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May 30, 2026
 

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Personal training, once mainly used by athletes, has become increasingly popular among people in Japan seeking to lose weight, improve fitness or maintain their health.
JAPAN / Society
Consumer safety watchdog seeks standards for personal trainers as accidents rise
Japan's Consumer Safety Investigation Commission wants the industry to step up, saying use of personal training among general consumers has outpaced safety practices.
JAPAN / Society
Rice consumption in fiscal 2025 the lowest in seven years
The drop coincided with last summer's "Reiwa rice riots" when the staple disappeared from supermarket shelves and prices surged nationwide.
JAPAN / Society
Japan’s younger generation enjoys genderless fashion
Many Japanese apparel companies are working to expand their product lineups and improve store environments to cater to the growing trend of genderless fashion.
Hiroya Masuda (center), head of the Forum for the Future We Choose, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in March.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
May 27, 2026
Deeply entrenched gender roles a key factor in Japan’s low birthrate
A survey has found that many women in rural areas feel constrained by social norms, which could lead to a demographic crisis if left unaddressed.
How Japanese-language instruction is provided currently varies widely according to region.
JAPAN / Society
May 26, 2026
Record number of students in Japan need help learning Japanese
By Jessica Speed
As of May 2025, a total of 84,759 students at public elementary, junior high, high and special needs schools required support, a government survey shows.
Idemitsu Maru arrives at a sea berth off the city of Chita in Aichi Prefecture on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
May 25, 2026
Japanese tanker Idemitsu Maru arrives in Aichi after exiting Strait of Hormuz
By Eric Johnston
The oil tanker is the first to return to Japan through the strait since war broke out in Iran.
Teachers are increasingly having difficulty communicating with children staying out of school and members of their families.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
May 25, 2026
Teachers struggle to support children who refuse to attend school
One school principal in Miyagi Prefecture says more teachers are struggling to be accepted by the families of children who won't go to school.
A father carries a child on a <i>mamachari</i> bicycle in September 2018. Parents say the new “blue ticket” system has made them more mindful of the rules, but has also heightened concerns about child-seat use and children starting to cycle on their own.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
May 22, 2026
How Japan’s new ’blue tickets’ are putting cycling parents on edge
By Mai Yoshikawa
Parents say the new system has made them more mindful of the rules, but has also heightened concerns about child-seat use and children starting to cycle on their own.
Minamitorishima has no resident population and is off-limits to the general public.
JAPAN / Society
May 21, 2026
Survey begins to determine remote island’s suitability for nuclear disposal site
By Eric Johnston
Japan's waste management organization will carry out a literature review on the geology of Minamitorishima, located nearly 2,000 kilometers from Tokyo.
Taro Tsurugashima presents a petition with 53,000 signatures calling for a revision to the stricter business manager visa eligibility requirements, on May 13 in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
May 21, 2026
Foreign business owners face frantic scramble to leave Japan amid tighter visa rules
By Himari Semans
Stricter criteria for the business manager visa has left many owners, some of whom have been in Japan for decades, out in the cold.

Sony takes final bow as standalone TV maker with new Bravia sets
The newest Sony Bravia TVs are likely the brand&#039;s final high-end television sets before its TV and home theater business merges with TCL next year.
Deeply entrenched gender roles a key factor in Japan’s low birthrate
Hiroya Masuda (center), head of the Forum for the Future We Choose, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in March.
Japan’s 2025 census reflects steepest fall in population on record, data shows
Japan&#039;s population saw the largest decline on record in 2025, but Tokyo continued to mark a rise in the number of residents.
New Taiwan-Japan ferry service debuts on ship that has war evacuation role
The Yaima Maru ferry, which will operate between Taiwan and Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture, is docked in Keelung, Taiwan, Thursday.
Japan and Philippines agree to elevate ties to new level amid China concerns
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before a meeting at the Akasaka Palace state guest house in Tokyo on Thursday.
Built for speed: Inside Japan’s child protection system
The Children and Families Agency says language should not be a barrier to calling the 189 hotline.
Record number of students in Japan need help learning Japanese
How Japanese-language instruction is provided currently varies widely according to region.
Why youths have become central to tokuryū crimes
With the proliferation of smartphones and growth of an internet-savvy generation, the application pool for dodgy jobs posted on social media or apps like Timee — which matches companies with job-seekers for one-off jobs — began to skew younger.
Even at home, American shoppers are flocking to Japanese supermarkets
Tokyo Central staff offer handroll sushi at its Emeryville outlet in California.
Japan’s automotive industry is driving — slowly — toward a greener future
Toyota&#039;s bZ4X electric vehicle at an international car show in Indonesia in August 2023. At 10% of Japan’s economy, the automotive industry is a pillar of the nation.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Community programs and tracking systems are expanding across Japan as local governments search for ways to prevent dementia-related disappearances.
He told his wife he was ‘coming home.’ Then he disappeared.
By Alex K.T. Martin

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