Kyoto’s famed autumn foliage reached its peak in late November as crowds gathered at Eikando, a temple with more than a thousand years of history and one of the city’s most celebrated spots for viewing fall colors, with visitors posing for photos along the bridge railings and foreign tourists standing out prominently among them. (News On Japan)

A large fire that broke out late on November 23rd at a waste plastic recycling plant in the city of Bando in Ibaraki has continued to burn for roughly 18 hours, with no clear timeline for containment. The blaze was first reported at around 10:40 p.m. on November 23rd when nearby residents alerted firefighters after seeing flames and smoke rising from the site. (News On Japan)

China’s Communist Party–affiliated media has sharply criticized Prime Minister Takai’s stated willingness to continue dialogue with Beijing, calling the approach “hypocritical and meaningless.” (News On Japan)

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has sparked uproar after declaring in parliament that a conflict in the Taiwan Strait could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan—language that would allow Tokyo to exercise collective self-defense, including potential military action. (News On Japan)

A man arrested on suspicion of killing three members of his family at their home in Sapporo’s Kita Ward on October 31st is believed to have attacked them in the first-floor living room, where all were later found collapsed. (News On Japan)

The former JR Fukuchiyama Line track bed along the Mukogawa ravine, now a popular hiking route, has reached peak autumn colors on the trees surrounding the trail as large numbers of hikers visit the area to enjoy the seasonal foliage. (News On Japan)

A deepening labor shortage is increasingly weighing on the Japanese economy, forcing businesses to shorten operating hours or scale back services and generating massive lost opportunities that are estimated to reach 16 trillion yen in fiscal 2024. (News On Japan)

Aonishiki captured his first championship at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament on November 23rd, winning a title-deciding playoff against yokozuna Hoshoryu at the Fukuoka International Center and closing the 15-day basho with a 12–3 record. (News On Japan)

A taxi crashed onto a sidewalk in Kyoto’s Arashiyama district late in the morning on November 21st, leaving a woman in her 50s injured in an area crowded with tourists near the iconic Togetsukyo Bridge. (News On Japan)