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August 05, 2026
 

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Jessica Speed
Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2026
Current permanent residency applications to be judged using new income criteria
The income requirement the government introduced may be applied to applications submitted as early as April of this year.
Former Justice Minister Masako Mori speaks at the Foreign Correspondents¡¯ Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 3, 2026
Former justice minister calls for independent probe into Japan public prosecutors
A succession of recent scandals has shown the service can no longer be trusted to investigate itself, lawmaker Masako Mori said.
Japan's new basic plan for immigration control and residency management calls for greater use of digital technology and data analysis in immigration screening.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2026
Japan unveils new immigration plan focused on tighter regulations
The government¡¯s latest plan comes as the number of foreign residents reaches record levels, while Japan faces a shrinking population and labor shortages.
Evacuees rest inside a gymnasium at a community center, which is serving as an evacuation shelter, in the city of Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Thursday following Tuesday's magnitude 7.1 earthquake.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2026
Kumamoto quake death toll rises to 34 as rescuers race against clock
The Kumamoto Prefectural Government on Thursday said five other people sustained serious injuries as a result of the disaster.
Cars queue to enter a gas station in the city of Uki in Kumamoto Prefecture on Thursday, two days after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 struck the area.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 30, 2026
Kumamoto¡¯s foreign community leans on 2016 lessons after quake
The prefecture¡¯s foreign residents checked in with neighbors, translated information and warnings, and helped to secure emergency supplies after the 7.1 magnitude earthquake.
Debris is strewn at the damaged Aeon Mall shopping center, where an explosion occurred after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 struck Japan's southern Kumamoto Prefecture, in Kashima Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2026
Rescuers race to find survivors following massive Kumamoto quake
At least three of the 13 deaths reported came at a major shopping mall, after an explosion ripped through the building, causing a large portion of it to collapse.
Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi holds a news conference Tuesday in Tokyo as Immigration Services Agency staffers hold up a poster promoting recruitment for inspectors and security officers.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2026
Immigration Services Agency to add 226 staff amid rise in foreign residents
The Immigration Services Agency will add 176 immigration inspectors, who review applications for residency status, and 50 immigration control officers.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a ministerial meeting focused on crime prevention measures at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 28, 2026
Japan weighing GPS tracking for ¡®high risk¡¯ stalkers
Many key details remain undecided, including who exactly would be deemed as a ¡°high risk¡± offender and whether court approval would be required.
The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau in the capital's Shinagawa Ward in March. Japan's revised guidelines for permanent residency are set to be introduced as early as Oct. 1 and applied to applications filed from April 2027.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2026
Tough new permanent residency measures trigger concern in Japan
The draft guidelines would introduce clearer income, pension, language and integration requirements, as the government seeks to tighten immigration controls.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (second from left) addresses a meeting of ministers responsible for policies concerning foreign residents, held at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2026
Japan to set up expert working group on accepting foreign nationals
The group will consider the social and economic impacts of immigration and help the government compile its basic policy.
The summer heat hits Ginza, Tokyo, on Thursday. According to the Tokyo Fire Department, 453 people were transported to hospitals due to heatstroke on Wednesday alone.
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2026
As Japan bakes, over 10,000 rushed to hospital for heatstroke in a week
Some 10,857 people were transported by ambulance from July 13 through July 19, more than double the same period last year.
A cyberattack on Nichirei last week caused disruptions to shipments at refrigerated warehouses and deliveries of frozen-food products.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 22, 2026
Hacker group RansomHouse claims responsibility for cyberattack on Nichirei
RansomHouse has previously claimed responsibility for attacks on several Japanese businesses, including a ransomware attack in October on office-supplies retailer Askul.
A large brown cicada. A Japanese research team has found that the species, known as <i>aburazemi,</i> called after dark at urban sites.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 22, 2026
