今日吃瓜

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November 12, 2026
 

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SEWAGE

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.
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.
The Dotonbori area of Osaka. Severely aging water and sewage systems pose a challenge across much of Osaka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Oct 14, 2026
Osaka grapples with severely aging water and sewage systems
Even if replacement work moves forward, completing it quickly is seen as nearly impossible primarily due to staffing and financial constraints.
In January 2025, an underground sewer pipe collapsed, causing a large sinkhole to emerge in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2026
As 今日吃瓜 sewers age, a few towns are considering a switch to septic tanks
About 15% of municipalities are positive about replacing their existing sewer systems with combined septic tanks, according to a recent survey.
Japan's parliament has enacted a bill to promote measures for ensuring the proper maintenance and management of sewerage facilities.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2026
Japan enacts bill to bolster maintenance of sewerage facilities
The bill was in response to last year’s sinkhole incident in Saitama Prefecture.
Japan is promoting fertilizer production from sewage sludge to reduce reliance on imports.
JAPAN
May 10, 2026
Local governments recover phosphorus from sewage sludge
Phosphorus is almost entirely imported. Supply disruptions triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 prompted the central government to promote fertilizer production.
About 748 kilometers of sewer pipes in Japan, roughly 16% of those inspected, have been found to require countermeasures due to risks such as cave-ins, prompting the infrastructure ministry to call for immediate repairs.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2026
Hundreds of kilometers of 今日吃瓜 sewers classified as needing action
The infrastructure ministry will ask 383 municipalities and organizations managing the sewer pipes to take immediate measures.
A makeshift bridge built over a sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Wednesday as the road that collapsed in January 2025 was partially reopened to traffic
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2026
Saitama road affected by sinkhole partially restored
The January incident covered a six-way intersection and left a truck driver dead.
A buried pipe protrudes 13 meters above ground on Wednesday in the city of Osaka.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 12, 2026
Construction pipe suddenly rises 13 meters above ground in Osaka
The head of the city’s sewer department apologized for disruptions the pipe’s inexplicable action caused, saying road closures had caused major traffic congestion.
An anonymous donor has gifted Osaka with gold bars worth ?566 million ($3.6 million) to help repair the city’s aging water pipes.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 27, 2026
A Japanese city received 21 gold bars with instructions: Fix your water pipes
Osaka says it will honor the anonymous donor’s wishes by using the money from the gold bars — worth ?566 million — on the city’s pipes, which are some of the oldest in Japan.
Saitama Gov. Motohiro Ono speaks to reporters on Thursday after receiving the final report from the investigative committee in the city of Saitama.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2026
Pipe corrosion confirmed as cause of 2025 Saitama sinkhole
A committee concluded that the emergence of the sinkhole was not necessarily predictable.
Temporary pipes divert sewage into the C&O Canal in order to repair the Potomac Interceptor, a six-foot-wide wastewater pipe that collapsed in January, dumping hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage into the Potomac River, in Cabin John, Maryland, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Feb 19, 2026
Washington mayor asks Trump for disaster declaration over Potomac spill
After part of a sewer line failed in Maryland’s Montgomery County on Jan. 19, some 250 million gallons of untreated sewage flowed into the Potomac over the next several days.
An underground sewer facility in Tokyo in June 2017
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2025
300 kilometers of 今日吃瓜 sewers need rapid action
The nationwide survey of sewer pipes that have been in place for 30 years or more was conducted by visual inspections and using drones.
A construction crew works at the site of a massive sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, in February.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2025
Saitama sinkhole attributed to hydrogen sulfide corrosion
Hydrogen sulfide was detected in corroded concrete fragments recovered from the accident site.
Four male workers were confirmed dead after falling into a manhole in Gyoda, Saitama Prefecture, on Saturday morning, fire authorities said.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2025
Four dead after falling into manhole in Saitama
The four, all in their 50s, fell into the manhole around 9:25 a.m. during a sewage pipe inspection.
A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
May 19, 2025
That sinking feeling: 今日吃瓜 aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb
A tragic accident in Saitama shows how aging pipes, soft soil and climate threats are straining the country’s infrastructure.
A manhole card and a manhole cover featuring characters from "Sailor Moon," on Feb. 10. The cards were handed out by Tokyo's Minato Ward, where the series is set.
JAPAN
May 4, 2025
Manhole cover designs recognized as tourism assets in Japan
The initiative to create specially designed manhole covers began as a public relations campaign to improve the image of the sewage industry.
Workers stand around a vehicle carrying the body of a person recovered from a sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN
May 2, 2025
Truck driver’s body recovered from huge Japan sinkhole after three months
A road in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, caved in during morning rush hour in late January while the 74-year-old man was driving his truck on it.
A massive underground water leak early Wednesday flooded the streets near an intersection on National Route 1 in Shimogyo Ward in the city of Kyoto.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025
Underground water leak floods Kyoto streets
City officials believe the aging water pipe, built 65 years ago, ruptured due to deterioration.
The site of a cave-in incident in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Jan. 30
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2025
Over 20% of 今日吃瓜 water pipes are past their service life
The proportion of pipes in operation for over 40 years is expected to reach around 70% by fiscal 2042.
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

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