Japanese police arrested a man in his 90s Thursday for allegedly defacing a sign at a prosecutor's office in the city of Osaka. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/27/japan/crime-legal/elderly-osaka-graffiti-arrest/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #osaka #japanesepolice #elderly
The city of Osaka received 21 gold bars from an anonymous donor in November with the instructions: Fix your water pipes. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/27/japan/society/osaka-gold-bars-waterworks-repair/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #osaka #water #cities #osakawaterworksbureau
A ceremony has been held to mark the relocation of two statues of Myaku-Myaku, the official mascot of the 2025 World Exposition, near the Tower of the Sun monument, the symbol of the 1970 expo. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/22/japan/myaku-myaku-statues-relocation/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #myakumyaku #osaka #2025osakaexpo #hirofumiyoshimura
A Japanese prosecutor has sued the state for damages related to a high-profile sexual assault case involving the former head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/18/japan/crime-legal/prosecutor-sexual-assault/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #japanesecourts #osaka #sexualharassment #sexcrimes
Japan Innovation Party leader and Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura has indicated a possibility of returning to national politics. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/17/japan/politics/osaka-yoshimura-national-politics/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #hirofumiyoshimura #jip #osaka #2026lowerhouseelection #ldp
Members of the Japan Innovation Party have voted not to hold a leadership election despite the party's sluggish results in the Feb. 8 parliamentary election, allowing Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura to remain its leader. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/16/japan/politics/yoshimura-jip-leader-remain/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #hirofumiyoshimura #jip #ldp #osaka
The stabbing of three 17-year-old boys — one of whom died — in Osaka’s Dotonbori entertainment district was apparently triggered by the suspect’s harassment of a female acquaintance of the victim. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/16/japan/crime-legal/osaka-stabbing-motive/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #osaka #stabbings #japanesepolice
A 17-year-old boy was killed and two others injured in a stabbing in Osaka’s popular Dotonbori entertainment district around midnight Sunday, police said, adding that they were investigating the case as a homicide. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/15/japan/crime-legal/osaka-dotonbori-stabbing/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #osaka #stabbings
Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura says he has agreed to a request from Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that a member of his party join her Cabinet. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/10/japan/politics/jip-join-cabinet/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #hirofumiyoshimura #sanaetakaichi #nipponishinnokai #osaka #2026lowerhouseelection
The Liberal Democratic Party winning so many seats in the Lower House election on Sunday throws the role of its junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, into doubt. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/09/japan/politics/jip-election-results-analysis/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #nipponishinnokai #hirofumiyoshimura #osaka #ldp
Japan’s reputation for longevity extends beyond its people. Some of its oldest companies — from temple builders to hot spring inns — offer clues to how craft and continuity can outlast centuries of change. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/02/09/companies/japan-1000-year-old-business/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #business #companies #companies #ikebana #kongogumi #construction #hotspringinns #keiunkan #osaka #yamanashi #ikenobo
After his reelection as Osaka governor, Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura now faces the uphill task of pushing for a referendum for a plan to restructure Osaka’s wards into those similar to Tokyo’s. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/08/japan/media/osaka-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #media #nipponishnnokai #osaka #hirofumiyoshimura
Former Prime Minister Taro Aso, vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Wednesday dismissed the party's past electoral cooperation with its former coalition partner, Komeito, as "nonsense." https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/05/japan/politics/japan-aso-blasts-komeito/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #taroaso #ldp #komeito #cra #osaka
Despite being coalition partners, the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party are facing off against each other in all 19 single-seat constituencies of Osaka Prefecture in Sunday’s general election. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/02/03/japan/politics/japan-lower-house-election-osaka-ldp-jip/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #2026lowerhouseelection #osaka #ldp #jip #komeito
Summer Sonic’s 2026 edition will run three days for its 25th anniversary, featuring The Strokes, Jamiroquai and L’Arc-en-Ciel. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2026/02/02/music/summer-sonic-25th-anniversary/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #culture #music #musicfestivals #summersonic #kpop #jpop #osaka
Tokyo police have arrested a 61-year-old man for allegedly registering a fake address to rent an internet server and on suspicions of involvement in a blog that alludes to child prostitution in Laos. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/30/japan/crime-legal/laos-child-prostitution-blog/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #crimelegal #japanesepolice #laos #children #osaka #internet #prostitution #blogs
The Japan Innovation Party hopes voters in the Feb. 8 Lower House election will see their being on the inside of government as a sign of strength, but the party has long had trouble expanding beyond its Osaka base. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/28/japan/politics/nippon-ishin-election/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #nipponishinnokai #hirofumiyoshimura #osaka #seijimaehara #fumitakefujita #2026lowerhouseelection
Despite growing concerns about overtourism, Japan remains the top destination for international travelers in 2026 — and data suggests the gap with other contenders is widening. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2026/01/24/travel/travel-japan-world-rankings-tokyo-kyoto-osaka/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #life #travel #travel #overtourism #tokyo #osaka #kyoto
Japan still needs to overcome mounting challenges to achieving its goal of 60 million annual visitors by 2030 amid worsening Tokyo-Beijing relations and overtourism. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/21/japan/tough-road-visitor-goal/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #tourism #travel #osaka #sapporo
The Japan Innovation Party is touting itself as the axle of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration — and not its brake — as it unveils its manifesto to woo supporters of her Liberal Democratic Party. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/01/21/japan/politics/jip-manifesto/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #politics #2026lowerhouseelection #nipponishinnokai #sanaetakaichi #ldp #fumitakefujita #osaka