A mobile battery caught fire inside a Tobu Isesaki Line train in Saitama Prefecture on September 14, leaving a high school student with minor burns before another passenger extinguished the flames. (News On Japan)

The number of people aged 100 or older in Japan has exceeded 100,000 for the first time, reaching a record 107,677 as of September 1, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. (News On Japan)

GO, Waymo and Nihon Kotsu said they aim to launch Japan's first commercial fully driverless taxi service in Tokyo during 2027, using Level 4 autonomous vehicles that can operate without a driver on board under specified conditions. (News On Japan)

Japan's government is set to approve tax reform guidelines on September 15 that will reduce the consumption tax on food from the current 8% to 1% for two years starting in April 2027 as part of measures to ease the burden of rising prices. (News On Japan)

Rakuten Mobile said on September 14 that it has withdrawn a plan to forcibly cancel mobile service contracts for customers who fail to link their accounts to a Rakuten ID by the end of November. (News On Japan)

Kajima Corp. has unveiled the construction site of KAJIMA TREE, a roughly 60-meter wooden tower being built for the International Horticultural Expo that will open in March 2027. (News On Japan)

A new helicopter service linking Kansai International Airport with central Kyoto in about 25 minutes each way will begin operations on September 15, offering travelers a faster alternative to rail and bus connections that take at least 75 minutes. (News On Japan)

Japan opened its women's soccer campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with an 8-0 victory over Thailand on September 14, making a dominant start to its bid for a third consecutive and fourth overall championship. (News On Japan)

A 29-year-old man accused of killing his pregnant former girlfriend, a nail artist in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, admitted the charges at his first trial on September 14, with prosecutors saying he used tracking tags to locate the woman after deciding he wanted to kill her and "reset" his life to before their relationship. (News On Japan)