With one week remaining until Setsubun on February 3rd, preparations of auspicious decorations known as “kicho” are in full swing at Kumano Hayatama Taisha in Wakayama Prefecture. (News On Japan)

Flocks of whooper swans, often called “messengers of winter,” have arrived in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, delighting onlookers with their graceful appearance. (News On Japan)

A man wearing a black hood emerged from a police station on January 27th, identified as Hiroaki Obata, 40, chairman of Japan’s largest scout group, “Natural,” who had been on the run for nearly a year before being arrested on January 26th on Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, according to police. (News On Japan)

A private lodging operator based in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward and its chief executive have been referred to prosecutors on suspicion of violating Japan’s Private Lodging Business Act, marking the first such criminal referral nationwide under the law, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. (News On Japan)

In Osaka, the number of residents from Nepal has risen sharply in recent years, with many international students and workers settling around the UR Kongo housing complex near Kongo Station in Tondabayashi. The area has become home to a growing Nepalese community after public housing operators, seeking to address vacancies caused by an aging population, partnered with educational institutions to accept trainees from Nepal, a move that has led to long-term settlement by many residents. (News On Japan)

From a hill overlooking the river mouth, countless boats could be seen floating below, their multicolored lights reflecting off the shimmering surface of the water, while the hum of engines and the voices of fishermen occasionally drifted through the night air. (News On Japan)

The dollar-yen rate swung sharply over just a few days, with the yen strengthening rapidly from the 159 range to the 153 range, fueling market speculation that Japanese and U.S. authorities may have carried out “rate checks” to signal readiness for intervention. (News On Japan)

A water-spraying firefighting drill was held at the World Heritage-listed Horyuji Temple in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, on January 26th, Cultural Property Fire Prevention Day, with monks and local volunteer firefighters taking part. (News On Japan)

Tokyo police have taken 32 boys and girls into protective custody after they were found gathering at night around the “Toyoko” area near Kabukicho in Shinjuku. (News On Japan)

China’s Foreign Ministry has urged Chinese citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan during the Lunar New Year holiday period, citing a rise in crimes targeting Chinese nationals and a series of earthquakes in parts of the country. (News On Japan)

New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido was effectively cut off by record snowfall, leaving around 7,000 people stranded overnight after rail and bus services were suspended, severing key transport links and disrupting daily life. (News On Japan)

The government on January 23rd compiled a comprehensive set of measures after holding a ministerial meeting on foreign resident policy, stressing the need for “orderly coexistence.” (News On Japan)

Japan’s department store sales fell for the first time in five years in 2025, as spending by foreign visitors shifted toward lower-priced goods and pushed down average purchase amounts. (News On Japan)

With the House of Representatives election officially kicking off on January 27, seven party leaders appeared on Fuji TV’s “Sunday Report THE PRIME” to debate how quickly they could deliver the consumption tax cuts many are promising as a response to rising prices, along with the rationale for the snap dissolution and Japan’s security policy as tensions with China persist. (News On Japan)

Airport quarantine inspectors in Japan are repeatedly finding prohibited foods hidden inside souvenirs, from pork and chicken products to fruit and even vegetable seeds, as travelers return from overseas unaware that strict import rules apply. (News On Japan)

Karasuyama washi, a traditional Japanese paper with a history spanning some 1,300 years, is now being produced at full pace during the coldest part of the year, as workshops enter their busiest season making sheets used for graduation certificates. (News On Japan)

Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo’s twin pandas, Xiaoxiao and Leilei, were seen for the last time in Japan on January 25th, after it was decided they will be returned to China. (News On Japan)

Japan’s wages have risen by more than 5% for two consecutive years in 2024 and 2025, and this year’s annual spring wage negotiations are set to begin in late January, raising fresh questions over whether pay growth can finally catch up with inflation and what steps are needed to restore household purchasing power. (News On Japan)

A six-vehicle pileup at a busy intersection in Akasaka, Minato Ward, left nine people dead or injured after a Cabinet Office vehicle is believed to have entered the intersection at high speed more than a minute after the traffic light had turned red, investigators said. (News On Japan)

A Brazilian national who runs a guide company has been arrested on suspicion of operating sightseeing tours for foreign visitors using illegally modified sports cars, police said. (News On Japan)