A mass food poisoning incident has been confirmed at a high school dormitory in Shiraoi, a town in Hokkaido’s Iburi region, where 63 students suffered symptoms such as diarrhea and stomach pain after eating meals prepared at the facility. (News On Japan)

The Grand Egyptian Museum, which opened on November 1st near the Giza Pyramids outside Cairo, marks one of Egypt’s most ambitious cultural projects in decades—built with extensive Japanese financial and technical support totaling about 84.2 billion yen in yen loans. (News On Japan)

FamilyMart has introduced an online sign language interpreting service ahead of the first-ever Deaflympics to be held in Japan. (News On Japan)

In the 18th installment of the series “Paths for Science Students,” Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank’s Eguchi offered a detailed look into the little-known but vital world of actuaries—professionals who apply mathematics, probability, and statistics to assess financial risks in pensions and insurance. (News On Japan)

The number of disciplinary actions at public elementary and junior high schools in Aichi Prefecture during the first half of 2025 has exceeded three times that of the same period last year, prompting growing concern among parents over how to engage with schools. (News On Japan)

The Liberal Democratic Party, Nippon Ishin no Kai, and Komeito have reached an agreement on the framework for Japan’s new free high school tuition program, which will begin in fiscal 2026. Under the plan, tuition support for private full-time high schools will be capped at 457,000 yen, while correspondence courses will have an upper limit of 337,000 yen. (News On Japan)

Teachers from across Japan are gathering in Nagoya to compete in a national contest that tests and refines their classroom teaching skills. The event, called the "National Mock Lesson Championship in Nagoya," is organized by the Noda Juku preparatory school to help both cram school instructors and school teachers improve their teaching techniques. (News On Japan)

A group in Sapporo achieved a Guinness World Record on October 25th for creating the world’s largest sentence made entirely from plastic bottle caps. The artwork, composed of around 80,000 caps, was officially recognized under the category “Largest Sentence Made from Bottle Caps.” (News On Japan)

Finding the right cannabis dispensary shouldn’t feel like hunting for buried treasure, but too often, it does. (News On Japan)

Fonts are an invisible part of daily life, yet they profoundly shape how we perceive information and emotion. From the elegant Mincho to the bold Gothic, these designs are chosen according to purpose—whether to convey clarity, trust, or impact—and their influence extends beyond readability into branding and communication. (News On Japan)

Tokyo police have arrested a Chinese national, identified as Li Zhaobei, on suspicion of document forgery and other offenses in connection with a case of TOEIC exam fraud involving impersonation. (News On Japan)

Tokyo’s seas and rivers, once considered lawless backwaters beyond the reach of regular policing, are now under constant watch by a dedicated force known as the “water police,” specialists who patrol the capital’s waterways, chase down smugglers, stop reckless jet ski riders, and carry out dramatic rescue missions to save lives. (News On Japan)

A rapidly growing data science program at the University of Tokyo is attracting an unusually wide range of participants, with junior high and high school students studying alongside university students and working adults. (News On Japan)

A new one-stop support center for victims of sexual crimes and violence called 'With You Osaka' will begin operations on October 20th in Osaka City. (News On Japan)

Kitakyushu, whose population is on the verge of falling below 900,000, announced new measures on October 16th aimed at reversing the decline, with a strong focus on improving education to attract and retain families. (News On Japan)

Through performance art, visual documentation and animation SALARYMAN brings the sensibility of the artist into the office world and questions global work practices of modern-day life imposed by capitalism: Tokyo work culture's most compelling and complex protagonist; the Salaryman. (TRNGL)

Kinki University’s new Osaka Medical Campus, set to open in Sakai in November, has been unveiled as part of a major relocation project aimed at revitalizing the university’s medical education and healthcare services in southern Osaka. (News On Japan)

Join me as I provide detailed feedback on a beautiful sunset landscape painting by Misaki-san from Kumamoto. She shared how she and her children were captivated by the ever-changing colors of the evening sky, exclaiming "Beautiful! Beautiful!" This heartwarming story inspired today's critique session. (Watercolor by Shibasaki)

In response to a voyeurism incident involving a group of teachers, the Hokkaido Board of Education has announced plans to introduce devices that detect hidden cameras and similar equipment in schools. (News On Japan)

Learning Japanese as a beginner feels a bit like standing at the foot of Mount Fuji — exciting, but a little daunting. (News On Japan)