Russia has conducted missile exercises around the Northern Territories, including what appears to have been a launch from one of the disputed islands, prompting Japan's foreign minister to call Russia's growing military presence there unacceptable. (News On Japan)

Mitsubishi Electric said on August 20 that it will acquire U.S.-based PCI Energy Solutions, a developer of software used to manage electricity trading and other energy operations, in a deal worth about 220 billion yen, the largest acquisition in the Japanese company's history. (News On Japan)

A 16-year-old girl who repeatedly insisted she was innocent died months after an 18-day detention and interrogation left her suffering from an eating disorder and severe psychological trauma, while other people have come forward alleging troubling investigative practices by the same police station. (News On Japan)

A Japanese sister school of Britain's prestigious Gordonstoun School, whose alumni include King Charles III and his father Prince Philip, is scheduled to open in Wakayama city in September 2027 as a fully residential international school charging annual tuition of about 8 million to 10 million yen. (News On Japan)

A 32-year-old Japanese man has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to rob a convenience store in Oizumi, Gunma Prefecture, after allegedly posing as a foreigner and demanding money in broken Japanese while threatening the store manager with a knife. (News On Japan)

A pond at Inokashira Park, a popular destination in Tokyo's Kichijoji area, has turned a striking matcha-like green, a phenomenon that has become particularly noticeable in 2026 and is believed to be caused by an accumulation of phytoplankton. (News On Japan)

Japan strongly protested and condemned North Korea after it launched a ballistic missile at around 5:04 p.m. on August 20, with the projectile believed to have fallen outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said. (News On Japan)

As Japan's summer vacation enters its final weeks, concern is growing over an "experience gap" that leaves children from single-parent and financially struggling households with fewer opportunities for travel, leisure and other activities that can shape their development. (News On Japan)

Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, arrived at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka on the afternoon of August 20, where she was scheduled to view Johannes Vermeer's masterpiece Girl With a Pearl Earring during a two-day visit to Osaka and Shiga prefectures. (News On Japan)

Tokyo stocks rebounded on August 20, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 66,216.79, up 890.37 points, or 1.36%, as gains in U.S. equities, a sharp rally in South Korean semiconductor shares and easing global bond-market stress encouraged investors to buy back Japanese shares after two days of heavy selling. (News On Japan)

Four workers were killed after being struck by a limited express train while carrying out vegetation-clearing work on the tracks at Shin-Kanuma Station on the Tobu Nikko Line in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, on August 20. (News On Japan)

Firefighters battling a house fire in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, on August 19 were forced to contend with large numbers of bees swarming around the scene after an attempt to burn a bee nest apparently set the roof ablaze. (News On Japan)

Japan's labor ministry will revise its guidance on overtime from September 1, moving away from a uniform recommendation that workplaces keep overtime within 45 hours a month and placing greater emphasis on whether employers have adequate measures in place to protect workers' health. (News On Japan)

Dangerous heat returned across Japan on August 19, complicating disaster recovery efforts in earthquake-hit Kumamoto and flood-damaged Chiba while unusually low rainfall and limited snowfall pushed reservoirs in several regions toward critical levels. (News On Japan)

Small businesses across Japan—from Tokyo tech startups to traditional long-standing shinise enterprises— are increasingly becoming targets for sophisticated digital scams. (News On Japan)

Japan welcomed a record 3.44 million foreign visitors in July, the highest figure ever recorded for the month, even as the number of travelers from China fell sharply from a year earlier. (News On Japan)

Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito said on August 19 that the prefecture's shift to a status requiring central government permission to issue bonds would not immediately halt public projects, while stressing that years of high public investment, funding shortfalls and what he described as improper land-acquisition bond practices under former Governor Toshizo Ido had contributed to the deterioration of the prefecture's finances. (News On Japan)

A Takenaka Corp. construction manager who oversaw work on the Grand Ring and other facilities at the Osaka-Kansai Expo was arrested on August 19 on suspicion of causing more than 13 million yen in losses to the major contractor through inflated construction bills, with police investigating allegations that money from the scheme was used for renovations to his home and a cafe operated by relatives. (News On Japan)

Handheld fans have become a summer essential in Japan, but a rise in accidents involving hair becoming caught in the devices is prompting warnings over injuries, potential legal liability and fires caused by lithium-ion batteries. (News On Japan)

Catalog House, the operator of shopping catalog magazine Tsuhan Seikatsu, has announced it will stop selling through Rakuten Market in protest over Rakuten Group's partnership with a German military drone company and its plans to support the introduction of the drones to Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force. (News On Japan)