Kyoto Revives Heian Splendor

Japanese customs authorities blocked a record 19,568 shipments suspected of infringing intellectual property rights in the first half of 2026, up 12% from a year earlier, as the expansion of cross-border e-commerce drove an increase in imported parcels.

Hikone Castle in Shiga Prefecture has been formally selected as Japan's candidate for nomination as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, advancing a campaign that has continued for more than 30 years and aims to secure inscription in the summer of 2028.

Highway service areas around the Kanto region are becoming destinations in their own right, offering travelers everything from freshly harvested vegetables and popular regional restaurant dishes to baths, observation decks and family events during the busy summer vacation season.

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry raised subsidies for aviation fuel used on domestic flights from September 3, doubling the support rate while ending subsidies for international flights.

Osaka City plans to tighten regulations on private lodging businesses, or minpaku, by generally prohibiting new operations in wooden and steel-frame apartment buildings where residents already live, following repeated complaints over noise and garbage.

Bear sightings and attacks have been reported across Japan throughout the summer, with animals damaging sheds, attacking livestock and injuring people, while experts warn that autumn is the most dangerous season as bears expand their range in search of food.

Kashima Shrine in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, held its Ofune Festival on September 2, with a spectacular fleet of more than 100 brightly decorated boats sailing along rivers and across lakes in a tradition staged once every 12 years during the Year of the Horse.

Haneda Airport introduced two major changes on September 2, opening a new boarding facility at Terminal 1 while moving the checked-baggage deadline for all domestic flights to 30 minutes before departure.