Toyota Motor has notified the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of a recall affecting about 43,300 vehicles across six models, including the Land Cruiser, after instrument panels were found to sometimes fail to start properly when the engine is turned on, causing parts of the display not to appear.

Typhoon No. 6 (Chanmii) was moving northward east of the Philippines as of 3 a.m. on May 28th, with forecasters warning the storm could intensify significantly and approach Okinawa and the Amami region early next week before potentially turning toward mainland Japan.

A new travel style known as “Otetutabi,” which combines short-term work with tourism, is rapidly gaining attention across Japan as both travelers and local businesses search for new ways to address changing social and economic realities.

Japan will begin trial sales of the world’s first fully farmed eels for consumers on May 29th, marking a major milestone for the aquaculture industry as domestic eel prices have already fallen by about 40% from a year earlier.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, who are visiting Japan as state guests, were welcomed by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at the Imperial Palace at around 9:30 a.m. on May 27th during an official welcoming ceremony.

A law creating the National Intelligence Council to strengthen the Japanese government's intelligence-gathering and analysis capabilities was passed and enacted at a plenary session of the House of Councillors on May 27th.

Japan will begin rolling out a major overhaul of its disaster weather information system from the afternoon of May 28th, reorganizing warnings and advisories to make it easier for residents to understand when they should evacuate.

Japan's net external assets — the value of overseas assets held by the government, companies and individual investors minus liabilities — rose 4.4% from a year earlier to 561.7504 trillion yen at the end of 2025, the Finance Ministry announced.

Unfinished dreams, midnight errands. Televisions murmuring in the background of a Tokyo hotel in 1990. (TRNGL)

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako hosted an imperial banquet at the Imperial Palace on May 27th to welcome Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, who are currently visiting Japan, with Prince Hisahito, the eldest son of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, attending the event for the first time.

As tensions in the Middle East continue to worsen, Japanese companies are accelerating efforts to improve logistics efficiency and respond to growing supply concerns, with convenience store operators and automakers already adjusting operations.

Yomiuri Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe resigned on May 26th after being arrested on suspicion of assaulting his eldest daughter at the family’s home in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, a scandal that has sent shockwaves through Japanese professional baseball just before the start of interleague play.

Seven & i Holdings announced on May 25th that former chairman and honorary adviser Toshifumi Suzuki, one of Japan's most influential retail executives credited with establishing convenience store culture and transforming Seven-Eleven into a vital part of the nation's daily infrastructure, died of heart failure on May 18th at the age of 93.

Japan byFood featuring Shizuka are heading to a Dancing Crab Tokyo that's redefining the new normal table etiquette with NO plates, NO utensils, and definitely NO staying quiet! (Japan by Food)

Japan is preparing to rename the Air Self-Defense Force the "Air and Space Self-Defense Force" for the first time since the Self-Defense Forces were established 72 years ago, reflecting growing concern over space debris, satellite security, and military developments by countries such as China and North Korea.

The arrival of the crude oil tanker Idemitsu Maru at Nagoya Port on May 25th marked the end of a weeks-long ordeal caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, while also highlighting how dramatically Japan's oil procurement system has changed amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Japan's national soccer team began a domestic training camp in Chiba on May 25th ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, with 13 players including 39-year-old Yuto Nagatomo of FC Tokyo and Daichi Kamada of Eintracht Frankfurt taking part in the opening session.

The Japanese government is set to provide summer electricity and gas subsidies worth about 5,000 yen per household as extreme heat is forecast for 2026, while medical costs are also set to rise from June as hospitals gain the ability to charge cancellation fees and increase initial consultation and hospitalization charges.

People caught littering in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward will face on-the-spot fines of 2,000 yen starting June 1st under revised local regulations aimed at tackling a surge in street garbage around the busy entertainment district.

Today, we have a look at the wonderful art of the late actor Ichikawa Danjūrō XII. (Kabuki In-Depth)

Two recent murder cases in Hokkaido, in which groups of young people were accused of taking the lives of a high school girl in Asahikawa and a male university student in Ebetsu, have drawn renewed attention to the psychology behind crimes committed by groups.

Two 19-year-old men have been arrested in connection with the robbery of 2 kilograms of gold bars on a street in Tokyo's Katsushika Ward on April 28th, while the stolen gold remains missing.

Police are investigating an injury case after 26 people complained of feeling unwell and 19 were taken to hospital following a suspected pepper spray incident at the luxury shopping complex GINZA SIX in Tokyo’s Ginza district on May 25th.

A former employee of a girls bar in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district was sentenced by the Tokyo District Court to 1 year and 6 months in prison, suspended for three years, and fined 300,000 yen after being convicted of forcing a female co-worker into prostitution.

The Hands Shibuya store, a longtime landmark in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, will close in November this year, bringing its 48-year history to an end.