Fukuoka Mayor Takashima said during a press conference held on December 9th that the city will begin studying a subway extension to the international terminal at Fukuoka Airport as part of broader efforts to address transport challenges across the city. (News On Japan)

A plan to sharply raise Japan’s departure tax is taking shape as the government and ruling coalition have begun coordinating a proposal to lift the current 1,000 yen levy to a flat 3,000 yen per person in next fiscal year’s tax reform, adding new momentum to calls for expanded funding to deal with overtourism across the country. (News On Japan)

A powerful earthquake with a seismic intensity of 6+ struck Aomori late on December 8th, prompting the Meteorological Agency to issue a temporary tsunami warning for coastal areas along the Pacific side of the prefecture. While the warning has since been downgraded, the government is urging caution after authorities announced, for the first time, a heightened possibility of another large earthquake occurring off Hokkaido and the Sanriku coast. (News On Japan)

Chinese tourists are disappearing from major destinations across the Kansai region as diplomatic tensions between Japan and China continue to deepen on the heels of comments by Prime Minister Takaichi regarding a potential Taiwan contingency, prompting Beijing to urge its citizens to refrain from traveling or studying in Japan. (News On Japan)

China’s major airlines have extended the period during which Japan-bound tickets can be cancelled free of charge, with carriers announcing by today that the deadline—initially set to run through the end of this year—will now continue until March 28th 2026. (News On Japan)

Autumn travel to Nikko, which draws visitors from across Japan for its bright foliage, is seeing an unexpected wave of vehicle troubles on mountain roads, with everything from flat tires and sudden breakdowns to off-road mishaps and stranded foreign tourists prompting repeated calls for roadside assistance during busy weekends in November. (News On Japan)

Osaka’s Minami district, one of the busiest entertainment areas in Kansai, is grappling with a worsening garbage problem as the sharp increase in foreign visitors coincides with a rise in litter throughout the area, and when the reporting team walked through the neighborhood last week they found trash piling up in abandoned bicycle baskets and food containers tossed into alleyways just off the main shopping streets. (News On Japan)