News On Japan

Creator of Japan football manga "Captain Tsubasa" to finish series

Jan 07 (Kyodo) - The creator of the Japanese football manga "Captain Tsubasa" will finish the series in April, ending a 43-year run in which it captivated children and even professional footballers around the world, including Spanish star Andres Iniesta.

Tokyo publishing house Shueisha Inc. said Friday that Yoichi Takahashi will finish the manga series featuring the character Tsubasa, a football prodigy, in the last issue of Captain Tsubasa Magazine Vol. 20, to be released in early April.

Takahashi, 63, said on the X social media platform that he has a rough idea of how the story of Captain Tsubasa will end, but it could take him 40 more years or longer to realize the ideas in the manga format and he felt it is "unrealistic."

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Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

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Actors Kentarō Ito and Natsuki Deguchi have become the focus of intense speculation after the pair were reportedly seen together late at night in the parking area of an apartment complex.

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Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest film "Sheep in the Box," which was selected for the competition section at the 79th Cannes International Film Festival in France, received its official screening on May 16th as it competes for the festival’s top prize, the Palme d'Or.

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The Osaka Shochikuza theater, which has entertained audiences in Osaka’s Dotonbori district for more than a century through films, kabuki and live performances, will close in June 2026 due to aging facilities and the high cost of renovations.