Sankei surveyed governors mayors on the effect of more overseas residents and tourists. The article text says "only 10% in Kanto think it's all good" but the graphic also shows only 1% think it's all bad. 89%, understandably, see both positive and negative effects. www.sankei.com/article/2026...

In Gunma, the figure is 14.1%. Thinking about all those 若者の○○離れ pieces, I wonder if there are things foreign youths in Japan are more likely to do than Japanese youths. Owning a car and driving might be one. mainichi.jp/english/arti...

Sankei graphic shows how, in 2015, Chinese were the largest foreign population in 34 of Japan's 47 prefectures. By 2025, Vietnamese had become the largest population in 33. www.sankei.com/article/2026...

Spent countdown with friends in Golden Gai, and it was wall-to-wall westerners in the area. Many were in line for hatsumode at Hanazono Shrine. By contrast, today in Monzennakacho, westerners were few and far between, with hardly any in the lengthy hatsumode queue for Tomioka Hachimangū.

Sankei explains how, to get this shot of a Doctor Yellow running in front of Mt. Fuji, the photographer stood chest-deep in the Fuji River. www.sankei.com/article/2025...

A unique way of presenting evidence of a crime. The Akita Coastguard cracked down on poachers in summer. They photographed the catch on the shore - like this abalone - before returning it to the sea. www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/202...

For a long time in Japan, if I looked a bit befuddled or lost, there was a fair chance a local might ask if I needed help. Not just me. You'd hear of Japanese people going well out of their way to help a foreigner find their destination. Suspect that doesn't happen as much nowadays.

Photo posted on Twitter by @Mitchan_599 shows the Tokyo Metro ticket machines at Higashi Ginza Station, with warnings plastered everywhere, indicating they aren't for the Toei Asakusa Line. Presumably, tourists kept making mistakes.

There's a dalmation police dog called Himawari (sunflower). mainichi.jp/english/arti...

Mainichi has an English report on a woman in a similar position - without the complication of a child - who took the philanderer to court, and won damages. mainichi.jp/english/arti...

A teenager spent ten minutes in the luggage hold of a coach from Fukuoka Airport. The driver didn't realize he'd climbed in to get his bag when he got off at his stop. He contacted his family, who then got the bus company to radio the driver. www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/202...

Chiba is the only prefecture on Honshu where you don't find bears. Ibaraki and Osaka used to be bear-free but a car hit a bear in Ibaraki in 2006, while one was captured in Osaka in 2014. www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/202...

It's that time of year again. My wife's cat balls calendar has arrived.

A Chiba Prefecture staffer was arrested for drunk driving on Christmas Eve. He was found asleep at the wheel of his car in the early hours. The front of his car was sunk in a rice paddy. He remembers drinking but not then getting in his car to drive. www.sankei.com/article/2025...

2025 in a nutshell. On the left, a report from January saying Ibaraki lifted nationality restrictions for clerical council jobs. Mie, which had already done that, today says it's reviewing the policy out of security concerns. www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...

NOT THE SAMURAI RESTAURANT IN SHINJUKU SAMPLING THE HYMN OF THE FAYTH

Sapporo is selling its real estate business to US private equity form KKR. well-known holdings include Yebisu Garden Place, once the home to the original brewery for Yebisu Beer, and Ginza Place. www.cnbc.com/2025/12/24/s...

Yesterday, Tokyo Hakuzen held a press conference to explain why they raised the price of cremations to 90,000 yen. They say costs are now 80,000 yen, though wouldn't indicate whether the new profit margin is also higher than before. www.sankei.com/article/2025...

Some recent visitors asked about shelves full of シャンメリー(Chanmery) which prompts me to repeat an old thread. Chanmery is a carbonated soft drink, with a cap that sounds like a champagne cork popping when you open it.

City data indicates there are more Nepalese residents in Fukuoka than Chinese. Chinese took over the top spot from Koreans around 2002. Since 2000, the Nepalese population had grown 300-fold. mainichi.jp/english/arti...

Next target for inbound tourists, edible suitcases. www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...

The scene at Shin-Hōsono Station in Kyoto yesterday. The diagram shows how a car entered a level crossing, was struck by a train, caught fire, and was pushed along the tracks until it met another train coming the other way. www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/202...

With Sony raising its stake in the Peanuts brand to 80%, a reminder that Snoopy was the very definition of a 迷惑外国人 in "It's Tokyo Charlie Brown!". www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...

Cleaners found human organs near the garbage area at Osaka Wholesale Market. They were in bottles, packed in boxes. Police believe they are medical waste, and someone wanted to avoid paying for the legally-required professional processing. www.asahi.com/articles/AST...

Kawaii Monster Land will open next February, where the old Harajuku Studio Alta used to be. This is the successor to the old Kawaii Monster Cafe. Takeshita Dori is going to be impassable at some point. contents.gendagigo.jp/kawaii-monst...

