Hokkaido City Drills for Bear Encounters

Osaka Prefecture and the city of Izumisano held their first coordination meeting on July 27 over plans to establish Japan's third so-called baby hatch, with discussions focusing on securing facilities and caregivers for children left in its care.

Foreign students in Japan are taking on demanding part-time jobs to cover rising living costs and finance their education, with convenience stores emerging as one of the most desirable workplaces because they offer valuable language training, exposure to Japanese culture and experience that could lead to future business opportunities.

One in five public junior high schools in Japan has stopped offering swimming lessons, raising concerns about declining swimming ability as schools struggle with extreme heat, aging pool facilities and the growing burden on teachers.

Hokkaido saw a marked shift toward private high schools among students entering in fiscal 2026 after tuition at private institutions became effectively free from April, according to an analysis by the Hokkaido Board of Education.

The Japanese government is considering new rules to protect children from the risks of social media and plans to compile concrete measures by the end of 2026, but officials and experts remain cautious about introducing a blanket age restriction like those pursued in Australia and the European Union.

Japanese elementary and junior high school students continue to struggle with written-response questions in Japanese, while average accuracy rates in arithmetic and mathematics remained in the 50% range, according to nationwide academic test results released by the education ministry on July 16.

Japan’s relationship with intimate goods is far older than the modern online adult shop. Long before discreet packaging, digital payments, and private home delivery, Japanese artists, writers, merchants, and townspeople were already exploring the boundaries between desire, humor, privacy, and everyday life.

A growing number of young doctors in Japan are moving directly into cosmetic medicine after obtaining a medical license and completing their initial clinical training, raising concern that the trend may be worsening staff shortages in insurance-covered medical care.