The Okinawa Island-wide Eisa Festival, the largest event of its kind in the prefecture, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year after growing from its postwar origins into one of Okinawa’s most representative cultural events. (News On Japan)

A United Airlines flight bound for Cebu from Narita made an emergency landing at Kansai Airport on September 12th after a fire warning was triggered in the cargo hold. The incident forced all 142 passengers and crew to evacuate using emergency slides, with five passengers sustaining minor injuries such as bruises. (News On Japan)

Once considered a relic of the Showa era, the abacus is experiencing a revival across Japan. Children once again gather in classrooms, repeating the familiar call of "13 yen, 25 yen, 81 yen," as they practice calculations that many thought had been replaced by digital tools. Demand is spreading so quickly that production centers in Hyogo Prefecture are struggling to keep pace. (News On Japan)

A level crossing near Kamakura High School Station on the Enoshima Electric Railway, long celebrated as a setting in the popular anime Slam Dunk, has become one of Kamakura’s busiest tourist sites. The crossing, featured in the show’s opening sequence, attracts throngs of visitors hoping to capture the iconic view of the tracks and passing trains. (News On Japan)

Japan has confirmed its first domestic case of a more severe strain of the mpox virus, which has been spreading rapidly in Africa. (News On Japan)