Japan marked the 80th anniversary of the promulgation of its Constitution on November 3rd, with demonstrators gathering outside the National Diet to defend its pacifist principles as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pushes for constitutional revision and an early parliamentary proposal.

Scientists at Toyo University have identified a possible weakness in alligator weed, an invasive aquatic plant described as one of the world's worst, raising hopes of finding a way to control its extraordinary ability to regenerate as it spreads through Japan's waterways, threatens agricultural land, and creates growing concerns about flooding.

Japan by Food and Shizuka head into the mountains of Nagano to explore Karuizawa, a historic highland resort just over an hour northwest of Tokyo, to see if it’s truly Worth The Trip. Join Shizuka as she strolls the iconic street food and rolls up her sleeves to make Nagano soba from scratch! (Japan by Food)

The AI Film Festival Japan 2026, one of Asia's largest international film festivals dedicated to works created using artificial intelligence, held its awards ceremony in Tokyo on November 1, attracting more than 730 submissions from over 60 countries and regions, with short films and animation accounting for the majority of entries.

With more Indian professionals, students and families establishing lives in Japan, maintaining connections with relatives back home has become an important part of everyday life. Despite advances in digital communication, distance, language and cultural differences continue to shape their experiences.

GMO Internet Group President Masatoshi Kumagai apologized at his first press conference following a cyberattack on the company's investor-oriented cloud service, acknowledging that security vulnerabilities had been identified by specialists within the group two years earlier but that the warnings had not been adequately addressed.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index enters trading on November 2 after closing at 63,290.11 on October 30, down 1,369.36 points, or 2.12%, in its final session of October, as selling in artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related stocks raised concerns about the sustainability of the technology-led rally, while investors prepared for a shortened trading week dominated by corporate earnings, monetary policy developments and the US midterm elections.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 208.25 points, or 0.33%, to close at 63,081.86 at 3:30 p.m. on November 2, extending its losses for a second consecutive trading session as a sharp decline in memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings and continued uncertainty over US technology stocks outweighed gains in semiconductor equipment manufacturers.

Bean sprouts, long regarded as one of Japan's most affordable and dependable vegetables, are becoming increasingly expensive as rising raw material costs and soaring energy bills push up production expenses, putting pressure on ramen shops and hot pot restaurants that rely heavily on the ingredient.

Tokyo's Shibuya Ward issued 394 fines of 2,000 yen each for littering and street smoking during Halloween celebrations on October 31, while neighboring Shinjuku Ward recorded 498 cases of street drinking and smoking despite efforts to discourage disruptive behavior.

A series of cyberattacks has exposed millions of personal records belonging to customers of major Japanese companies, including Muji, Matsuya and All Nippon Airways, as well as individuals connected to the Foreign Ministry, while cybersecurity experts investigating a separate attack involving GMO say a serious mistake by the hackers may provide crucial clues to their identities.

A Japanese midwife is campaigning to reform sex education in schools, traveling across the country to teach children about their bodies, pregnancy, contraception, and sexual violence prevention, as longstanding restrictions in the national curriculum leave teachers uncertain about how much information they can provide.

Japan's rapidly aging population is facing a growing crisis of elderly people dying alone at home, with grieving families sometimes unable to see their loved ones before burial and landlords increasingly forced to shoulder substantial cleanup and estate clearance costs when relatives abandon their inheritance.

Tokyo's Shibuya district was crowded with costumed revelers on October 31 as Halloween fell on a Saturday for the first time in six years, prompting the Metropolitan Police Department to deploy hundreds of officers and impose traffic restrictions around the area's famous scramble crossing.

Halloween celebrations are taking place across Japan ahead of October 31, which falls on a Saturday for the first time in six years, with Tokyo's Shibuya district introducing crowd-control measures including barricades around the Hachiko statue and road closures, while Tama Zoological Park has reopened its lion exhibit after seven animals recovered from heatstroke.

Japanese retail giant Aeon unveiled a logistics warehouse on October 30 equipped with "physical AI" robots capable of independently sorting and stacking products, allowing the company to automate approximately half of its warehouse operations while increasing loading efficiency to four times that of manual labor.

U.S. intelligence agencies suspect that a Chinese female intelligence operative developed a close relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in an attempt to obtain confidential corporate and U.S. government information, according to a report published by The New York Times on October 29th.

Halloween celebrations across Japan are becoming increasingly expensive as October 31 approaches, with costume prices nearly doubling over the past five years and the average spending budget rising to 8,148 yen, prompting more people to find creative ways to enjoy the annual event without stretching their finances.

Hands Shibuya, one of Tokyo's best-known variety stores, will close on November 15 after 48 years in business, bringing an end to a shopping destination famous for its enormous selection of innovative household goods, stationery and unusual gadgets, with around 100,000 products still filling its shelves in the final weeks before closure.

Japan's ports have long been the backbone of one of the world's most export-driven economies.

The Japanese government has asked major telecommunications operators to forcibly block access to websites believed to contain personal information stolen in a cyberattack on GMO, it emerged on October 29th, as authorities moved to prevent further exposure of sensitive data online.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average plunged 1,369.36 points, or 2.12%, to close at 63,290.11 at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, October 30, ending a three-day winning streak as a sharp selloff in semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related shares swept through the Tokyo market, while the Bank of Japan's decision to leave interest rates unchanged failed to restore investor confidence.

Japan's first major cold spell of the season brought snow, freezing winds and record-low autumn temperatures across the country, with 639 observation points registering their coldest readings of the season on October 29, while forecasts issued that evening indicated that temperatures would recover on October 30 as rain spread across much of the country.

Traditional Japanese crafts are finding an unexpected source of skilled workers in prisons across the country, where inmates are learning painstaking production techniques that build patience and concentration while helping preserve industries struggling with a shortage of craftspeople.

Typhoon No. 31 was located near Minamitorishima Island in the Pacific Ocean, as of 3 a.m. on October 30, and was expected to approach the Ogasawara Islands south of Tokyo over the October 31-November 1 weekend while maintaining very strong intensity, bringing a growing risk of dangerously high waves, powerful swells and extremely rough seas.