A Kyoto school has apologized after confirming that a group of its students appeared in a widely circulated social media video showing boys speaking Japanese and placing clothing items into their bags at what is believed to be a shop in Bali, Indonesia, during a study trip on December 4th. (News On Japan)

A civic group in Usa City, Oita Prefecture that collects and analyzes wartime film archives released 18 pieces of footage to the media on December 7th, with the materials depicting kamikaze aircraft engaging U.S. forces and the devastation from air raids across Japan, much of it being shown publicly for the first time after the group obtained and examined the reels from the U.S. National Archives. (News On Japan)

A volcano education center at the base of Showa-Shinzan is facing an existential threat as aging facilities and deteriorating materials put decades of invaluable records at risk. (News On Japan)

A former teacher accused of secretly filming women by placing miniature cameras in a high school changing room and restroom faced sentencing at the Utsunomiya District Court on July 12th, with prosecutors demanding 1 year and 6 months of imprisonment. (News On Japan)

Izumisano City in Osaka has taken a concrete step toward establishing a “baby hatch,” sending municipal officials to observe operations at Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto, the first institution in Japan to introduce the service 18 years ago. (News On Japan)

As December approaches and people prepare for handwritten New Year’s cards, opportunities to pick up a pen naturally increase at this time of year, yet the nation’s enthusiasm for beautiful handwriting shows no sign of fading as calligraphy schools continue to evolve in step with the boom. (News On Japan)

Jomon pottery estimated to be more than 10,000 years old has been found almost perfectly preserved at the bottom of Lake Biwa, with researchers calling the discovery exceptionally rare. (News On Japan)

Okinawa’s Board of Education has cancelled this year’s program to send high school students to China after officials received notice from the host institution that it could no longer accept the group. (News On Japan)