12+ hour, 10+ min ago   (562+ words) TOKYO - Historic floats and a shrine mikoshi paraded through Tokyo's Akasaka district as the centuries-old Akasaka Hikawa Festival reached its climax with its traditional Shinkosai procession. The festival, which dates back to the Edo period, entered its third day with…...

12+ hour, 10+ min ago   (962+ words) IBARAKI - Prolonged rain has dramatically transformed Fukuroda Falls in Ibaraki Prefecture, sending far more water than usual over the famous cascade and drawing growing numbers of tourists eager to see the unusually powerful spectacle. Visitors emerging from the tunnel leading…...

12+ hour, 10+ min ago   (622+ words) KYOTO - Roads around the Fushimi Otesuji Shopping Street in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward were flooded on the evening of September 13 after water began gushing from a nearby road, forcing authorities to close part of the street to traffic. Police received multiple…...

12+ hour, 9+ min ago   (649+ words) TOKYO - Tokyo police have found that two teenage girls detained during coordinated patrols in the "Toyoko" area of Kabukicho were carrying forged student identification cards containing false ages and names. A total of 39 boys and girls aged 14 to 19 were taken…...

3+ day, 6+ hour ago   (1535+ words) HYOGO - Tada Shrine in Kawanishi, Hyogo Prefecture, has filed for protection under Japan's Civil Rehabilitation Act, becoming the first shrine in the Kansai region and only the third nationwide to enter bankruptcy proceedings, according to Teikoku Databank. Financial problems surrounding…...

3+ day, 7+ hour ago   (724+ words) TOKYO - The takeover battle for Kakaku.com, operator of restaurant review site Tabelog and price-comparison service Kakaku.com, intensified on September 11 after Swedish investment firm EQT raised its tender offer price to 3,680 yen per share, surpassing a rival proposal from…...

3+ day, 7+ hour ago   (707+ words) TOKYO - Tokyo's Koto Ward will conduct on-site inspections of all roughly 400 lodging facilities from January 2027 as it moves to strengthen regulations following a sharp increase in complaints over issues including garbage disposal and nighttime noise. Koto Ward Mayor Tomoka Okubo…...

3+ day, 22+ hour ago   (691+ words) KYOTO - Three people have been arrested in Kyoto on suspicion of operating an unlicensed underground banking service for Chinese clients, with police believing the group handled transactions worth about 600 million yen in total. The suspects include a 56-year-old company executive,…...

4+ day, 7+ hour ago   (819+ words) GIFU - Police are investigating whether a dispute between a 70-year-old man and the female owner of a cake shop in Motosu, Gifu Prefecture, was connected to a murder and arson case that left three people dead and two others injured…...

4+ day, 17+ hour ago   (655+ words) TOKYO - Closures and bankruptcies among Japanese rice farmers are running at a record pace in 2026, with 32 cases recorded from January through August as an aging workforce, rising costs and falling rice prices make it increasingly difficult for producers to remain…...