The Ministry of Justice announced that nationality reporting will become mandatory when registering real estate such as condominiums, reflecting growing calls to better understand ownership trends amid rising apartment prices and increased activity in the housing market. (News On Japan)

In mid-November, Their Majesties attended a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of Japan’s Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, a program that has sent some 58,000 participants to 99 developing countries since its launch in 1965 to support economic and social development. The first assignments were in Laos, then part of Southeast Asia’s emerging development frontier, where five volunteers were selected for dispatch. (News On Japan)

The latest “Jalan Popular Hot Spring Destinations 2026” ranking, based on responses from more than 12,000 members of the travel site Jalan, has named Gunma Prefecture’s Kusatsu Onsen as the top hot spring area people most want to revisit, marking its third consecutive year at No. 1, with Hakone Onsen in Kanagawa coming in third and Beppu Onsenkyo in Oita second. (News On Japan)

The Japanese government is preparing to end support for new large-scale solar power projects starting in fiscal 2027, as policymakers move to revise the framework used to promote renewable energy in the years following the Fukushima Daiichi accident. (News On Japan)

A woman attending a live performance and a male event staff member for HKT48 were stabbed by a man wielding what appeared to be a knife at a commercial complex in Fukuoka City on the evening of December 14th, with police confirming that both victims sustained injuries that were not life-threatening as officers later began questioning a man in his thirties believed to have fled the scene immediately after the attack. (News On Japan)

Ikuno Ward in Osaka, long known as a community shaped by Korean residents, is undergoing a significant transformation as the number of foreign nationals rises and the origins of its population diversify across roughly 80 countries. Nearly one in five of the ward’s 130,000 residents now hold foreign nationality, with recent growth driven in particular by arrivals from Vietnam and Nepal. (News On Japan)

At Oi Racecourse, the Tokyo City Flea Market has emerged as an unlikely gathering spot for overseas visitors even though it is far from a standard sightseeing destination, with the walkways filled on recent weekends with a mix of languages that reflects how sharply foreign tourism patterns are shifting. (News On Japan)

Find, a company that provides AI-based lost-and-found management, announced on December 12th that it has launched a new service enabling users to search for misplaced items across multiple transport operators and commercial facilities, allowing individuals to conduct a single unified search even when they are unsure where they dropped their belongings. (News On Japan)

Eco bags became a daily necessity after Japan introduced mandatory charges for plastic shopping bags in July 2020, yet many consumers still found it surprisingly troublesome to fold them neatly, a frustration that helped propel the rise of a product that not only solves this inconvenience but has now captured the attention of both Japanese and overseas buyers, with sales of the series reaching 17 million units. (News On Japan)

A 24-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly stabbing her younger sister in the back with a kitchen knife at their home in Kisarazu on the night of December 13th. (News On Japan)

Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan’s largest crime syndicate and a designated organized crime group under special anti-conflict measures in Hyogo Prefecture and other regions, convened a meeting in Shizuoka City’s Shimizu Ward on December 13th. (News On Japan)

Belarus carried out a large-scale amnesty on December 13th, releasing 123 detainees that included a Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights activist and a Japanese national. (News On Japan)

Aiko, the daughter of the Emperor and Empress, attended the 50th anniversary ceremony for the Faculty of Nursing at Chiba University on December 14th, where she delivered an address that emphasized her longstanding respect for the profession. (News On Japan)

A team of workers who labor through the night for the benefit of society were followed closely as they undertook two extraordinary tasks: transporting a 50-metre wind turbine blade across narrow residential streets in Shizuoka Prefecture and carrying out behind-the-scenes maintenance at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka after the park had closed. (News On Japan)

Condominium prices in Osaka are rising at a pace that shows no sign of slowing, with units exceeding 100 million yen becoming increasingly common as the city records the world’s fastest rate of condo price growth among major metropolitan areas. (News On Japan)

JR Group companies will introduce extensive timetable changes in March next year, with JR Central announcing that it will raise the maximum number of Tokaido Shinkansen Nozomi services to 13 per hour during peak periods. (News On Japan)

As the end of the year approaches, companies across Japan are scaling back on traditional calendar giveaways, with major airlines such as JAL and ANA joining a growing list of firms ending long-standing distribution programs even as demand among some consumers remains strong. (News On Japan)

A series of graffiti markings discovered along the shores of Lake Biwa has drawn sharp criticism from local residents after damage was found on a site long regarded as one of Japan’s Three Famous Bridges, adding to a growing number of defacements occurring at renowned destinations across the country. (News On Japan)

In Kyoto’s Gion district, the annual ritual known as Kotohajime, when preparations for the New Year formally begin, took place on December 13th as geiko and maiko visited their teachers to offer thanks for the past year and convey greetings for the year ahead. (News On Japan)

The Kanji of the Year for 2025 was announced at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto on December 12th, with the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation selecting the character for bear for the first time after nationwide sightings, record-high damage and injuries. (News On Japan)