Asia Japan Portable power banks catching fire in Japan have more than doubled between 2020 and 2024; public and private sectors have begun strengthening safety measures and efforts to raise public awareness amid a series of incidents in public spaces this year
Asia Japan 294.198 people have been learning Japanese language in Japan according to a recent government survey on 2.669 facilities, showing the need to offer more opportunities to cope with rising demand; two-thirds were foreign students, with China leading
Asia Japan To help trap bears, troops have been deployed in the north after local authorities said besieged communities are coping with an unprecedented wave of attacks, over 100 nationwide this year; the operation began in Kazuno, Akita Prefecture
Asia Japan Lawmakers in Japan elected hard-line conservative Sanae Takaichi as prime minister, making her the first woman in modern times to lead the country; she said she formed her cabinet on equal opportunity, equal chances, participation from all walks of life
Asia Japan The World Exposition in Osaka has attracted over 25 million visitors, according to an estimate released by organizers, ahead of its closing yesterday; 158 countries and regions took part in the closing ceremony of the six-months event
Asia Japan The Tokyo Game Show, one of the world's biggest gaming events, opened with 1.136 exhibitors and expects 250.000 visitors; evident trends are independent developers that create small-budget innovative titles and the increasing application of AI
Asia Japan Remote-controlled robots have been deployed to one of the reactors at Fukushima nuclear plant to prepare the removal of around 880 tonnes of radioactive debris, the most daunting challenge in the decommissioning operation following 2011 earthquake damages
Asia Japan Ultra-deep-sea quest to mine rare earths triggers a green backlash as an extreme-depth drilling mission is announced to a site around 100km from remote atoll Minamitorishima, the easternmost point of Japan territory, risking a global ‘race to the bottom’
Asia Japan A team representing the United States won the championship of the World Cosplay Summit 2025 in Nagoya; they were clad in popular game characters
Asia Japan For the first time since 2016, a typhoon made landfall on Hokkaido coast; Typhoon Nari crossed near Cape Erimo before weakening to a storm according to the Japan Meteorological Agency
Asia Japan Researchers from major universities, including Tokyo's Waseda, have used prompts in their papers to get positive AI-based reviews, raising concerns about integrity, amid a surge in peer-to-peer review exploitation in academic publishing
Asia Japan A record 21,5 million foreign visitors entered Japan in the first half of 2025 and travel demand appears to remain strong, if not constant, outside peak seasons
Asia Japan Japan ranked 118th out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Gender Gap Report, the same position as last year - the lowest among G7; political empowerment is the weakest area, while education and health register near gender parity