Fukuoka Prefecture hosted a conference to eliminate drunken driving, still a plague in in Japan, while marking 20 years since a drunken driver rear-ended a car that fell off a bridge killing three children; the incident was a turning-point in legislation

Overnight visitors in Kyoto reached a record 16,59 million, with overseas travelers increasing by 14% and making up almost half of all stays; domestic overnight guests (-8%) may be choosing to stay outside the city due to rising prices

Tokyo’s life-size Unicorn Gundam statue in Odaiba will be removed at the end of this August; The iconic 19,7 meter mecha outside DiverCity Tokyo Plaza was installed in 2017 and features transformations from "Unicorn" to "Destroy" mode at set times

Rruling Liberal Democratic Party proposed reducing the consumption tax rate on food and beverages from the current 8% to 1% for two years starting April 2027; in the last general election campaign it pledged cutting it to zero