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April 01, 2026
 

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The information distribution platform law, enforced in April last year, requires social media platform operators to take measures to deal with defamation and problems linked to generative artificial intelligence.
JAPAN / Society
Social media platforms differ in transparency on defamation and AI issues
A survey made the findings a year after the enforcement of the information distribution platform law, aimed at tackling the spread of illegal and harmful online content.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Labor officials worry work-style reform progress could backslide
The administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has started discussing a possible easing of working-hour regulations.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Foreign ski instructors and guides operating illegally in Japan spark concerns
Officials and businesses in major winter destinations warn that such illicit operations could disrupt public order, create unfair competition and raise safety concerns.
A supermarket employee arranges diaper products in Aira, Kagoshima Prefecture, in January.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 1, 2026
Dirty diapers born again in Japan recycling breakthrough
By Hiroshi Hiyama
The project hopes to ease bloated landfill sites and respond to a growing need for adult diapers in aging Japan.
Japan's rollout of a new joint custody system for divorcing couples has drawn mixed reactions from the public, with some abuse survivors voicing concerns over continued contact with or interference from former partners while proponents welcomed the move because it puts the country more in line with international standards.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 31, 2026
Japan rolls out new joint custody system
By Jessica Speed
The change ends the country's long-standing sole custody framework, under which only one parent could retain parental rights following a divorce.
Starting Wednesday, Japan will launch a program to allow any child to enroll in nursery facilities regardless of whether or not their parents work.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 31, 2026
Japan to broaden nursery access through expanded child aid program
The program will be funded by a child-rearing support fund, with fees collected on top of public medical insurance premiums from all households.
Nahoko Manako teaches a small class to prepare students for the annual Certified Care Worker national exam at Hiraoka Care Worker School in Ogori, Fukuoka Prefecture. Of the school's 36 second-year students this year, only 10 are Japanese.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Mar 30, 2026
Foreign students at nursing care schools outnumber Japanese peers
A shrinking youth population and below-average wages are among factors contributing to the trend.
Iwao Tanaka (right) speaks to a snowboarder getting off a ski lift at a resort in Daisen, Tottori Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 30, 2026
For some retirees, life is a little bit like a holiday
More and more older people are taking up short-term resort jobs as they embark on their "second life" post-retirement.
Visitors in the Dotonbori area in Osaka. The number of foreign residents in Japan has exceeded 4 million for the first time.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 28, 2026
Japan's foreign resident population hits record 4.12 million
The figure is a 9.5% increase from a year earlier, the Immigration Services Agency said Friday.
Haruo Obata maintains mountain trails on Mount Yufu in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on March 17.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 27, 2026
86-year-old 'super volunteer' excited for return to school
"Life is a never-ending learning process," said Haruo Obata, who will attend a night junior high school.

Former mayor of Ito indicted after allegedly falsifying academic record
Maki Takubo, former mayor of Ito in Shizuoka Prefecture, was indicted without arrest on Monday by public prosecutors on suspicion of violations including contravening the local autonomy law through alleged academic fraud.
ADHD medication in short supply in Japan as demand soars
Concerta, an ADHD drug marketed by Janssen Pharmaceutical, is in short supply in Japan as demand has climbed recently.
JMA warns of potential tremors throughout the week after magnitude 5.0 quake
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures on Wednesday morning.
Japan’s 'counterstrike capability' takes shape with missile deployments
Kumamoto Gov. Takashi Kimura (left) and city of Kumamoto Mayor Kazufumi Onishi (second from left) speak to reporters after viewing upgraded Type-12 surface-to-ship missile systems (seen in the background), which have a range of about 1,000 kilometers, at the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Camp Kengun in the city of Kumamoto on March 17.
Yemen's Houthis enter Iran war with attacks on Israel, as U.S. Marines arrive in region
Young Houthi supporters hold weapons during a rally in solidarity with Tehran and Beirut, amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Friday.
Japan’s 'counterstrike capability' takes shape with missile deployments
Kumamoto Gov. Takashi Kimura (left) and city of Kumamoto Mayor Kazufumi Onishi (second from left) speak to reporters after viewing upgraded Type-12 surface-to-ship missile systems (seen in the background), which have a range of about 1,000 kilometers, at the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Camp Kengun in the city of Kumamoto on March 17.
ADHD medication in short supply in Japan as demand soars
Concerta, an ADHD drug marketed by Janssen Pharmaceutical, is in short supply in Japan as demand has climbed recently.
What happens when Japan curates its aesthetic for the world?
The Sui Collection, a Cabinet Office-backed showcase of traditional Japanese artisanship, is visually stunning, but what is lost in translation when the state is a partner in cultural communication?
With the end of 3G, Japan's beloved flip phones go dark
Japan was the first country in the world to adopt 3G, but this month, it cuts off access to the obsolete wireless network for good.
Japan to tighten requirements for naturalization starting April 1
Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Amy Yee poses for a photo in Lalibela, Ethiopia. An award-winning journalist and former foreign correspondent for the Financial Times, Yee shifted her focus to the issue of Tibetans in exile for her book, “Far From the Rooftop of the World: Travels Among Tibetan Refugees on Four Continents.”
The voices of Tibet, far from home
By Michael Judge

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