Kmart and Target issued a recall for the products, which were found to have traces of asbestos in some samples.

Toyooka City in Hyogo Prefecture has begun a trial pedestrian zone in the Kinosaki Onsen district to create a safer environment for tourists strolling through the hot spring town. (News On Japan)

Kyoto Sangyo University has suspended access to its athletics grounds after a report of an animal resembling a bear was made near the facility in Kyoto City. (News On Japan)

A company employee was arrested on November 3rd in Kashiwara City, Osaka Prefecture, after allegedly setting fire to his car on the Nishi-Meihan Expressway, where police later discovered the burned body of a man believed to have been in his 50s or 60s, prompting investigators to consider the possibility of murder in addition to arson. (News On Japan)

A group of eight individuals, including Chinese national and company executive Yang Xiaodong, has been arrested on suspicion of selling gold bars with counterfeit stamps from a major precious metals company and passing them off as genuine, generating what investigators believe was roughly 9.5 billion yen in sales. (News On Japan)

Saitama, which drew attention after placing last in the latest prefectural attractiveness rankings, is in fact home to an unexpectedly large number of people dedicated to promoting the prefecture — so many that residents often joke about it. (News On Japan)

Japan aims to achieve carbon neutrality by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050, and in this context, municipalities and companies across the country are accelerating the use of green hydrogen, which is increasingly viewed as the key to realizing a decarbonized society. (News On Japan)