A U.S. family took part in a Japanese school experience program at a former school building in Chiba Prefecture, joining calligraphy, disaster drills, school lunch duty and a sports day-style event in a six-hour program that has attracted more than 200 foreign participants since it began about a year ago.
Urakawa, a Hokkaido town of about 10,000 people known as one of Japan's leading thoroughbred breeding centers, is seeing a rapid increase in Indian residents as local farms turn to experienced overseas workers to offset a shrinking pool of Japanese horse trainers.
A certification exam testing knowledge and skills related to ninjas was held in Koka, Shiga Prefecture, a city known as one of Japan's historic ninja centers.
The Tokyo Fire Department has called for greater public cooperation with emergency medical services following a rise in incidents involving interference with ambulance crews, including cases in which paramedics have been assaulted while carrying out rescue operations.
The University of Tokyo and TOPPAN Holdings announced the establishment of the AI Innovation Research Center, a new initiative aimed at advancing research and development for the practical application of artificial intelligence in society.
As bear sightings continue at an unusually high pace across Akita Prefecture, a veteran wildlife photographer who has spent nearly 30 years observing and photographing Asian black bears says the animals are appearing more frequently, moving closer to human settlements, and increasingly adapting their behavior to survive.