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May 21, 2026
 

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Elizabeth Beattie
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. ¡ª one of the largest markets for the drink ¡ª following tariffs being introduced in April 2025.
Use of food delivery services surged during the pandemic, when fewer people were dining out, but rising competition has proved challenging for firms and led to consolidation in a number of markets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2026
Wolt pulls out of Japan amid DoorDash exit from some Asian markets
Wolt will also withdraw from Uzbekistan, while another DoorDash subsidiary Deliveroo will cease its food delivery services in Singapore and Qatar.
The city of Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2026
Gunma tops relocation ranking for second consecutive year
Concerns over rising costs and recommendations by artificial intelligence helped push the prefecture to the top spot.
With Mirumi, a fluffy-furred robot bag charm, robotics firm Yukai Engineering hopes to replicate the Labubu craze in Western countries.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 24, 2026
A fluffy pink robot may be Japan¡¯s answer to Labubu
Mirumi, whose goal is to ¡°steal your heart,¡± arrives as the ¡°kidult¡± market is projected to climb.
Ibis President Eiji Kamiya, the parent of VoiSona operator, explains the global ambitions of the company are to ¡°generate new culture starting from Japan.¡±
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 16, 2026
Japanese DIY music app aims to help ¡¯otaku¡¯ bedroom composers find their voice
VoiSona offers an easy-to-use and affordable service by focusing on the otaku bedroom composers who want to make their geekiest dreams come true.
Experts say emotional bonds with AI are often shaped by prior experiences ¡ª or disappointments ¡ª in human relationships.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Feb 13, 2026
Love, engineered in the age of AI
As chatbots grow more sophisticated, some people are forming romantic bonds ¡ª and even marriages ¡ª with artificial partners.
Amtrak has manga-style posters on display in stations around the U.S.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 2, 2026
More foreign companies adopt anime and manga as PR tool
Amtrak now has an ¡°anime conductor¡± featuring in manga-style safety posters that are displayed in railway stations around the U.S.
X-iS staff work on a commissioned custom mosaic for a client in January in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Feb 2, 2026
Natural treasure: Tile company finds global audience with Gifu Prefecture clay
In lush Gifu Prefecture lays a distinct kind of buried treasure: clay, upon which tile manufacturer X-iS is building an internationally facing business.
Foreign visitors from the combined countries of Europe, the U.S. and Australia were up 22% year on year.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2026
Foreign visitors to Japan topped 40 million in 2025
Tourists, including droves from Asia and the U.S., continued to visit, as tensions with China failed to put a damper on the numbers.
Japan's content industry ¡ª which includes anime, manga and video games ¡ª is a major export the country. Such exports were valued at ?6 trillion ($38 billion) in 2024.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jan 19, 2026
AI-driven pirated manga is booming. Can AI also help curb it?
While artificial intelligence is driving the spread of pirated manga online, Japanese government officials are hoping AI can also help rein it in.
The number of Japanese residents arriving in the U.S. to study fell by 2,945 year on year in the first 11 months of 2025, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 15, 2026
Fewer Japanese study in U.S. amid uncertainty over visas and political climate
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has placed educational facilities under immense scrutiny as part of its "America First" policy.
The United Nations University in Tokyo¡¯s Shibuya Ward is an established institution in Japan, regularly hosting lectures, exhibitions and forums.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2026
U.N. University in Tokyo unlikely to be impacted by U.S. exit
U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday his country¡¯s withdrawal from a number of institutions, including 31 U.N. entities.
Female death row inmate sues Japan government over 24/7 surveillance
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.
Almost half of foreign residents have experienced discrimination: government survey
Japan¡¯s foreign resident population rose 9.5% to a record 4.12 million at the end of 2025, topping 4 million for the first time, according to data from the Immigration Services Agency.
¡®There was no village¡¯: Japan¡¯s troubling pattern of family murder-suicides
Akiko Hashiguchi is one of the few people in Japan to publicly share her personal experience with muri shinj¨± under her own name. She has since been involved in parents¡¯ support work and advocacy around developmental disorders.
Japan arrests Americans over stunt at baby monkey Punch¡¯s zoo
Visitors gather in the rain to catch a glimpse of Punch the monkey at Ichikawa City Zoo in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, in April.
Magnitude 5.9 earthquake strikes Kagoshima islands
A strong earthquake struck Kagoshima Prefecture on Wednesday.
¡®There was no village¡¯: Japan¡¯s troubling pattern of family murder-suicides
Akiko Hashiguchi is one of the few people in Japan to publicly share her personal experience with muri shinj¨± under her own name. She has since been involved in parents¡¯ support work and advocacy around developmental disorders.
Before city pop went global, there was Anri
Anri says younger overseas listeners first surprised her during a 2023 performance in Los Angeles, where most of the audience was in their 20s. Nearly five decades after her debut, songs such as ¡°Last Summer Whisper¡± and ¡°I Can¡¯t Stop the Loneliness¡± continue finding new fans.
Trump says ¡®nothing¡¯s changed¡¯ on Taiwan. But his words belie a big shift.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One en route to the U.S. following his official visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, on Friday.
Japan¡¯s new emissions trading program: Key climate tool or paper tiger?
A production line at a Nippon Steel plate rolling mill in Kimitsu, Chiba Prefecture, in May 2025.
For all its nonsense, ¡®Mystery Arena¡¯ is weirdly entertaining
Afro-wigged host Momotaro Kabayama (Toshiaki Karasawa) presides over the eponymous game show in Yukihiko Tsutsumi¡¯s ¡°Mystery Arena.¡±

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Anri says younger overseas listeners first surprised her during a 2023 performance in Los Angeles, where most of the audience was in their 20s. Nearly five decades after her debut, songs such as ¡°Last Summer Whisper¡± and ¡°I Can¡¯t Stop the Loneliness¡± continue finding new fans.
Before city pop went global, there was Anri
By Patrick St. Michel

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