Reports that a man posing as an employee of Russian airline Aeroflot conducted intelligence operations in Tokyo have renewed attention on Russian espionage in Japan, a country former Soviet intelligence officers have described as unusually easy for spies to operate in because of weaknesses in its legal and counterintelligence framework.

Two teenage boys from Tokyo's Adachi Ward have been arrested on suspicion of stealing a motorcycle and firing aerial fireworks toward police officers at two police boxes, telling investigators they were annoyed that a new police box had opened in the area.

Japan's currency has spent much of 2026 trading near its weakest levels against the dollar in nearly four decades, a stretch driven largely by the persistent interest-rate gap between the Bank of Japan and the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Japanese companies delivered stronger-than-expected earnings for the April-June quarter, with artificial intelligence-related demand lifting a broad range of businesses while instability in the Middle East and higher resource prices emerged as key headwinds.

Hiroshi Okuda, a former president of Toyota Motor who helped lay the foundation for the automaker's emergence as one of the world's leading manufacturers, died of old age on August 8 at the age of 93.

Summer festivals are in full swing across Japan, with distinctive local dances ranging from long-established traditions to unusual routines born at fishermen's banquets and even performances set to the music of American rock band Bon Jovi.

Hiroko Saito was 19 years old when she left Japan for North Korea in June 1961 with her Korean husband and their one-year-old daughter, persuaded by assurances that they were heading to a "paradise on earth" and that she could return to Japan after three years. Instead, she would spend four decades in North Korea, enduring chronic hunger, the deaths of her husband and children and a desperate struggle to survive before finally escaping and returning home in 2001.

A large new typhoon formed near the Ogasawara Islands on August 12 and could approach Honshu around the end of the Obon holiday period, while the remnants of Typhoon No. 15 continue to bring unstable weather and a risk of heavy rain across a wide area of Japan.

Tokyo stocks ended nearly unchanged on August 12, with the Nikkei 225 at 66,988.82, as gains in energy and financial shares offset weakness in electronics and pharmaceuticals while investors weighed higher crude oil prices, a weaker yen and growing expectations for another Bank of Japan rate increase.

Sony Group and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. announced on August 11 that they have formally agreed to jointly produce next-generation image sensors, with total investment expected to reach about 1 trillion yen and mass production scheduled to begin in Kumamoto Prefecture in 2029.

New research is reshaping long-held assumptions about Tyrannosaurus rex, including suggestions that the giant predator may have lived to around 40 years rather than 28, while advances in fossil analysis are also offering new clues about dinosaur growth, posture and even color.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a telephone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on August 12, urging an early easing of military tensions in the Middle East while stressing the importance of free and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz without additional costs.

Transport disruption caused by Typhoon No. 15 was easing across eastern Japan on the morning of August 12, with most major railway and airline services returning to normal after dozens of flight cancellations and widespread rail disruption during the storm's landfall in Ibaraki Prefecture the previous evening.

Typhoon No. 15 continued moving west across central Japan on August 12, but heavy rain, strong winds and thunderstorms remained a threat far from the storm's center, with intense rainfall reported in parts of Tokyo and damage including fallen and broken trees in Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures.

The Tokaido Shinkansen operated its first overnight service ahead of the Obon holiday period, offering travelers a 15,000 yen trip from the Tokyo area to Kyoto and Shin-Osaka while allowing them to save on hotel costs and arrive earlier than the first regular morning trains.

Several Bank of Japan policymakers have signaled support for accelerating interest rate increases, with one member warning that the pace of hikes could become faster than financial markets currently expect as the central bank pays greater attention to upside inflation risks.

Japan recorded a current account deficit of 92.3 billion yen in June, its first shortfall in 17 months, as a sharp increase in import costs outpaced growth in exports.

Japan's street-level economic sentiment improved for a third consecutive month in July, supported by sharply hotter weather after the end of the rainy season and the start of the summer vacation period, with stronger sales of products including men's parasols and air conditioners.

Tokyo stocks rose on August 10, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 66,376.25, up 1.2%, as investors bought electronics, metals and artificial intelligence-related shares, while fresh signs of a more hawkish Bank of Japan debate kept attention on the yen, bond yields and the timing of the next rate increase.

Libraries across Japan are evolving far beyond traditional places for reading and study, adding everything from 3D printers and children's play areas to health-check equipment, music studios and towering bookshelves as they seek to become new centers for their communities.

Typhoon No. 15 is expected to approach and likely make landfall somewhere in the Kanto region on August 11, bringing strong winds and heavy rain that could disrupt conventional rail services, expressways and flights while also affecting a wider area extending into Tohoku.

Prime Minister Takaichi said on August 10 that the government expects to apply the Disaster Victims' Livelihood Recovery Support Act across all of Kumamoto Prefecture, allowing households whose homes were completely destroyed in the Kumamoto earthquake to receive up to 3 million yen in assistance.

Maids from Akihabara maid cafes joined shrine maidens from Kanda Myojin and members of the public on August 8 to sprinkle water across the shrine grounds in Tokyo, calling out "Cool down!" as they took part in a summer tradition aimed at easing the midsummer heat.

Transport services were gradually returning to normal on August 9 after Typhoon No. 13 caused widespread cancellations and shutdowns across Okinawa, although air travel remained disrupted as airlines worked to restore schedules and accommodate passengers stranded during the opening days of Japan's busy Obon holiday period.

A repeat of the sharp yen appreciation seen in the summer of 2024 is unlikely under current conditions, with persistently high U.S. interest rates and continued structural pressure on Japan's currency making another rapid surge difficult, according to UBS wealth management chief investment officer Daiju Aoki.