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August 11, 2026
 

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NIIGATA

Japan's famous Fuji Rock festival this year included flag-waving for regimes whose actions contradict the ideals of peaceful assembly and human rights that reflect unexamined political sympathies that risk legitimizing oppressive regimes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 7, 2026
Flag-waving at Fuji Rock: Conviction or fashion?
Music has long served as an expression of a fundamental human freedom ¡ª the right to speak, to challenge authority and to be heard without fear of the state.
The Doyu no Warito open-cut site, regarded as the symbol of the Sado Island Gold Mines in Sado, Niigata Prefecture
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2026
UNESCO panel urges Japan to improve exhibits at Sado Gold Mines
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee made the request as it adopted a resolution on the conservation status of the gold mines during a meeting in Busan, South Korea.
The Sado Island Gold Mines in Niigata Prefecture were registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2024.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2026
UNESCO panel to urge Japan to reform exhibits at gold mines on Sado Island
The draft was compiled based on South Korea¡¯s argument that people from the Korean Peninsula were forced to provide labor at the mining complex during World War II.
Parliament passed a bill Wednesday to add six islands to the list of inhabited border islands eligible for state support aimed at promoting settlement and tourism.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2026
Japan enacts bill to boost settlement on six more border islands
The revised special measures law calls for promoting tourism on listed islands and requiring prefectural governments?to make efforts to address depopulation.
Tomomi Duquette is the owner of Snow Satoyama Sake, one of just three breweries that have opened in Niigata Prefecture since 1953.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 14, 2026
Newcomer to hallowed Niigata sake scene is already winning awards
Sake evangelist Tomomi Duquette is breathing new life into the heartland of sake brewing.
Niigata Gov. Hideyo Hanazumi won his third four-year term in Sunday's gubernatorial election.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 1, 2026
Hanazumi wins third term as Niigata governor
The 68-year-old governor was backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and the prefectural chapters of the Japan Innovation Party, the Democratic Party for the People and Komeito.
The Environment Ministry aims to gain a better understanding of bear behavior in wide areas, as bears often roam across prefectural borders.
JAPAN
May 20, 2026
Japan to survey bear habitats in Niigata and Tohoku region
The government surveys aim to gain a better understanding of bear behavior in wide areas, as bears often roam across prefectural borders.
Judge Akifumi Morimoto is suspected of accessing an online casino site more than 60,000 times and engaging in gambling from April to September 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 14, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ top court seeks judge¡¯s dismissal over his suspected online gambling
The Akita District Public Prosecutors Office indicted the judge on suspicion of accessing an online casino site more than 60,000 times and gambling from April to September 2023.
Koji Terao, the Hokuetsu High School teacher in charge of supervising the school's soft tennis team, speaks at a news conference in Niigata on Sunday.
JAPAN
May 11, 2026
High school in Niigata had arranged buses through local firm before fatal crash
A microbus carrying 20 students of the soft tennis club of Hokuetsu High School in the city of Niigata crashed into a guardrail on Wednesday, leaving one student dead.
Transport ministry officials enter Kanbara Tetsudo in Gosen, Niigata Prefecture, on Thursday to conduct an on-site inspection.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 8, 2026
Microbus driver arrested after crash kills student in northeastern Japan
The vehicle was carrying 20 members of a school soft tennis club from Niigata Prefecture.
Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa (center) inspects the central control room at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture on Saturday.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2026
Minister inspects Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant
Akazawa made the visit after the No. 6 reactor of the plant restarted commercial operations on April 16.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings resumed commercial operations of reactor No. 6 at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture on Thursday.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2026
Tepco resumes commercial operations at Niigata plant for first time in 14 years
The restart of reactor No. 6 at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant comes roughly 50 days later than scheduled.
After studying cultural anthropology in London, Nina Otsubo Cataldo (left) started a consulting business in Niigata Prefecture that helps bridge the gap between foreign and local residents.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Apr 3, 2026
In rural Japan, a consultant code-switches and connects
A cultural consultant is combining academic and personal passions in Niigata Prefecture while maintaining an online community for women of similar biracial backgrounds.
Rusutsu lift pass police check that companies guiding and teaching on their resort have a corporate pass.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Apr 1, 2026
Foreign ski instructors and guides operating illegally in Japan spark concerns
Officials and businesses in major winter destinations warn that such illicit operations could disrupt public order, create unfair competition and raise safety concerns.
TEPCO said Sunday that the resumption at the No. 6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant came a day after the replacement of a damaged part that led to the suspension of power generation.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2026
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear reactor resumes power generation
It was found later that a part that detects electricity leakage was damaged due to vibrations from the generator.
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power complex in Niigata Prefecture
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2026
Tepco delays operation at Niigata nuclear plant due to electricity leak
The plant¡¯s No. 6 reactor was halted soon after its restart on Jan. 21 when an alarm was triggered. It was reactivated on Feb. 9 and began power generation on Feb. 16.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, one of the world's largest nuclear facilities, in Niigata Prefecture in December
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 6, 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ nuclear comeback slow, steady and seen as necessary
A stable source of emission-free power is needed if the country is to meet its energy goals
South Korean director Sasha Lee¡¯s surreal film ¡°The Popstar Water Deer and I¡± received the mid-length grand prize at this year¡¯s Niigata International Animation Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 5, 2026
Reeling from loss, Niigata¡¯s animation festival refuses to fold
After losing key organizers and the death of its founder, the festival wasn¡¯t sure it could go on. Instead of going dark, however, NIAFF rebuilt from scratch.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture. An employee of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings has been found to have improperly handled confidential documents on the plant.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2026
Tepco employee improperly handled confidential nuclear plant documents
The employee photographed the documents with a smartphone without permission and emailed a summary of the contents to 16 colleagues in February 2025.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture. The brief halt of the No. 6 reactor was carried out for inspections, including checking for abnormalities in turbine-related equipment, which started generating and sending electricity for the first time in about 14 years.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2026
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa No. 6 nuclear reactor restarted after scheduled halt
The brief halt of the No. 6 reactor was carried out for inspections, including checking for abnormalities in turbine-related equipment, with no issues found.
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.
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.
Will Takaichi¡¯s consumption tax cut break the LDP?
Despite months of debate, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi failed to gain consensus within the Liberal Democratic Party on a two-year reduction of the consumption tax.

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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