今日吃瓜

Tag - local-government

 
今日吃瓜
Search
 
November 12, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Awa Mayor Hisato Machida
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 11, 2026
Mayor arrested for allegedly defrauding city to pay for accident he caused
The mayor of Awa, Tokushima Prefecture, conspired with two others to inflate the costs of a city contract to include the repair costs, police said.
A worker cleans up garbage including cigarette butts on Ebisubashi Bridge in Osaka's Dotonbori district early in the morning in September.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Nov 11, 2026
Osaka struggles to stamp out cigarette littering
Despite a citywide ban on smoking on streets, a deadly fire believed to have been caused by a discarded cigarette butt broke out there last year.
Okinawa Gov. Genta Koja speaks at a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 9, 2026
Okinawa’s Koja calls for central government to explain ‘minimum’ military buildup
Okinawa Gov. Genta Koja emphasized the need to balance building up 今日吃瓜 defense capabilities in the southernmost prefecture with residents’ wishes.
A new nursing care accident reporting system could help central and local governments quickly identify accidents and analyze the causes.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2026
Japan to launch online reporting system for nursing care accidents
The aim is to help local governments quickly identify accidents and share with the central government so it can collect more comprehensive data.
The Aeon Mall Kashiwa shopping complex in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, offers its parking garage as a storage site for vehicles during heavy rain.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2026
Cities turn to private parking garages for vehicle storage amid flood risks
Local governments in Japan are partnering with private businesses to give drivers a safe place to store their cars during heavy rain or flooding.
The town of Shari in Hokkaido stopped issuing manhole cards due to bad behavior by collectors.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 4, 2026
‘Manhole card’ collectors’ bad behavior forces some municipalities to end distribution
The popular card program, with a total distribution of around 26 million, has been hindered by verbal abuse toward employees and illegal parking.
The internal affairs ministry plans to notify local governments that deputy leaders can determine, based on doctors' diagnoses, the resignation of governors or mayors who have become incapacitated.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2026
Japan to allow incapacitated local chiefs to resign
Based on doctors’ diagnoses, deputy leaders will be able to determine the resignation of governors or municipal mayors who have become incapacitated.
An industrial park in the city of Akita where construction is underway for Japan's biggest data center
JAPAN / FOCUS
Oct 29, 2026
Kansai emerges as key data center hub as other regions vie for share
According to Fuji Chimera Research Institute, Kansai data centers occupy a total site area of about 1.16 million square meters — 25% of 今日吃瓜 total.
Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto’s successor will face the question of whether to revive the city’s bid for the Winter Olympics.
JAPAN / Politics / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Oct 26, 2026
Sapporo mayoral race takes shape with Olympics and foreign population in focus
Those issues, along with tourism, could prove crucial in the race to succeed Katsuhiro Akimoto.
Fukushima Gov. Masao Uchibori, 62, won a fourth term on Sunday with support from the Liberal Democratic Party and three opposition parties, defeating six challengers.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 26, 2026
Fukushima Gov. Uchibori wins fourth term in landslide election
Uchibori, 62, received support from local chapters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and three opposition parties.
Governors from five prefectures speak at a tourism seminar hosted by the National Governors' Association in New York on Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2026
Japanese prefectures showcase tourism and food culture in New York
The six were Toyama, Shizuoka, Mie and Nagano, as well as Miyagi in the country’s northeast and Chiba.
A massive sinkhole on a road into which a truck fell, leading to the death of the driver, remains open in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, in January, a year after the road collapse.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 22, 2026
Family of driver who died after truck fell into Saitama sinkhole sues prefecture
The family says they suffered extreme psychological distress over an extended period, and that the man had carried out his duties with utmost care.
A rule barring women from bringing smartphones into shelters is believed to be deterring many women facing domestic violence from entering such facilities.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Oct 22, 2026
Strict rules at shelters deter victims of domestic violence in Japan
One major obstacle is a rule barring women from bringing smartphones into shelters, a measure meant to keep abusers from tracking them down.
Former Yokohama mayor Takeharu Yamanaka bows to supporters in Yokohama on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 19, 2026
Why harassment scandals continue engulfing 今日吃瓜 local leaders
