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748 storiesWhite House press secretary Zakaria to leave after five days amid law licence row
White House press secretary Katie Zakaria is leaving the post five days after taking it on 12 October, following criticism that she was introduced as an attorney without holding a US law licence. Asahi Shimbun reported, citing multiple US m…
Japan withdraws erroneous M9.9 earthquake warning
Japan's weather agency cancelled an erroneous earthquake warning on 16 October after overestimating a magnitude 6.9 quake near Kamchatka as magnitude 9.9. No shaking above intensity 1 was observed in Japan.
Japan says Russia notified it of reporter's detention, but consular access still fails
Japan said Russia provided consular notification on October 15 about the detention of a Hokkaido Shimbun reporter on suspicion of espionage. Embassy officials visited a Moscow detention facility on October 16 but could not meet him, Yomiuri…
White House press secretary admits she did not pass a bar exam after lawyer claims
Katie Zakaria (ケイティ・ザカリア), the new White House press secretary, said on 15 October that she has not passed a bar exam. The Wall Street Journal had reported on 14 October that she failed the California bar after law school, although Presiden…
Japan's parties agree to open Lower House debate on food tax cut bill on 20 October
The Liberal Democratic Party and the Lower House group Chudo agreed on 16 October to open plenary debate on the food consumption tax cut bill on 20 October, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attending. The ruling side had first proposed th…
Typhoon 30 (Champar) forms near Marshall Islands, may approach Japan next week
Typhoon No. 30, named Champar (チャンパー), formed at 15:00 on 15 October in the Marshall Islands, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. It is the first time since 2013 that 30 typhoons have formed in a year. The agency expects it to become a "v…
Fukuoka assembly approves inquiry into alleged payments linked to leadership posts
The Fukuoka prefectural assembly approved an Article 100 investigative committee to examine alleged payments linked to speaker and deputy-speaker posts, TBS NEWS DIG reported early on October 17. The decision followed prolonged arguments ov…
Kyoto court acquits Kudo-kai gang figure in 2013 shooting of Gyoza no Ohsho president
The Kyoto District Court on October 16 acquitted Yukio Tanaka (田中幸雄), 59, a senior member of a gang affiliated with the Kudo-kai, of the 2013 shooting of Takayuki Ohigashi (大東隆行), president of Gyoza no Ohsho (餃子の王将) operator Ohsho Food Serv…
New China–North Korea road bridge opens 12 years after completion
The New Yalu River Bridge linking Dandong in China and Sinuiju in North Korea opened on October 15, about 12 years after its main structure was completed. Japanese outlets reported an opening ceremony for the road crossing, which is expecte…
Japan's agriculture minister submits resignation amid budget and election-bus controversy
Agriculture Minister Kazuo Yana (簗和生) submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on October 14, Asahi Shimbun reports. He faced criticism over remarks about cutting road budgets in areas that did not support him and free shu…
Ukraine reports satellite restrictions disrupting military drone operations
Ukrainian officials said satellite communications restrictions were disrupting military operations, including drone use. Elon Musk said the US government controlled Starshield and that the US military and ultimately the president decided it…
Japan's Supreme Court overturns acquittal in Lake Inawashiro boat crash that killed boy
Japan's Supreme Court on October 16 overturned a high court acquittal and found former company executive Tsuyoshi Sato (佐藤剛), 49, guilty of professional negligence resulting in death and injury over a 2020 boat crash on Lake Inawashiro in F…
Japanese software firm says 22.52 million customer records may have leaked
Japanese software company Sosunekusuto (ソースネクスト) said unauthorized access may have exposed 22,519,960 customer records, including passwords and contact information. The company is requiring password resets and said credit-card information w…
Japan to count financial income in over-75s' medical costs from August 2029
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare plans to start counting financial income, such as stock dividends, when setting medical co-payments and insurance premiums for people aged 75 and over from August 2029. It presented the schedul…
Russia says it detained Hokkaido Shimbun reporter in Sakhalin on spying suspicion
Russia's Federal Security Service said October 13 that it detained a Japanese Hokkaido Shimbun reporter in Sakhalin on suspicion of espionage. Japanese reports said he was transferred to Moscow; the newspaper and Japan's embassy said they w…
Tokyo police arrest ex-host over demand that client work in sex industry to pay bills
Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department arrested Takuto Takeoka (竹岡拓人), 27, a former host at a Kabukicho host club, on suspicion of demanding that a female customer work in a sex-industry shop to pay her club bills. A scout, Takahiro Fukushi…
Toyota to make all of its roughly 50 models software-defined vehicles by 2030
Toyota Motor said on 16 October that it will turn all of its roughly 50 models sold worldwide into software-defined vehicles (SDVs) by 2030. Asahi Shimbun reported that the plan builds on its in-house software Arene, first used in the RAV4,…
General Conference on Weights and Measures votes to abolish leap second from May 2027
The General Conference on Weights and Measures, meeting in France, decided on October 15 to abolish the leap second and introduce what Japanese outlets call a "leap hour", allowing the gap between atomic-clock time and Earth-rotation time t…
Trump cancels planned livestream of former Army major's execution
President Donald Trump said on October 15 that the planned firing-squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan would not be livestreamed. Japanese reports said the execution would proceed as scheduled, with victims' relatives allowed to attend if t…
Osaka hospital disciplines nurse over unauthorised patient videos on social media
An Osaka hospital said on October 15 that it had disciplined a staff member over unauthorised filming of patients and social-media posts. Nippon TV identified the employee as a nurse who filmed patients repeatedly while on duty in July; the…