An aurora colored the night sky red over Hokkaido on November 12th, offering a rare sight for residents and visitors. Footage from Kushiro Town captured the sky gradually glowing red as waves of light curved and streamed across the horizon, painting a vivid display. (News On Japan)

A senior Tokyo Metropolitan Police officer has been arrested on suspicion of leaking confidential investigation data to members of a decentralized criminal network known as “Tokuryu.” (News On Japan)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested four men, including 41-year-old Daisuke Takehara, on suspicion of confining a man they did not know inside a car in Shibuya Ward. The suspects, including three Uzbek nationals, allegedly deceived the victim and then threatened him for money. (News On Japan)

Police bear control units were formally deployed on November 13th in Iwate and Akita prefectures, where the number of bear attacks has become increasingly severe, following the recent authorization for officers to use rifles in bear extermination. (News On Japan)

A 54-year-old man has been arrested after throwing a traffic cone and a metal sign onto railway tracks near JR Oimachi Station in Tokyo, disrupting train services twice during the morning commute in September 2025. (News On Japan)

Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced on November 11th that it has decided to impose an indefinite entry ban on 30 Japanese nationals as a countermeasure against what it called Japan’s “hostile policies” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (News On Japan)

Japanese automakers are under increasing pressure as China’s aggressive push in electric vehicles continues and the impact of U.S. tariffs under former President Donald Trump looms large. With total tariff-related losses for seven major manufacturers projected to reach 1.5 trillion yen, analysts are examining how Japanese companies plan to stay competitive. (News On Japan)

Actress Ryoko Hirosue is expected to be referred to prosecutors on November 13th on suspicion of negligent driving resulting in injury, after her car collided with a trailer on the Shin-Tomei Expressway in Shizuoka Prefecture in April. (News On Japan)

A recent survey has revealed that many students who do not attend school and their parents are unaware of Japan’s "online attendance" system, which allows remote learning to count as official attendance. (News On Japan)

About one month after the Expo’s closing, a guerrilla live broadcast showed the site as seen from a helicopter. This footage has now been released as an archived video, offering a rare aerial look at the grounds one month after the event’s conclusion. (News On Japan)

A sightseeing hot air balloon offering aerial views of the World Heritage-listed Daisen Kofun in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, has drawn more than 7,000 visitors within its first month of operation. (News On Japan)

SoftBank Group has reported a record-breaking net profit for the April–September period, marking the highest half-year earnings ever achieved by a Japanese company. (News On Japan)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has obtained an arrest warrant for the mother of a 12-year-old Thai girl who was illegally employed at a massage parlor in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, on suspicion of violating the Child Welfare Act. (News On Japan)

Osaka Metro announced that its interim financial results reached a record high, driven by an increase in ridership linked to the Osaka-Kansai Expo. (News On Japan)

JR East announced on November 11th that it will retire the beloved Suica penguin mascot at the end of fiscal 2026, marking the 25th anniversary of the Suica transportation IC card service, and will introduce a new character from fiscal 2027. (News On Japan)

The government is moving to include the use of “okome-ken,” or rice vouchers, in its upcoming package of economic measures. The vouchers can be used to purchase rice and other food items and have already been distributed by several municipalities as part of local initiatives to offset rising living costs. (News On Japan)

NHK Party leader Takashi Tachibana was arrested in the early hours of November 9th on suspicion of defamation in connection with false statements he spread on social media regarding a former Hyogo prefectural assembly member. (News On Japan)

After a painful divorce that nearly tore his family apart, Kenji Kataoka quit his stable job and began a new life as a sweet potato farmer in Kōka, Shiga Prefecture. The single father has spent the past two years working the fields while caring for his teenage son, Sōshi, who stopped attending school in elementary years. As the family faces its second harvest season, small changes begin to appear in their lives. (News On Japan)

A boy believed to be an elementary school student died after falling from a high-rise apartment in Sendai City on November 11th. Police said that around 3:20 p.m., the boy, estimated to be in his early teens and living in the same building, was found unconscious in the courtyard of a 15-story apartment complex and later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. (News On Japan)

Thai police have dispatched senior officers to Japan to coordinate with local authorities over the case of a 12-year-old Thai girl who was illegally employed at a massage parlor in Tokyo. (News On Japan)