Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government formally approved a plan on August 5 to reduce the consumption tax rate on food and nonalcoholic beverages from 8% to 1% for two years beginning in April 2027, setting the stage for a difficult parliamentary battle over how to cover an estimated 10 trillion yen revenue shortfall and whether the politically sensitive tax can be restored afterward.
Nine days after the Kumamoto earthquake, a supermarket in Hikawa, where the strongest seismic intensity of 7 was recorded, is moving toward reopening while providing free groundwater to residents as about 3,200 households remain without running water.
A 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a 16-year-old high school girl in the neck with a mechanical pencil at a store in Hakodate, Hokkaido, around noon on August 4.
A former nurse has been indicted on a murder charge for allegedly killing a 75-year-old hospital patient by injecting fecal matter into his intravenous drip at a hospital in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture.
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 fire destroyed a wooden reception building at a subtemple within the grounds of Kodaiji in Kyoto on August 3, burning about 60 square meters but leaving no one injured and causing no damage to the temple's main buildings or cultural properties.
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.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s food-tax cut plan cleared a major ruling party hurdle on August 5, intensifying debate over whether her government can deliver household relief without weakening fiscal credibility or drawing the Bank of Japan deeper into the administration’s economic agenda.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed diplomatic officials on August 3 to strengthen relations with Japan, expressing disappointment with the results achieved so far and raising speculation that Kyiv is seeking Japanese weapons supplies.
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.
Children with freshly shaved heads walked slowly through the corridors of Higashi Honganji in Kyoto as they took part in a Buddhist ordination ceremony marking their formal entry into the priesthood.
Wakana Uchikoshi, a 27-year-old recruitment professional at Ajinomoto AGF, has built a demanding but rewarding life that combines her weekday corporate career with twice-weekly practices as a cheerleader for a company-affiliated American football team.
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.
Tokyo stocks rebounded strongly on August 5, with the Nikkei 225 rising to about 66,300 in late-session trading as investors bought back artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related shares, while lower oil prices and a steadier yen helped ease concern over imported inflation.
Japan's exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food reached a record 897.7 billion yen in the first half of 2026, rising 10.9% from a year earlier as global demand for green tea surged, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said on August 4.
Tokyo stocks edged higher on August 4, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 63,957.53, up 202.63 points, or 0.32%, as buybacks in artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related shares helped offset caution over further yen-buying intervention and a weaker tone in some exporters.
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.