With November 22nd recognized as Good Couple Day, Meiji Yasuda Life released the results of its annual survey highlighting Japan’s perceptions of married life, including the ranking of the country’s most admired celebrity couples. (News On Japan)

Condominium prices continue to surge across Japan, prompting renewed debate over whether the market will cool and how households should navigate the choice between buying and renting. A detailed analysis from housing loan comparison service MogeCheck highlights the factors driving prices upward, the limits of proposed regulations, and the shifting landscape of mortgage options. (News On Japan)

Sapporo’s winter sports season officially arrived as Sapporo Kokusai Ski Resort in Minami Ward opened on November 21st, welcoming skiers to a handful of summit-area courses that were cleared for the first runs of the season. With fresh snowfall earlier this week, the resort opened 10 days earlier than in 2024, drawing visitors who had been waiting since morning for the first lift to start. (News On Japan)

A coordinated police crackdown on pedal-equipped electric bikes known as mopeds was carried out in Osaka’s Minami district, where traffic violations involving the increasingly popular vehicles have been spreading. (News On Japan)

Tensions between Japan and China have escalated rapidly following remarks by Prime Minister Takaichi in the Diet regarding a potential contingency involving Taiwan, prompting Beijing to introduce a series of countermeasures including a call for citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan, with the impact already spreading across the Kansai region’s economy. (News On Japan)

A woman in her 40s who was scheduled to perform at a live house in Akasaka was stabbed in the abdomen and other areas on November 16th, leaving her seriously injured, and new information indicates that the man who attacked her had changed his shoes near the scene roughly two hours before the assault. (News On Japan)

A man who hid his face from cameras as he was escorted by police at the Tokorozawa Police Station in Saitama was among the suspects arrested on suspicion of theft. Police say he and three others allegedly broke a window and entered a vacant home in Hitachi City in August 2025, where they stole wristwatches and other items valued at about 15,000 yen. (News On Japan)

Japan’s nationwide consumer price index excluding fresh food rose 3.0 percent in October compared with the same month a year earlier, according to data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, extending the streak of price increases to 50 consecutive months since September 2021 as the pace of inflation quickened from September’s 2.9 percent gain on the back of continued food price hikes. (News On Japan)

Aiko, the eldest daughter of the Emperor and Empress, attended a luncheon in the ancient Laotian capital of Luang Prabang on November 20th during the imperial couple’s official visit to Laos, where she delivered her second set of remarks since arriving in the country. (News On Japan)

China’s backlash to Prime Minister Takaichi’s comments on a Taiwan contingency has intensified day by day, with the Chinese military now uploading a series of satirical illustrations to social media depicting a figure believed to be Takaichi. (News On Japan)

A series of arrests involving Japanese nationals overseas is drawing renewed attention to the expansion of special fraud rings, with on-the-ground reporting in Cambodia revealing the presence of hidden power brokers whose influence is believed to extend into the country’s political establishment. As scam groups establish bases across Southeast Asia, new details are emerging about how these networks operate and why Japanese citizens have become prime targets. (News On Japan)