Japan’s rural relocation boom is accelerating as more families look beyond city life in search of space, community, and a fresh start, even as concerns over jobs, convenience, and fitting into tight-knit local networks continue to hold many back. (News On Japan)

Japan’s two-day nationwide university entrance exam has concluded without major disruption, even after introducing its first online application system and requiring students to print their own admission tickets. (News On Japan)

In this video we rank the top 5 greatest samurai warriors of Japan's Genpei War! Which warrior will come out on top in this brief list of the most significant combatants from one of Japan's most storied conflicts. (The Shogunate)

Blue Dream follows the people working on the front lines to protect Japan’s rapidly deteriorating marine and forest environments, where once-abundant fishing grounds and seaweed beds have been giving way to what is increasingly described as an underwater desert. (News On Japan)

Japan has long held a reputation for maintaining traditional relationship structures where men tend to be older than their female partners. (News On Japan)

Japan’s longest-named school, Kochi Prefecture Sukumo City Ehime Prefecture Minamiuwa District Ainan Town Shinozan Elementary and Junior High School Union–operated Shinozan Elementary and Junior High School, located in Ainan Town at the southernmost tip of Ehime Prefecture, has decided to suspend classes in the 2026 school year and close permanently in the 2027 school year. (News On Japan)

A joint project with the Nikkei takes a closer look at Generation Alpha, the cohort expected to shape the next era. Born from 2010 onward, this generation is said to account for roughly a quarter of the world’s population. (News On Japan)

doctors and schools across Japan are drawing attention to a condition known as “New Year syndrome,” a form of physical and mental malaise that can emerge when daily routines are disrupted by an extended year-end break. (News On Japan)

Japan’s scientific community was energized in 2025 by major news when Sakaguchi Shimon of Osaka University and Kitagawa Susumu of Kyoto University jointly won Nobel Prizes, marking a rare double win by Japanese researchers. (News On Japan)

The year 2026 is seen as a turning point when a decline in the number of university-bound students will begin to affect university management across Japan. (News On Japan)

According to population estimates released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on January 1, the number of 18-year-olds reaching adulthood this year stands at 1.09 million, the second-lowest figure since records began in 1968. (News On Japan)

A special exhibition showcasing specimens of rare wildlife found in Okinawa has opened in Naha, offering visitors a close look at the region’s rich natural heritage. (News On Japan)

Field-based learning that takes students out of the classroom and into real-world settings is gaining traction in Japanese education, with students from Dalton Tokyo Junior and Senior High School and Minerva University in the United States visiting the Unosumai district of Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture in November as part of an inquiry-based learning program to trace the aftermath of the March 11 disaster. (News On Japan)

Foreign nationals have been appointed as drivers on local bus routes for the first time nationwide, using Japan’s Specified Skilled Worker program, in a move aimed at easing chronic labor shortages in the sector. (News On Japan)

Kyoto University has been selected as a candidate for designation as an “University of International Research Excellence,” a national program that provides government funding to institutions aiming to conduct world-class research. (News On Japan)

As part of a postwar 80th-anniversary project titled “Passing On, Staying Connected,” this article looks back on the Battle of Okinawa through the memories of Higa Tomiko, who survived one of the fiercest ground battles of World War II by holding up a white flag, reflecting on what she saw as a seven-year-old girl who wandered alone through a devastated battlefield and the feelings she now hopes to entrust to future generations. (News On Japan)

The grand prize has been announced in the annual Creative Four-Character Idiom Awards, which capture the social mood of the year through newly coined expressions, with the winning works unveiled this year through a dynamic calligraphy performance by high school students. (News On Japan)

In mid-November, Their Majesties attended a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of Japan’s Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, a program that has sent some 58,000 participants to 99 developing countries since its launch in 1965 to support economic and social development. The first assignments were in Laos, then part of Southeast Asia’s emerging development frontier, where five volunteers were selected for dispatch. (News On Japan)

Aiko, the daughter of the Emperor and Empress, attended the 50th anniversary ceremony for the Faculty of Nursing at Chiba University on December 14th, where she delivered an address that emphasized her longstanding respect for the profession. (News On Japan)

Japan’s cities appear filled with dental clinics, yet experts warn that their numbers may soon decline, raising concerns that the country could eventually face a shortage. Tooth decay has decreased in recent years while periodontal disease has become more common, and as these trends reshape the market, the operating environment for dental practices is deteriorating. (News On Japan)