A strong earthquake with a maximum seismic intensity of lower 5+ struck Hokkaido early on April 27, with no risk of a tsunami, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The quake occurred at around 5:24 a.m. and was centered in southern Tokachi. It had an estimated magnitude of 6.1 and a focal depth of about 80 kilometers. (News On Japan)

SkyDrive and NEXCO West Japan have partnered to develop a flying car hub at the Beppu Bay Service Area in Oita Prefecture, aiming to launch operations in 2028 for sightseeing flights and other services. (News On Japan)

Road cave-ins are occurring one after another across Japan. According to a survey released on April 22 by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, so-called dangerous sewer lines requiring urgent countermeasures now total 748 kilometers nationwide. (News On Japan)

Japan's weather agency and the Cabinet Office issued a 'Hokkaido-Sanriku Offshore Subsequent Earthquake Advisory' after an earthquake measuring upper 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale struck off Sanriku. (News On Japan)

Japan's logistics sector is struggling with a severe driver shortage, driving efforts to develop autonomous trucks as a potential solution to a growing freight transport crisis. (News On Japan)

The fleet of 190 EV buses introduced for the Osaka-Kansai Expo has been withdrawn from plans for reuse on regular routes, with Osaka Metro abandoning efforts to redeploy the vehicles after the event. (News On Japan)

Chinese smartphone maker OPPO announced it will release its foldable smartphone “OPPO Find N6” in Japan on April 15th, marking the company’s first entry into the country’s foldable device segment. (News On Japan)