GO, Waymo and Nihon Kotsu said they aim to launch Japan's first commercial fully driverless taxi service in Tokyo during 2027, using Level 4 autonomous vehicles that can operate without a driver on board under specified conditions.
Kajima Corp. has unveiled the construction site of KAJIMA TREE, a roughly 60-meter wooden tower being built for the International Horticultural Expo that will open in March 2027.
A 29-year-old man accused of killing his pregnant former girlfriend, a nail artist in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, admitted the charges at his first trial on September 14, with prosecutors saying he used tracking tags to locate the woman after deciding he wanted to kill her and "reset" his life to before their relationship.
Tokyo police have found that two teenage girls detained during coordinated patrols in the "Toyoko" area of Kabukicho were carrying forged student identification cards containing false ages and names.
Roads around the Fushimi Otesuji Shopping Street in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward were flooded on the evening of September 13 after water began gushing from a nearby road, forcing authorities to close part of the street to traffic.
Newly recovered video from a passenger's digital camera has revealed conditions aboard the Kazu I sightseeing boat before it sank off Hokkaido's Shiretoko Peninsula in April 2022, a disaster that left 20 passengers and crew members dead and six passengers still missing more than four years later.
A mobile battery caught fire inside a Tobu Isesaki Line train in Saitama Prefecture on September 14, leaving a high school student with minor burns before another passenger extinguished the flames.
A new helicopter service linking Kansai International Airport with central Kyoto in about 25 minutes each way will begin operations on September 15, offering travelers a faster alternative to rail and bus connections that take at least 75 minutes.
Climbers who get into trouble on Mount Fuji during the official closed season could be charged for rescue by disaster-prevention helicopters under new safety measures being considered by Yamanashi Prefecture.
A 220-meter suspension bridge billed as the longest of its type in Japan opened at Biwako Valley in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on September 14, offering visitors panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and Lake Biwa.
Genta Koja, a former deputy mayor of Naha who accepts the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko in Nago, won the Okinawa gubernatorial election on September 13, defeating incumbent Governor Denny Tamaki and bringing an end to 12 years of prefectural administrations committed to blocking the project.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the victory of Genta Koja in the Okinawa gubernatorial election reflected the wishes of prefectural residents seeking stronger economic growth, with senior ruling party officials viewing the result as a boost for her administration.
Japan has asked for changes to an Equal Earth world map that depicts the Russian-controlled Northern Territories in the same color as Russia, prompting the map's creator to say the Japanese-language version will be revised while the English version will remain unchanged.
Authorities are warning people not to rely on artificial intelligence, guidebooks or internet searches to decide whether wild mushrooms are safe to eat after food poisoning cases involving toxic species, including one in which AI mistakenly identified a poisonous mushroom as edible.
Japan opened its women's soccer campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with an 8-0 victory over Thailand on September 14, making a dominant start to its bid for a third consecutive and fourth overall championship.
Elementary school students in Fukuoka got a hands-on lesson in the importance of taxes on September 11, lifting a 10-kilogram replica of 100 million yen as part of a class designed to show how public money supports society.
Police are warning of a nationwide surge in scams involving criminals posing as officers, with evidence emerging that generative AI may now be used to create fake identities during video calls and make the deception more convincing.
Rising long-term interest rates in Japan and the United States are increasing pressure on households and businesses, with more than 5,600 additional small and midsize Japanese companies at risk of falling into the red if borrowing rates rise by 0.5 percentage point.
Rakuten Mobile said on September 14 that it has withdrawn a plan to forcibly cancel mobile service contracts for customers who fail to link their accounts to a Rakuten ID by the end of November.
Tokyo stocks were mixed on September 14, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 63,499, down 511.89 points, as selling in artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related shares weighed on the headline index, while the broader TOPIX rose 32.88 points to 4,061.18 on buying in value, defensive and domestic-demand shares.
Japan's major banks are intensifying competition for household money as rising interest rates revive the appeal of deposits, prompting lenders to launch new savings products, wealth-management services and point-based incentives.