Today I’m going behind the counter in Japan at Omori Ramen, a family run ramen shop tucked away near the mountains of Niigata, an area known across Japan as snow country. (Paolo fromTOKYO)

Tokyo is known as one of the world’s most expensive cities… but can you actually eat well here for under 1,000 yen?

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visited Ehime Prefecture on May 16th ahead of the National Tree-Planting Festival scheduled for May 17th, touring Japan’s only aquarium operated by high school students as part of an extracurricular club activity.

Japan announced its 26-man squad on May 15th for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be held across the United States, Canada and Mexico, with several key selections drawing attention as injuries continue to affect the national team ahead of the tournament.

A female koala named Komachi, which arrived from Tokyo's Tama Zoological Park for a breeding program, was unveiled to the public at Awaji Farm Park England Hill, a popular tourist destination in Minamiawaji, Hyogo Prefecture.

The Sanja Festival at Asakusa Shrine in Tokyo’s Taito Ward, one of the capital’s signature early summer events, reached its peak on May 16th as nearly 100 mikoshi portable shrines from 44 local neighborhood associations paraded through the downtown streets, filling the area with excitement and energy.

Free roll-type plastic bags once available to shoppers at supermarkets are being removed one after another as shortages of naphtha, a petroleum-derived raw material used in plastic production, spread across Japan amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

Japan’s corporate goods prices rose 4.9% in April from a year earlier, far exceeding market expectations as soaring crude oil prices linked to tensions in the Middle East pushed wholesale inflation to its highest level in nearly three years.

Subaru announced on May 15th that it will postpone the launch of its self-developed EV, or electric vehicle, which had been scheduled for 2028, as the automaker shifts its strategy toward hybrid and gasoline-powered vehicles.

Spring bear sightings are continuing across Japan, with wild bears increasingly appearing in residential neighborhoods and urban districts, including incidents involving damaged property and close encounters with residents.

Bluefin tuna, now being caught in unusually large numbers around areas such as Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, is becoming significantly more affordable, with some restaurant operators even saying it is cheaper than horse mackerel.

The impact of Japan’s growing naphtha shortage is spreading across a widening range of industries, raising concerns about manufacturing, logistics, and even daily consumer life.

ENEOS Holdings announced that a tanker operated by one of its group companies has successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East.

A nostalgic Japanese sweet is making a major comeback, with lemon cakes appearing everywhere from convenience stores to specialty boutiques in Tokyo as demand for citrus-flavored desserts continues to surge.

Nissan Motor announced its financial results for the year through March 2026 on May 14th, reporting a net loss for the second consecutive year as the company continues efforts to rebuild its business.

Figure skater Kaori Sakamoto held a retirement press conference in her hometown of Kobe, where she also revealed that she married in May.

SoftBank Group announced its consolidated earnings for the fiscal year ending March 2026 on May 13th, posting what was described as the highest quarterly profit ever recorded by a Japanese company, as attention increasingly focuses on Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son’s aggressive strategy of betting heavily on artificial intelligence.

I have often thought that the true rhythm of a city like Tokyo is best understood not from the high-rise lobby of a luxury hotel, but from the quiet side streets where the local vending machines hum through the night and the scent of a neighborhood bakery begins to drift at dawn – a perspective that is becoming increasingly attractive as we all try to navigate through (and at times, away from) a more and more complicated digital world.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s subsidy program for “painless childbirth” has received far more applications than expected within its first six months, leading to significant delays in payments, it was revealed on May 14th.

Japan has approved the application of public health insurance to a regenerative medicine product using iPS cells to treat Parkinson’s disease, marking the world’s first practical use of iPS cell-based regenerative medicine.

The Cannes Film Festival opened this week with three Japanese films nominated for the festival’s top prize, the Palme d'Or, including 'Sheep in the Box' directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, 'Nagi Notes' directed by Koji Fukada, and 'Suddenly Feeling Unwell' directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

The “ink shock” caused by tensions in the Middle East is beginning to spread across Japan’s food packaging industry, prompting manufacturers to simplify designs and reduce ink usage as concerns grow over naphtha supplies and rising printing costs.

The yield on Japan’s benchmark newly issued 10-year government bond rose to 2.60% in the Tokyo bond market on May 13th, marking its highest level in approximately 29 years since June 1997.

Police have arrested a couple in their 40s and their son in his 20s for allegedly confining a teenage girl inside a locked closet at their Tokyo home under the guise of discipline.

A tanker carrying approximately 45,000 kiloliters of crude oil from Azerbaijan arrived in Japan on May 12th, marking the first time Azerbaijani crude has reached the country as the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues.