2025-05-21 22:54:00
A committee of experts has recommended that the eight people who died in Ishikawa Prefecture after the Noto Peninsula earthquake be recognized as disaster-related deaths. If the deaths are officially recognized by the local government, the death toll from the Noto Peninsula earthquake is expected to reach 600.
2025-05-21 22:51:00
According to Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture, a 114-year-old woman from the city became the oldest person in Japan on the 21st.
2025-05-21 22:05:00
On the evening of the 21st, a Nagano Electric Railway train traveling in Suzaka City, Nagano Prefecture, collided with something like a shed, shattering the window glass and killing a passenger in his 50s who was in the car. Two other passengers were injured, and the police are investigating the details, believing that the shed-like object may have been blown away by strong winds and collided with the train.
2025-05-21 21:37:00
The Tokyo District Court has sentenced a driver to three years in prison for dangerous driving and other crimes after he drove an electric bike, known as a "moped," without a license and caused an accident that left a victim with serious injuries.
2025-05-21 21:33:00
On the morning of the 21st, an accident involving nine vehicles occurred on the northbound lane of the Higashi Kyushu Expressway in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, resulting in five people suffering minor injuries. At the time, there was fog in the area, and the police are currently investigating the details of the incident.
2025-05-21 21:30:00
Temperatures continued to rise across the country on the 21st, with Gifu Prefecture reaching 35 degrees, the first scorching hot day this year, and many places reaching the highest temperatures in May since records began. Clouds are expected to spread across the country on the 22nd, but temperatures and humidity are expected to be high in western and eastern Japan, so please continue to be careful of heatstroke.
2025-05-21 21:27:00
On the afternoon of the 21st, a house in Chikusei City, Ibaraki Prefecture, was completely burned down, and three bodies were found in the ruins. After the fire, the three people who lived in the house, a couple in their 90s and their daughter, were unable to be contacted, and the police are currently investigating.
2025-05-21 21:03:00
Temperatures continued to rise across the country on the 21st, with Gifu Prefecture reaching 35 degrees, the first scorching hot day this year, and many places reaching the highest temperatures in May since records began. Clouds are expected to spread across the country on the 22nd, but temperatures and humidity are expected to be high in western and eastern Japan, so please continue to be careful of heatstroke.
2025-05-21 20:32:00
In the case where a woman's body was found in a drum can in Yoshikawa City, Saitama Prefecture last month, a 50-year-old man who had contracted the storage room where the drum can was recovered was arrested for abandoning the body. The woman is the suspect's wife, and the police are investigating the details as she has also hinted at murder.
2025-05-21 20:27:00
In an incident where a passenger car drove the wrong way on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Mie Prefecture, the suspect arrested on suspicion of hit-and-run is believed to have made a U-turn on the main line in Shiga Prefecture and continued driving the wrong way for at least 14 kilometers while flashing his lights. Police have decided to continue their investigation into suspicion of obstructive driving, a violation of the Road Traffic Act.
2025-05-21 20:04:00
Alumni of the Himeyuri Student Corps, who lost their lives in the Battle of Okinawa, practiced songs to sing at the memorial service in June.
2025-05-21 20:02:00
Temperatures continued to rise across the country on the 21st, with Gifu Prefecture reaching 35 degrees, the first scorching hot day this year, and many places reaching the highest temperatures in May since records began. Clouds are expected to spread across the country on the 22nd, but temperatures and humidity are expected to be high in western and eastern Japan, so please continue to be careful of heatstroke.
2025-05-21 19:30:00
Kuwana City in Mie Prefecture, which was the first city in the country to enact an ordinance that includes provisions for the publication of names of customers engaging in nuisance behavior, or so-called "customer harassment," held its first city committee meeting on the 21st to deliberate whether a consultation it had received constituted customer harassment.
2025-05-21 19:12:00
With a series of mountain rescue disasters occurring ahead of the opening of the mountain on Mount Fuji, and public funding for rescue operations becoming an issue, Yamanashi Prefecture has begun considering charging for rescue operations using disaster prevention helicopters.
2025-05-21 19:06:00
On the morning of the 21st, a 17-year-old female student was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after she stabbed and injured three other female students with a knife in a classroom at a correspondence high school in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture. During questioning, she stated that she "stabbed them with the intention of killing them," and the police are currently investigating the details of the incident.
2025-05-21 19:05:00
The Metropolitan Police Department arrested a 35-year-old suspect believed to be a member of a quasi-gang for allegedly receiving money from a special fraud scheme in a vacant apartment where they had entered under the guise of viewing a property. Approximately 60 similar cases have been confirmed across the country, and the Metropolitan Police Department is also investigating whether there are any connections.
2025-05-21 18:52:00
Temperatures continued to rise across the country on the 21st, with Gifu Prefecture reaching 35 degrees, the first scorching hot day this year, and many places reaching the highest temperatures in May since records began. Clouds are expected to spread across the country on the 22nd, but temperatures and humidity are expected to be high in western and eastern Japan, so please continue to be careful of heatstroke.
2025-05-21 18:51:00
In the case where a woman's body was found in a drum can in Yoshikawa City, Saitama Prefecture last month, a 50-year-old man who had contracted the storage room where the drum can was recovered was arrested for abandoning the body. The woman is the suspect's wife, and the police are investigating the details as she has also hinted at murder.
2025-05-21 18:50:00
In a case where a former prosecutor-general of the Osaka District Public Prosecutors' Office is accused of sexually assaulting a female subordinate, the female prosecutor has released a handwritten document that she claims she received from the former prosecutor-general after the incident. The document asks the female subordinate not to report the assault, citing "for the sake of the Osaka District Public Prosecutors' Office, to which you also belong."
2025-05-21 18:40:00
A post office worker in Ota Ward, Tokyo, was arrested for illegally viewing a phone number written on a piece of mail, calling the sender and demanding that "if you don't want a video you secretly filmed to be uploaded to the internet, let's meet at the station." According to investigators, the woman was a university student who had been accepted for employment at an airline, and the Metropolitan Police Department believes that the worker called after finding out where she would be working.
2025-05-21 18:36:00
The National Police Agency is considering revising the "foreign license exchange" procedure, which allows drivers to exchange their driver's license obtained abroad for a Japanese license, by implementing stricter address verification procedures.
2025-05-21 18:31:00
The number of foreign tourists who visited Japan in April was over 3.9 million, the highest ever for a single month, surpassing the previous record set in January of this year. This was due in part to strong travel demand during the cherry blossom season.
2025-05-21 18:28:00
In a case where a woman's body was abandoned in Kawasaki City and her ex-boyfriend was arrested, a relative of the woman complained that the Kanagawa Prefectural Police's response was insufficient, and consulted with the Metropolitan Police Department in January this year, saying, "The police aren't taking action," according to an interview with an investigator. The Kanagawa Prefectural Police are currently investigating the series of responses, including this background.
2025-05-21 18:27:00
The Tokyo District Court has ordered a YouTuber who uploaded a video using a shogi game record without permission to pay 8.4 million yen in damages to the Yomiuri Shimbun, which organized the event, saying it was a "malicious act of free riding on the expenses and effort invested by the organizers."
2025-05-21 18:21:00
In an effort to change the current situation in which it is difficult to hold perpetrators accountable for sexual assault on children, victims have submitted approximately 60,000 signatures to each political party, calling for the enactment of a new law to abolish the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits.
2025-05-21 18:06:00
The National Police Agency is considering revising the "foreign license exchange" procedure, which allows drivers to exchange their driver's license obtained abroad for a Japanese license, by implementing stricter address verification procedures.
2025-05-21 18:02:00
As temperatures rose across the country and the heat became unbearable, some patients were rushed to hospitals in Tokyo with suspected heatstroke.
2025-05-21 18:01:00
Amid a series of incidents involving "loan offenders," who do not belong to any specific organization and are increasingly radicalized, making their movements difficult to grasp, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department signed an agreement with a real estate industry group on the 21st calling for the rapid sharing of information on signs of crime.
2025-05-21 17:48:00
A post office worker in Ota Ward, Tokyo, was arrested for illegally viewing a phone number written on a piece of mail, calling the sender and demanding that "if you don't want a video you secretly filmed to be uploaded to the internet, let's meet at the station." According to investigators, the woman was a university student who had been accepted for employment at an airline, and the Metropolitan Police Department believes that the worker called after finding out where she would be working.
2025-05-21 17:28:00
In a lawsuit filed by recipients in Kumamoto Prefecture and other areas seeking the elimination of the gradual reduction in welfare benefits since 2013, alleging that it was illegal, the Fukuoka High Court, in its second instance, ruled in favor of the recipients, dismissing their claim, stating that "it cannot be recognized that the reductions in benefits are clearly below the minimum standard of living," contrary to the first instance ruling.
2025-05-21 17:20:00
The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan is calling for caution, as there has been an increase in inquiries about fraudulent websites that appear to sell rice at low prices, taking advantage of the soaring price of rice.
2025-05-21 16:59:00
A large-scale exhibition showcasing defense equipment and the latest security technologies has been held in Chiba City since the 21st.
2025-05-21 16:47:00
In a lawsuit filed by recipients in Kumamoto Prefecture and other areas seeking the elimination of the gradual reduction in welfare benefits since 2013, alleging that it was illegal, the Fukuoka High Court, in its second instance, ruled in favor of the recipients, dismissing their claim, stating that "it cannot be recognized that the reductions in benefits are clearly below the minimum standard of living," contrary to the first instance ruling.
2025-05-21 16:34:00
According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, an estimated 3.9 million foreign tourists visited Japan in April, the highest number of tourists in a single month on record, beating the previous record set in January of this year.
2025-05-21 16:12:00
The Metropolitan Police Department has re-arrested a former taxi driver in his 50s for allegedly giving a female passenger sleeping pills and then sexually assaulting her at her home. He is said to be denying the charges during questioning.
2025-05-21 15:56:00
On the morning of the 21st, a 17-year-old female student was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after she stabbed and injured three other female students with a knife in a classroom at a correspondence high school in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture. During questioning, she stated that she "stabbed them with the intention of killing them," and the police are currently investigating the details of the incident.
2025-05-21 15:50:00
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has revealed that there were nine errors in the laws related to the pension system. However, they say that this will not affect pension benefits.
2025-05-21 15:36:00
During construction work for the relocation of the U.S. military's Futenma Air Base to Henoko, Nago City, Okinawa, a work vessel collided with coral that the Okinawa Defense Bureau had been transplanting from the planned landfill site in order to protect the environment. Part of the coral was damaged, and the Okinawa Defense Bureau said it has taken measures to prevent a recurrence.
2025-05-21 15:20:00
In a lawsuit filed by recipients in Kumamoto Prefecture and other areas seeking the gradual reduction in welfare benefits that began in 2013 to be overturned, claiming that they had been "forced to live a life that falls short of the minimum standard of living guaranteed by the Constitution," the Fukuoka High Court, on the second instance, handed down a ruling dismissing the recipients' lawsuit, contrary to the first instance ruling.
2025-05-21 15:09:00
According to the National Police Agency, a system failure occurred at driver's license centers in Hokkaido and seven prefectures in the Tohoku region, making it impossible to issue licenses from the morning of the 21st, but all services have now been restored. The cause is believed to be damage to the communication lines connecting the license centers and the National Police Agency's common system due to road construction, and the National Police Agency is currently investigating the exact cause.
2025-05-21 14:32:00
Temperatures continued to rise nationwide on the 21st, with Gifu Prefecture recording 35 degrees, the first extremely hot day this year. Humidity is high in many areas, so please take precautions against heatstroke by drinking plenty of fluids.
2025-05-21 13:48:00
On the 20th, police found a man and woman believed to be a married couple who were found bleeding to death in an apartment in Ikeda City, Osaka, and found that both had been dead for several days. The woman, believed to be the 5-year-old daughter, also had a knife wound on her back, and police are investigating the possibility that the husband may have attempted a double suicide based on the circumstances at the scene.
