Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto revealed in an interview with video game news website Eurogamer that the Pikmin 4 game is “very close to completion.”
news (Page 19)
Japan has spent just about all week getting drenched by a pair of typhoons that have decided to leisurely make their way across the country’s skies. Thankfully, there hasn’t been any significant damage in the Tokyo area, but whenever there’s heavy rainfall, you can expect local news outlets to send a camera crew to check on conditions at one of the capital’s major rail hubs.
Last night, a team sent to Shinjuku Station brought back footage of all the things viewers have come to expect from such reports. The camera’s lens capturing soaked commuters caught without an umbrella and concerned travelers watching the display boards for word about whether their train lines were still running…oh, and also a crazed, sunglass-wearing guitarist who insisted on being heard and in-frame.
Two men died and five other people, including two children, from two families were injured after they were electrocuted by an electrified fence set up by a local resident to keep out deer and other wild animals from hydrangeas in Nishi-Izu, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Sunday.
A somber case is currently making its way through the Japanese legal system as a 93-year-old man goes on trial for killing his wife, apparently at her request. This heartbreaking case has made headlines in Japan and evoked a gut-wrenching testimony from their eldest daughter.
Police have arrested a 33-year-old Yokohama man on suspicion of threatening to kill his former girlfriend in a series of messages on the LINE app.
In a city in China’s southwestern Shichuan Province during the early hours of April 2, a man walking alongside the river suddenly noticed what appeared to be huge quantities of pale fish floating in the water.
He quickly rushed home and returned with fishing equipment, and was soon joined by crowds of amateur fishers – and local officials, who subsequently hauled 300 kilograms of fish from the river to be destroyed.
A 19-year-old youth who uploaded a series of prank videos on YouTube in January, including one in which he inserted a toothpick into a snack food in a supermarket, was sent to a moderate security juvenile correctional facility.
Japan is well-known for its packed commuter trains. For decades, smartly dressed men and women have shuffled wordlessly into train cars each morning, all painfully aware that they will soon be getting up-close and personal with total strangers and have nowhere to run, hide, or even breathe freely until their stop. Glove-wearing station staff pack passengers in as tightly as they’ll go without them popping out the other side, each firm shove accompanied by a polite word or phrase thanking passengers for moving all the way inside the car or warning them to keep their various appendages clear of the (just barely) closing doors.
But earlier today, Japan was given a glimpse of a much more civilised, luxuriant commuting experience that may soon put an end to these sardine-can shenanigans. Better yet, this logistical revolution is coming soon: not twelve months from now, commuters will be able to zip into Tokyo in style, lying back in comfortable faux-leather chairs inside sleek, aerodynamic private pods that resemble something out of Minority Report.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the next generation of luxury travel, and its name is Kosoku.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry has come under fire for confiscating the passport of a journalist who was intending to travel to Syria. War correspondent Yuichi Sugimoto, 58, was planning to visit Syria to cover events in refugee camps later this month, but was ordered to surrender his travel documents to authorities.
Under Japanese law, the ministry can confiscate a person’s passport to protect their life, but this is the first time the law has actually been used. Critics say the action contravenes the constitutional guarantee of freedom of movement and foreign travel.
A 65-year-old woman died of injuries she received after her 66-year-old husband backed his car into her while parking in Hanno, Saitama Prefecture.
Against much public backlash, two reactors at a nuclear power plant in Sendai are scheduled to be restarted. These will be the first to restart operations after all the country’s nuclear plants were shut down indefinitely following the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011.
A man in Japan says he was questioned by police and branded a “pervert” after providing emergency medical assistance to a stranger. The man was attending to a woman who had been involved in a traffic accident when he believes someone who saw him cutting through the woman’s clothes to apply a defibrillator to her bare chest called the police and reported him for behaving inappropriately.
An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) analyses the rhythm of the heart and, if necessary, delivers an electrical shock to help it return to normal. AEDs are provided in public places and are designed to be operated by members of the public, even those with no medical background. The man is now calling for better understanding of the correct use of AEDs.
Say you’re a Japanese otaku who loves the new Destiny game, light novels, and giant robot anime. But how would you keep up with the latest news for each one of them? Obviously, you’d have a few of your favorite sites bookmarked and you’d visit them a few times a day–if you were living in the Stone Age! Even if you’ve evolved enough to create your own RSS feed, you’d still only be in the 20th century–and far behind the times. For shame!
