Jan 21 (france24.com) - Bullying at school, or "ijime", is a persistent problem in Japan. In 2020, there were 612,000 recorded cases at schools across the country – more than three times the number a decade ago.
What begins as a joke among friends can end in insults and violence. Bullying leads to academic failure, isolation and, in some cases, suicide. Last year, 80 percent of Japanese schools reported bullying incidents.
Bear attacks are intensifying across Japan, with fatalities in fiscal 2025 already matching the record high set in 2023. Experts warn that the rise reflects not only an increase in bear numbers but also changes in human society that have blurred the line between mountain habitats and residential areas.
As of the night of October 9, Typhoon No. 23 (Nakri) was moving northwest over waters south of Japan. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, at 9 p.m. the typhoon was located about 300 kilometers east-southeast of Minami-Daito Island, traveling northwest at a speed of around 20 kilometers per hour.
Typhoon No. 22, classified as a very strong system, made a direct hit on the Izu Islands, leaving widespread damage across the region. On Hachijo Island, located about 300 kilometers south of Tokyo, the storm brought record-breaking rainfall and violent winds, leaving residents stunned by the destruction.
Elementary and junior high school teachers in Japan still work the longest hours among their peers worldwide, according to an OECD report released on Tuesday. While the 2024 results by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showed working hours had fallen by around four hours per week compared with the previous survey in 2018, Japan’s teachers still far exceeded their global counterparts.
Beer deliveries from Asahi Group Holdings have been disrupted following a ransomware cyberattack, causing shortages that have already begun to affect izakaya and other establishments across Japan. Some bars have reported their beer stock falling to “only one left” as supply chain delays ripple through the industry.
Japan's Imperial Household Agency has released The Official Record of Empress Kojun, chronicling the life of Empress Kojun, wife of Emperor Showa and grandmother of the current Emperor.
In Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto Prefecture, workers carried out the traditional practice of “komo-maki,” wrapping straw mats around pine trees to protect them from harmful insects as the autumn season deepens. The activity takes place each year around “Kanro” (Cold Dew), one of the 24 solar terms marking the seasonal transition toward winter.
Two police officers from the Hyogo Prefectural Police have been arrested for possessing marijuana, admitting they kept it for personal use.
A bear entered a supermarket in Numata City, Gunma Prefecture on Tuesday night, attacking two male customers before escaping to the south.
Footage filmed near the Harumi Flag Apartments in Tokyo shows groups of motorcycles revving their engines loudly into the night at a nearby intersection, disrupting the peace of families living in the new residential complex built on the former site of the Tokyo Olympic Athletes’ Village.
Police have arrested a 43-year-old former employee of Tsuda College in Kodaira, western Tokyo, on suspicion of property damage after he allegedly took a female student’s shorts from a locker and defiled them with bodily fluid.
The Naha District Court’s Okinawa branch has ordered a group of former youths and their parents to pay more than 4 million yen in damages to Okinawa Prefecture over a riot that took place three years ago when a crowd surrounded the Okinawa Police Station and destroyed vehicles and other property.
A hotel construction plan in the rural wasabi-growing area of Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture, has sparked strong opposition from local residents who fear it will damage the landscape and threaten the region’s iconic wasabi fields.
