Every year since 1993, the Japanese village of Inakadate transforms its fields into living works of art. Tapping into their history as a farming area, they create incredible rice paddy art by planting different varieties of rice in intricate designs. (mymodernmet.com)

KDDI Corp. said Friday it will pay damages to 35.89 million customers as a form of "apology" following a major service disruption that spanned several days earlier this month. (Nikkei)

Manae Matsumoto bested 24 other finalists to be crowned Miss Earth Japan 2022 on Tuesday, July 26 at Hotel Chinzanso in Tokyo. (pageantcircle.com)

Heavy rain is falling in parts of western Japan's Pacific side as atmospheric conditions grow unstable. (NHK)

Can a weakening yen (JPY) continue to bolster Japanese equity markets? If historical relationships remain intact, the answer may be yes. (seekingalpha.com)

More than half the foreign technical trainees in a recent survey took on an average of 540,000 yen ($3,950) in debt to come to Japan, with around 80% of trainees from Vietnam and Cambodia carrying such debts. (Nikkein)

Jazmine Sachiko Ross is born and raised in Ishikawa prefecture Japan, and despite having both English parents, she only went to Japanese public schooling her entire life. ( Max D. Capo)

Japan's Emperor Emeritus Akihito, who is receiving treatment for heart failure, has visited a biological laboratory at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. (NHK)

Japan's whaling industry is struggling to stay afloat as government subsidies dwindle and consumers are less interested in what used to be a staple food on Japanese dinner tables. (DW News)

Japan's education ministry says it aims to restore the number of foreign students in the country to the pre-pandemic level in around five years. (NHK)

Japan reported 233,100 daily coronavirus cases on Thursday, hitting a record for the second consecutive day, raising concern about the strain on the medical system as the number of available designated hospital beds continues to decline. (Nikkei)

A Japanese government advisory body will look into recommending a different designation for COVID-19, such as by treating it like the flu, in order to ease disruptions to the health care system. (Nikkei)

Officials in the southwestern Japanese city of Yamaguchi have formed a special unit, armed with tranquilizer guns to hunt down monkeys, after at least 42 reported attacks on people by the animal since July 8. (voanews.com)

Japan’s push to obtain UNESCO World Heritage recognition for a former gold mine key to the nation’s industrialization will be delayed because its application was insufficient, officials said Thursday. (sunnewsonline.com)

A television commercial for an energy drink in 1990s Japan told viewers they could work 24 hours straight without feeling tired after consuming it. The claim, if made today, would be seen as an invitation to karoshi or death caused by overwork. ()

Japan has more job vacancies than applicants, making it a great place to be a job hunter. But a chronic labor shortage, in a country with a shrinking working-age population, is weighing on the prospects for a recovery from the pandemic-induced slowdown. (Nikkei)

Shonan monorail is a monorail which runs Ofuna station to Shonan Enoshima station in Kanagawa prefecture. It is a 14 minutes trip you can enjoy beautiful ocean and nature sceneries. It is like a roller coaster running through mountains and tunnels. (with me JAPAN)

Toyota Motor has retained its ranking as the world's top-selling automaker for the first six months of 2022. It is the third straight year that it has claimed the title for the period. (NHK)

Damage estimates released Thursday by the Hokkaido government show tsunami could kill 149,000 people in the event a major earthquake hits off Japan's northernmost main island, surpassing a central government prediction by around 12,000. (Japan Today)

In post-pandemic recovery mode, Japan's former capital is more like itself again (Nikkei)

Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and a top minister have urged Japan to invest in the electric vehicle industry and other infrastructure projects, including in Indonesia's planned new capital, stressing that their country is well positioned for post-pandemic economic growth. (Nikkei)

Mos Food Services, operator of the Mos Burger chain, will introduce bioplastic spoons and forks made from rice-based material as part of a push to use less plastic. (Nikkei)

Japan's health ministry says a second case of monkeypox has been confirmed in the country. (NHK)

In this part 2, you will learn the Formal Japanese Table Manners that some of them would be an advanced level. Also, I will introduce the do’s and dont’s for each dish in Kaiseki(The traditional Japanese multi course meal). (Japanese Conversation with Terumi)

Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his wife Iriana Joko Widodo meet with Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, July 27, 2022. (Voice of America)