston, was last seen in the Kyoto area on Friday last week.
Takanawa Gateway City is the centerpiece of East Japan Railway’s broader effort to redevelop what it calls the Greater Shinagawa Area into a major international business and transportation hub.
JAPAN / Greater Shinagawa Area
Jun 2, 2026
The rise of the managed city
Tokyo’s newest megadevelopments aim to redesign urban life for an aging, increasingly diverse society
A humanoid robot is displayed at the Humanoids Summit in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 29, 2026
Labor shortage fuels ramp-up of humanoid robot development
Declining birth rates across the globe are driving an “unprecedented wave of investment” in robots to sustain workforces.
Hands, a beloved DIY and lifestyle store, has announced that it will close its Shibuya location in November.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 26, 2026
DIY and lifestyle store Hands exits Shibuya after 48 years
Beloved for its selection of stationery and crafts, as well as woodworking and gardening supplies, retailer Hands announced it will close its Shibuya location after 48 years.
Toshifumi Suzuki, then-chairman and CEO of Seven & I Holdings, speaks during an interview at its headquarters in Tokyo in 2013.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 25, 2026
Toshifumi Suzuki, pioneer of Japanese convenience stores, dies at age 93
Suzuki, who is most well known for bringing 7-Eleven stores to Japan, had most recently served as an honorary adviser to the company.
Tokyo Central staff offer handroll sushi at its Emeryville outlet in California.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 25, 2026
Even at home, American shoppers are flocking to Japanese supermarkets
Aisles lined with signs written in kanji and hiragana transport shoppers doing their regular grocery shopping to Japan.
For one April Sunday each year, the otherwise working class city of Kawasaki becomes host to one of Japan's most unusual-looking festivals.
LIFE / Travel
May 23, 2026
At Kawasaki’s ‘penis festival,’ phalluses are vessels of compassion
The event ‘may look weird,’ says a priestess of Kanayama Shrine, but its origins and purpose point to a deeper meaning.
Tokyo Detention House guidelines dictate that CCTV surveillance can be used when detainees are at risk of suicide or self-harm, or when there is concern they may try to escape.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
May 20, 2026
Female death row inmate sues Japan government over 24/7 surveillance
A death-row inmate says she’s been surveilled 24/7 for 24 years. Now, she’s suing the Japanese government for a breach of human rights.
Swedish investment fund EQT said it will conduct a tender offer for Japan's Kakaku.com.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2026
Sweden’s EQT to acquire Japanese firm behind popular restaurant site Tabelog
The Swedish private equity firm has announced plans to acquire Tabelog’s parent company, Kakaku.com, in a deal expected to be valued around ¥590 billion.
Foreign tourists take selfies with a statue of Buddha in the Asakusa area of Tokyo on April 15.
JAPAN / Society
May 11, 2026
Moving to Japan a dream for many Americans, survey says
Japan is ranked sixth in preliminary searches by those looking to relocate, but practical factors, including language, bumped it down 10 places in a new report.
Japan moved up from 66th the previous year while the U.S. slid to 64th, down from 57th in 2025, the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom index showed.
JAPAN / Media
May 1, 2026
Japan overtakes U.S. in global press freedom index
The report found press freedom has sunk to a 25-year low, with 52% of the countries and territories being categorized as in “difficult” or “very serious” situations.
Organic food is less common in Japan than in the U.K., with about 70% of what is available in the country being imported.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 1, 2026
In Japan, strong state-led certification key to boosting organic food uptake
Japanese and U.K. researchers have found that having a transparent government-certified system may help encourage more people to buy organic food products.
An electronic board in Tokyo displays the Nikkei stock average on Monday.
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2026
Tokyo reenters Global Financial Centres Index’s top 10
Other key cities in Asia are also ranked highly, while Osaka rose several spots.
A Doraemon & Friends tour exhibition in Bangkok last May. A single film cel of a Doraemon show is estimated to nab up to $2,500 during Christie’s first anime auction.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2026
Christie’s holds first anime-focused online auction
Movie posters, film cels and illustrations of iconic anime characters went under the hammer on Wednesday.
Ronda Payne (center), the mother of Christopher Payne, an American man convicted of sexual assault in Japan, speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 6, 2026
American man found guilty of sexual assault fights ruling over DNA evidence
A Tokyo High Court ruling in December said his conviction was based on insufficient evidence and sent his case back to the district court.
A bottle of Bowmore at a shop near Lausanne, Switzerland. Suntory acquired Bowmore in 1994.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2026
Suntory consolidates two scotch distilleries in Scotland as U.S. sales fall
The majority of revenue from scotch whisky comes from exports, which fell to the U.S. — one of the largest markets for the drink — following tariffs being introduced in April 2025.
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.
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.
LGBTQ+ families are building lives Japanese lawmakers still struggle to see
Haru Ono founded Nijiiro Kazoku in 2010 after forming a same-sex stepfamily. She said the impetus for founding the organization was that she couldn’t find much reliable information out there for families such as hers in Japan.
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
By Alex K.T. Martin

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