Now, if you were are a real 21st century geek, you’d get all your nerdy news through one “AI-enabled” app complete with adorable moe mascots and personalized news recommendations. Obviously.
It doesn’t get much weirder than this, folks. Yesterday, the People’s Daily, the largest newspaper group in China, reported on their English Twitter feed that “10,000 pigeons go through anal security check for suspicious objects Tue, ready to be released on National Day on Wed.”
That’s right, kids: avian cavity searches.
The lawyer for the family of Darrien Hunt, the 22-year-old man allegedly shot and killed by police officers in Saratoga Springs, Utah last week, said that the family believes Hunt was cosplaying an anime character when he was shot. In particular, the family’s attorney Randall Edwards said that they believe Hunt was dressed as the character Mugen from the anime Samurai Champloo, with a Japanese-style katana sword on his back.
On September 10, two officers confronted Hunt while he was carrying the sword near a credit union in Saratoga Springs. After one shot was fired near the credit union, Hunt was shot and killed about 200 yards away near a Panda Express restaurant.
Police in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, on Tuesday arrested a 19-year-old youth after he stabbed his parents at their home. The suspect’s mother later died of her wounds.
Net users in Japan are in shock today after reading the news of how a blind high school girl in Saitama Prefecture was injured after being viciously kicked by an unknown assailant while making her way to school. This news comes just weeks after it was learned that a guide dog was stabbed three times by a passenger on a crowded train in the same prefecture.
From 1969 to 1997, the North Korean leadership purchased expensive full-page ad space in the most prominent western newspapers, Benjamin R. Young reports for NK News. The ads, which cost anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000, were placed in high-profile publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Guardian.
A man suspected of groping a woman on the JR Yamanote line escaped by jumping onto the tracks at JR Ebisu station in Tokyo on Thursday night. His actions delayed trains along the Yamanote line for about 30 minutes, TBS reported Friday.



















Man arrested in Tokyo after allegedly luring foreign tourists into shady Kabukicho establishments
Japanese recipe for Tempura Twinkies takes America’s favourite snack to a whole new level
7-Eleven Japan reimagines the fruit sando with new chocolate bread version
Uniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Studio Ghibli calendar figures are back, look amazing whether you check the date or not[Photos]
Burger King Japan goes viral for its new Big Mouth Dirty, but is it really worth the hype?
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attraction
Shizuoka police inspector punished for playing crane games on duty
Three new starter Pokémon Jets to fly in Japan, first begins carrying passengers this month
Japan reacts to Donald Trump’s “Islamic Republic of Japan” remark
Japanese airport rebrands itself as “Sushi Airport” to attract foreign tourists
New Mt. Fuji overnight bus takes travelers from downtown Tokyo straight to the most popular hiking trail
A visit to Sri Lanka’s knockoff knockoff Uniqlo (no, we didn’t stutter) to see its rare “Pikachus”
7-Eleven Japan now has Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, but how do they taste?[Taste test]
Tokyo revises accommodation tax amidst tourism boom, Airbnb rentals now included
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Studio Ghibli store Donguri Republic announces opening of first-ever store in America
Japan triples departure tax, foreign tourists and locals now must pay more to leave country
Japan launches first overnight Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka this summer
Japanese sweets shop sells an ohagi so exquisite it sells out by noon
New Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel style
Sanrio Character Poll announces winners, Hello Kitty absent from top 10 in many countries
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Studio Ghibli calendar figures are back, look amazing whether you check the date or not[Photos]
Burger King Japan goes viral for its new Big Mouth Dirty, but is it really worth the hype?
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attraction
Shizuoka police inspector punished for playing crane games on duty
Three new starter Pokémon Jets to fly in Japan, first begins carrying passengers this month
Shake Shack has five regional shakes hiding on the menu in Japan, and here’s how to find them
Enoshima’s magical night lantern festival is back this summer with spectacular views
Japan reacts to Donald Trump’s “Islamic Republic of Japan” remark
Survey shows foreigners’ desire to work in Japan long-term dropping, but that’s not the whole story
Mister Donut becomes “Mrs. Donut” for sweet new Mrs. Green Apple collaboration
Japanese government ID card and app to be required for certain Pokémon card purchases next month
Onidon opens in Tokyo with unique fusion tempura rice balls you won’t find anywhere else
McDonald’s Japan reveals new Pokémon collaboration range, covering McNuggets and lucky bags
Furby is now a sexy anime girl figure[Photos]