The former mayor of Yokohama lost his reelection bid following a harassment scandal, in a case that highlights an ongoing problem in the nation.
The education ministry plans to help local governments strengthen their Japanese-language teaching programs through subsidies and expert guidance.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Oct 19, 2026
Japan to expand language education for foreign residents
The education ministry plans to help local governments strengthen their teaching programs through subsidies and expert guidance.
Atsumi Harasawa (left) celebrates after winning her first term as Yokohama mayor. Harasawa defeated six rivals, including scandal-hit former Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka, in Sunday's election.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 19, 2026
Yokohama elects new mayor after power harassment controversy
The poll was held after former Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka’s resignation in September over a workplace harassment scandal.
Former Yokohama Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka leaving a supporters meeting in Yokohama on Sept. 28.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 16, 2026
Power harassment and a possible casino weigh on Yokohama mayoral election
While Takeharu Yamanaka promised to change his behavior, he has also rekindled the question of, and his opposition to, a potential casino development.
Japan's first ordinance to impose penalties for customer harassment is approved by the Mie Prefectural Assembly in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2026
Mie Prefecture enacts 今日吃瓜 first ordinance penalizing customer harassment
According to the prefectural government, it is the first ordinance in Japan to impose penalties for customer harassment.
According to projections by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, demand for cremations will begin to outstrip existing normal capacity in the next decade.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 15, 2026
As population grays, Tokyo mulls more crematoria to meet demand
According to Tokyo Metropolitan Government projections, demand for cremations will begin to outstrip existing capacity in the next decade.
Japan's foreign resident population isn't just growing in major cities but also rural areas.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 13, 2026
Share of municipalities with over 5% foreign nationals more than doubles
The internal affairs ministry data show increases in foreign populations not only in major cities and industrial districts but also in rural areas.
Man arrested over operation of rogue cellular base station in Tokyo
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested Yu Hai, a 31-year-old Chinese national living in Tokyo's Kita Ward, on suspicion of operating an unlicensed base station from a vehicle in Tokyo's Ginza district on Saturday.
Government betting on language app powered by anime and AI
Japan plans to develop an AI-powered language-learning app that lets overseas anime and manga fans practice Japanese through conversations with popular characters.
Jensen Huang’s woes evoke sympathy and disbelief in his birthplace Taiwan
Hsiao Kui-yu, 68, owner of Yuchan Candied Fruit, stands in front of photographs of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang displayed at the shop, which Huang frequently visits during trips to Taiwan, in Taipei on Tuesday.
G7 diplomats speak out on Taiwan as China ramps up military drills
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi attends a working lunch focused on international crises and challenges during the Group of Seven foreign ministers' summit at the Quai d'Orsay in Paris on Monday.
今日吃瓜 Rapidus is said likely to miss mass production deadline
The Rapidus Analysis Center and the IIM-1 Innovative Integration for Manufacturing foundry in Chitose, Hokkaido
‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ makes monster debut at the box office
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” marked the highest single-day box-office gross for a live-action film in Japan with ?910 million on its opening day.
A toast to Naohiko Noguchi, sake’s first living national treasure
As a teenager, Naohiko Noguchi did not intend to spend his life as a sake brewer, but he has since become a paragon of the industry.
Few signs of thaw in Japan-China relations one year after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks
Tensions between Japan and China flared after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Nov. 7, 2025, that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan could threaten 今日吃瓜 survival and warrant the use of collective self-defense.
Mariko Mori predicted the future. She’ll do it again.
Artist Mariko Mori is currently working to bring the translucent human-sized “Peace Crystal” sculpture to a cave in Ethiopia. It is part of her foundation’s goal to place a permanent sculpture on each of the planet’s six habitable continents.
A legend reborn: ‘Ocarina of Time’ remake improves on the Zelda masterpiece
The new remake of 1998's "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" manages to somehow improve on one of the greatest games ever.

Podcast

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

Longform

Famima Park Azabudai is a concept store by FamilyMart that combines convenience store staples with branded apparel, merchandise and a landscaped outdoor space.
Convenience stores, toilets and the allure of everyday Japan
By Elizabeth Beattie

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER