Two typhoons east of Japan were moving northward on August 30, with Typhoon No. 23 (Banlan) overtaking Typhoon No. 22 (Artau), although neither storm is expected to have a direct impact on Japan.

Severe thunderstorms brought torrential rain, lightning, hail and a tornado to Hokkaido on August 28, disrupting rail and air travel and leaving some passengers stranded overnight at New Chitose Airport, as unstable atmospheric conditions triggered intense downpours across Japan.

Toyota Motor plans to introduce passenger vehicles equipped with advanced automated driving technology from 2028, allowing drivers to travel with almost no manual operation, including taking their hands off the steering wheel on ordinary roads.

Traditional vegetables cultivated in Tokyo for generations are facing a growing threat from extreme heat and a shortage of farmers willing to carry on their cultivation, with some growers reporting that seeds are failing to germinate or young plants are dying in increasingly severe summer temperatures.

Japan's toy market continues to expand despite the country's declining number of children, reaching a record 1.1664 trillion yen in fiscal 2025 as manufacturers increasingly target adults and introduce products reflecting social issues ranging from sustainability to investment.

Tokyo stocks rose on August 28, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 66,405.56, up 273.58 points, or 0.41%, as information-technology, software, automaker and selected semiconductor-related shares gained after a U.S. technology rally, while investors remained cautious before Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech.

Tokyo's Adachi Ward will begin testing a digital screening system in September to identify students at risk of suicide, as schools strengthen prevention efforts during the period following the summer vacation, when child suicides are particularly high.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi moved on August 28 to contain market concern over her government’s spending plans, saying Japan will aim to cap new government bond issuance at around 40 trillion yen in the fiscal 2027 budget while still pursuing food-tax relief, growth investment and measures to support households facing higher prices.

Consumer prices in central Tokyo rose 1.8% in August from a year earlier, with the pace of inflation accelerating for a third consecutive month as higher food prices continued to put upward pressure on household costs.

Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese avant-garde artist whose obsessive dots, nets, pumpkins and mirrored rooms grew from intensely personal visions into some of the most recognizable images in contemporary art, died at a hospital in Tokyo on August 14, 2026, at the age of 97. Her death was announced on August 27 by companies representing the artist, which said she continued painting until her final days.

Bear sightings are increasing across Japan this summer as a shortage of food in the mountains drives the animals closer to areas where people live and visit, with authorities in Aomori Prefecture closing a lookout near Lake Towada after a foreign tourist was attacked.

A Toei bus crashed into a traffic signal in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on the morning of August 26 after the driver lost control of the steering wheel while trying to shoo away a mosquito, leaving two male passengers injured.

Major pharmaceutical company Tsumura and four other companies began full-scale operations on August 26 at a joint data collection center designed to develop "physical AI," technology that enables artificial intelligence to autonomously control robots in manufacturing and other workplaces.

Two men who stole four luxury watches worth a combined 200 million yen from a store at Tokyo's Nakano Broadway may have carefully planned the 10-second theft, with one suspect renting an electric kick scooter shortly before the crime and investigators examining whether the other man's escape on foot was intended as a decoy.

Tokyo stocks slipped on August 27, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 66,131.98, down 130.18 points, as early buying in artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related shares following Nvidia’s strong earnings forecast faded into profit-taking, while the broader TOPIX edged higher for a sixth straight session.

Seven-Eleven Japan and Yamato Transport announced on August 26 that they will introduce self-service shipping machines allowing customers to send parcels without lining up at a staffed checkout counter.

A series of cases involving foreign substances being placed in personal water bottles at workplaces and schools has raised concerns over drink safety in Japan, driving demand for bottles that can only be opened using a registered fingerprint and prompting schools to strengthen measures against tampering.

Japan has drawn up a new policy package aimed at strengthening energy security in response to developments in the Middle East, including support for alternative oil pipelines that would bypass the Strait of Hormuz and greater use of nuclear power to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Japan's Digital Agency launched a new smartphone app on August 25 that combines identity verification and administrative procedures, allowing users to access both government and participating private-sector services through a single application.

Tokyo stocks rose on August 26, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 66,262.16, up 405.73 points, or 0.62%, as investors bought back selected semiconductor and financial shares, although trading was thin ahead of Nvidia’s earnings and uncertainty remained over artificial intelligence valuations, the yen and Bank of Japan policy.

ANA Holdings' All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines will begin coordinating departure times on the Haneda-Okayama route from October 25, an unusual move by Japan's two largest airline groups as weak business travel, a weaker yen and rising fuel and labor costs put increasing pressure on domestic operations.

The Japanese government plans to reuse low-radioactivity soil generated by decontamination work after the Fukushima nuclear accident at government office complexes in Saitama and Sendai, marking the first such reuse outside Tokyo.

Haneda Airport has unveiled a new boarding area at Terminal 1 that will begin operations in September, featuring extensive wood interiors and self-driving transportation within the facility.

Tokyo stocks fell on August 25, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 64,980.53, down 0.8%, as investors sold semiconductor and electronics shares ahead of Nvidia’s earnings while a weak yen, elevated bond yields and renewed U.S. pressure on Iran kept risk appetite subdued.

Nine people were injured, including two seriously, after a pleasure boat carrying 10 people ran aground near the mouth of the Tama River close to Haneda Airport on the evening of August 24.