The Japan Times - News On Japan, Business News, Opinion, Sports, Entertainment And More

Tokyo Weather

October 16, 2026

Subscribe
Digital Print

October 16, 2026

Cyberattacks

Consumption tax

Okinawa murder

Latest News

Today's print edition

Subscribe for more access

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a Lower House budget committee session at the Diet in Tokyo on Wednesday.

JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS

Yana’s exit halts crisis, but questions about Takaichi’s administration remain

By Eric Johnston

The controversy also reflects concerns about the prime minister’s management style, close advisers and approach to last month’s Cabinet reshuffle.

Scandal-hit agriculture minister Yana announces resignation

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a Lower House budget committee session at the Diet in Tokyo on Wednesday.

A proposed monitoring system would allow authorities to track offenders deemed to pose a serious threat, potentially requiring them to wear GPS-enabled devices that would trigger warnings when they enter a designated area near a victim.

JAPAN / Crime & Legal

Police agency to study feasibility of tracking stalkers via GPS

By Jessica Speed

In addition to wearable GPS devices, an agency panel is considering mandatory counseling for those considered to be high-risk stalkers.

According to projections by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, demand for cremations will begin to outstrip existing normal capacity in the next decade.

JAPAN / Society

As population grays, Tokyo mulls more crematoria to meet demand

By Spencer Landers

According to Tokyo Metropolitan Government projections, demand for cremations will begin to outstrip existing capacity in the next decade.

Making home visits is one method NHK uses to canvass for subscription fees.

BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS

NHK restarts home visits to grow subscribers amid falling numbers

By Maddie Baker

Starting this month, staff affiliated with NHK have been knocking on doors where contracts haven’t been signed or there are unpaid subscription fees.

Mrs. Green Apple’s latest album, “Pops,” balances the Japanese trio’s polished pop sound with rock influences and more experimental arrangements.

CULTURE / Music

The familiar pop and stranger sounds of Mrs. Green Apple

By Patrick St. Michel

Beneath the chart-topping trio’s bright melodies lies a more experimental side, where rock influences, odd meters and darker themes emerge.

Mrs. Green Apple’s latest album, “Pops,” balances the Japanese trio’s polished pop sound with rock influences and more experimental arrangements.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to reporters following the resignation of farm minister Kazuo Yana at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Takaichi Cabinet’s approval rate drops to new low of 42.4%, Jiji poll shows

The results apparently reflected critical views against the decision to retain scandal-hit farm minister Kazuo Yana in the Cabinet.

While previous studies had shown that a continued high-calorie diet slows down brain functions, researchers had yet to unravel the complex mechanism on a molecular level.

High-calorie diet causes brain nerve abnormalities, researchers find

A team in Japan has found that a cognitive decline from continually eating high-calorie food is due to abnormalities in the synapses.

U.S. chip project significant for Japan-U.S. AI edge: Akazawa

Japan denies spying after Russia arrests journalist

Japan raises alert for parts of Saudi Arabia, discouraging nonessential travel

Turkish-Japanese science university opens in Ankara

The Nikkei 225 stock average started declining from the open after weakness in tech shares overnight in the United States.

Nikkei 225 falls 5% on rate and AI concerns

By Kazuaki Nagata

The tech-stock rout started in the United States after a higher-than-expected inflation reading.

GlobalFoundries plans to build two new chip plants with the backing of as much as $21 billion from Japan.

Japan to invest up to $21 billion in two U.S. chip factories to be run by GlobalFoundries

The move is part of a deal for Japan to invest $550 billion in the U.S. struck by President Donald Trump’s administration last year.

Rengo to seek pay hikes of at least 5% in 2027 negotiations

Panasonic recalls 640,000 washer-dryers over fire risk

SmartNews said to plan December Tokyo IPO as valuation craters

FamilyMart and Lawson post record first-half operating profits

The New Yalu River Bridge designed to connect China's Dandong New Zone and North Korea's Sinuiju, is seen from Dandong, Liaoning province, China, on Oct. 5.

New bridge between China and North Korea opens

The bridge was completed in 2014 but its opening was delayed due to a lack of connecting roads and customs facilities on the North Korean side.

A Ukrainian serviceman prepares a Starlink satellite internet systems near the front line in Donetsk region, Ukraine, in 2024.

What is Starshield, SpaceX’s military version of Starlink?

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said the two systems are separate, though in many cases they share the same underlying satellite technology.

