Four workers were killed after being struck by a limited express train while carrying out vegetation-clearing work on the tracks at Shin-Kanuma Station on the Tobu Nikko Line in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, on August 20. (News On Japan)

Firefighters battling a house fire in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, on August 19 were forced to contend with large numbers of bees swarming around the scene after an attempt to burn a bee nest apparently set the roof ablaze. (News On Japan)

Japan's labor ministry will revise its guidance on overtime from September 1, moving away from a uniform recommendation that workplaces keep overtime within 45 hours a month and placing greater emphasis on whether employers have adequate measures in place to protect workers' health. (News On Japan)

Dangerous heat returned across Japan on August 19, complicating disaster recovery efforts in earthquake-hit Kumamoto and flood-damaged Chiba while unusually low rainfall and limited snowfall pushed reservoirs in several regions toward critical levels. (News On Japan)

Small businesses across Japan—from Tokyo tech startups to traditional long-standing shinise enterprises— are increasingly becoming targets for sophisticated digital scams. (News On Japan)

Japan welcomed a record 3.44 million foreign visitors in July, the highest figure ever recorded for the month, even as the number of travelers from China fell sharply from a year earlier. (News On Japan)

Hyogo Governor Motohiko Saito said on August 19 that the prefecture's shift to a status requiring central government permission to issue bonds would not immediately halt public projects, while stressing that years of high public investment, funding shortfalls and what he described as improper land-acquisition bond practices under former Governor Toshizo Ido had contributed to the deterioration of the prefecture's finances. (News On Japan)

A Takenaka Corp. construction manager who oversaw work on the Grand Ring and other facilities at the Osaka-Kansai Expo was arrested on August 19 on suspicion of causing more than 13 million yen in losses to the major contractor through inflated construction bills, with police investigating allegations that money from the scheme was used for renovations to his home and a cafe operated by relatives. (News On Japan)

Handheld fans have become a summer essential in Japan, but a rise in accidents involving hair becoming caught in the devices is prompting warnings over injuries, potential legal liability and fires caused by lithium-ion batteries. (News On Japan)

Catalog House, the operator of shopping catalog magazine Tsuhan Seikatsu, has announced it will stop selling through Rakuten Market in protest over Rakuten Group's partnership with a German military drone company and its plans to support the introduction of the drones to Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force. (News On Japan)

Whistleblowers who expose suspected wrongdoing at companies and other organizations in Japan are increasingly finding themselves targeted by multimillion-yen damages claims, raising questions over whether the country's legal system adequately protects people who report misconduct. (News On Japan)

Plans to bring Shinkansen service to Shikoku have taken a significant step forward for the first time in 53 years, with the transport ministry beginning preliminary studies that could eventually cut travel times from Osaka to major cities including Tokushima, Takamatsu and Matsuyama to around 90 minutes. (News On Japan)

Japan's delegation for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held a team formation ceremony at a hotel in Tokyo on August 19, exactly one month before the competition opens, with wrestler Akari Fujinami pledging that the athletes would "fight through to the very end" on home soil. (News On Japan)

Seven people were injured after a Toei bus and a trailer collided in Tokyo's Koto Ward shortly after 6 p.m., leaving the bus mounted on a central median. (News On Japan)

The bankruptcy of payment processing company Zento Shin has raised concerns over the impact on restaurants and other small and midsize businesses, while highlighting regulatory gaps in Japan's rapidly expanding cashless payment industry. (News On Japan)

Tokyo Metro has unveiled its new headquarters ahead of a full relocation at the end of August, featuring an open office design filled with route symbols, station names and other elements inspired by the subway network. (News On Japan)

Tokyo is preparing to allow hunting of Asian black bears for the first time in about 20 years, with a proposed hunting season from November through February and an annual capture target of around 34 animals in parts of the Tama region, including Hachioji. (News On Japan)

A playful young dolphin named Yuki at Kagoshima City Aquarium has become a social media sensation after videos showed her freely sliding along the poolside, spinning around and plunging back into the water while other dolphins followed their usual routines. (News On Japan)

Tokyo stocks fell sharply on August 19, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 65,326.42, down 3.2%, its lowest finish since August 4, as renewed selling in artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related shares combined with rising bond yields, higher oil prices and geopolitical concerns to trigger a broad risk-off move. (News On Japan)

Princess Aiko attended the opening ceremony of an international conference on semiconductor physics on the morning of August 17, expressing condolences for those killed in the Kumamoto earthquake and torrential rain in Chiba Prefecture before addressing researchers from around the world. (News On Japan)