Osaka's Nishinari Ward, long known as a working-class neighborhood that accepted people from diverse backgrounds, is being rapidly reshaped by Chinese-led property development and a surge in special-zone private lodgings, bringing new business and tourism while displacing some longtime elderly residents. (News On Japan)

A fire that broke out in grassland at a fishing port in Tomamae, northern Hokkaido, spread to an adjacent warehouse and workshop on August 15, burning for about six hours before being brought under control. (News On Japan)

Young people continue to gather at "Gurishita" in Osaka's Minami entertainment district despite persistent risks of drug abuse, prostitution and violent crime, while a nearby support center is operating around the clock during the summer vacation period to help those with nowhere else to turn. (News On Japan)

A 39-year-old father was taken to a hospital in cardiac arrest on August 15 after entering the sea to rescue his two young sons who appeared to be in difficulty off the coast of Toyoura, Hokkaido. (News On Japan)

An Akita prefectural official has been suspended for six months and demoted two ranks after an investigation found he had joined an online media interview from a love hotel while with a woman who was not his wife, despite initially claiming he was at home because he was unwell. (News On Japan)

A 12-year-old British girl visiting Japan on a family trip has been reported missing after surveillance footage showed her leaving a private lodging facility alone in Tokyo's Ota Ward on the morning of August 13. (News On Japan)

Two pet pythons measuring about 2 meters in length escaped from an apartment in Kawasaki's Tama Ward early on August 13, prompting police and firefighters to search the surrounding residential area and warn local residents. (News On Japan)

Fifteen days after the Kumamoto earthquake, restoration of electricity and transport infrastructure is progressing, but thousands of people are believed to remain outside official shelters, while rising construction costs and interest rates are creating new challenges for rebuilding homes and restoring livelihoods. (News On Japan)

Two teenage boys from Tokyo's Adachi Ward have been arrested on suspicion of stealing a motorcycle and firing aerial fireworks toward police officers at two police boxes, telling investigators they were annoyed that a new police box had opened in the area. (News On Japan)

A fire broke out late on August 11 at Daido Steel's Chita Plant in Tokai, Aichi Prefecture, burning through an outdoor area containing scrap metal and other materials, with no injuries reported and no flames spreading to nearby buildings. (News On Japan)

Two weeks after the Kumamoto earthquake, the spread of malicious fake images has emerged as a problem in disaster-hit communities, with one resident saying the manipulation feels like an insult to everyone in his area. (News On Japan)

Hiroko Saito was 19 years old when she left Japan for North Korea in June 1961 with her Korean husband and their one-year-old daughter, persuaded by assurances that they were heading to a "paradise on earth" and that she could return to Japan after three years. Instead, she would spend four decades in North Korea, enduring chronic hunger, the deaths of her husband and children and a desperate struggle to survive before finally escaping and returning home in 2001. (News On Japan)

Osaka Prefectural Police searched an office linked to the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, on July 29 as part of an investigation into suspected receipt of money obtained through special fraud. (News On Japan)

Authorities in Kyoto and Osaka have arrested three men in separate drug cases involving so-called zombie cigarettes containing the designated drug etomidate, as investigators step up efforts against the illegal trade in the Kansai region. (News On Japan)

Raccoons are increasingly invading homes across Japan, damaging roofs and wiring, contaminating buildings with large amounts of urine and feces, and raising concerns over agriculture, native wildlife and the spread of disease as their population continues to expand. (News On Japan)

Japan marked August 8, 2026, with a wave of weddings, special discounts and commemorative events as the date produced a rare alignment of three eights - the eighth day of the eighth month in Reiwa 8 - a combination regarded as especially auspicious because the character for eight is traditionally associated with expanding prosperity. (News On Japan)

A 41-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of fatally assaulting her brother-in-law at her home in Shibukawa, Gunma Prefecture, after allegedly telling emergency services that he had fallen from a roof. (News On Japan)

The Emperor and his family are spending time at the Nasu Imperial Villa in Tochigi Prefecture as the retreat marks 100 years since its establishment, with the visit coming as debate in the Diet over revisions related to the Imperial House Law enters a critical stage. (News On Japan)

Two kappa statues that served as symbols of a bridge in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, have been stolen after being cherished by local residents for 34 years, with police investigating whether the thieves targeted the sculptures for their copper. (News On Japan)

A 63-year-old man from Shizuoka Prefecture has been arrested on suspicion of selling 10 stolen metal plaques, including nameplates bearing the names of bridges, to a scrap metal dealer in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture. (News On Japan)