Gifu City has unveiled the design for an ultra-luxury viewing boat that will operate during cormorant-fishing cruises on the Nagara River, with construction scheduled to be completed by next season at a cost of roughly 28 million yen. (News On Japan)

Thai police announced they have secured an arrest warrant for the mother of a 12-year-old Thai national, who was brought to Japan and allegedly forced to work illegally at a massage parlor in Tokyo. The warrant is on suspicion of human trafficking and other charges. (News On Japan)

A man believed to have been involved in a fatal hit-and-run that left one person dead and 11 others injured in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward on November 24th was taken into custody as police began questioning him on a voluntary basis. (News On Japan)

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)