Haze turns Indonesia skies orange, shuts schools in East Timor

Pakistan school roof collapse kills at least 32 children and a teacher

U.S. company announces progress toward resurrecting the extinct dodo

By Will Dunham

North Korea tested two types of sub-launched cruise missiles, state media says

Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers hits a two-run homer against the Dodgers during the seventh inning in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Brewers use late home runs to push Dodgers to brink in NLCS

Milwaukee will aim for a sweep of the best-of-seven series on Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

LIV Golf to make decision about future by end of October

By Frank Pingue

Ravens hoping to get QB Lamar Jackson back in time to face Browns

PSG holds off Manchester City in Champions League clash

AFC open to postponing Asian Cup as attacks in Saudi Arabia disrupt sports calendar

AI-enhanced humanoid robots are serviced at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai in July 2025.

When AI acts without orders, national security is at risk

Cory Alpert

These AI systems are doing what they were designed to do: pursuing goals and finding ways around obstacles.

Trump’s birthday gift to Putin is only half the story

By Lionel Laurent

Why Putin says Russia could ‘cease to exist’ if it loses

By Marc Champion

The University of Tokyo’s first female president, then the backlash

By Yuko Kakazu

Singapore can fix Southeast Asia’s haze, if it wants to

By David Fickling

Villagers gather around the body of a wild elephant that died after eating an explosive device locally known as "Hakka Patas" in Ambanpola, Sri Lanka, in July 2025.

In Sri Lanka, human-elephant conflict takes deadly toll

By Uditha Jayasinghe

An average of 138 people have been killed in encounters with the animals each year in Sri Lanka since 2019

Green turtles buck trend of species decline, offering hope for conservationists

By Sara Hussein

Weather-roiling El Nino hits record strength, Japan weather agency says

Walking through flames: Orangutan rescued in Indonesia fires

Inside the deadlock at the world’s top climate science body

By Kate Abnett and Sudarshan Varadhan

In “Zen and Ghibli,” Toshio Suzuki reflects on his career and Studio Ghibli’s beloved films through conversations with three Buddhist priests.

‘Zen and Ghibli’ doesn’t lecture. It teaches contemplation.

By Sebastien Raineri

In “Zen and Ghibli,” Toshio Suzuki reflects on his career and Studio Ghibli’s beloved films through conversations with three Buddhist priests.

‘Children Untold’ shines a light on the plight of postwar orphans

By Mark Schilling

Yayoi Kusama Museum new exhibition unveils a ‘ladder to heaven’

By Zoria Petkoska

What to know before the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival

By Mike Fu

Elvis comes back as a ghost in a noh theater play

By Kenji Kurabayashi

This elevated take on a staple ingredient of Japanese cuisine is an easy way to impress dinner guests without much extra effort.

Win friends and influence people with nori ‘caviar’

By Simon Daly

It doesn’t have to be caviar to have the same culinary cachet, and this nori ‘caviar’ recipe proves it.

Still-simmering ‘Japanese Ramen Simulator’ is already worth a slurp

By Owen Ziegler

Saving for the future is making some investors ‘NISA broke’

By Yuko Tamura

Tokyo walks away with two spots on 50 Best Bars list

By Weiwen Lin

$200 tuna-cutting dining events offer ‘point of connection’ with sushi culture

The Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Shinagawa Ward. Under updated guidelines from the Immigration Services Agency that took effect on Oct. 1, officials are enforcing stricter household income benchmarks for those seeking to qualify for permanent residency, along with deeper audits of pension and social insurance history.

The do’s and don’ts when applying for permanent residency in Japan

By Mai Yoshikawa

What to know about income requirements, pension payments and the all-important statement of reasons.

People-loving Autumn is ready for a new home

Amid shifting attitudes toward immigrants, disinformation unsettles Vietnamese in Japan

By Elizabeth Beattie

How students in Japan strive to escape the international school bubble

By Yumi Wijers-Hasegawa

Amid Japan’s immigration squeeze, foreign residents ask: Should we stay?

By Mai Yoshikawa

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

A local resident walks in a flooded area after heavy rain in Oami-Shirasato, Chiba Pref., on Aug. 14.

Extreme rain is testing Japan’s flood defenses

By Alex K.T. Martin

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports

By Synergy Media Specialists

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

JCOM expands from cable to social infrastructure

JCOM expands from cable to social infrastructure