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July 04, 2026
 

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OSAKA

A Myaku-Myaku statue relocated near the Tower of the Sun monument in the 1970 Expo commemorative park, on Saturday in the city of Suita, Osaka Prefecture
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2026
Myaku-Myaku statues relocated near 1970 expo’s Tower of Sun
The Myaku-Myaku statues welcomed visitors near the Osaka Expo venue’s gates on the artificial island of Yumeshima.
A prosecutor speaks during a news conference in the city of Osaka on Tuesday after suing the state for damages related to a sexual assault case involving a former head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 18, 2026
Japan prosecutor sues state over sexual assault by boss
The prosecutor said her life “has been chipped away by the prosecution organization’s terrible response over the past two years since reporting the assault.”
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks to reporters as he leaves the Osaka Prefectural Government office Monday evening.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 17, 2026
JIP head Hirofumi Yoshimura hints at possible return to national politics
Osaka’s governor told JIP executives that he might eye national politics if an Osaka metropolis plan for regional administrative reorganization is approved.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks at an executive meeting of the Japan Innovation Party in the city of Osaka on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 16, 2026
Osaka Gov. Yoshimura to remain JIP leader
In a poll, 619 JIP lawmakers and local assembly members voted against holding an election, compared with 102 who voted in favor.
Osaka’s Dotonbori district in March 2020, commonly referred to as Gurishita, located near the famous Glico sign
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 16, 2026
Harassment dispute allegedly sparked fatal Osaka teen stabbing
The suspect, Ryoga Iwasaki, allegedly harassed a woman shortly before the attack.
Police inspect the scene where three 17-year-old boys were stabbed on Saturday night.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 15, 2026
Stabbing in Osaka leaves 17 year-old dead and two others seriously injured
About 10 hours after a suspect fled the scene, police arrested 21-year-old Ryoga Iwasaki over the incident.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Japan Innovation Party head Hirofumi Yoshimura (left) meet in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 10, 2026
Yoshimura agrees to JIP presence in Takaichi Cabinet
It is not clear what position might be offered to the junior partner of the Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition.
Japan Innovation Party head Hirofumi Yoshimura speaks to reporters in the city of Osaka on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Feb 9, 2026
Uncertainty clouds JIP’s role in ruling coalition following LDP’s election win
With the Liberal Democratic Party winning so many seats, the prime minister may begin to disregard its junior coalition partner’s views, one political scientist says.
The Kongo family’s residence and workshop in the Taisho Era, photographed about a century ago.
BUSINESS / Companies / Longform
Feb 9, 2026
What keeps Japan’s 1,000-year-old companies alive?
Across religion, hospitality and the arts, the country’s oldest institutions show how craft and continuity can endure.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of Japan Innovation Party, speaks at a news conference with Osaka city Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama after initial results showed the two were set to be reelected to their positions in snap local elections Sunday.
JAPAN / Media
Feb 8, 2026
Reelected governor, Osaka’s Yoshimura eyes referendum on merging city’s wards
Most members of the Osaka City Council are against holding another referendum after voters twice rejected the plan previously.
Former Prime Minister Taro Aso, vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, delivers a speech in the city of Osaka on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 5, 2026
LDP election cooperation with Komeito during 26-year tie-up ‘nonsense,’ says Aso
While the parties were in an alliance, the LDP had asked supporters to cast proportional representation votes for Komeito in exchange for Komeito supporters backing LDP candidates.
A poster board in the Osaka No. 5 district in the city of Osaka. Candidates from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, are competing against each other in all single-seat constituencies in Osaka Prefecture in Sunday's Lower House election.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 3, 2026
In Osaka, LDP faces off against JIP despite being allies
Roughly 66,000 people who voted for Komeito in the last Lower House election are seen as kingmakers in the Osaka No. 5 district.
American rockers The Strokes will perform at the 25th edition of Summer Sonic, one of Japan’s biggest summer music festivals.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 2, 2026
Summer Sonic marks 25 years with expanded 2026 festival
To mark its quarter-century milestone, the music festival is stretching to three days and featuring major acts such as The Strokes, Jennie, Jamiroquai and L’Arc-en-Ciel.
Tokyo police have arrested a 61-year-old part-time worker from Kawachinagano, Osaka Prefecture, on suspicion of registering a fake address to rent an internet server. Investigators have also linked him to a blog that alludes to child prostitution in Laos.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 30, 2026
Police arrest man over suspected involvement in Laos child prostitution blog
According to Tokyo police, the blog in question contained text and photos suggestive of child prostitution in the Southeast Asian country.
Leader of the Japan Innovation Party Hirofumi Yoshimura delivers his first campaign speech for the House of Representatives election in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jan 28, 2026
JIP struggles with perception and unity ahead of Lower House election
The junior member of the ruling coalition has remained unpopular nationally, while its goal of merging Osaka city’s wards is creating unexpected problems within its Osaka base.
Japan saw more tourists last year than ever — and a new report suggests its popularity among travelers is only going to grow.
LIFE / Travel
Jan 24, 2026
Data-driven travel rankings crown Japan as world’s top destination
According to travel planning outlet World Travel Index, the weak yen is a major factor in Japan’s enduring popularity with global tourists.
Hirofumi Yoshimura makes a campaign speech in the city of Osaka on Thursday to seek reelection as Osaka governor.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2026
Campaigning begins for Osaka gubernatorial election on Feb. 8
The previous governor, Hirofumi Yoshimura, resigned in an attempt to revive the so-called Osaka metropolis plan.
Tourists from abroad take souvenir photos in Sapporo's Susukino district, a popular sightseeing and entertainment spot, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2026
Japan has a tough road ahead to achieve 60 million visitor goal
Japan still needs to overcome mounting challenges to achieving its goal of 60 million annual visitors by 2030, although the number of inbound tourists topped 40 million for the first time ever last year with their consumption growing to around ¥9.5 trillion.
JIP leaders Hirofumi Yoshimura (right) and Fumitake Fujita leave the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Jan. 14.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 21, 2026
Unveiling manifesto, JIP touts itself as Takaichi administration’s ‘accelerator’
The party seeks to woo Liberal Democratic Party supporters by highlighting their shared destination.
Seized cartridges containing etomidate are shown at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 21, 2026
Thai woman arrested in Japan for smuggling ‘zombie cigarettes’
Tuela Kanwara was arrested and later indicted for allegedly smuggling 1,002 cartridges of the substance on a flight into Kansai International Airport.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Iran war exposed, but hasn’t changed, Japan’s reliance on imported oil
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan's renewable goals.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.

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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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