Medical consultation fees at healthcare institutions in Japan are set to rise starting in June as authorities move to address soaring costs and wage increases, with around 70 percent of hospitals nationwide currently operating at a loss. (News On Japan)

Long lines have been forming daily outside the Japanese Embassy in Russia as people seek tourist visas to visit Japan, with an unprecedented boom in travel interest despite Moscow designating Japan an “unfriendly nation” over sanctions related to the Ukraine invasion. (News On Japan)

The global matcha boom is driving up costs in Japan’s historic tea capital, with Uji City in Kyoto Prefecture set to raise usage fees at its municipal tea rooms by roughly 50% as soaring demand pushes up the price of tencha, the raw material used to produce matcha. (News On Japan)

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson urged crew members to abide by laws and regulations while calling on Japan to ensure fair law enforcement after a Chinese fishing vessel was seized in Japan’s exclusive economic zone off Goto, Nagasaki Prefecture, on February 13th. (News On Japan)

Roki Sasaki’s decision to join Major League Baseball has evolved from international speculation into an on-field reality that is already influencing both MLB outcomes and fantasy baseball strategy. (News On Japan)

A man has been arrested on suspicion of posing as a model audition for an underwear brand and photographing women in their underwear. (News On Japan)

A unique certificate is being issued to visitors to Fuji City in Shizuoka Prefecture who arrive hoping to see Mount Fuji but find the famous peak hidden from view, part of a local effort to share the mountain’s ever-changing charm even on cloudy days. (News On Japan)

Hibakusha (被爆者) is the Japanese word for the survivors of the American bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This powerfull documentary shows how the survivors of the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki travel to New York for a UN conference on disarming nuclear weapons. (TRNGL)

Losses from special fraud and SNS-based investment and romance scams in Osaka Prefecture over the past year exceeded 33.9 billion yen, marking a record high. (News On Japan)