North Safari Sapporo, a zoo located in Minami Ward, Sapporo, which closed in September, reached its deadline on December 26 to remove illegal structures from the site.
A multiple‑vehicle collision involving 67 cars and trucks on the Kan‑Etsu Expressway in Minakami, Gunma Prefecture left two people dead and 26 others injured in snowy conditions on the evening of December 26.
A Thai girl who was 12 years old at the time and had been illegally made to work at a massage parlor in Tokyo has departed from Narita Airport for Thailand, according to police.
In response to growing calls for more places to smoke, Osaka City has announced plans to install 63 new smoking areas, including around JR Fukushima Station, after enforcing a citywide ban on smoking in public streets.
Wild animals are moving ever closer to human living areas, with unexpected encounters now becoming a daily reality across parts of Japan.
A shaved-headed man wearing sandals, half-length pants and a black T-shirt walked through Narita Airport around noon on Friday, surrounded by investigators from the Metropolitan Police Department. He briefly glanced at the assembled cameras before repeatedly bowing his head with a tense expression.
A man was arrested at the scene after multiple people were stabbed at a factory in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Tuesday evening, leaving 15 workers injured, police said.
Photos of former Aum Shinrikyo leader Shoko Asahara, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto, have been found inside a facility operated by Aleph, the group regarded as the successor to the Aum Shinrikyo cult, it has been learned.