society (Page 3)
Combination of factors is dimming the shine of one of the stars of Japanese restaurant culture.
Plus some surprising extra requirements, like having to say “thank you” at least 10 times a day.
Ibaraki Prefecture now offers rewards to whistleblowers who lead them to companies illegally employing foreign workers.
![Police cracking down on outdoor seating in Tokyo’s liveliest street market neighborhood[Video]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/05/ay-0.jpg?w=640 "Police cracking down on outdoor seating in Tokyo’s liveliest street market neighborhood[Video]")
Consumers showing little sympathy for rice sellers as eating habits and supply chains change.
Annual survey finds cases of 90-year-old parents caring for socially reclusive children in their 60s.
![What are the worst things about living in the Japanese countryside?[Survey]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/04/ig-1.jpg?w=640 "What are the worst things about living in the Japanese countryside?[Survey]")
![Tokyo’s city hall changes dress code, workers now allowed to wear shorts[Videos]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/04/ts-1.jpg?w=640 "Tokyo’s city hall changes dress code, workers now allowed to wear shorts[Videos]")
Many people with dreams are poised to save understaffed kitchens, but they’re currently stuck behind a bureaucratic velvet rope.
Luckily there’s an easy way to tell if you’re dealing with a legitimate law enforcement officer or a con artist.
In the land of vending machines, what’s behind the biggest single-year decrease ever for soft drinks?
Change comes with less than half a week’s notice, new requirements will take five more years to meet.
![Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/03/nm-1.jpg?w=640 "Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]")
Once an under-the-radar sakura spot, this neighborhood near Shibuya has become dangerously congested.
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