A fire broke out at a shopping arcade near Ise Jingu in Ise, Mie Prefecture, on the afternoon of August 31, sending red flames and thick black smoke into the air as firefighters continued battling the blaze with no immediate prospect of bringing it under control. (News On Japan)

About one in three unmarried young people in Japan say they have no intention of marrying, according to the first large-scale survey of young people conducted by the Children and Families Agency, with financial insecurity emerging as the biggest perceived obstacle to marriage. (News On Japan)

Eleven passengers were rescued from an attraction at Legoland Japan in Nagoya on August 30 after a door failed to open, leaving them trapped for about 30 minutes, with no injuries or reports of illness. (News On Japan)

Guests were evacuated from a restaurant at Tokyo Disneyland on August 30 after smoke emerged from a customer's bag, with police investigating a mobile battery inside the bag as the suspected source. (News On Japan)

Three teenage boys who went missing after being swept offshore from the coast of Ichikikushikino, Kagoshima Prefecture, on August 28 were found in the sea near the scene on August 29 and confirmed dead. (News On Japan)

A foreign man in his 30s suffered serious injuries after being struck by a car while riding a bicycle in Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture, early on August 29, with police investigating the incident as a hit-and-run. (News On Japan)

A fake video apparently created with generative AI showing a large bear eating piles of sliced bread has spread on social media following a series of illegal bread dumping incidents in Tottori Prefecture, prompting the prefectural government to warn that misinformation could cause economic harm. (News On Japan)

Three youths, including a high school student and a junior high school student, have been arrested on suspicion of obstructing police duties after allegedly stealing fire extinguishers and spraying them toward a police station in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture. (News On Japan)

Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese avant-garde artist whose obsessive dots, nets, pumpkins and mirrored rooms grew from intensely personal visions into some of the most recognizable images in contemporary art, died at a hospital in Tokyo on August 14, 2026, at the age of 97. Her death was announced on August 27 by companies representing the artist, which said she continued painting until her final days. (News On Japan)

A Toei bus crashed into a traffic signal in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on the morning of August 26 after the driver lost control of the steering wheel while trying to shoo away a mosquito, leaving two male passengers injured. (News On Japan)

Kanazawa's fire department is asking residents not to straighten or rearrange shoes removed by paramedics during emergency calls, warning that the well-intentioned gesture can delay the transport of patients by around 30 seconds and potentially interfere with medical care. (News On Japan)

Two men who stole four luxury watches worth a combined 200 million yen from a store at Tokyo's Nakano Broadway may have carefully planned the 10-second theft, with one suspect renting an electric kick scooter shortly before the crime and investigators examining whether the other man's escape on foot was intended as a decoy. (News On Japan)

A 9-minute, 13-second drone video filmed inside Aeon Mall Kumamoto two days after the deadly explosion has provided a detailed view of the destruction, showing collapsed ceilings, heavy dust and widespread damage that may have affected between one-third and nearly half of the shopping center. (News On Japan)

A series of mysterious illegal dumping incidents involving about 39 kilograms of sliced bread has been reported around Mount Daisen and other parts of Tottori Prefecture in August, with officials investigating whether the food may have been deliberately placed to attract wild animals. (News On Japan)

A 23-year-old man died after his car overturned and was badly damaged in Nemuro, Hokkaido, early on August 24, with police investigating whether the vehicle may have collided with a brown bear or another wild animal after black fur was found attached to the wreckage. (News On Japan)

An 18-year-old male high school student died after being trapped between a festival lantern and a pillar during a traditional event in Agano, Niigata Prefecture, on the evening of August 24. (News On Japan)

Nine people were injured, including two seriously, after a pleasure boat carrying 10 people ran aground near the mouth of the Tama River close to Haneda Airport on the evening of August 24. (News On Japan)

An 85-year-old couple have donated a combined 400 million yen to Osaka City with a request that the money be used to create a giant Myaku-Myaku statue about 20 meters tall at the former site of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, envisioning a landmark that could become a lasting symbol of the event and of renewed prosperity for Kansai and Japan. (News On Japan)

Authorities in Tottori Prefecture are stepping up patrols after large quantities of bread were repeatedly dumped near Daisen National Park and more loaves were found on a beach about an hour's drive away, raising concerns that discarded food could attract wild animals. (News On Japan)

Four teenage boys have been arrested in Tokyo on suspicion of stealing ketchup and other goods from a supermarket before splashing the ketchup on the face and body of a woman in her 70s, with one suspect telling police he had targeted around 10 people in similar attacks. (News On Japan)