The number of foreign workers in Japan has reached a record high, but illegal employment is also rising sharply. Last year alone, more than 6,500 foreign nationals disappeared after arriving in Japan to work, often caught between exploitative brokers, low wages, and harassment in the workplace. (News On Japan)

Japan’s manufacturing sector suffered a noticeable blow from the so-called Trump tariffs, with transport equipment makers particularly hard-hit. (News On Japan)

If you run a small hotel in Japan—a family ryokan in Hakone, a six-room machiya in Kyoto, a compact business hotel near a Shinkansen stop—you already know busy seasons can feel like controlled chaos. (News On Japan)

Honda said it will relocate its headquarters to the Yaesu district in front of Tokyo Station sometime in 2029. The company will transfer part of its ownership interest in its headquarters building in Minami-Aoyama, which is currently under reconstruction, to Mitsui Fudosan Residential. (News On Japan)

Rice plants are generally developing on schedule ahead of the new-crop harvest, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. (News On Japan)

A consortium of 12 Japanese companies, including Mitsui & Co., Mitsubishi Corporation, and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, has invested in U.S. startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which is working to commercialize fusion power. The investment is believed to total several billion yen. (News On Japan)

Online flea-market operator Mercari has announced that, effective September 1, fetal ultrasound photos will removed in an effort to thwart 'papa-katsu' scammers. (News On Japan)

The Tokyo Toy Show opened in Tokyo on August 28, with about 210 companies from Japan and overseas exhibiting roughly 35,000 products. Japan’s toy market reached 1 trillion yen for the first time in fiscal 2023 and continues to expand despite the declining birthrate. (News On Japan)

Japan’s consumer-electronics leaders, long associated with engineering prowess, face a radically altered global landscape. Once-defining products—Sharp’s all-transistor calculators and wall-mounted TVs, Sony’s Walkman, Panasonic’s image-stabilized camcorders and keep-warm rice cookers—are now symbols of a past era as companies pivot and rivals surge. (News On Japan)

The car long dubbed a 'wolf in sheep’s clothing' is going back to sleep. Nissan’s GT-R saw its final unit completed on Tuesday, drawing a curtain on an 18-year run for the current model. (News On Japan)

JPYC, a fintech company, said it will begin issuing a yen-pegged stablecoin as early as September. Stablecoins are a form of digital money designed to maintain a stable value by being backed by assets such as legal tender. (News On Japan)

The Japan Department Stores Association said July nationwide sales totaled 468.3 billion yen, down 6.2% from a year earlier, marking a sixth consecutive monthly decline. (News On Japan)

Yamato Transport has begun a demonstration of autonomous delivery robots at a large condominium complex in the Tokyo metropolitan area, aiming to reduce driver workloads and bring the system into practical use in 2026. (News On Japan)

Nissan Motor announced on Friday that it will fully redesign and launch its Roox minicar this fall, marking the first new domestic model in about three years. The new Roox is the first Nissan minicar to feature a 3D surround-view system that allows drivers to confirm their surroundings in a three-dimensional display, enhancing safety functions. (News On Japan)

The yield on the new 10 year Japanese government bond, a key benchmark for long term interest rates, rose to 1.61 percent on August 22nd. This marked the highest level in about 16 years and 10 months, since October 2008. (News On Japan)

McDonald’s Japan announced that it will postpone the launch of its planned "One Piece Card Game" Happy Meal campaign, originally scheduled to begin next Friday, in response to recent controversy over its Pokémon card distribution. (News On Japan)

The founder of video-sharing site FC2 has been handed a suspended sentence for allowing the distribution of obscene videos accessible to an unspecified number of people. (News On Japan)

Japan recorded a trade deficit of 117.5 billion yen in July as exports to the United States fell by more than 10 percent, marking a fourth consecutive monthly decline and underscoring the impact of so-called Trump tariffs. (News On Japan)

Mercari, Japan’s leading flea market app, has banned the sale of empty cartridges from July after a request from the National Police Agency, citing concerns that they could be reused to make live ammunition. (News On Japan)

Rakuten Group and Amazon.com are preparing to enter Japan’s satellite communications market as early as 2026. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has begun discussions on frequency bands, transmission power, and other regulatory frameworks necessary for new entrants. (News On Japan)