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Tokyo sleep competition offers 2 million yen prize to best sleeper

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Tech News

Gimmick or recipe for success? Japan's convenience stores test AI flavours

Japanese convenience store chains are turning to AI for dessert ideas. Some are unexpected mashups.

Japan

Takaichi tightens rules for foreigners seeking permanent residency

The measures come as the country’s conservative leader Sanae Takaichi looks to deliver on election promises, which were spearheaded by vast immigration reforms, in her historic supermajority election victory in February.

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Tokyo records longest rainy streak on record with 34 consecutive days

Tokyo has recorded 34 consecutive days of rain, marking the longest such streak on record, according to Japan's weather agency.

Travel News

Revealed: The top 10 countries for travel and tourism in 2026

While Japan claimed the top spot overall, Albania was named as the fastest improver in the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index.

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Destinations

Tokyo vs Seoul: Which trendy Asian capital city should you visit?

Tourism in both Tokyo and Seoul has been booming for a while now and there’s no sign of this slowing down just yet. Here we take a look at two of Asia's trending capital cities.

Earth News

Meet the photographer who lives at the top of Mount Fuji

For most people, Mount Fuji is a destination. For Megumi Ueda, it has been a workplace and home for much of the past 17 years.

Japan

At least four dead, six missing in Japan day after Typhoon Dujuan hit

Authorities announced a revised, higher death toll on Tuesday after search and rescue crews located the bodies of two more people. Six others are still reported missing.

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Flooded streets and rescues as Typhoon Dujuan hits Japan

Footage shows flooded streets in Japan after Typhoon Dujuan brings record rain near Tokyo, killing at least four, leaving six missing and thousands without power.

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Japan tests mobile robotic rubbish bins at Shinjuku Station

Japan's busiest railway station is testing mobile robotic rubbish bins in Tokyo, with the aim of easing the workload of sanitation workers.

Economy

Japan's central bank raises benchmark interest rate to 1.25%

Japan’s central bank on Friday raised the benchmark interest rate to 1.25% from 1.0%, a 31-year-high.

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From nail hammering to drilling, Japan’s new robots push physical AI forward

Technology companies gathered in Tokyo on 16 September 2026 for a one-day summit focused on physical AI, showcasing robots designed to perform tasks in the real world.

Travel News

A Poké Ball-shaped hotel just opened in Japan

The new hotel concept in Tomakomai City, Hokkaido, was designed by NOT A HOTEL and is just three metres wide.

Economy

Japan's 10-year yield hits 3% for first time since 1996 amid G20 talks

Japan's 10-year government bond yield touched 3% on Tuesday for the first time since 1996, part of a deepening global sovereign debt sell-off, while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent used the G20 finance meeting to press Tokyo for faster rate hikes.

Art

Polka dots, infinity rooms and phallic sculptures: Yayoi Kusama’s art in pictures

“She continued to paint until her final days, never setting aside her brush, and continued exploration of forever love and eternal soul.” Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who splashed her signature polka dots on paintings, sculptures and museum installations around the world, has died aged 97.

Culture news

Yayoi Kusama, Japan’s iconic polka-dot artist, dies aged 97

From the 1950s to the 2020s, Kusama produced instantly recognisable giant polka-dot artworks and sculptures, and was recognised later on in her life as a global superstar in the art world.

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More than 1,000 volunteers pull historic castle back to its original site in Japan

More than 1,000 volunteers pull Japan’s Hirosaki Castle back to its original site in Aomori after a decade of renovation work on the 400-year-old keep.