Beloved Steam Locomotive Turns 80

Japanese kitchen knives are selling rapidly among foreign tourists, who are drawn not only to their exceptional sharpness but also to Japan's highly specialized knife-making culture.

Officials from the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party have agreed to adopt the Katsuragawa plan for the Obama-Kyoto route of the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension from Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture to Shin-Osaka.

Tokyo Disney Resort will raise the maximum price of its one-day tickets from October, with adult admission to Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea rising by as much as 1,500 yen to 12,400 yen on selected high-demand days.

Two typhoons are currently near Japan, with Typhoon No. 9, Bavi, over North China and Typhoon No. 11, Haishen, east of the Philippines, but only Bavi is expected to have any indirect impact on the country.

An abandoned concrete arch bridge deep in the forests of Kamishihoro in Hokkaido's Tokachi region is slowly being reclaimed by nature, its exposed reinforcing bars and weeds marking the passage of time.

Osaka’s Minami district, now entering another period of major change with the planned opening of the Naniwasuji Line, the redevelopment of Midosuji and improvements around Nankai Namba Station, has transformed from an area once described as "scary" and "dirty" into one of Japan’s leading tourist destinations.

A 10-ton hoko float was pulled through central Kyoto on July 12 in a trial run ahead of the Yamahoko Junko procession during the Gion Festival's early parade.

Large Typhoon No. 9 (Bavi) was over central China at 9 p.m. on July 12 and moving north-northwest, with the storm expected to weaken as it continues northwest before turning into an extratropical cyclone that will merge with the rainy season front and bring rain mainly to areas along the Sea of Japan coast.