10 years ago, Yamanashi had 75 wineries to Nagano's 32. At the end of October 2025. Yamanashi had 94, and Nagano 93. Nagano thinks it could well claim top spot next year. Climate change may be a factor. www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/202...

Taito Ward has reached a court-sanctioned agreement with the 32 shops in Denboin St. They will leave by the end of July 2026, paying some rent for the remaining period but avoiding any backpayments for illegal occupation. www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/202...

A new poster and slogan have been unveiled.「ゴミを捨てるとお金も捨てることになるよ」on the Japanese version, and "If you throw trash, you lose cash" on the English. Bin enforcement starts 1st of April, 2026, and litterer enforcement on the 1st of June, 2026. www.city.shibuya.tokyo.jp/kusei/hodo/h...

Eggdrop, a Korean egg sandwich chain, has opened its first store in Japan on Aoyama Dori. www.shibukei.com/headline/196...

The formal move to Hepburn romanization has advanced another stage. The Cabinet has agreed with the recommendation made by the Agency of Cultural Affairs in August, and will make an official announcement on the 22nd. www.yomiuri.co.jp/kyoiku/kyoik...

Viral tweet shows a Family Mart salmon onigiri selling for 235 yen. Text says "Wasn't it not so long ago this was around 100 yen?" Any talk about high prices on social media gets a lot of attention these days.

Police in Nagareyama, Chiba, arranged for ex-Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman to address pupils at a junior high school about cross-cultural exchange. That's not a sentence a younger me would have expected to write. www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/455803

Emmanuelle Riva on location, during the filming of "Hiroshima Mon Amour" in 1958. pen-online.com/culture/hiro...

Near a Japanese friend's house in Toda, there's a road called オリンピック通り (Olympic Dori). She had lived there for a few years but couldn't tell me why it had that name. One to look up later, I thought.

Masato Harada has passed away at 76. He directed a wide range of genres including indie films like "Kamikaze Taxi", and a blockbuster in "Climber’s High". He also appeared as an actor in "The Last Samurai". www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/202...

Asahi article on some postwar advertising campaigns has some good photos. In 1950, the "Moshi Moshi Carnival" in Shimbashi, promoted rotary phones, which had started to become more available. www.asahi.com/articles/ASQ...

An uji matcha & strawberry Christmas parfait isn't to my taste but it does look festive.

15 year old Shiina Ringo (椎名林檎), going by her real name Shiina Yumiko (椎名裕美子), appeared in a TV karaoke show. Part of the competition was a dodgeball match, where she had to keep singing, while rivals tried to hit her. The presenter told them to aim for her face (scratchy video clip).

Opening sentence for Sumitada Azumano's wiki entry reads "singer-songwriter, producer, and ramen mail order store owner". ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9D%...

Toto says cumulative sales of the Washlet have surpassed 70 million. Launched in 1980, it took 18 years to sell 10 million Washlets. Overseas sales started kicking in from around 2010, and US demand has driven recent growth. www.yomiuri.co.jp/economy/2025...

Hey, the Okubo-area eikaiwa sensei to Kabukicho yakuza enforcer pipeline was more common than people imagine, back in the day. Anyway having checked the excerpt and been kicked in the head by a horse, I'm going to order what is shaping up to be a classic of the genre.

@mulboyne.bsky.social Not my preferred genre, but I’m kinda tempted anyway after reading the sample…

While I haven't read this book, a main character being "a British yakuza enforcer" is an alarm bell. www.amazon.com/My-Father-Ya...

With litter increasingly a problem, Shibuya will pass an ordinance requiring convenience stores, vending machines, cafes and fast food joints to have bins, with a 50,000 yen fine for violations. Litterering pedestrians face 2000 yen fines. newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/2...

TIL, from a track administration perspective, there is no Yamanote line loop. Only Shinagawa - Tabata is designated as Yamanote line track. Tabata - Tokyo is Tohoku Line track, while the Tokyo - Shinagawa section comes under the Tokaido Line. reskill.nikkei.com/article/DGXM...

We bought some quake preparedness supplies today, so when the tremors started just now, I briefly - only briefly - wanted the outlay to be be immediately vindicated. Then, I appreciated there would also be some downsides to that outcome.

Photographer Martin Parr has passed away. Best-known for his views of British life, he visited Japan on several occasions, and appreciated the local scene. Here's his picture of the artificial beach inside the old Miyazaki Ocean Dome. www.magnumphotos.com/newsroom/mar...

Probably not based on a true story. Regardless of reviews, this will almost certainly be watched at home at some point. www.imdb.com/title/tt3224...

The view from Yanaka Ginza Yūyake Dandan ("sunset starircase") is now largely blocked by apartment blocks under construction. www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/202...

Architect Frank Gehry has passed away. www.bbc.com/news/article...