A series of bear attacks were reported across Japan on November 9th, injuring five people in total, including a man in his 50s who was attacked at around 4 a.m. while preparing for his restaurant’s opening in Sannohe, Aomori Prefecture. (News On Japan)

The world tournament for competitive karuta is under way at Omi Jingu in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, a site widely known as the spiritual home of the game. (News On Japan)

Hyogo Prefectural Police arrested NHK Party leader Tachibana Takashi on November 9th on suspicion of defamation, alleging that he repeatedly made false statements about a former Hyogo prefectural assembly member who has since passed away. (News On Japan)

Japan’s largest shogi tournament for children in elementary school and younger was held in Osaka on November 9th. (News On Japan)

A special train designed to resemble a park filled with greenery ran on Tokyu lines in Tokyo, transforming the interior of an ordinary carriage into a lush, nature-themed space. (News On Japan)

A shortage of domestically produced lacquer, essential for restoring Japan’s cultural properties, has reached a critical point. For centuries, lacquer—or urushi—has been integral to traditional crafts and national treasures, but production has fallen sharply. (News On Japan)

Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and other researchers have discovered that female saw-toothed grain beetles cultivate fungi in a special organ on their hind legs, using it to coat their eggs with protective fungal filaments that block parasitic wasps from laying their own eggs inside. (News On Japan)

The Budget Committee of the House of Representatives opened on November 7th, with Prime Minister Takaichi facing her first full-scale debate since taking office. (News On Japan)

A special nighttime viewing has begun at Eikando, one of Kyoto’s most famous spots for autumn foliage, where visitors can now enjoy a breathtaking illumination of maple trees. (News On Japan)

A 1.2-meter bear was shot and killed just before noon on November 8th at a hot spring inn in Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture, after entering the building overnight and causing extensive damage. (News On Japan)

A 27-year-old elementary school teacher in Bizen, Okayama Prefecture, who became the seventh suspect arrested in a voyeurism scandal involving a group of educators, has retracted his earlier confession and now denies filming any illicit footage. (News On Japan)

The Niseko area at the foot of Mount Yotei, about a two-hour drive from Sapporo, is now in the spotlight once again as one of Japan’s top resort destinations prepares for the peak ski season. Fueled by surging inbound demand, construction of hotels and leisure facilities is rapidly expanding across the region—but local residents are increasingly alarmed by the rise in illegal land development and unauthorized building extensions. (News On Japan)