The death toll from the Kumamoto earthquake has risen to 38, while more than 8,200 people remained in evacuation shelters on August 4, one week after the disaster struck.
Japan's Immigration Services Agency on August 4 released draft guidelines that would tighten the requirements for foreign nationals seeking permanent residency, including new income and pension standards designed to ensure applicants have economic conditions equal to or better than those of Japanese people.
The operators of cosmetics and apparel stores at Aeon Mall Kumamoto disclosed new details on August 4 about how five employees who had initially evacuated the building later returned inside before being killed in an explosion following the earthquake.
Six boys aged 15 and 16 have been arrested on suspicion of obstructing official duties after allegedly riding motorized bicycles and throwing raw eggs at police officers in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture.
A correctional officer at Kyoto Prison has been indicted on suspicion of agreeing to accept 200,000 yen from three inmates in return for providing them with unspecified favors, raising concerns about staff-inmate relations one year after Japan introduced its new imprisonment system focused on rehabilitation.
A Tokyu train struck a truck that had been forced onto the tracks by a road collision in Yokohama on the morning of August 4, temporarily suspending all services on the Kodomonokuni Line, although none of the roughly 100 passengers and crew aboard the train were injured.
The legal speed limit on many residential roads will be lowered from 60 kilometers per hour to 30 kph on September 1, as police urge drivers to recognize that pedestrians should take priority on narrow neighborhood streets.
A new pedestrian bridge has opened across the Nihonbashi River, connecting the Otemachi-Marunouchi business district with the neighboring Kanda area as part of a redevelopment project aimed at improving access and revitalizing central Tokyo.
Six airlines, including All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines and Air Do, will move the baggage check-in deadline for domestic flights at Haneda Airport to 30 minutes before departure from September 1.
Three female lions at Tama Zoological Park have died in succession after suffering dehydration and multiple organ failure, with heatstroke suspected as the cause.
The conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel may be entering a more dangerous phase, with Tehran appearing increasingly willing to initiate attacks rather than merely respond to US strikes, while disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz threaten oil and liquefied natural gas supplies worldwide.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi entered August facing a sharper test of her economic leadership after Japan and the United States carried out a rare coordinated currency intervention to support the yen, turning the government’s cost-of-living agenda, fiscal policy and relationship with the Bank of Japan into one of the most politically sensitive issues of her administration.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States intervened to buy yen because of its strong relationship with Japan, describing the action as a sign of friendship and pledging that Washington would always support the country.
Schools, universities, and EdTech companies in the United States are shifting from legacy systems and off-the-shelf tools to custom learning management systems.
A former member of Japan's weightlifting team at the Tokyo Olympics was arrested after allegedly stealing eggs and other items from a convenience store and injuring an employee who confronted him, investigative sources said.
A banana grower in Okinawa is working to transform the fruit into a major local industry after recognizing the potential of a market that depends almost entirely on imports despite strong consumer demand.
A 29-year-old Osaka University researcher is developing technology to produce sugar from carbon dioxide in the air, seeking to create a faster and more sustainable source of livestock feed as population growth, extreme weather and poor harvests raise fears of future food shortages.
Suntory Holdings is turning to a specialized corporate intelligence unit led by a former Mitsubishi Corporation researcher to assess the duration of Iran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and protect supply chains threatened by soaring energy and raw-material prices.
Nissan Motor returned to profitability in the April-June quarter of 2026, posting net income of 3.761 billion yen as cost-cutting measures and a weaker yen helped the struggling automaker end eight consecutive quarters of losses.
Off-price apparel stores selling new clothing at discounts of up to 90% are attracting growing interest in Japan as prolonged inflation pushes consumers to seek cheaper alternatives, with Geo Holdings planning to increase its Luck Rack chain roughly tenfold to 500 locations by fiscal 2035.
Tokyo stocks fell on August 3, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 63,445.53, down 1.4%, as electronics and auto shares were sold after coordinated U.S.-Japan yen-buying intervention drove the currency sharply higher, cutting into the weak-yen support that had underpinned exporters.