A 46-year-old woman employed at a chemical-related company has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly giving a muffin containing the designated deleterious substance acrylamide to a 30-year-old male acquaintance in Kyoto, police said on August 22. (News On Japan)

A 56-year-old woman who was swept away by a flash flood while climbing a mountain stream in Minakami, Gunma Prefecture, was rescued alive on August 17 after surviving eight days in the remote mountains with a broken heel, relying on food she had brought with her, stream water and her knowledge of the area until anglers found her sitting on a forest road. (News On Japan)

The measures were introduced in response to concerns over reckless climbing, including attempts to reach the summit without staying overnight at a mountain hut or taking sufficient rest. Under the current system, climbers who do not have reservations are restricted from beginning their ascent after 2 p.m., helping discourage people from climbing through the night without adequate preparation. (News On Japan)

Princess Aiko made her first visit to Shiga Prefecture on August 21, touring facilities previously visited by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, viewing exhibits at the Lake Biwa Museum and trying the Paralympic sport of boccia for the first time. (News On Japan)

A cognitive trait known as aphantasia, in which people are unable to voluntarily form images in their minds despite knowing what objects look like, may affect about 4% of people, highlighting significant differences in how individuals experience memory, imagination and everyday tasks. (News On Japan)

China's exports of rare-earth magnets to Japan fell by more than half in July from a year earlier, while shipments of tungsten carbide remained at zero for a sixth consecutive month, according to trade data released by Chinese customs authorities. (News On Japan)

Japan's nationwide core consumer price index rose 1.8% in July from a year earlier, with the pace of inflation accelerating for a second consecutive month as higher food prices and a rebound in energy costs outweighed a sharp decline in rice prices. (News On Japan)

An unofficial website that allows South Koreans to check whether their ancestors were considered collaborators during Japan's colonial rule is rapidly gaining users, fueling online scrutiny of family histories and attacks on descendants even as public sentiment toward Japan has reached its highest level since surveys began. (News On Japan)

Japan's Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has begun considering reductions in postal services, including fewer mailboxes and less frequent deliveries, as the country's postal business continues to suffer losses following a prolonged decline in letters and New Year's cards. (News On Japan)

Another serious accident has occurred on a steep, prolonged downhill stretch of Prefectural Route 95 in Kobe, where authorities have repeatedly warned drivers about the risk of brake fade, a potentially dangerous loss of braking power that can affect ordinary passenger cars as well as large trucks. (News On Japan)

A Nepalese vocational school student found dead in a river in Fukuoka city had multiple injuries on her arms believed to have been sustained while trying to protect herself, leading police to suspect she was attacked repeatedly with a strong intent to kill. (News On Japan)

Japan executed 58-year-old death row inmate Sunao Takami on August 21 for setting fire to a pachinko parlor in Osaka in 2009, killing five people and injuring 10 others, in the first execution carried out under the Takaichi administration. (News On Japan)

Russia has conducted missile exercises around the Northern Territories, including what appears to have been a launch from one of the disputed islands, prompting Japan's foreign minister to call Russia's growing military presence there unacceptable. (News On Japan)

Mitsubishi Electric said on August 20 that it will acquire U.S.-based PCI Energy Solutions, a developer of software used to manage electricity trading and other energy operations, in a deal worth about 220 billion yen, the largest acquisition in the Japanese company's history. (News On Japan)

A 16-year-old girl who repeatedly insisted she was innocent died months after an 18-day detention and interrogation left her suffering from an eating disorder and severe psychological trauma, while other people have come forward alleging troubling investigative practices by the same police station. (News On Japan)

A Japanese sister school of Britain's prestigious Gordonstoun School, whose alumni include King Charles III and his father Prince Philip, is scheduled to open in Wakayama city in September 2027 as a fully residential international school charging annual tuition of about 8 million to 10 million yen. (News On Japan)

Japan's government is moving toward abolishing the Cool Japan Fund, a public-private investment vehicle created to support the overseas expansion of Japanese anime, food culture and other industries, after its cumulative losses reached 54 billion yen. (News On Japan)

A 32-year-old Japanese man has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to rob a convenience store in Oizumi, Gunma Prefecture, after allegedly posing as a foreigner and demanding money in broken Japanese while threatening the store manager with a knife. (News On Japan)

A pond at Inokashira Park, a popular destination in Tokyo's Kichijoji area, has turned a striking matcha-like green, a phenomenon that has become particularly noticeable in 2026 and is believed to be caused by an accumulation of phytoplankton. (News On Japan)

Japan strongly protested and condemned North Korea after it launched a ballistic missile at around 5:04 p.m. on August 20, with the projectile believed to have fallen outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said. (News On Japan)