The planned extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen to Sapporo has come under renewed scrutiny after Japan's Finance Ministry said the project had reached a level at which it should, in principle, be canceled. (News On Japan)

The Nara Prison Museum, created from the former Nara Prison, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property built in the Meiji era, will open to the public on April 27. (News On Japan)

Temporary container housing being developed at Nagoya Port’s Garden Pier as an accommodation base for athletes competing in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which open in September, was unveiled to the media on April 23. (News On Japan)

Japan has enacted a revised Passport Act that will sharply reduce passport application fees from July 1, as the government seeks to encourage more citizens to obtain passports. (News On Japan)

Japan's House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to establish a National Intelligence Council aimed at strengthening the government's intelligence-gathering and analytical capabilities. (News On Japan)

Honda said it expects to post its first net loss since going public in the fiscal year ending March 2026, underscoring the heavy cost of its abrupt retreat from electric vehicle expansion. (News On Japan)

All Nippon Airways is considering introducing a fuel surcharge on domestic flights as early as the next fiscal year, amid surging fuel costs driven by tensions in the Middle East. (News On Japan)

Japan is turning to foreign workers to address a deepening shortage of bus drivers that has led to route suspensions and reduced services nationwide, including in Tokyo. With the industry projected to face a shortfall of 36,000 drivers by 2030, operators are beginning to recruit and train overseas talent as a short-term solution to keep public transport running. (News On Japan)

Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on April 22 presented a draft outline of key issues to an expert panel examining protections for minors on social networking services, taking a cautious stance toward blanket age-based access restrictions that have been increasingly introduced overseas. (News On Japan)

The Emperor and Empress hosted the annual Spring Garden Party on April 17 at Akasaka Imperial Garden in Moto-Akasaka, Tokyo, welcoming around 1,400 guests including gold medalists from the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, distinguished figures from various fields and local government representatives. (News On Japan)

Three members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force were killed in a tank shell explosion during a live-fire exercise at a training ground in Oita Prefecture, with the force now planning to examine radio communications at the time of the accident. (News On Japan)

Fraud cases involving criminals impersonating police officers are increasing across Japan, with a new tactic emerging in which fake arrest warrants are mailed directly to victims' homes. (News On Japan)

Wakayama Prefecture held talks with local fisheries cooperatives after concerns grew that fishing boats may be unable to put to sea because fuel supplies have been disrupted by tensions in the Middle East. (News On Japan)

Road cave-ins are occurring one after another across Japan. According to a survey released on April 22 by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, so-called dangerous sewer lines requiring urgent countermeasures now total 748 kilometers nationwide. (News On Japan)

Two members of a circus troupe have been referred to prosecutors after an archaeological site dating back to the Yayoi period in Osaka was allegedly excavated without permission and damaged by the burial of a large number of trees. (News On Japan)

Four more Japanese crew members have disembarked from Japan-related vessels staying in the Persian Gulf, reducing the number of Japanese nationals still aboard ships in the area to 16. (News On Japan)

A female worker in her 20s died after becoming trapped while carrying out inspection work on an attraction at Tokyo Dome City in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, shortly before noon on April 21. (News On Japan)

At Kumata Shrine in Osaka's Hirano Ward, an inspection using a termite detection dog was carried out to help protect the site’s historic wooden buildings. (News On Japan)

An enormous appetite that brings joy just to watch, paired with an irrepressibly cheerful spirit. Konosuke Shigemura, 18, is regarded as a leading candidate to become a future yokozuna, sumo's highest rank. (News On Japan)

In Nara, where inbound tourists continue to crowd major sightseeing areas, a shopping arcade slightly removed from the main attractions has achieved a striking turnaround. (News On Japan)