CyberAgent, Japan’s largest internet advertising agency, reported year-on-year declines in both revenue and profit in its third-quarter results for the fiscal year ending September 2025, announced in August. A revenue drop is unusual for the advertising business and underscores a turning point for the company. (News On Japan)

A male hiker was killed in a brown bear attack on Mount Rausu on August 14, and authorities now expect the mountain’s main trail to remain closed until 2026 on the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido. (News On Japan)

With September’s Respect-for-the-Aged Day three days away, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said Japan’s population of people aged 100 or older has climbed to nearly 100,000, marking a record for the 55th consecutive year. (News On Japan)

Tokyo and Kanagawa saw a series of record 'short-term heavy rain' advisories on September 11, causing river overflows and widespread flooding, with more than 200 cases confirmed in the capital as of September 12. In Shinagawa Ward’s Togoshi Ginza shopping street, roads were submerged and motorbikes were toppled as residents and shopkeepers began cleanup at first light. (News On Japan)

A flask exploded during a first-year science class at Himeji Municipal Sanyo Junior High School in Hyogo Prefecture at around 11 a.m. on September 11th, injuring six people including a teacher. (News On Japan)

Fukuoka Prefectural Police have arrested six Japanese nationals believed to be members of the Philippines-based crime group ‘JP Dragon’ on suspicion of involvement in special fraud cases targeting people in Japan. (News On Japan)

Family challenges often come with emotional stress and financial strain. When legal issues arise, many people worry about how they will afford professional guidance while still protecting their best interests. (News On Japan)

Foreign workers in Japan reached a record of about 2.3 million last year, reflecting chronic domestic labor shortages that have made overseas hires indispensable. At the same time, illegal employment has climbed, with experts pointing to brokers who target technical intern trainees amid reports of workplace harassment and low pay. (News On Japan)

Children at KidZania Fukuoka in Fukuoka City began a limited-time workshop on September 10th to learn about quantum computers, often described as next-generation machines capable of tackling complex calculations at speeds beyond conventional systems. (News On Japan)

Sota Fujii (23) defended the Oi title for a sixth consecutive year after winning Game 6 of the best-of-seven match at the Shogi Kaikan in Tokyo, with Challenger Takuya Nagase (33), a ninth-dan, resigning after 151 moves. (News On Japan)

Kofukuji’s Five-Story Pagoda, a National Treasure in Nara, opened part of its large-scale restoration to the media with a demonstration of roof tile removal. The project includes examining whether some 60,000 tiles can be reused. (News On Japan)

A post-victory ritual of jumping into Osaka’s Dotonbori River resurfaced after the Hanshin Tigers clinched the league title, with 29 people entering the water despite police warnings and repeated appeals from the city to stop. (News On Japan)

The first hearing for former House of Councillors member Ohno Yasumasa and his secretary, charged with violating the Political Funds Control Act over an alleged slush fund tied to Liberal Democratic Party fundraising parties, was held at the Tokyo District Court on September 10th. Ohno pleaded not guilty, saying, "I have never committed a crime." (News On Japan)

A pillar at Kasuga Taisha, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Nara, was found defaced with blue Chinese characters that read ‘I love you forever,’ alongside what appear to be a man’s and a woman’s names. (News On Japan)

MUFG Bank will open its first new branch in roughly two decades, positioning the outlet for individual customers and emphasizing easy access to asset-management consultations. (News On Japan)

I often wander Tokyo’s streets at night, just as a quiet observer. The city feels alive, transient, and full of hidden stories, all of which are often washed away by daybreak. (Retro Japan)

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is entering a leadership contest as factional infighting deepens, with the outcome set to shape responses to inflation and the realities of minority governance. Opposition parties are preparing to invoke Article 53 of the Constitution to demand an extraordinary Diet session, arguing that a prolonged political vacuum is unacceptable. (News On Japan)

Kyoto University said it has developed a world-first method for generating induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from blood cells, an advance expected to make patient-specific cell lines faster and safer to produce. (News On Japan)

Emperor Naruhito harvested rice on September 10th in a paddy field within the Imperial Palace grounds. (News On Japan)

Hitachi has begun full-scale operations at a new railcar factory in Maryland in the United States after investing $100 million (approximately 15 billion yen), positioning the site as a core hub to build trains that run across the country, notably in Baltimore, Washington and Pennsylvania. (News On Japan)