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July 10, 2026
 

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OSAKA

The Moritomo documents, totaling more than 170,000 pages, were voluntarily submitted by the Finance Ministry to prosecutors.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 18, 2025
Japan shows fifth set of Moritomo papers to ex-official’s widow
The Moritomo documents, totaling more than 170,000 pages, were voluntarily submitted by the ministry to prosecutors.
People pose for pictures in front of festive light installations at Mohri Garden in Roppongi district, in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 17, 2025
For the first time, Tokyo reaches second place in Global Power City Index
The executive director of the Mori Memorial Foundation, which releases the index, said other Japanese cities — such as Fukuoka and Osaka — were rapidly moving up the rankings, too.
The sister of Kotaro Nishizawa, who died in an arson attack on an Osaka clinic in 2021, offers a prayer Wednesday in front of the building that housed the clinic.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 17, 2025
Victims of 2021 Osaka clinic arson attack remembered
The incident killed 26 people, including the 49-year-old head of the clinic.
Nobuko Nishizawa, sister of a psychosomatic clinic director who was killed in an arson attack in 2021, speaks with an inmate in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, in July.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 16, 2025
Four years on, Osaka arson victim’s sister helps to rehabilitate inmates
A journalist once asked Nobuko Nishizawa what could have been done to prevent the 2019 deadly arson on Kyoto Animation, prompting her to begin providing rehabilitation support.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, will reconsider the route of the planned Hokuriku Shinkansen section between Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture and Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka Prefecture.
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2025
Japan to reconsider route of planned Hokuriku Shinkansen section
The existing plan, adopted by the then LDP-Komeito coalition in 2016, has faced opposition from some due to environmental and fiscal concerns.
A street leading to the Tsutenkaku tower in Osaka's Shinsekai district. Local reports and social media posts point to thinner crowds in Shinsaibashi and Shinsekai, once favorite haunts for Chinese groups.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2025
Osaka tourism endures heavy hit as China-Japan tensions simmer
China bookings for Osaka-bound flights for winter and early spring departures are down 55% to 65% — a sharper drop than the nationwide average.
Osaka Gas President Masataka Fujiwara speaks during an interview on Dec. 2 in Osaka.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 9, 2025
Osaka Gas to focus more on LNG supply to vessels, president says
The company’s President Masataka Fujiwara said more vessels are expected to use liquefied natural gas for fuel, instead of fuel oil and gas oil, to try to reduce carbon emissions.
The transport ministry may delay the planned fiscal 2026 start of construction on the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension from Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture to Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka Prefecture, sources say.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2025
Hokuriku Shinkansen extension work unlikely to start in fiscal 2026, sources say
The expected delay mainly reflects a lack of consensus within the ruling coalition regarding the route for the bullet train’s extension.
The Jian Zhen Hao ferry in Shanghai in June 2024. Ferry services between Japan and China have been halted amid tensions.
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2025
Japan-China passenger ferry services halted
The move apparently comes in response to Beijing urging its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan amid tensions between the countries.
The Metropolitan Police Department arrested a 17-year-old boy on Thursday for allegedly carrying out a cyberattack on the operator of the Kaikatsu Club internet cafe chain, sources said.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 4, 2025
Police arrest high school student over cyberattack on net cafe operator
The 17-year-old student from Osaka allegedly obtained about 7.25 million sets of Kaikatsu Club membership information with a program he created using ChatGPT.
The Osaka Wheel in the city of Suita made an emergency stop at around 5:47 p.m. during a thunderstorm, leaving the people stranded on nine gondolas.
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2025
Lightning strike leaves 20 stranded on Japan’s tallest Ferris wheel for hours
Passengers waited up to nine hours before they could disembark after the Ferris wheel came to an emergency stop.
The land ministry said overseas acquisitions remain small relative to the overall market and cannot be considered a major factor behind price increases for new condominiums at this point.
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2025
Overseas buyers snapped up 3.5% of new Tokyo condos in first half of 2025
The figure has risen from 1.6% for all of 2024, demonstrating a growing interest in Japanese real estate from abroad.
The Osaka Prefectural Government and several municipalities on Monday submitted a proposal to halt new special-zone minpaku applications, citing repeated complaints about some foreign guests.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2025
Osaka proposes to halt applications for minpaku private lodgings
The proposal was made in response to resident complaints about the behavior of some foreign guests staying at minpaku facilities.
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.
A farmer harvests rice in a field in Chikusei, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Oct. 9. Prices will most likely remain in the ¥4,000 range for 5 kilograms of the grain at least until the 2026 harvest is released next summer.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Nov 12, 2025
New Cabinet searches for effective rice policy amid resurging prices
Officials are considering the distribution of “rice tickets” to make the nation’s staple grain more affordable for certain households.
The Osaka District Court sentenced a 25-year-old man to four years and six months in prison for swindling ¥1.45 billion in a real estate scam.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 6, 2025
Osaka real estate scammer given 54-month prison sentence
Judge Akira Kuranari ruled that the defendant, Ryohei Kume, took part in “a malicious crime with sophisticated tricks” by posing as a landowner.
A group of 1,191 people across Japan has filed a petition seeking the return of about ¥11.4 billion from an Osaka-based real estate investment firm.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 6, 2025
More than 1,100 people sue Osaka firm over real estate investment
Some who terminated their investment contracts with Toshi-Souken Invest have not been refunded, according to the group of petitioners.
A front page report from November 1950 indicated that the government was in talks with French and British companies about launching television for the first time ever in Japan.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Nov 1, 2025
Japan Times 1950: Negotiations under way to bring TV to Japan
In November 1950, British and French officials were offering their broadcasting technology to help Japan launch its first television channel, pending a permit from the government.
Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi (right) and Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura pose for a picture after signing an agreement to form a coalition, at the National Diet Building in Tokyo on Oct 20.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 28, 2025
Smaller parties set to suffer most if LDP and JIP reduce Lower House seats
Smaller parties such as Komeito could lose out the most if a bill is passed to reduce Lower House seats by 10%.
Media gathered near the scene where a man barricaded himself with a knife on Wednesday in the city of Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 23, 2025
Man arrested after 14-hour police standoff in Osaka
Toru Suetsugu, 48, allegedly held a woman he was living with at knifepoint after police showed up at his apartment to investigate a theft.
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.
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.
Trump says ‘Japan’ instead of Iran at meeting in Ankara
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara on Wednesday.
Wakatakakage injury casts pall over July meet, but potential new stars loom
Nicholas Tarasenko trains at Minato stable in August 2024.
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.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
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.
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.

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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