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July 10, 2026
 

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OSAKA

The Grand Ring, the symbol of the 2025 Osaka Expo in Osaka, is dismantled in March.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 20, 2026
Osaka Expo resources find new life across Japan
In line with its principle of a sustainable expo, the association hopes to encourage the effective reuse of materials and assets from the event.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks during a news conference in the city of Osaka on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 18, 2026
Yoshimura to seek re-election as Osaka governor if referendum is held
There had been speculation that Hirofumi Yoshimura may opt not to run for reelection as Osaka governor with a view to a future return to national politics.
Tokyo native Noemi Minami founded Koen Book Club in 2021 with two friends. The club continues to meet monthly in public parks across Tokyo, weather permitting.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
May 18, 2026
Anglophone bookworms unite across Japan
Book clubs, book swaps and other reading events are providing a space for wholesome offline socializing in Tokyo and beyond.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping visit the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing on Friday.
EDITORIALS
May 15, 2026
A sigh of relief as Trump visits Xi
Trump will declare the meeting a win for his diplomacy and credit his personal relationship with Xi. The Chinese leader will be less effusive.
The Osaka High Court in the city of Osaka. While the court did not order specific action in the case of a person seeking a nonbinary gender designation in Japan's family register system, it said that the lack of legal recognition infringes on Article 14 of the Constitution.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 13, 2026
High court finds exclusion of nonbinary gender option in family register system unconstitutional
Gender identity is “directly linked to an individual’s personal existence, making it a significant legal good,” the court has said in its judgment.
Wall Share has facilitated the creation of 37 murals in Osaka’s Konohana neighborhood by artists from 22 countries.
CULTURE / Art
May 11, 2026
Meet the mural artists who make Osaka vibrant
Graffiti is frowned upon in Japan, but wall art is finding local support. In Osaka, the Wall Share company acts as the glue that connects the artists to the community.
SoftBank will partner with South Korea’s Cosmos Lab and DeltaX to enable mass production of large-scale battery cells from the fiscal year starting next April.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 11, 2026
SoftBank plans to make large-scale batteries for AI data centers
SoftBank Corp. will partner with South Korea’s Cosmos Lab and DeltaX to enable mass production from the fiscal year starting next April, the firm said.
Osaka's Namba district
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 10, 2026
Man arrested over woman’s death in Osaka hotel
Police linked Mori to the case through security camera footage and interviews with related parties.
Confiscated disposable nicotine vapes in Osaka on Saturday
JAPAN / Society
May 9, 2026
Despite curbs, nicotine vape use rises among young people in Japan
While the products can be imported for personal use, selling it in Japan violates the pharmaceutical and medical device law.
Izumisano Mayor Hiroyasu Chiyomatsu inspects the baby hatch at Jikei Hospital in the city of Kumamoto on Feb. 10.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2026
City in Osaka Prefecture seeks early launch of its own ‘baby hatch’ system
The city of Izumisano’s initiative reflects Mayor Hiroyasu Chiyomatsu’s strong belief that the city must serve as “a stronghold for protecting lives.”
With six three-starred restaurants in this year's Michelin guide, Kyoto continues to build on its reputation as a gourmet destination.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 28, 2026
Gourmet capital Kyoto now has six three-Michelin-starred restaurants
The latest edition of the Michelin Guide Kyoto & Osaka sees Miyamaso earn three stars — the first time since 2020 that Kyoto has a new three-starred entry.
A Japanese prosecutor, who uses the pseudonym Hikari, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on March 31. Hikari alleges she was raped by her former boss, the former head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 28, 2026
Prosecutor who accused boss of rape to resign after request for probe rejected
Very few women in Japan speak out about sexual assault, but the prosecutor came forward in 2024 to accuse Osaka’s then-top prosecutor of raping her six years earlier.
Softbank Corp. CEO and President Junichi Miyakawa
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2026
SoftBank prepares to manufacture batteries for AI data centers
The Tokyo-based group is one of the world’s foremost supporters of AI, having committed hundreds of billions of dollars to investment in data centers, cloud services and startups.
A classroom at Ozu Junior High School in Izumiotsu, Osaka Prefecture, looks more like a cafe, and students can sit wherever they want during social studies class.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Apr 20, 2026
At a unique state school in Osaka Prefecture, students take the lead
At Ozu Junior High School, students have determined the look of their uniform, the design of a library and classroom, and even the school’s guidelines.
The Finance Ministry in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 15, 2026
Finance Ministry discloses last set of Moritomo papers
Since last April, the ministry has disclosed a total of about 140,000 pages deemed closely related to the document-tampering scandal.
An apartment in the city of Izumi, Osaka Prefecture, where two women were found stabbed to death
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 10, 2026
Two women found stabbed to death in Osaka apartment
An autopsy determined both died of blood loss, having sustained multiple stab and slash wounds concentrated on the head, neck and back, police said.
The new edition of "In Praise of Shadows" also includes 30 mood-enhancing photos of evocative corners and shadowy spaces such as tearooms and gardens.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 8, 2026
New Tanizaki collection illuminates ‘In Praise of Shadows’ origin
The new edition of “In Praise of Shadows” also includes 30 mood-enhancing photos of evocative corners and shadowy spaces such as tearooms and gardens.
Police are investigating a connection between fraud cases in Ehime and Osaka prefectures.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 7, 2026
Woman defrauded of ¥1.2 billion in largest scam loss on record in Japan
Individuals posing as police officers and prosecutors instructed the woman to transfer funds under the pretense of it being part of an investigation into her assets.
Japan Innovation Party policy chief Alex Saito (left) and Ichiro Miyashita, a Lower House member of the Liberal Democratic Party, speak to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 1, 2026
LDP and JIP agree to drop special ward requirement for secondary capital
The move opens up the role to prefectures other than just Osaka.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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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