Japan's younger generation is increasingly turning away from driving and car ownership, with the number of driver's license holders aged 24 and under falling by approximately 590,000 over the past decade to around 5.15 million in 2025, reflecting changing attitudes toward transportation, spending and the traditional appeal of owning a car. (News On Japan)

Japan's younger generation is increasingly turning away from driving and car ownership, with the number of driver's license holders aged 24 and under falling by approximately 590,000 over the past decade to around 5.15 million in 2025, reflecting changing attitudes toward transportation, spending and the traditional appeal of owning a car. (News On Japan)

The Japan Mint conducted its annual coin inspection at its headquarters in Osaka's Kita Ward on November 9, confirming that all 19,300 coins examined met the required weight standards. (News On Japan)

A male bear weighing approximately 270 kilograms was killed by hunters in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, on November 8th after being caught in a box trap, with local hunters suspecting it was responsible for a series of attacks on a nearby poultry farm that left more than 100 chickens and ducks dead since August. (News On Japan)

A field of approximately 20,000 cosmos flowers has reached peak bloom at Nagai Botanical Garden in Osaka's Higashisumiyoshi Ward, where a limited-time installation by art collective teamLab is transforming the autumn landscape into a glowing display of light and sound after dark. (News On Japan)

Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, attended an event in Tokyo aimed at raising awareness and encouraging support for crime victims and their families, becoming the first member of the Imperial Family to participate in the gathering. (News On Japan)

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party reprimanded former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and three other lawmakers on November 9th for leaving the House of Representatives before a vote on legislation to reduce the consumption tax on food, as party leaders sought to prevent further defections that could jeopardize the bill's passage through the upper house. (News On Japan)

A 31-year-old Chinese national has been arrested in Tokyo on suspicion of operating an illegal mobile phone base station that forced more than 10,000 smartphones onto a 2G network in less than two hours, allowing phishing messages to be sent to unsuspecting users in busy shopping districts including Ginza, Shinjuku and Shibuya. (News On Japan)

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed at 58,775.50 on Monday, November 9, 2026, at 3:30 p.m. Tokyo time, rising 1,340.73 points, or 2.33%, from Friday's close, as investors returned to equities following last week's sharp selloff, with widespread gains across banking, automotive, retail and semiconductor-related shares helping the benchmark record its first advance in six trading sessions. (News On Japan)

Police across Japan are struggling to contain a rapidly spreading social media trend known as "Shorinji Racing," in which children and teenagers shout "Shorinji" outside police stations and police boxes before running away, with Osaka police recording approximately 280 related incidents and taking around 50 minors aged between 7 and 16 into protective custody or questioning them. (News On Japan)

Japan's stock market is expected to open higher on Monday, November 9, after the Nikkei 225 plunged 9.25% last week to close at 57,434.77 on Friday, November 6, with a rebound in US technology shares and stronger overnight futures pointing to an initial recovery, although investors face another potentially volatile week dominated by inflation data, corporate earnings and uncertainty over the outlook for artificial intelligence investment. (News On Japan)

A traditional deer antler-cutting ceremony dating back some 350 years was held at Nara Park, where handlers chased and captured male deer before carefully removing their antlers to prevent injuries to visitors during the autumn mating season. (News On Japan)

Osaka's iconic Midosuji boulevard hosted its first-ever bread-eating race on November 6 as part of a three-day event exploring new ways to use public space, with 1,200 servings of sweet bean buns and dorayaki pancakes prepared for participants over two days as the city moves ahead with plans to transform the major thoroughfare into a more pedestrian-friendly destination by 2037. (News On Japan)

As of 3 a.m. on Wednesday, November 11, Typhoon No. 32 was moving east-northeast over waters east of Chichijima in the Ogasawara Islands, gradually heading away from the Japanese archipelago after passing near the island between late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. (News On Japan)

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck central Japan early on November 8th, registering an upper 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale in Aichi Prefecture and injuring at least 21 people, while damaging buildings and disrupting Shinkansen and conventional railway services across the region. (News On Japan)

Sapporo deployed its distinctive Sasara snow-clearing tram for the first time this season early on November 7th, the second-earliest deployment in 10 years, after snowfall reached 8 centimeters at 4 a.m., prompting a vehicle to leave its depot to clear snow from the city's streetcar tracks. (News On Japan)

Central Tokyo recorded its first November summer day in three years on November 6, with temperatures climbing to 25.3 degrees Celsius, while northern Japan faced the threat of violent winds and severe snowstorms from the evening and a tropical depression far south of the country threatened to develop into Typhoon No. 32, potentially the first such storm in 32 years. (News On Japan)

A 35-year-old unemployed man has been indicted in Toyama Prefecture on November 6 for allegedly breaking into a junior high school and stealing insoles from students' indoor shoes, with police seizing 451 insoles from his home and investigating suspected thefts at more than 30 schools across the prefecture. (News On Japan)

A 39-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assault after allegedly attacking seven women in a series of unprovoked incidents near Jimbocho intersection in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on October 17, with the assaults occurring at four locations over approximately 15 minutes. (News On Japan)

Municipalities across Japan are raising the cost of designated garbage bags as waste disposal expenses increase, with one town in Hokkaido proposing a 4.5-fold price hike from 385 yen to 1,735 yen for a pack of 10 bags, while growing pressure on incineration facilities is prompting debate over whether more cities should introduce paid household garbage collection. (News On Japan)