A road uplift that occurred in a Tokyo neighborhood is believed to have been caused by construction work on the Linear Chuo Shinkansen, with JR Central saying the tunnel excavation was likely responsible for the surface damage.

Japan byFood and Shizuka set out to discover Anthony Bourdain’s favorite food spots in Tokyo! How have these spots aged, and do they still carry the same spirit that made them special? (Japan by Food)

The government is moving to raise the maximum loan amount under the long-term fixed-rate home mortgage program known as Flat 35 to 120 million yen, as it seeks to respond to the continued rise in housing prices.

Photos of former Aum Shinrikyo leader Shoko Asahara, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto, have been found inside a facility operated by Aleph, the group regarded as the successor to the Aum Shinrikyo cult, it has been learned.

SoftBank and other companies are considering establishing a new firm dedicated to the development of artificial intelligence, with the aim of building a domestically produced AI platform through a public-private partnership.

Prime Minister Takachi on December 22nd visited a “Press Photo Exhibition” in Tokyo reviewing key events of 2025, smiling for reporters as she recreated a pose from a photograph taken aboard the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington alongside President Trump.

The Bank of Japan has decided to raise its policy interest rate to around 0.75 percent, a level not seen in 30 years, prompting questions about how the move will affect the weak yen, rising prices, and household finances across different generations.

Rapidus President Koike has unveiled what the company says is the world’s first next-generation semiconductor substrate measuring 600 millimeters on each side, marking a significant step forward for Japan’s emerging chipmaker.

Hanshin Contents Link, based in Osaka, unveiled to the media on December 19th a new inbound-focused sumo show restaurant called Nichirakuza, which is set to open in Tokyo’s Ginza in January next year, offering foreign visitors the chance to watch live sumo performances while enjoying traditional kaiseki cuisine.

The Bank of Japan decided on December 19th to raise its policy interest rate to 0.75%, a move expected to have a significant impact on daily life through higher mortgage and deposit rates.

A prolonged weak yen and rising prices are pushing up the cost of everything, from daily necessities to seasonal treats, prompting Japan’s central bank—often described as the nation’s “guardian of prices”—to step in. The Bank of Japan is trying to curb the weak yen and inflation through interest rate hikes, but doubts remain over whether that alone will be enough.

Finland’s prime minister has apologized to Japan, China and South Korea after photographs posted by Finnish lawmakers featuring a so-called “slant-eye” gesture were widely criticized as discriminatory toward Asians.

As the year-end travel season approaches, a growing problem involving airline tickets has begun to surface, drawing attention from major carriers. Last week, Japan Airlines posted a warning on X stating, "Japan Airlines prohibits the transfer or resale of airline tickets to third parties." The airline said prohibited acts such as ticket resales and transfers are spreading across social media platforms.

Japan on December 19th approved its first-ever basic plan for artificial intelligence, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowing to pursue the strategic development of AI while emphasizing reliability as a core Japanese value.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced that it will increase subsidies for environmentally friendly vehicles such as electric vehicles by 400,000 yen. Under a revision to the clean energy vehicle promotion subsidy program, the ministry said it will raise the maximum subsidy for EVs by 400,000 yen to a ceiling of 1.3 million yen.

Hotels in major tourist destinations are beginning to change as China’s call for restraint on travel to Japan reduces the number of group tours, with some Kyoto properties now offering rooms for as little as 3,000 yen per night, a level that would have been unthinkable during the recent inbound tourism boom.

A fire at a private sauna in Akasaka, Tokyo, that claimed the lives of a couple in their 30s has revealed serious flaws in safety management, with the shop owner telling investigators that the control panel linked to the sauna’s emergency button had never been powered on.

The grand prize has been announced in the annual Creative Four-Character Idiom Awards, which capture the social mood of the year through newly coined expressions, with the winning works unveiled this year through a dynamic calligraphy performance by high school students.

A new law designed to promote free competition in the smartphone app market came into full effect on December 18th, with Apple and Google designated as its primary targets.

The extraordinary session of the Diet has closed, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi using a press conference to highlight what she described as concrete achievements by her administration.

Tokyo has climbed to second place in the Global Power City Index, overtaking New York for the first time and ending a nine-year run in third place, according to the latest ranking released on December 17th. The index evaluates 48 major cities worldwide across six fields, including economy, cultural interaction, accessibility and livability, using a total of 72 indicators. Tokyo posted sharp gains in areas such as the number of foreign visitors and the richness of its nightlife under the cultural interaction category, while ranking first globally for the sheer number of restaurants in the livability category.

Ueno Zoo’s panda will be returned to China in late January, according to an announcement made by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on December 15th, prompting long lines at the zoo on the morning of December 16th as visitors gathered to catch a final glimpse and shared their sadness over the approaching farewell.

The extraordinary session of the Diet closed on December 17th, with Prime Minister Takaichi using a press conference to stress inflation relief as her top priority, defend the government’s handling of cost-of-living pressures through a supplementary budget, reaffirm her determination to pass a bill cutting the number of lawmakers, and signal a dual-track approach toward China that combines dialogue with vigilance over security concerns.

The Ministry of Justice announced that nationality reporting will become mandatory when registering real estate such as condominiums, reflecting growing calls to better understand ownership trends amid rising apartment prices and increased activity in the housing market.

A fire broke out inside a private sauna facility in Tokyo’s Akasaka district, leaving a man and a woman in their 30s—believed to be customers—dead as investigators began examining how the blaze started and why the pair were unable to escape.