Asia Japan Over one million people in the country are self-enclosed, a phenomenon so acute that it has its own word: hikikomori, or 'shut-in'; professor Seiko Goto developed a method and community center to help them
Asia Japan 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
Asia Japan The US and Japan made a coordinated intervention in the currency markets to stabilize the weakening yen, a rare move that last occurred more than ten years ago
Asia Japan 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
Asia Japan 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