A total of 348 recruits who joined the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in April completed about five months of basic training in Maizuru and departed for units across Japan after a graduation ceremony. (News On Japan)

Bear sightings are increasing across Japan this summer as a shortage of food in the mountains drives the animals closer to areas where people live and visit, with authorities in Aomori Prefecture closing a lookout near Lake Towada after a foreign tourist was attacked. (News On Japan)

Tokyo stocks slipped on August 27, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 66,131.98, down 130.18 points, as early buying in artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related shares following Nvidia’s strong earnings forecast faded into profit-taking, while the broader TOPIX edged higher for a sixth straight session. (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)

United Airlines announced on August 25 that it will launch direct flights between San Francisco and Okinawa from March 27, 2027, as the U.S. carrier seeks to capture growing demand for travel to Japan. (News On Japan)

Seven-Eleven Japan and Yamato Transport announced on August 26 that they will introduce self-service shipping machines allowing customers to send parcels without lining up at a staffed checkout counter. (News On Japan)

Japan has drawn up a new policy package aimed at strengthening energy security in response to developments in the Middle East, including support for alternative oil pipelines that would bypass the Strait of Hormuz and greater use of nuclear power to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. (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)

Former Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly speaker Isao Kuranouchi, long regarded as the dominant power in the chamber, resigned as an assembly member on August 25, intensifying scrutiny of allegations involving financial transactions, costly overseas inspection trips and policies backed by public funds while raising broader questions about how he accumulated such influence. (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)

Tokyo stocks rose on August 26, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 66,262.16, up 405.73 points, or 0.62%, as investors bought back selected semiconductor and financial shares, although trading was thin ahead of Nvidia’s earnings and uncertainty remained over artificial intelligence valuations, the yen and Bank of Japan policy. (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 series of cases involving foreign substances being placed in personal water bottles at workplaces and schools has raised concerns over drink safety in Japan, driving demand for bottles that can only be opened using a registered fingerprint and prompting schools to strengthen measures against tampering. (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)

Japan's Digital Agency launched a new smartphone app on August 25 that combines identity verification and administrative procedures, allowing users to access both government and participating private-sector services through a single application. (News On Japan)

Prime Minister Takaichi said the government will continue using subsidies to keep the nationwide average gasoline price at around 170 yen per liter, drawing on reserve funds set aside to respond to developments in the Middle East. (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)

ANA Holdings' All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines will begin coordinating departure times on the Haneda-Okayama route from October 25, an unusual move by Japan's two largest airline groups as weak business travel, a weaker yen and rising fuel and labor costs put increasing pressure on domestic operations. (News On Japan)

Tokyo stocks fell on August 25, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 64,980.53, down 0.8%, as investors sold semiconductor and electronics shares ahead of Nvidia’s earnings while a weak yen, elevated bond yields and renewed U.S. pressure on Iran kept risk appetite subdued. (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)