Reports of measles infections have been emerging one after another across the Kanto region, prompting health authorities to urge the public to remain vigilant.

A Japanese-developed humanoid AI robot known as “cinnamon 1,” standing about 170 centimeters tall and weighing roughly 70 kilograms, has drawn attention as a next-generation “physical AI” robot designed to understand real-world environments and act within them.

Jazz composer Miho Hazama has been nominated for Best Instrumental Composition at the 68th Grammy Awards, widely regarded as the most prestigious honor in the U.S. music industry, for her piece “Live Life This Day: Movement I.”

A professor at the University of Tokyo’s graduate school has been arrested on suspicion of receiving entertainment in connection with a joint research project, with investigators revealing that spending on some days reached as much as 850,000 yen.

Rare earths are strategic materials on which the world remains heavily dependent on China, and as Beijing increasingly uses export controls as a diplomatic and economic lever, Japan’s latest challenge is drawing historic attention as a potential turning point. With 2026 being described as the “first year of domestically sourced rare earths,” the question is whether Japan can truly become a game changer in reducing its reliance on China.

A man wearing a black hood emerged from a police station on January 27th, identified as Hiroaki Obata, 40, chairman of Japan’s largest scout group, “Natural,” who had been on the run for nearly a year before being arrested on January 26th on Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, according to police.

On December 24, 2025, Lexus added a new model, the RZ600e, to its battery electric vehicle RZ series, marking the culmination of an unconventional development partnership that is challenging long-held assumptions in automotive engineering.

A winter pressure pattern is set to re-establish itself in the latter half of this week, allowing cold air to flow more easily into areas around Japan. The peak of the cold air is forecast for Thursday, January 29, and Friday, January 30, when snow clouds associated with the Japan Sea Polar air mass Convergence Zone (JPCZ) are expected to move inland, particularly across eastern parts of the San’in region and western Hokuriku, raising the risk of heavy snowfall.

A Noh performance created to support recovery from the Noto Peninsula earthquake was staged in Tokyo on January 25th after an unusual crowdfunding campaign led by a member of Japan’s Imperial family raised more than 13 million yen in donations over three months.

According to the Nikkei, Japan is expected to lift its ban on exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that invest in crypto assets as early as 2028.

Snowfall is expected to spread across northern Japan and the Hokuriku region from Tuesday afternoon, with locally heavy snow possible as multiple low-pressure systems move through the area, while dry, sunny conditions on the Pacific side of western and eastern Japan are raising fire risk, and seasonally cold weather is set to persist nationwide through the weekend.

The dollar-yen rate swung sharply over just a few days, with the yen strengthening rapidly from the 159 range to the 153 range, fueling market speculation that Japanese and U.S. authorities may have carried out “rate checks” to signal readiness for intervention.

Tokyo police have taken 32 boys and girls into protective custody after they were found gathering at night around the “Toyoko” area near Kabukicho in Shinjuku.

A private lodging operator based in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward and its chief executive have been referred to prosecutors on suspicion of violating Japan’s Private Lodging Business Act, marking the first such criminal referral nationwide under the law, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

In Osaka, the number of residents from Nepal has risen sharply in recent years, with many international students and workers settling around the UR Kongo housing complex near Kongo Station in Tondabayashi. The area has become home to a growing Nepalese community after public housing operators, seeking to address vacancies caused by an aging population, partnered with educational institutions to accept trainees from Nepal, a move that has led to long-term settlement by many residents.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has released its one-month forecast covering the period from January 24th to February 23rd, warning that cold air is likely to continue flowing into the country through early February before temperatures begin trending upward later in the month. Heavy snow has continued to fall along the Sea of Japan coast as a strong winter pressure pattern drives intense cold air into the region, prompting authorities to warn of large-scale traffic disruptions and other snow-related disasters.

Airport quarantine inspectors in Japan are repeatedly finding prohibited foods hidden inside souvenirs, from pork and chicken products to fruit and even vegetable seeds, as travelers return from overseas unaware that strict import rules apply.

Japan’s department store sales fell for the first time in five years in 2025, as spending by foreign visitors shifted toward lower-priced goods and pushed down average purchase amounts.

The government on January 23rd compiled a comprehensive set of measures after holding a ministerial meeting on foreign resident policy, stressing the need for “orderly coexistence.”

Today, we have a look at the January performances at the Kabuki-za in Tokyo! (Kabuki In-Depth)

With the House of Representatives election officially kicking off on January 27, seven party leaders appeared on Fuji TV’s “Sunday Report THE PRIME” to debate how quickly they could deliver the consumption tax cuts many are promising as a response to rising prices, along with the rationale for the snap dissolution and Japan’s security policy as tensions with China persist.

A restaurant in Tokyo’s Shibuya district is drawing attention for an unusual rule: customers aged 40 and over are turned away, even on weekdays when the venue is packed with young diners.

Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo’s twin pandas, Xiaoxiao and Leilei, were seen for the last time in Japan on January 25th, after it was decided they will be returned to China.

Japan’s investment mood is shifting after the Nikkei Stock Average pushed past 50,000 for the first time and the end of negative interest rates rewrote the rules for households trying to stay ahead of inflation, raising a new question for retail investors: are Japanese equities still undervalued compared with global markets, and what is the most realistic way to grow money without being eroded by rising prices?

Japan’s wages have risen by more than 5% for two consecutive years in 2024 and 2025, and this year’s annual spring wage negotiations are set to begin in late January, raising fresh questions over whether pay growth can finally catch up with inflation and what steps are needed to restore household purchasing power.