A new top-tier seating category above Green Car will be introduced on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen, offering private rooms and semi-private seats with customizable lighting, air conditioning and reclining features. (News On Japan)

An event designed to help nurses think about future career paths while building practical skills opened in Tokyo on July 8, offering hands-on training sessions alongside sales of colorful uniforms and stethoscopes. (News On Japan)

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first Japanese player to reach 300 career home runs in Major League Baseball, hitting a solo shot in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies in Los Angeles on July 7. (News On Japan)

Japan national soccer team coach Hajime Moriyasu, captain Ko Itakura of Ajax, Daizen Maeda of Celtic, Yukinari Sugawara of Bremen and Japan Football Association President Tsuneyasu Miyamoto visited Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Yohei Matsumoto on July 8 following Japan's campaign at the FIFA World Cup hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. (News On Japan)

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s economic strategy came under renewed scrutiny on July 8 as the government considered softening language in its long-term policy blueprint that had raised concerns over political pressure on the Bank of Japan, while the administration continued to face Diet tensions over its legislative agenda before the current session ends next week. (News On Japan)

Japan's planned rollout of mobile phone numbers beginning with 060 has been postponed after telecom carriers said they need more time to complete system preparations. (News On Japan)

Tokyo stocks fell for a third straight session on July 8 as selling in semiconductor and AI-related shares continued, while rising Japanese government bond yields, Middle East tensions and concern over the Bank of Japan’s policy independence added pressure to the broader market. (News On Japan)

Japan, the United States and South Korea have agreed to work together to promote the introduction of next-generation small modular reactors, signing a memorandum of cooperation at a foreign ministers' meeting in Turkey on July 7. (News On Japan)

Silk thread production for strings used in shamisen and other traditional Japanese instruments has reached its peak in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture. (News On Japan)

A new landmark has emerged in Osaka’s rapidly redeveloping city center, with Yodoyabashi Gate Tower, one of the city’s largest mixed-use buildings, completed at the gateway to Midosuji. (News On Japan)

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura held talks on July 7 as Diet deliberations remained stalled over opposition resistance to two bills Ishin is seeking to pass, including legislation to cut the number of lawmakers and a bill to establish a secondary capital. (News On Japan)

A nine-year dispute over the Linear Chuo Shinkansen effectively came to an end on July 7 as Shizuoka Governor Yasutomo Suzuki told the prefectural assembly that he would allow Central Japan Railway to begin construction on the Shizuoka section of the project. (News On Japan)

Tokyo stocks fell sharply on July 7 as a selloff in South Korean chip shares triggered fresh concern over the sustainability of the AI boom, dragging the Nikkei 225 lower while banks and other value shares resisted the decline. (News On Japan)

Japan’s long-term interest rate briefly rose to 2.83% on July 6, its highest level in nearly 30 years, as investors grew more cautious over inflation, the pace of Bank of Japan rate hikes and the government’s fiscal stance. (News On Japan)

A trainee monk has been arrested on suspicion of setting fire to Entsuji, a temple in Imari, Saga Prefecture, after a June blaze destroyed its main hall and living quarters, with the suspect telling investigators he had become dissatisfied with the amount of training and the way he was being instructed. (News On Japan)

Tesla has begun full-scale landings of its electric vehicles at Mikawa Port in Aichi Prefecture, choosing a major auto import hub in Toyota’s home region as a new base for shipments to western Japan. (News On Japan)

A 49-year-old woman in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture, has been arrested on suspicion of injuring a 42-year-old woman she lived with by sewing her upper and lower lips together multiple times with a threaded needle, police said. (News On Japan)

A 59-year-old worker died after apparently falling about 11 meters into Lake Biwa while helping set up the runway for the Birdman Contest in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture. (News On Japan)

Tokyo will introduce a 3% accommodation tax on hotel and other lodging stays from April 2027, formally replacing its current flat-rate system and extending the levy to private lodging services. (News On Japan)

A good connection matters in Japan because so much of the trip depends on your phone working smoothly. You may need it for station directions, translation, booking confirmations, digital tickets, or finding the right exit in a large city. (News On Japan)