13+ hour, 51+ min ago   (566+ words) YAMANASHI - Climbers who get into trouble on Mount Fuji during the official closed season could be charged for rescue by disaster-prevention helicopters under new safety measures being considered by Yamanashi Prefecture. The prefectural government plans to strengthen measures against climbing…...

1+ day, 49+ min ago   (652+ words) SHIZUOKA - High school students in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, explored how humans and artificial intelligence might coexist in the future by interacting with an AI-powered humanoid robot during a class on September 11. The students met Miroki, a humanoid robot equipped with…...

1+ day, 3+ hour ago   (962+ words) IBARAKI - Prolonged rain has dramatically transformed Fukuroda Falls in Ibaraki Prefecture, sending far more water than usual over the famous cascade and drawing growing numbers of tourists eager to see the unusually powerful spectacle. Visitors emerging from the tunnel leading…...

1+ day, 3+ hour ago   (622+ words) KYOTO - Roads around the Fushimi Otesuji Shopping Street in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward were flooded on the evening of September 13 after water began gushing from a nearby road, forcing authorities to close part of the street to traffic. Police received multiple…...

3+ day, 21+ hour ago   (1535+ words) HYOGO - Tada Shrine in Kawanishi, Hyogo Prefecture, has filed for protection under Japan's Civil Rehabilitation Act, becoming the first shrine in the Kansai region and only the third nationwide to enter bankruptcy proceedings, according to Teikoku Databank. Financial problems surrounding…...

3+ day, 22+ hour ago   (707+ words) TOKYO - Tokyo's Koto Ward will conduct on-site inspections of all roughly 400 lodging facilities from January 2027 as it moves to strengthen regulations following a sharp increase in complaints over issues including garbage disposal and nighttime noise. Koto Ward Mayor Tomoka Okubo…...

4+ day, 23+ hour ago   (1385+ words) HOKKAIDO - Seven Myanmar nationals working at an agricultural corporation in Hokkaido under Japan's Specified Skilled Worker status have accused their employer of repeated violence, intimidation and financial penalties, with some workers saying they were also called by numbers instead of…...

5+ day, 8+ hour ago   (571+ words) SAITAMA - Large volumes of floodwater poured into the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, following heavy rain on September 7, prompting the massive underground flood-control facility known as the "Underground Temple" to go into operation. The Edogawa…...

5+ day, 8+ hour ago   (669+ words) SHIZUOKA - A landslide struck a parking area at Mount Fuji's Fujinomiya fifth station in Shizuoka Prefecture shortly after midnight on September 9, sweeping up three parked vehicles but causing no injuries, prefectural authorities said. According to Shizuoka Prefecture, a worker at…...