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The Chiba District Court on Thursday sentenced Masahide Kanayama, 63-year-old doctor, to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, for damaging historic buildings at Katori Jingu Shrine and Naritasan Shinshoji Temple in 2015.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 7, 2026
U.S.-based doctor sentenced in historic building vandalism case
Masahide Kanayama is a Japanese national who lived in the United States until being extradited to Japan earlier this year.
The National Police Agency is considering use of a new investigation method that involves remotely analyzing communications via highly confidential apps used by <i>³Ù´Ç°ì³Ü°ù²â¨±</i>  loosely organized anonymous criminal groups.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 6, 2026
Âé¶¹´«Ã½ police to monitor ¡®³Ù´Ç°ì³Ü°ù²â¨±¡¯ use of confidential messaging apps
The method involves remote-controlling smartphones and other devices of high-ranking ³Ù´Ç°ì³Ü°ù²â¨± members to access communication records and other information.
Police block a street in Kawachinagano, Osaka Prefecture, on Tuesday after a man was fatally shot by a police officer.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 5, 2026
Police in Osaka fatally shoot knife-wielding man
It is rare for police officers in Japan to shoot a suspect, as they are subject to strict restrictions regarding the use of handguns.
Japanese police have handled 123 cases of child sexual abuse deepfakes, or manipulated digital representations, in the first six months of this year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 5, 2026
Child sexual abuse deepfakes more than double in Japan in first half of 2026
Police handled 123 such cases in the six months, exceeding both the 60 recorded a year earlier and the 114 logged in all of 2025.
Former Justice Minister Masako Mori speaks at the Foreign Correspondents¡¯ Club of Japan in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 3, 2026
Former justice minister calls for independent probe into Japan public prosecutors
A succession of recent scandals has shown the service can no longer be trusted to investigate itself, lawmaker Masako Mori said.
An illegally converted e-bike seized by the Osaka Prefectural Police
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 31, 2026
Osaka police arrest two men over illegal e-bike conversions
The two men were suspected of fitting e-bikes with throttles that made them run twice as fast without the need to pedal.
The Kojimachi Post Office in Tokyo&#039;s Chiyoda Ward, where a rebuilding project has stalled, on Monday
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 30, 2026
Former Japan Post worker sent to prosecutors over alleged bribe-taking
Takahiro Kido is suspected of accepting benefits from Toa Tekko Kensetsu in return for giving the company favorable treatment in bidding related to rebuilding a post office.

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Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Âé¶¹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness

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