TRAVEL
Japan’s Duty-Free System For Tourists Will Change to Refunds in November 2026
Japan's planning to change how tourists shop: the country's new duty-free laws will now require requesting a refund at the airport.
News
Page 82
TRAVEL
NEWS
Japanese City Will Name-and-Shame Customers Who Abuse Workers
"Customer harassment" remains a significant problem in Japan. Kuwana City in Mie Prefecture will fight it with a new weapon: shame.
POLITICS
Japan’s PM Worn Down Because No One Loves Him
Japan's Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru says he can hardly sleep and no one even compliments him in the papers.
TRAVEL
“China-fication” of Japan? New 10-Year Visa for Wealthy Chinese Tourists Stirs Backlash
A plan to extend the current five-year visitor visa to 10 years for China's elite has many on Japan's far right up…
TRAVEL
Onsen City in Japan That Gets 85x More Tourists Than Residents Institutes New Rules
A popular onsen in Yamagata Prefecture brings in so much traffic that the city has instituted new rules to reduce congestion.
ENTERTAINMENT
Why Did SMAP’s Nakai Masahiro Pay a Woman a Massive Settlement?
A member of ultra-famous Japanese boy band SMAP paid a woman an eye-watering settlement. Fans and the media want to know why.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Why This Bookstore in Tokyo is Charging Admission
Would you pay to shop in a bookstore? Many in Japan would. Here's why Bunkitsu and other admission-based bookstores are booming.
FOOD
Domino’s Japan Once Again Stiffed Christmas Eve Pizza Eaters
In what some netizens are calling a Christmas Eve tradition, Domino's Japan stores countrywide failed to deliver on their pie promises.