A new material known as metal-organic frameworks, or MOF, developed by Kyoto University’s special professor Susumu Kitagawa, 74, has been thrust into the global spotlight after Kitagawa was selected for this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry, drawing renewed attention to its potential applications across industry.

Shibuya Ward has approved an ordinance that would impose a 2,000-yen fine for littering on public streets, while also penalizing shops that fail to provide trash bins. The measure was passed on December 10th and targets both individuals who discard waste and businesses near major stations that offer takeout services, raising questions about whether the approach will meaningfully reduce trash on the streets.

Shogi player Kana Fukuma, who currently holds six women’s titles, revealed on December 10th that she has submitted a formal request calling for revisions to the Japan Shogi Association’s rule that prevents players from competing in title matches during a set period before and after childbirth.

A supplementary budget worth 18.3 trillion yen for the current fiscal year was approved by a majority vote in the Lower House Budget Committee on December 11th, backed by the ruling coalition and part of the opposition, and is expected to pass the upcoming plenary session before being sent to the Upper House.

The Imperial Household Agency has released uncut footage of Princess Kiko, Princess Aiko and Prince Akishino offering greetings to invited guests at the 2025 autumn Garden Party, marking the first time that their spoken exchanges have been officially recorded through microphones and made fully public.

A report in an academic paper by ant experts describes how worker ants that normally protect their mother, maintain the nest and raise larvae can, at a certain moment, suddenly turn on the queen who gave birth to them, tearing her apart and ultimately killing her.

The Fair Trade Commission issued a warning to four livestreamer management agencies after finding that performers on the Pococha streaming app were bound by contracts that restricted their activities, including clauses requiring them to refrain from livestreaming for a certain period after leaving their agency.

Skyrocketing rice prices are prompting many households to change their breakfast routines, with bread increasingly taking the place of rice as consumers look for more affordable options.

The number of applicants for next January’s nationwide university entrance common test has reached 496,237, the National Center for University Entrance Examinations announced on December 9th, with the figure rising by 1,066 from the previous year as applications moved to a principally online system that allows students to apply directly without going through their schools.

JR East announced that it will begin operating the nation’s first cargo-only Shinkansen on March 23rd 2026, running between Morioka and Tokyo with loading and unloading carried out on dollies directly at the rail yard.

Nissan has announced that it will work with a British AI startup to develop a hands-free autonomous driving system, with plans to roll out AI-equipped vehicles globally.

The most popular baby names of 2025 were led by Minato for boys and Sui for girls, according to rankings released by Meiji Yasuda Life, which highlighted continued enthusiasm for certain kanji characters and showed how naming trends have evolved since the survey began in the first year of the Taisho era.

Rakuten Mobile continues to draw attention every earnings season, and while its losses have been narrowing, the pain it inflicts on the Rakuten Group’s overall performance has not fundamentally changed. Even so, chair Hiroshi Mikitani describes the mobile business as contributing “more than expected,” and insists the company will maintain its stance of keeping low-price, unlimited data plans even as other carriers move to raise fees.

A plan to sharply raise Japan’s departure tax is taking shape as the government and ruling coalition have begun coordinating a proposal to lift the current 1,000 yen levy to a flat 3,000 yen per person in next fiscal year’s tax reform, adding new momentum to calls for expanded funding to deal with overtourism across the country.

Artificial intelligence capable of autonomously controlling machines in the real world—known as Physical AI—is rapidly reshaping the global robotics market, with the United States and China accelerating development of humanoid robots equipped with such systems and raising concerns that they could eventually overtake the industrial robots where Japan has long held a competitive edge; to explore how Japan might mount a comeback, the program invited Firstlight Capital’s Rai Jia-man as guest commentator.

A 37-year-old man who allegedly broke into a high school in Yachiyo, Chiba was arrested on December 6th after teachers discovered him inside the building holding multiple pairs of school-designated indoor shoes, according to local police.

China’s leading position in humanoid robotics was on full display at one of the world’s largest robot fairs held in Tokyo on December XXth, where more than 80 Chinese companies participated despite Beijing’s ongoing calls for travel restraint to Japan, highlighting how the two countries’ political tensions have not spilled into the robotics sector and underlining the scale of China’s industrial push.

Autumn travel to Nikko, which draws visitors from across Japan for its bright foliage, is seeing an unexpected wave of vehicle troubles on mountain roads, with everything from flat tires and sudden breakdowns to off-road mishaps and stranded foreign tourists prompting repeated calls for roadside assistance during busy weekends in November.

Japan faces a looming shortfall of nearly 790,000 IT workers by 2030 even as demand for digital operations continues to expand, while an estimated 15 million people nationwide are considered to have difficulty securing stable employment due to mental health conditions that have risen sharply in recent years.

Japan’s real GDP for the July–September quarter was revised downward to a 0.6% decline from the previous three months, equivalent to an annualized drop of 2.3%, according to updated Cabinet Office data released on December 8.

Long-term interest rates continued their rapid ascent on December 8th, reaching their highest level in 18 years and six months in the latest sign of tightening financial conditions.

The three JR companies operating the Tokaido, Sanyo, and Kyushu Shinkansen demonstrated on December 6th how they would switch train control to a secondary command center in Osaka if a major earthquake or other large-scale disaster rendered the main command facility in Tokyo unusable.

The severed remains of an infant less than one year old were discovered inside a freezer at an adult entertainment business office in Tokyo’s Sumida Ward on the night of December 6th, with subsequent investigations revealing that the entrance to the office had been left unlocked at all times.

The Japanese government is preparing to release a new damage projection for a major earthquake striking directly beneath the Tokyo metropolitan area by the end of the year, and interviews with officials familiar with the assessment indicate that in the worst-case scenario the death toll could reach 18,000, while economic losses are estimated at 83 trillion yen.

A family-run ramen shop in Yokohama has become a national destination for fans of the Yoshimuraya lineage, drawing visitors from across Japan who line up daily for bowls of richly flavored ramen and the shop’s signature handmade chashu.