A dry weather advisory has been in effect in central Tokyo for 14 consecutive days, and as of February 2nd, no significant rainfall had fallen for a full month since January 2nd. (News On Japan)

A vehicle believed to have been used in an attempted robbery at Haneda Airport has been found on a riverbed in Kanagawa Prefecture, with investigators suspecting that the perpetrators attempted to destroy evidence by spraying the car with a pink fire extinguisher. (News On Japan)

The Sapporo Snow Festival is set to open on February 4, with final preparations completed despite record-breaking snowfall in the city. (News On Japan)

Tokyo’s net in-migration, defined as the number of people moving in exceeding those moving out, declined for the first time in four years last year, even as population inflows into the capital have remained elevated since the COVID-19 pandemic. (News On Japan)

A new Japan–US collaboration on next-generation semiconductors is set to get underway, as SAIMEMORY, a semiconductor memory startup established by SoftBank, has signed an agreement with US chipmaker Intel to jointly pursue the commercialization of next-generation memory, TV Tokyo has learned. (News On Japan)

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of selling tusks from endangered elephants on an online auction site after falsely labeling them as “mammoth tusks” or “ivory-style” products. (News On Japan)

Japan has successfully recovered rare earth–bearing mud from a depth of 6,000 meters off Minamitorishima as part of a trial mining project aimed at developing a domestic supply of critical minerals, government officials said. (News On Japan)

A traditional “fukumame” bean-tossing event was held on February 1st at Tsutenkaku Tower in Osaka’s Naniwa Ward, ahead of the Setsubun festival, drawing crowds eager to invite good fortune a little early. (News On Japan)

Daihatsu unveiled a new light-type electric vehicle on Tuesday, marking the company’s first mass-produced EV, but rather than a passenger car, it has deliberately chosen a commercial vehicle used for transport and delivery, raising the question of whether “working vehicles” could hold the key to wider EV adoption. (News On Japan)