Japan is entering its end-of-year party season with most COVID-19 restrictions lifted based on low numbers of cases, but concerns about the emergence of the omicron coronavirus variant are likely to keep the festive mood restrained once again. (Japan Times)

N700S Series went into service in July 2020. This time, I took First Class seat(green seat) from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka. (Kuga's Travel)

History, the orphan child of Japanese education, will acquire new status next year. “Modern global history” is to be made a compulsory subject in senior high schools. (Japan Times)

One of the big winners of the Oct. 31 Lower House election was the Osaka-based Nippon Ishin no Kai, which tripled the number of seats it occupies in parliament, thus making it the second biggest opposition force after the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. (Japan Times)

People in different parts of Japan were rattled by earthquakes on Friday morning. A magnitude 5.4 quake struck in the west at around 9:30. That followed one a few hours earlier with a similar magnitude near Mount Fuji. (NHK)

The Japanese government has decided to make it mandatory for railway operators to install security cameras in all new carriages. (NHK)

The award for Japan's buzzword of the year has gone to a phrase linked to Major League Baseball two-way star Ohtani Shohei. (NHK)

Garuda Indonesia, the country's flagship air carrier, has canceled planned flights connecting Tokyo and Bali due to concerns over the omicron COVID variant, dealing a further blow to the tourism-dependent island. (Nikkei)

I went to a yakiniku restaurant in Tokyo with my friends Lemi & Emi the other night! (with me JAPAN)

Kabuki actor Nakamura Kichiemon has died. He was a designated Living National Treasure. (NHK)

Police in Akiruno, Tokyo, have arrested a 40-year-old man on suspicion of assaulting a taxi driver after he refused to pay the fare. (Japan Today)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 11 new cases of the coronavirus in the capital on Thursday, a decrease of 16 from a week ago. (NHK)

Officials in France have issued an international arrest warrant for a Japanese woman accused of keeping her two children from their French father, AFP news agency reports. (yahoo.com)

Sunday, 28 November 2021 TOKYO: Japan Autumn International JAPAN CUP in association with LONGINES (International Invitational) (G1) 2400m, Turf (JRA公式チャンネル)

Three men were arrested Sunday on suspicion of fatally assaulting a 43-year-old man on a building roof terrace in Tokyo. (Japan Today)

Japanese singer-songwriter Chihiro Onitsuka, known for the 2000 hit single "Gekko" (moonlight), was arrested Sunday on a central Tokyo street on suspicion of kicking an ambulance she called for a friend who was feeling unwell. (Kyodo)

Tokyo prosecutors have arrested the chairman of Nihon University, one of Japan's largest universities, on suspicion of tax evasion. (NHK)

The global health crisis didn't manage to kill off Dai-ni Takara-yu, a traditional Japanese public bath on a Tokyo back street, but for third-generation owner Tokuji Ito, high oil prices are the next test. (Reuters)

Many places from northern to western Japan marked the coldest morning of the season on Monday. (NHK)

Only two kabuki shows taking place this December, the important kaomise ("face-showing ceremony") at the Minami-za theatre in Kyoto, featuring Nizaemon XV, Ganjirō IV, Senjaku III, Kōshirō X and Ainosuke IV, and a regular show at the Kabuki-za in Tokyo, with Tamasaburō V, Ennosuke IV, Kikunosuke V, Shōroku IV, Shichinosuke II and Kankurō VI. (Kabuki In-Depth)

Japan is open for more visiter now, but how about the situation in the town? Walking in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, and Tokyo station showing and telling current situation in Japan. There are Christmas lights in the town too, Love the town's atmosphere. (Rion Ishida)

Cheap Japanese Food for under $2 at Izakaya "drinking restaurant" in Tokyo. These foods are what Japanese people commonly order at Izakaya restaurants that many travelers may not know about. (Paolo fromTOKYO)

At his first troop review on Saturday, Fumio Kishida vowed to strengthen the country’s military and consider acquiring so-called enemy base strike capability. (South China Morning Post)

Throughout its history, Japan has been the source of a diverse range of art and design forms. Classic woodblock prints such as Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa are recognized all over the world. (businesswire.com)

Swedish retailer Ikea is becoming a landlord in Japan with a tiny apartment it will rent out in Tokyo. (CNN)