The arrest of the head of Japan’s largest sex industry scout group just five days after a public warrant was issued has cast fresh light on the shadowy business of so-called “sex industry scouts,” a system believed to have generated more than 44 billion yen and allegedly involved ties to organized crime. (News On Japan)

Even as they continue working, a growing number of people in non-regular employment are unable to escape poverty, widening inequality across Japan and raising questions over whether politics has truly confronted the problem head-on. (News On Japan)

A yellow, diamond-shaped sign depicting a cane-carrying elderly woman has drawn attention online as a rare and mysterious road sign, only for it to emerge that even local authorities have no record of who installed it and say it is not an official traffic sign. (News On Japan)

Street prostitution in areas such as Tokyo’s Kabukicho district has increasingly become a social issue, prompting the Justice Ministry to consider revising the Anti-Prostitution Law to introduce penalties for those who purchase sex, according to officials familiar with the matter. (News On Japan)

Small tracking tags that allow users to locate lost items such as wallets or keys via smartphones have become widely popular for their convenience, but the technology is now being exploited in disturbing ways, emerging as a new social problem. (News On Japan)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Japan’s Imperial Guard Police, a little-known force tasked with protecting the Imperial Family and guarding key palace facilities, is marking its 140th anniversary this year, with attention turning to the frontline officers who train daily for emergencies and operate with what they describe as a readiness to risk their lives. (News On Japan)

A growing number of families in Japan are choosing to close down their family graves, driven by factors such as fewer descendants to inherit burial plots and the difficulty of maintaining graves far from where they now live. (News On Japan)

Two foreign nationals have been arrested and indicted for allegedly smuggling an illegal drug known as “zombie cigarettes” into Japan through Kansai Airport, marking the first time a case involving the substance has been uncovered in Osaka, authorities said on January 20th. (News On Japan)

A man accused of stealing items from a convenience store and assaulting an employee who chased after him, causing injuries, has been sentenced to five years in prison. (News On Japan)

Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, who was charged with murder and other crimes over the shooting death of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was sentenced to life in prison on January 21st in a lay judge trial at the Nara District Court, in line with prosecutors’ request after proceedings that spanned 15 hearings since October 2025. Yamagami showed no change in expression as the life sentence was handed down. (News On Japan)

A building in Owariasahi, Aichi Prefecture, was engulfed in intense flames on January 18th after firefighters received a call shortly after 5 p.m. reporting that a house was on fire. (News On Japan)

A traditional New Year event known as “Jaduna” was held in Miyazu, Kyoto Prefecture, with local residents praying for a year of good health and protection from illness. (News On Japan)