Tada Shrine in Kawanishi, Hyogo Prefecture, has filed for protection under Japan's Civil Rehabilitation Act, becoming the first shrine in the Kansai region and only the third nationwide to enter bankruptcy proceedings, according to Teikoku Databank. (News On Japan)

Sota Fujii successfully defended his Oi title for a seventh consecutive year after defeating fellow 24-year-old Takumi Ito in Game 6 of the best-of-seven series, winning the match 4-2. (News On Japan)

Tokyo's Koto Ward will conduct on-site inspections of all roughly 400 lodging facilities from January 2027 as it moves to strengthen regulations following a sharp increase in complaints over issues including garbage disposal and nighttime noise. (News On Japan)

Camping in Japan does not necessarily mean staying at the campsite all day. On a road trip, the campsite can work more like a place to return to at night. (News On Japan)

High-end bonsai are being stolen from gardens across Japan in a growing series of thefts, with some trees later appearing on social media overseas and industry officials saying more than 100 cases are now reported each year. (News On Japan)

Protein powder prices are rising sharply in Japan as booming overseas demand for whey, partly linked to the growing use of weight-loss drugs, combines with the weak yen to make the key ingredient increasingly expensive for Japanese buyers. (News On Japan)

The takeover battle for Kakaku.com, operator of restaurant review site Tabelog and price-comparison service Kakaku.com, intensified on September 11 after Swedish investment firm EQT raised its tender offer price to 3,680 yen per share, surpassing a rival proposal from a group led by LINE Yahoo. (News On Japan)

Amazon has opened its third logistics facility in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, creating the company's largest distribution hub in the Kansai region with capacity to handle up to 1 million packages a day. (News On Japan)

Tokyo stocks edged lower on September 10, with the Nikkei 225 closing at 65,143, down 0.19%, as gains in selected semiconductor and electronic-component shares faded under pressure from oil above $100, rising global bond yields and expectations that the Bank of Japan may raise rates next week. (News On Japan)

More than half of the religious corporations investigated for operating temple lodgings and religious training programs at World Heritage-listed Mount Koya in Wakayama Prefecture were found to have failed to declare income totaling more than 100 million yen, according to findings by the Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau. (News On Japan)

Japan has asked for changes to an Equal Earth world map that depicts the Russian-controlled Northern Territories in the same color as Russia, prompting the map's creator to say the Japanese-language version will be revised while the English version will remain unchanged. (News On Japan)

Three people have been arrested in Kyoto on suspicion of operating an unlicensed underground banking service for Chinese clients, with police believing the group handled transactions worth about 600 million yen in total. (News On Japan)

Nagoya was assessing the damage after record-breaking rainfall exceeding 100 millimeters in one hour struck the city on September 8, causing a river to temporarily overflow into a residential area and leaving carp and catfish stranded in roadside drains. (News On Japan)

Two 14-year-old junior high school students in Aichi Prefecture have been arrested on suspicion of obstructing traffic while performing dangerous bicycle stunts linked to group rides known on social media as Nagoya Ride. (News On Japan)

Families were given a rare opportunity to explore a newly built ship about 180 meters long during a public event at Hakodate Dock in Hokkaido on September 6, as the shipbuilder prepares to celebrate its 130th anniversary. (News On Japan)

Police are investigating whether a dispute between a 70-year-old man and the female owner of a cake shop in Motosu, Gifu Prefecture, was connected to a murder and arson case that left three people dead and two others injured during a middle school reunion. (News On Japan)

Raccoons are increasingly appearing in urban areas of Japan, including residential neighborhoods near Shin-Osaka Station, raising concerns over disease, attacks on people and agricultural damage that reached about 700 million yen nationwide last year. (News On Japan)

The Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly elected a new chairman after the resignation of longtime power broker Isao Kuranouchi, while a photograph showing an opposition lawmaker striking a pose reminiscent of the movie Titanic during an overseas inspection trip has triggered a fresh political controversy. (News On Japan)

Seven Myanmar nationals working at an agricultural corporation in Hokkaido under Japan's Specified Skilled Worker status have accused their employer of repeated violence, intimidation and financial penalties, with some workers saying they were also called by numbers instead of their names and threatened with having their residence status revoked. (News On Japan)

Large volumes of floodwater poured into the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, following heavy rain on September 7, prompting the massive underground flood-control facility known as the "Underground Temple" to go into operation. (News On Japan)