Aiko, the eldest daughter of the Emperor and Empress, arrived in Laos on her first official trip abroad, completing roughly 11 hours of travel before reaching the capital Vientiane, where she was welcomed with traditional dance at her hotel and greeted those who had gathered by bringing her hands together in a gesture of respect, enjoying the atmosphere without showing signs of fatigue. (News On Japan)

A sports car burst into flames on the Metropolitan Expressway in Yokohama on November 16th, with firefighters extinguishing the blaze about 30 minutes after the initial outbreak. (News On Japan)

A company employee was arrested on November 3rd in Kashiwara City, Osaka Prefecture, after allegedly setting fire to his car on the Nishi-Meihan Expressway, where police later discovered the burned body of a man believed to have been in his 50s or 60s, prompting investigators to consider the possibility of murder in addition to arson. (News On Japan)

A group of eight individuals, including Chinese national and company executive Yang Xiaodong, has been arrested on suspicion of selling gold bars with counterfeit stamps from a major precious metals company and passing them off as genuine, generating what investigators believe was roughly 9.5 billion yen in sales. (News On Japan)

Saitama, which drew attention after placing last in the latest prefectural attractiveness rankings, is in fact home to an unexpectedly large number of people dedicated to promoting the prefecture — so many that residents often joke about it. (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)

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)

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)

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)

Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, paid her respects at the mausoleum of Emperor Showa and other imperial tombs in Hachioji, Tokyo, ahead of her official visit to Laos later this month. (News On Japan)

Welcome to Japan's biggest slum, where survival is the only currency that matters. For the 20,000 people here in Kamagasaki, home is often the street. It's a strangely quiet slum, built on a brutal economic logic: a bowl of ramen might only cost 500 yen, but a tiny 3-tatami-mat room can cost $350 a month. (Andrew Fraser)

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)

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 National Police Agency announced on November 6th that it has revised the National Public Safety Commission regulations to allow police officers to use rifles for bear control. The amendment will take effect on November 13th. (News On Japan)

A 51-year-old man has been arrested for forcing a 12-year-old Thai girl to work illegally at a private massage parlor in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward, in what police believe may be part of a human trafficking operation. (News On Japan)