The Emperor and Empress arrived in Shiga Prefecture on September 28th to attend the opening of the 79th National Sports Festival and observe related events. (News On Japan)

The stone walls of the Takeda Castle ruins in Hyogo Prefecture emerged above the clouds as they were illuminated by the morning sun. (News On Japan)

A 24-year-old entrepreneur is drawing attention with a new business model that relies on goats to provide weed control, a service that could also help sustain life in depopulated communities. (News On Japan)

Ishikawa Prefecture has surpassed Fukui Prefecture in total land area after a significant increase caused by coastal uplift triggered by the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake, according to the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. (News On Japan)

A 43-year-old man was attacked by a bear while walking his dog in a park in Sapporo’s Nishi Ward on Friday night, prompting authorities to close the area and heighten patrols. His injuries are not life-threatening. (News On Japan)

A 10-vehicle collision on Route 36 in Eniwa, Hokkaido, on Thursday morning left two women with minor injuries and set off a dramatic police pursuit, as the driver suspected of causing the crash abandoned his car and fled on foot before being arrested several kilometers away. (News On Japan)

Animal Welfare Week, which began on September 20th, is casting a spotlight on the growing trend of supporting shelter dogs through so-called "oshi-katsu," or fan activities, with a system now in place that connects adoption matching with financial contributions. (News On Japan)

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership race entered its fifth day on September 26th, with Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi forced to apologize after his campaign team was found to have requested supportive online posts from backers. (News On Japan)

The Supreme Court’s Second Petty Bench, presided over by Chief Justice Akira Ojima, ruled on September 26th that the current system for apportioning seats in the House of Representatives is constitutional, despite a maximum disparity of 2.06-to-1 in the value of votes cast in last October’s general election. (News On Japan)

Parents of a young girl victimized in a voyeurism case at a swimming school in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, have filed for mediation, seeking stronger measures to prevent recurrence. (News On Japan)

A middle school teacher in Chitose, Hokkaido, was arrested on September 17th for secretly filming a girl and sharing the video with other educators on a social networking site, with the case coming to light after the footage was discovered on the smartphone of one of four previously arrested teachers. (News On Japan)

The Cultural Affairs Agency has, for the first time, surveyed how the spread of social media is affecting the Japanese language in its annual survey on public opinion regarding the national language, revealing that nearly 90 percent of respondents believe there is some impact. (News On Japan)

Seven Bank has announced plans to replace all 16,000 ATMs currently installed in FamilyMart stores nationwide through agreements with E-Net and Japan Post Bank with its own machines. (News On Japan)

Japan’s Earthquake Research Committee has revised its assessment of the probability of a massive Nankai Trough earthquake occurring within the next 30 years, raising the range from the previous estimate of about 80 percent to between 60 and 90 percent or higher. (News On Japan)

Japan's National Tax Agency announced on Friday that the average annual salary for private-sector employees in 2023 rose to 4.78 million yen, the highest level since the survey began, marking the fourth consecutive year of increases. (News On Japan)

While corporate profits continue to reach record highs, employee wages remain stagnant, leaving a growing segment of Japan’s workforce struggling. Since the collapse of the bubble economy, non-regular employment has steadily increased, creating a widening gap between regular and non-regular workers. Today, 15.4% of the population earns less than half the median standard of living, the second-highest proportion among the G7 countries after the United States. (News On Japan)

Tokyo consumer prices rose 2.5% in September compared with a year earlier, with the index excluding fresh food—often subject to sharp fluctuations—reaching 110.0 across the capital’s wards, while the pace of growth remained unchanged from the previous month. (News On Japan)

Women’s colleges in Japan are at a turning point. Once numbering 98 at their peak, their ranks have been steadily declining due to demographic pressures and changes in how women build their careers, with many institutions opting to transition to coeducation or suspend student recruitment altogether. (News On Japan)

A fire broke out in an apartment building in Suginami, Tokyo, shortly before 2 a.m. on September 25th, after a mobile battery being used to charge a smartphone caught fire, leaving six people hospitalized for smoke inhalation and other injuries. (News On Japan)

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) announced on September 25th that it will withdraw its "Africa Hometown" project, with President Akihiko Tanaka explaining at a press conference that widespread misunderstanding had created excessive burdens for local governments. (News On Japan)