The latest news, trends and photo galleries from Japan by Japan News and Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper founded in 1874.
Manufacturers that use large amounts of plastic will be required, under a planned revision of a law, to set targets for recycled plastic usage and to report the actual amount used. Read more
Akinobu Tooyama attended the peace memorial ceremony on Aug. 6 in Hiroshima for the first time to commemorate his uncle, Hiroyuki Kosen, who died as a result of the atomic bomb blast in Hiroshima 79 years ago. Read more
Amid the small and fashionable shops in Kuramae in Tokyo’s Taito ward, there is a unique space where visitors can spend a moment to take perspective: They can send a letter to their future selves. Read more
People offered flowers at the Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on Tuesday, the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city. Read more
The gentle lilt of a flute fills a tight second-story space in Tokyo that houses a burbling vat of fermenting sake. Read more
In Japan, cultural expectations are drilled into children at school and at home, with peer pressure playing as powerful a role as any authority or law. On the surface, at least, that can help Japanese society run smoothly. Read more
A group of 332 hikers from Tokyo, Osaka and other points gathered at Jodogahama Beach in Miyako in June for a walking event to commemorate the fifth year since the opening of the Michinoku Coastal Trail. Read more
This summer, the government is planning to launch the first agricultural-sector emission trading project under its bilateral trading mechanism. Read more
Unable to get married legally in Japan, LGBTQ couples are celebrating their special bond by donning traditional kimono and fashionable formal wear for elaborate “photo weddings.” Read more
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Supermarkets integral to the daily lives of local residents are serving up a storm, with some attracting customers across the country and even from abroad. Read more
Japan’s government has finally eliminated the use of floppy disks in all its systems, two decades since their heyday, reaching a long-awaited milestone in a campaign to modernize the bureaucracy. Read more
About 1,700 committed yoga practitioners braved the rain on the summer solstice, June 21, at Tsukiji Hongwanji temple in Chuo ward in Tokyo. Read more
The introduction of an animal gamete bank system to preserve the frozen sperm and eggs of rare animals is progressing at zoos and similar facilities with the aim of continuing to breed endangered species in the future. Read more
Oishii Farm, a U.S. startup run by a Japanese entrepreneur, announced in early June that it began operating the world’s largest indoor vertical strawberry farm in Phillipsburg, N.J. Read more
As he twists together two copper wires, then two more and two more, a woven pattern of shiny metal hexagons takes shape. Read more
On two recent occasions, a foreign tourist walked into Shoji Matsumoto’s barbershop, through a front door that grates loudly when opened more than halfway, wanting a haircut. Read more
A restaurant near Haneda Airport is brewing up a buzz for its craft beers flavored with local specialties from across Japan. Read more
“Crying Sumo,” a traditional event to pray for babies to grow up healthy, was held at Tanabu Shrine in Mutsu, Aomori prefecture, on May 5, celebrated as Children’s Day. Read more
Many fans have been flocking to see a special exhibition featuring Pokemon at the Sagawa Art Museum in Moriyama, Shiga prefecture. Read more
A project to find new owners for recovered Wajima lacquerware is underway in areas affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake on Jan. 1. Read more
Three bottlenose dolphins kept in an oceanfront facility in Sanuki, Kagawa prefecture, have gone viral for picking up trash drifting in the ocean. Read more