City lights and searing summer heat keep some cicadas singing after dark
New findings from Japanese researchers show how urbanization has affected the routines of some wildlife.
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo&#039;s Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 21, 2026
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
The financial strain is affecting parents¡¯ mental health, with 44% of survey respondents saying they always or often feel extremely depressed when thinking about summer vacation.
People walk with parasols in Tokyo on Monday, as the city saw its first scorching day of the year, marking 35 Celsius or higher.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2026
Extreme heat grips Japan as rainy season officially ends in Tokyo
Temperatures exceeded 35 degrees Celsius across much of the country on Monday.
Conventional health insurance cards will no longer be accepted at medical institutions in Japan starting in August. Patients will need to present their My Number cards registered for use as a health insurance card.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2026
Japanese health insurance cards no longer usable in clinics from August
Patients in Japan will need a My Number card registered for insurance use or a special certificate to receive insured medical treatment.
Founded in 1831 and based in Manhattan, New York University has about 60,000 students and academic centers in 13 countries.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2026
Tokyo eyes New York University campus in push for global education
The announcement comes as Japan¡¯s capital seeks to strengthen its profile as an international education and research hub.
Hand, foot and mouth disease is a viral infection that mainly affects infants and young children, causing blister-like rashes in the mouth and on the hands and feet.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 15, 2026
Hand, foot and mouth disease cases surge across Japan
The number of patients has exceeded the nationwide warning threshold for the first time in two years as Japan enters summer, when cases typically increase.
As heat grips Japan, authorities are urging residents to use air conditioning, avoid unnecessary outdoor activity and drink fluids before feeling thirsty.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2026
Extreme heat grips Japan with potential double storm brewing
Heatstroke alerts have been issued for 14 prefectures, while the country continues to face unsettled weather linked to Tropical Storm Bavi.
A pair of mice are used in a University of Tokyo experiment to observe behavioral shifts in the animals after being exposed to aggressive behavior by others.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 10, 2026
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
University of Tokyo researchers said the study¡¯s findings could advance understanding of disorders in which social memory and emotional processing become distorted.
Current permanent residency applications to be judged using new income criteria
Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Beast of Reincarnation shows Game Freak has more to learn
Releasing on Aug. 4, Beast of Reincarnation is set in a far-future version of Japan ruined by a mysterious apocalypse.
U.S. to close consulates in Canada, Japan and Indonesia, sources say
The U.S. State Department said in a notice ?sent to some congressional committees last week that it plans to close ?its posts ?in St. George&#039;s, Grenada; Nagoya, Japan; Medan, Indonesia; Douala, Cameroon; and Winnipeg, Canada. ?
Japan to add five-year stay period for Type 2 foreign workers
Holders of the Type 2 specified skilled foreign worker status are currently granted periods of stay for six months, one year, two years or three years.
Three lions die at Tokyo¡¯s Tama Zoo amid heat wave
Mugi, a female lion at Tama Zoo in Tokyo, has died following a heat wave in July.
Current permanent residency applications to be judged using new income criteria
Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Disinformation abounds online in aftermath of Kumamoto quake
Television screens in Tokyo show news coverage of a powerful earthquake hitting Kumamoto Prefecture on July 28. Some social media accounts have claimed that shaky footage of the quake was fake.
Japan defense report says China challenge must be met with ¡®overall national strength¡¯
Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers walk in front of a Type 88 surface-to-ship missile launcher, during the Balikatan annual joint military exercises at Culili Point Sand Dunes, in Paoay, Philippines, on May 6.
A pressing question on the front lines in Kumamoto: Who cares for the caregivers?
Tomoko Sato, the chief of emergency medicine at Saiseikai Kumamoto Hospital, brought her two children to the hospital so she could continue treating patients following the Kumamoto earthquake.
For Japan¡¯s aging homeless population, brutal summers are dangerously inescapable
A homeless person near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. Authorities have warned the public to avoid unnecessary outings and advised people to stay in air-conditioned spaces, but for people who are homeless this is often not an option.

Podcast

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

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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