The Aomori Nebuta Festival opened in Aomori city on August 2, with vividly colored warrior lantern floats illuminating the summer night as dancers filled the streets with energetic chants and leaps. (News On Japan)

Osaka's Tenjin Festival, one of Japan's three major festivals and a tradition dating back more than 1,000 years, drew about 1.29 million visitors this year, close to a record high, even as organizers struggled with extreme heat, growing numbers of foreign tourists, waste and mounting safety concerns. (News On Japan)

International flight bookings for Japan's Obon holiday period have lost momentum for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, with airlines pointing to global uncertainty and the weak yen as factors discouraging overseas travel. (News On Japan)

Universal Studios Japan launched its annual One Piece Premier Summer event on July 30, offering live battle performances and new festival-themed food inspired by the popular anime series. (News On Japan)

Junglia Okinawa will mark its first anniversary on July 25 after generating an estimated 32.2 billion yen in economic activity during its first six months, drawing more tourists to northern Okinawa and expanding business with local companies, although the benefits have varied widely across the region. (News On Japan)

Thomas the Tank Engine and Percy appeared side by side at Oigawa Railway's retro-style Shin-Kanaya Station in Shimada, Shizuoka Prefecture, drawing cheers from passengers and children who packed the platform for the dream pairing. (News On Japan)

Wildfires continued to burn across southwestern France, spreading closer to Bordeaux and disrupting tourism as a Japanese winemaker in the renowned wine-producing region reported fewer visitors and tour cancellations. (News On Japan)

A powerful earthquake that registered the maximum seismic intensity of 7 in Kumamoto Prefecture on July 28 caused stone walls to collapse at 28 locations within Kumamoto Castle, reviving painful memories among residents who experienced the devastating earthquakes a decade ago. (News On Japan)

Flights at Kumamoto Airport were gradually returning to normal on July 29 after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that registered the maximum seismic intensity of 7 forced the cancellation of all domestic services at the airport the previous day. (News On Japan)

A section of the Ken-O Expressway being extended in Chiba Prefecture to improve access to Narita Airport has been opened to the media ahead of its scheduled completion. (News On Japan)

The Sumida River Fireworks Festival, a summer tradition in Tokyo's historic downtown districts, was held across Taito and Sumida wards on July 25, with about 20,000 fireworks lighting up the night sky following a day of intense heat. (News On Japan)

UNESCO has formally added the Asuka-Fujiwara capital sites in Nara Prefecture to its World Cultural Heritage list, bringing the number of World Heritage properties in Japan to 27. (News On Japan)

Two elaborately decorated boats sailed along the Kozagawa River in Wakayama Prefecture on July 26 as the annual Kochi Festival was held under scorching summer heat. (News On Japan)

A Japan Airlines flight attendant suffered a broken rib after sudden turbulence shook an aircraft during its descent to Tokyo's Haneda Airport, prompting authorities to investigate the incident as an aviation accident. (News On Japan)

Paid seating has become the norm at fireworks festivals across Japan, with all 15,000 reserved-seat tickets for the Sumida River Fireworks Festival in Tokyo already sold ahead of the July 25 event. (News On Japan)

Eighty women carried two portable shrines weighing about 200 kilograms each through Osaka’s Tenjinbashisuji shopping arcade, filling the streets with spirited chants ahead of the Tenjin Festival’s opening ceremonies. (News On Japan)

Japan Airlines has unveiled new cooling workwear for ground staff at Haneda Airport, where temperatures on the aircraft parking apron reached 39 degrees Celsius. (News On Japan)

Mount Fuji has entered its summer climbing season, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors while authorities on its Shizuoka and Yamanashi sides take sharply different approaches to protecting climbers from a possible eruption. (News On Japan)

JR West has unveiled a new blue-based design for Kodama trains on the Sanyo Shinkansen, intended to evoke the relaxed pace of an all-stations journey and the calm waters of the Seto Inland Sea. (News On Japan)

Kuwana in Mie Prefecture recorded 40.6 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature anywhere in Japan this year, as a powerful high-pressure system and hot downslope winds combined to produce dangerous heat across a wide area. (News On Japan)