News On Japan

Family Registry Certificates Now Accessible Nationwide

TOKYO - A recent legal change now allows individuals to obtain family registry certificates at any municipal office, not just their registered domicile.

Before this amendment, these certificates were only available at the municipality of one's registered domicile or, for those with a My Number card, at convenience stores. However, starting today, March 1, people can get them at any municipal office, regardless of their registered domicile.

In Hachioji, Tokyo, a man whose registered domicile is far away visited the municipal office this morning to get the documents he needed for his passport application right away.

User: "I've done this before, and I know it can be a hassle. It probably took more than a week last time. This change is much appreciated. It's convenient and a big help."

However, some municipalities are experiencing technical issues today, likely due to a surge in access, and have announced service disruptions.

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A very strong Typhoon No. 18 is approaching the Daito Islands and is expected to move toward Okinawa's main island and the Amami Islands, while two other typhoons and a new tropical depression are active across waters south of Japan and near Southeast Asia. As of 3 a.m. on August 24, Typhoon No. 18 was over waters south of Japan and moving west-northwest at 30 kilometers per hour. As of 9 p.m. on August 23, Typhoon No. 18 was moving west-northwest at 30 kilometers per hour over waters southwest of the Ogasawara Islands.

Kyoto is stepping up efforts to capture Japan's growing nighttime economy, with Toei Kyoto Studio Park extending its hours to 9 p.m., a new theater drawing visitors near Kyoto Station and nighttime tours expanding in Gion as the city seeks to encourage tourists to stay out longer and explore more areas after dark.

A 39-year-old woman from Taiwan has been arrested on suspicion of pouring an oil-like liquid on the national treasure Buddha Footprint Stone at Yakushiji Temple in Nara in April, police said.

Japan executed 58-year-old death row inmate Sunao Takami on August 21 for setting fire to a pachinko parlor in Osaka in 2009, killing five people and injuring 10 others, in the first execution carried out under the Takaichi administration.

Japan's government is moving toward abolishing the Cool Japan Fund, a public-private investment vehicle created to support the overseas expansion of Japanese anime, food culture and other industries, after its cumulative losses reached 54 billion yen.

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Japan's Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has begun considering reductions in postal services, including fewer mailboxes and less frequent deliveries, as the country's postal business continues to suffer losses following a prolonged decline in letters and New Year's cards.

Russia has conducted missile exercises around the Northern Territories, including what appears to have been a launch from one of the disputed islands, prompting Japan's foreign minister to call Russia's growing military presence there unacceptable.

Japan's government is moving toward abolishing the Cool Japan Fund, a public-private investment vehicle created to support the overseas expansion of Japanese anime, food culture and other industries, after its cumulative losses reached 54 billion yen.

Japan strongly protested and condemned North Korea after it launched a ballistic missile at around 5:04 p.m. on August 20, with the projectile believed to have fallen outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said.

Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito said on August 19 that the prefecture's shift to a status requiring central government permission to issue bonds would not immediately halt public projects, while stressing that years of high public investment, funding shortfalls and what he described as improper land-acquisition bond practices under former Governor Toshizo Ido had contributed to the deterioration of the prefecture's finances.

A Takenaka Corp. construction manager who oversaw work on the Grand Ring and other facilities at the Osaka-Kansai Expo was arrested on August 19 on suspicion of causing more than 13 million yen in losses to the major contractor through inflated construction bills, with police investigating allegations that money from the scheme was used for renovations to his home and a cafe operated by relatives.

A Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-15 fighter jet tilted to one side and came to a stop while landing at Naha Airport on August 18, forcing the closure of one of the airport's two runways and causing delays of more than an hour for some arriving commercial flights.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s economic agenda came under fresh pressure on August 18 after weaker-than-expected growth figures exposed the fragility of Japan’s recovery, sharpening the political stakes around the Bank of Japan’s next rate decision, the weak yen, and the government’s plan to cut the consumption tax on food.