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August 13, 2026
 

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TEMPLES

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.
Worshippers light incense sticks at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul. In fast-secularizing South Korea, Buddhism is regaining popularity thanks to a "hip" trend wooing Gen Z with festivals, fashion, robots and DJs.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 7, 2026
South Korean Buddhism tests ¡®hip¡¯ boundaries in bid for Gen Z appeal
Even as the number of South Koreans who identify as Buddhist remains static, Buddhism was viewed the most favorably of four belief systems in a 2025 survey.
The Reikado hall on the island of Miyajima in Hiroshima Prefecture in 2023
JAPAN
May 20, 2026
Hall linked to Buddhist saint Kukai burns down on Miyajima
Flames spread into nearby woodland on the island later, but no one was hurt.
Stains caused by a liquid-like substance were found on the National Treasure Bussokuseki at Yakushiji Temple.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 14, 2026
Police investigate stains found on national treasure at Nara temple
Law enforcement is looking into the case on suspicion of violation of the cultural properties protection law.
Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Apr 13, 2026
Can AI replace a priest? Â鶹´«Ã½ temples and shrines are testing the limits.
Â鶹´«Ã½ temples experiment with artificial intelligence as questions of faith, presence and care grow more urgent.
A Japanese man living in the United States has been arrested for allegedly splashing an oil-like substance at Katori Shrine in the city of Katori, Chiba Prefecture, in 2015.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 4, 2026
Man held for splashing oil-like substance at shrine near Tokyo in 2015
Masahide Kanayama, a 63-year-old man who lived in the U.S., was brought back to Japan under the U.S.-Japan extradition treaty.
Members of the Chunichi Dragons pray at Atsuta Jingu in Nagoya ahead of the start of their season in March.
SPORTS
Jan 1, 2026
Gods and games: Rituals that kick off Â鶹´«Ã½ sporting year
From hatsum¨­de to victory charms, many athletes have rituals that are rooted in the spiritual side of Japanese sport.
In pet-loving Japan, the ways owners say goodbye to their dearly departed animals can mirror the ways they bid farewell to other humans.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 29, 2025
In Japan, beloved pets receive human-style farewells
Japan has the highest rate of cremation in the world, and increasingly, that applies to departed pets as well.
Dragons feature prominently in Japanese folklore, though tracing their physical steps through the countryside requires some rural excursions.
LIFE / Travel
Nov 29, 2025
Chasing dragons across the temples of Nara
In two rural prefectures, dragon myths ¡ª and a cave that purports to host some ¡ª make for a unique way to explore the Japanese countryside.
Emperor Naruhito smiles at children who performed a dance during a visit to Shine Mongol School in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2025
Emperor visits Mongolian school offering Japanese-style education
Emperor Naruhito also visited Gandantegchinlen Monastery, a key temple in Mongolia that has been influenced by Tibetan Buddhism.
A broker in the city of Osaka displays a sign for religious corporation deals.
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jun 9, 2025
Religious corporation sales rising in Japan amid tax evasion concerns
There are increasing concerns?that buyers may exploit the tax privileges granted to religious corporations.
The Kanzeon Bodhisattva statue that was returned to the Kannonji Temple in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, on Monday
JAPAN
May 12, 2025
Stolen Buddha statue returned to Japanese temple after 12 years
A ritual was held at Kannoji Temple?on the island of Tsushima to mark the return of the Kanzeon Bodhisattva statue after more than 12 years.
A stolen Kanzeon Bodhisattva statue in Daejeon, central South Korea, in January
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 11, 2025
Stolen Buddha statue handed over to Japan in South Korea
South Korea¡¯s Supreme Court recognized the Japanese temple¡¯s ownership of the statue in 2023, rejecting claims that it was stolen by Japanese pirates in the 14th century.
UNESCO's executive board on Thursday added Buddhist scriptures kept at Tokyo's Zojoji Temple to its Memory of the World register.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2025
Zojoji Buddhist scriptures added to UNESCO Memory of the World
The scriptures were collected by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate in Â鶹´«Ã½ Edo era, and donated to the temple.
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling ¡ª its name notwithstanding.
LIFE / Travel
Mar 29, 2025
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Linking mountainous Matsumoto and coastal Kanazawa, this clunkily named route includes nonetheless fantastic sites.
At each shrine and temple, priests create festive, decorative go-shuin stamps, and you can collect the marks of all seven of the lucky gods on one piece of paper (called a shikishi) to serve as a good-luck talisman.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 27, 2024
Start the new year not with one temple visit, but seven
The seven lucky gods pilgrimage is a less hurried alternative to the often-crowded first temple or shrine visit of the year.
The Kanzeon Bodhisattva statue, which was taken from Kannonji Temple in Nagasaki Prefecture to South Korea by a South Korean thief ring
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2024
South Korean temple pledges to return Buddha statue next spring
In October 2023, the South Korean Supreme Court affirmed that the statue was owned by a Japanese temple in Nagasaki Prefecture.
Best known as the home of Kuon Temple, Minobu, Yamanashi Prefecture, is a charming day trip from Tokyo with the potential for cultural verisimilitude.
LIFE / Travel
Nov 23, 2024
In rugged Yamanashi, a wild-goose chase for ¡®real Japan¡¯
Â鶹´«Ã½ countryside certainly offers a different experience than its cities, but whether that makes it categorically superior is up for debate.
The Kurama Fire Festival is one of Japan's most visceral 'matsuri' (festivals), but growing throngs of spectators could bring changes in the future.
LIFE / Travel
Nov 2, 2024
At Â鶹´«Ã½ hottest festival, crowds threaten to smother the flames
Despite the growing throngs of attendees, it¡¯s the smaller details of the Kurama Fire Festival that add up to more than the sum of its parts.
Stays at Aman Kyoto start at around $2,500 (about ?375,000) and increasing to $4,000 (about ?600,000) per night, but for the right traveler, it's not money entirely wasted.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 19, 2024
Kyoto¡¯s most expensive hotel offers inner peace ¡ª for a price
Aman Kyoto is one of the most luxurious options for stays in Â鶹´«Ã½ ancient capital ¡ª but is it worth the hefty price tag?
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
¡®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.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®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 Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
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.

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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