Japan's Halloween Jumbo Lottery went on sale nationwide on September 16, offering a combined top payout of 400 million yen for the first prize and its adjacent-number prizes.
A new top-tier "Supreme Class" offering fully private compartments above the level of Green Car service will debut on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen on October 1, with passengers able to experience the new seating at a demonstration booth at Shin-Osaka Station.
A popular Tokyo nightclub hostess and influencer known as Yamatorino, who says she generated more than 200 million yen in sales during a single month, has been arrested on suspicion of possessing cocaine with her boyfriend at their home in Roppongi.
A second-year high school student was arrested at the scene after allegedly releasing tear gas spray inside a classroom at Osaka University of Commerce Sakai High School on September 16, leaving 24 students complaining of coughing, throat pain and other symptoms.
Police have arrested a 26-year-old man suspected of acting as a top-level planner in an anonymous, fluid criminal group known as a "Tokuryu," with investigators believing he was involved in a series of theft-related crimes in Kyoto and other areas between December 2025 and March 2026.
A 37-year-old man was arrested at Chubu Centrair International Airport after allegedly injuring a police officer who warned him about walking two toy poodles without leashes inside the airport complex.
Tokyo Disney Resort will launch its annual Disney Halloween event on September 16, with a special parade previewed ahead of the opening and visitors allowed to enjoy the parks in costume during the event period.
Visitors can climb to the top of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, about 300 meters above the sea, for sweeping 360-degree views of the Akashi Strait, Kobe, Awaji Island and, in clear weather, as far as Osaka.
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.
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.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi launched a new Liberal Democratic Party executive team on September 16, retaining most of the party’s senior leadership while pledging to unite the government and ruling party to overcome a difficult political and economic environment.
A Japan Air Self-Defense Force Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft went missing over international waters about 50 kilometers north of Tottori Prefecture on September 15, with floating debris and oil later found in the area where communications were lost.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government entered a decisive political week on September 15 after approving an outline for food-tax relief and household payouts without settling how the package will be funded, keeping fiscal concerns alive just days before the Bank of Japan is expected to decide whether to raise interest rates again.
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.
A cruise ship that will serve as an accommodation base for athletes and other participants in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games arrived at Nagoya Port on September 15, ahead of the opening of the competition this week.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Kyoto City on September 15 for Ronald McDonald House Kyoto, a residential facility where children undergoing medical treatment will be able to stay together with their families.
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.
Hakone, one of the Kanto region's most popular tourist destinations, has been left with just two operating gas stations after a series of closures, prompting the town to provide more than 10 million yen in subsidies to help reopen a shuttered facility.
Japan's National Tax Agency is preparing a major overhaul of the way unlisted shares are valued for inheritance tax, a reform that could significantly affect business succession at profitable, asset-rich companies and would mark the first fundamental revision of the rules since they were introduced in 1964.
Tokyo stocks rose on September 16, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 63,923, up 438.90 points, as futures-led buying lifted the index into a high close before the Federal Reserve’s policy decision, while investors remained cautious over oil prices, rising interest rates and the Bank of Japan’s meeting later this week.
Benchmark land prices released on September 15 showed continued gains in urban areas across Kansai, led by strong increases in central Osaka and parts of Kyoto, with experts expecting the upward trend to continue for the time being while warning of growing effects on housing costs and regional disparities.