2025-05-21 12:56:00
Deliberations on a proposed amendment to the law to increase the additional salary paid to teachers in lieu of overtime pay began in the House of Councillors on the 21st.
2025-05-21 12:46:00
In a case where a man in his 40s who works as the president of a company was arrested for burying and abandoning the body of his father, a company executive, in a materials storage yard in Kitakyushu City, it was revealed through interviews with people involved that the father and son had frequent disputes over money and the management of the company. In response to police questioning, the son has reportedly denied the charges.
2025-05-21 12:03:00
Temperatures are expected to rise nationwide on the 21st, with temperatures already reaching over 30 degrees Celsius, especially in eastern and western Japan along the Sea of Japan coast, so please take precautions against heatstroke by drinking plenty of fluids. In addition, heavy rain has fallen in some areas of Kagoshima Prefecture due to the influence of the rainy season front, and caution is needed against landslides in southern Kyushu and other areas.
2025-05-21 12:02:00
A little after 10 a.m. on the 21st, a female student at a correspondence high school in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, stabbed three other students with a knife, and the three were taken to the hospital. According to the police, none of the injuries were life-threatening, and the police arrested the female student on the spot on suspicion of attempted murder.
2025-05-21 11:51:00
The suspect arrested in connection with the stabbing incident that occurred at Todaimae Station on the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line has stated that he "was struggling financially and asked his mother to transfer money to him, but she refused," according to an interview with the Metropolitan Police Department. Meanwhile, the prosecution is expected to begin "evaluative detention" to examine the suspect's criminal responsibility from the 21st, and to decide whether to indict him based on the results of an expert evaluation.
2025-05-21 11:19:00
A system failure occurred at driver's license centers in Hokkaido and seven prefectures in the Tohoku region, making it impossible to issue licenses since the morning of the 21st, and there is no prospect of recovery. The National Police Agency investigated the cause and found that road construction is believed to have caused problems with the lines, and is currently investigating the exact cause.
2025-05-21 10:42:00
According to the National Police Agency, a system failure occurred at driver's license centers in seven prefectures in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region, making it impossible to issue driver's licenses since the morning of the 21st. It is believed to be a line problem, and there is no prospect of recovery.
2025-05-21 10:02:00
According to the Miyagi Prefectural Police Headquarters, a malfunction occurred in the system that manages driver's licenses on the 21st, making it impossible to process or renew licenses at driver's license centers and police stations across the prefecture.
2025-05-21 05:56:00
An opening ceremony for the course, the first of its kind in the country, established by Yamanashi University and others with the aim of improving the response capabilities of local government officials in charge of volcanic disaster prevention, was held in Tokyo on the 20th.
2025-05-21 05:10:00
In a case where a man's body was found buried in a materials storage yard in Kitakyushu City on the 20th, police arrested the 40-year-old company president of an 87-year-old company executive for abandoning the body. The executive has been missing since April, and police are also investigating the circumstances of his death. The son has reportedly denied the charges during police questioning.
2025-05-21 04:22:00
In a case where a group of Vietnamese thefts had been sending large quantities of goods stolen from drug stores back to their home country, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and other joint investigation headquarters have obtained arrest warrants for two suspects who are believed to have been giving instructions remotely from Vietnam, and they plan to place them on an international wanted list in the future. One of the suspects was previously involved in shoplifting cases in Japan as a perpetrator for another group, and the investigation is continuing on the suspicion that know-how and other information may have been shared.
2025-05-21 04:15:00
In an accident on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Mie Prefecture, where a passenger car was driving the wrong way and other cars that tried to avoid it were caught up in the accident, the suspect arrested on suspicion of hit-and-run explained to the police before his arrest that he had "taken a wrong turn." Police are investigating the possibility that he made a U-turn on the main road in an attempt to force his way back and drove the wrong way.
2025-05-21 00:02:00
According to JR Central, the Tokaido Shinkansen had suspended operations on the outbound line between Mikawa-Anjo Station in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya Station due to reports that a person had stepped onto the tracks, but operations resumed just before 1 a.m. after safety checks were completed.
