KAGOSHIMA, Aug 09 (News On Japan) - Record heavy rainfall hit Kagoshima Prefecture, and residents began recovery work on September 9th. In Kirishima, where the first heavy rain special warning of the year was issued, rivers overflowed, and muddy water flowed into residential areas.
Unstable weather is expected to persist from September 9th onward, raising concerns of further disasters. The Japan Meteorological Agency continues to urge heightened vigilance.
Source: Kyodo
As Japan faces an ongoing decline in its birthrate and aging population, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has released data showing the country’s total population.
Record heavy rainfall hit Kagoshima Prefecture, and residents began recovery work on September 9th. In Kirishima, where the first heavy rain special warning of the year was issued, rivers overflowed, and muddy water flowed into residential areas.
Japan’s population of Japanese nationals has decreased for the 16th consecutive year, according to demographic data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. As of January 1st, 2025, the Japanese population stood at 120.65 million, a drop of roughly 910,000 from the previous year—marking the largest annual decline on record.
A severe and prolonged heatwave is taking a widespread toll across Japan, affecting everything from traditional summer events to vegetable harvests and dairy farms.
Authorities have launched a full investigation into the fire that broke out during the Minato Mirai fireworks festival in Yokohama, where five workers had to be rescue from an exploding barge.
Around 50,000 hybrid sunflowers, growing up to two meters tall, are in full bloom at Awaji Farm Park England Hill in Minami-Awaji City, Hyogo Prefecture, creating a vast, vibrant yellow flower field.
Ahead of the Obon holiday period beginning on August 9th, Kansai International Airport is already seeing a wave of travelers heading overseas. The international departures lobby was crowded from the morning, with families and other travelers carrying large suitcases.
Tokyo, which is a world within a whirl of activity, presents a unique mix of old and new. The city has here the serene shrines that have stood for centuries and the modern skyscrapers that shoot up to the sky; also, it has traditional culture and high-tech trends.
In a historic heatwave, the city of Isesaki in Gunma Prefecture recorded a scorching 41.8 degrees Celsius on August 5th, setting a new all-time high for the highest temperature ever observed in Japan.
A summer spectacle is reaching its peak at the Heijo Palace Ruins, a World Heritage site in Nara, as tens of thousands of swallows gather in the night sky.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has raised the volcanic alert level for the area around Mt. Shirane and the Yugama crater on the Gunma side of Mt. Kusatsu-Shirane to Level 2, restricting access near the crater due to an increase in volcanic earthquakes.
The Akita Kanto Festival, one of the Tohoku region’s major summer events and designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Asset by the national government, opened on August 3rd.
JR East has received government approval to revise fares, including a 10-yen increase in the base fare for the Yamanote Line, raising it from 150 yen to 160 yen.
