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August 11, 2026
 

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DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike shakes hands with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a meeting Friday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2026
Missile shelter to be built near Tokyo Station amid rising security concerns
The push to build more durable shelters comes amid North Korea¡¯s ramped-up pace of ballistic missile tests and China¡¯s growing arsenal of powerful weapons.
Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Aug 7, 2026
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
Roads stayed fairly clear after the quake. Water, care and daily life proved much harder to restore.
An explosion at Aeon¡¯s shopping complex in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, caused part of the mall¡¯s second floor to collapse and sent debris flying across nearby areas.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2026
LPG suppliers asked to inspect equipment after fatal shopping mall blast
The industry ministry has reported that leaked gas was ¡°highly likely¡± to have caused the explosion that killed seven people following last week¡¯s powerful earthquake.
A view of downtown Sapporo. Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki is pushing Sapporo as a candidate for a second capital outside Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 28, 2026
With secondary-capital bill passed, competition between cities heats up
In addition to Osaka, others including Fukuoka, Sapporo and Nagoya have indicated interest in being the fallback if a disaster strikes Tokyo and renders it unable to function.
Mauricio Ojeda (center) takes part in a flood prevention drill in Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, in June.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Chubu
Jul 27, 2026
More foreign nationals joining fire brigades in Japan, but barriers remain
Volunteer fire brigade members of foreign nationality can only engage in activities within the scope of acts that do not constitute exercising public authority.
A damaged road caused by the earthquake in Nishiaraya, Ishikawa Prefecture, in January 2024
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2026
Several dozen local bodies vie for disaster management agency¡¯s regional bases
Some local governments said they hope hosting the agency¡¯s regional offices would help correct the overconcentration of functions in Tokyo and revitalize regional economies.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a government meeting on disaster response measures at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2026
Japan to boost measures against heatstroke and cold at evacuation centers
The revised plan comes after residents in many parts of Japan had to spend long hours at evacuation centers following a powerful earthquake in July last year.
The Upper House on Monday passed a bill to establish a new disaster management agency and legislation aimed at curbing the online spread of election-related misinformation and defamation.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 13, 2026
Upper House passes bill to set up disaster management agency
Bills aimed at curbing the spread of election-related misinformation and defamation on social media and the internet were also passed on Monday.
For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Â鶹´«Ã½ landscape that they often go unnoticed.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jul 13, 2026
Why Â鶹´«Ã½ utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
Burying Â鶹´«Ã½ power lines is far more difficult ¡ª and expensive ¡ª than it looks.
All Nippon Airways' new Hokkaido facility has about 60 employees from various divisions to maintain operations during the first week following a possible major disaster or terrorist attack.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2026
ANA opens Hokkaido facility to ensure continuity in event of disaster
The major airline moved part of its operations from Tokyo¡¯s Haneda Airport to the new facility, which began full-scale operations earlier this month.
KDDI and KDDI SmartDrone will study the potential use of AI drones for disaster prevention and for patrolling and inspecting infrastructure facilities.
BUSINESS
Jul 7, 2026
KDDI to conduct AI drone feasibility study in Vietnam and the Philippines
KDDI and KDDI SmartDrone will study the potential use of AI drones for disaster prevention and for patrolling and inspecting infrastructure facilities.
A woman offers prayers in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, on Monday, mourning people who lost their lives in a devastating rain disaster that hit the area in 2018.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2026
Victims mourned eight years after western Japan rain disaster
Residents across the Chugoku region on Monday mourned over 300 people who lost their lives in the incident that hit the area in 2018.
Bereaved family members lay flowers during a memorial ceremony to mark the sixth anniversary of the heavy rain disaster in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2026
Memorial held for 2020 rain disaster in Kumamoto
Participants included bereaved family members, land minister Yasushi Kaneko and Kumamoto Gov. Takashi Kimura.
Kawasaki fire department helicopters. The government may provide financial support to cover the training costs of pilots for firefighting and disaster relief helicopters.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 5, 2026
Japan eyes aid for emergency helicopter pilot training costs
More than 1,000 hours of flight experience is required to become a captain of a firefighting and disaster relief helicopter or a medical helicopter.
Bereaved family members offer prayers on Friday at the site where their home once stood in the city of Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, before a mudslide disaster took place in 2021.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2026
Families mourn victims of 2021 Atami mudslide
On July 3, 2021, heavy rain triggered a mudslide involving some 55,500 cubic meters of earth and sand, which destroyed over a hundred houses and other buildings, killing 28 people.
Collapsed walls in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, early Saturday following an earthquake
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2026
Cabinet Office refreshes guidelines for municipalities to prepare for major quakes
The new standards clarify methods for estimating the number of first-aid staff and ambulances needed for relief operations.
Participants in Finland¡¯s National Defense Course gain access to military facilities, information and demonstrations that few Finns ever see.
WORLD
Jun 25, 2026
Finland¡¯s secretive training course prepares its elite for war
Participants attend classified briefings and visit strategic facilities as well as government sites normally closed to the public over a period of three to four weeks.
Removing the limit on simultaneous drone use by one person is aimed at optimizing logistics and infrastructure inspections, and at making damage assessment and search operations more effective during disasters.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2026
Japan lifts upper limit on drones operated by one pilot
Removing the limit is aimed at optimizing logistics and infrastructure inspections, and at making damage assessment and search operations more effective during disasters.
Japan's revised earthquake preparedness plan targets reducing projected deaths and building losses to half or less of the latest estimates released in December 2025 for a potential major quake beneath the Tokyo metropolitan area.
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2026
Japan revises megaquake preparation plan for Tokyo area
The government intends to reduce the number of deaths and the number of buildings destroyed or burned down due to an earthquake to at least half of the latest estimates.
The arrival of the rainy season in the Kanto-Koshin region, which includes the Tokyo metropolitan area, is about the same time as the average year and one day later than usual for the central Tokai region
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2026
Rainy season begins in Kanto and central Japan
The arrival of the rainy season in the Kanto-Koshin region, which includes the Tokyo metropolitan area, is about the same time as the average year.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.
How Â鶹´«Ã½ racehorses find second careers away from the track
TCC Therapy Park is supported financially by racing organizations as well as donations from members of the public.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

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 Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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