2+ day, 12+ 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, 2+ hour ago   (707+ words) Wakayama - More than half of the religious corporations investigated for operating temple lodgings and religious training programs at World Heritage-listed Mount Koya in Wakayama Prefecture were found to have failed to declare income totaling more than 100 million yen, according to…...

3+ day, 23+ hour ago   (669+ words) SHIZUOKA - A landslide struck a parking area at Mount Fuji's Fujinomiya fifth station in Shizuoka Prefecture shortly after midnight on September 9, sweeping up three parked vehicles but causing no injuries, prefectural authorities said. According to Shizuoka Prefecture, a worker at…...

3+ day, 23+ hour ago   (1043+ words) TOKYO - Traffic accidents involving rental cars driven by foreign visitors are rising sharply in Japan, with some rental car businesses even stopping rentals to overseas tourists as concerns grow over unfamiliar traffic rules and driving practices. According to the National…...

3+ day, 23+ hour ago   (662+ words) OSAKA - Osaka Metro plans to abolish magnetic tickets and replace them with QR code-based tickets around fiscal 2031, as declining use and the cost of maintaining conventional ticket gates accelerate the shift toward digital fare systems. The operator has seen usage…...

4+ day, 6+ hour ago   (653+ words) KYOTO - A 62-year-old Kyoto Prefectural Government employee has been suspended for three months after repeatedly entering a women's restroom at his workplace and taking used sanitary products, with the employee subsequently resigning voluntarily. According to the Kyoto Prefectural Government, the…...

4+ day, 9+ hour ago   (906+ words) TOKYO - Prosecutors have sought a fine of 200,000 yen for entertainer Dewi Sukarno, widely known in Japan as Dewi Fujin, who is charged with two counts of assault against former members of her agency staff, arguing that the 86-year-old has not…...

4+ day, 13+ hour ago   (1565+ words) KYOTO - Kyoto is preparing to effectively prohibit new private lodging operations in residential areas and other parts of the city as complaints over noise, smoking, garbage and operators ignoring existing rules intensify, even as some traditional townhouse owners say tourist…...

5+ day, 11+ hour ago   (1233+ words) TOKYO - Rakuten Mobile faces a new test of its network quality after KDDI decided to scale back roaming support from September 2026, ending access to its network in areas where Rakuten already has its own base stations while continuing service in…...

1+ week, 14+ hour ago   (699+ words) TOKYO - Tokyo has unveiled the design for a major redevelopment of the plaza outside Shinjuku Station's west exit, with a landmark tree, water-play area and event space planned as part of a transformation centered on "greenery, light and people" that…...