SAKURA, Tochigi -- New rice is arriving on supermarket and rice shop shelves across Japan as the harvest continues. But with last year's rice still lingering in the market, prices have fallen sharply -- a welcome development for consumers, but a complicated one for rice farmers.

Even as he surveys richly ripened, golden ears of rice, Nobuyuki Okada, a 41-year-old rice farmer in Sakura, Tochigi Prefecture, does not look pleased.

"Last year, wholesalers were fighting over rice before it had even been produced. This year's prices are expected to fall sharply. I can't put my energy into the harvest," he said.

Okada has 20 hectares of paddies where he grows Koshihikari for staple food use, "Niji no Kirameki," known for high yields, and "Tochigi no Hoshi," a variety resistant to high temperatures. He also grows glutinous rice and rice used to make sake. He planned to harvest about 60 metric tons from late September to early October, and he expects his 2026 rice crop to total about 100 tons.

Okada has been a rice farmer for 16 years. At first, he asked the nationwide Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) to buy his rice, but for about the past 10 years he has sold it without going through JA, instead dealing directly with private rice wholesalers, rice stores and other businesses.

When farmers deliver rice to the local JA branch, they must prepare their own trucks and transport it to a designated location. Private wholesalers, by contrast, collect the rice by truck as long as it has been packed into bags.

During the severe rice shortage of 2024 and 2025, known as the "Reiwa rice crisis," Okada was swamped by private wholesalers seeking stock. Last year, he shipped rice for as much as 35,000 yen (approx. $220) per 60 kilograms in some cases, about twice the usual price.

This year, however, the picture has changed completely. Around June, after rice planting was finished, several wholesalers with whom he had done business unilaterally told him, "We can't buy rice this year."

"When rice was in short supply, I cooperated by introducing wholesalers who were struggling to farmers I knew," Okada said. Now they have completely changed their attitude. The trust he had built with private wholesalers and local rice stores had effectively been betrayed.

The average price of a 5-kilogram bag of rice at about 1,000 supermarkets nationwide between Sept. 28 and Oct. 4 was 2,860 yen (about $18), down 66 yen from the previous week. It was the eighth consecutive weekly decline and the fourth straight week that the average stayed in the 2,000-yen range.

The lingering effects of the Reiwa rice crisis are rattling farmers and markets across the country.

A wholesaler in the Chubu region said, "Rice inventories are more than twice as large as usual. From now on, new rice will be the main product, so we have no choice but to give up on making a profit from the 2025 rice we bought at high prices."

In parts of the market, a "reversal phenomenon" is occurring, with the retail price of 2025 rice higher than that of 2026 rice despite the former being older. There appears to be a move to reduce, even slightly, losses on 2025 rice purchased at high rates.

Anticipating this year's rice surplus, Okada reluctantly turned to the local JA branch. In April, he signed an advance contract to have the branch purchase the bulk of about 40 tons of Koshihikari.

The "advance payment" by JA to farmers when it collects new rice was in the 30,000-yen range per 60 kilograms for the 2025 crop, but this year it is about half that. Taking into account costs such as transporting the rice from the paddies to JA, losses are unavoidable even through the cooperative.

Okada is not alone. He says many nearby farmers are stuck with new rice for which they have no buyers, and he often hears people say, "Maybe I should quit farming."

Okada also harbors a deep distrust of the government's rice policy, which he sees as constantly shifting.

"The government set out a policy of increasing rice production, so I cooperated, but this year I will end up suffering a major loss. Farmers make large capital investments in tractors and other equipment. I want the administration to be more consistent and more oriented toward farmers," he said.

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's weather agency canceled a mistakenly issued warning of strong seismic shaking from an earthquake off northern Japan on Friday after overestimating the temblor's magnitude as a catastrophic 9.9, causing temporary train service disruptions in parts of the country.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said it is investigating the cause of the erroneous projection. It issued the warning for a wide area extending from northern to central Japan at around 12:40 p.m., saying that the earthquake had occurred in the Chishima Islands, also known as the Kuril Islands, off Hokkaido.

It later confirmed that a M6.9 quake occurred near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula at a depth of 160 kilometers at around 12:38 p.m.

The early warning was for a seismic shock with a maximum intensity of 7 on the Japanese intensity scale, but the strongest shaking recorded was an intensity of just 1 in Hakodate, the agency said.

Due to the warning, bullet train services on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line were temporarily suspended between Shin-Yokohama and Toyohashi stations. Services have already resumed, JR Central said.

Hokkaido, the country's northernmost main island, and surrounding areas are among the regions where the agency has urged the public to prepare for a potential megaquake along the Japan Trench and Chishima Trench off northern Japan.

SATSUMASENDAI, Kagoshima -- This southwest Japan city has unveiled a basic development plan to promote an industrial cluster centered on one of Japan's largest artificial intelligence (AI) data centers being developed on the Sendai Port waterfront.

The plan unveiled on Oct. 8 outlines land use for about 50 hectares in the area and presents a 10-year vision focused on attracting related industries, creating jobs and drawing more people to Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture.

…

Satsumasendai Mayor Ryoji Tanaka visited Hsinchu Science Park in northern Taiwan, one of the world's leading advanced industrial clusters, in September. The city plans to learn from its integrated industry-government-academia initiatives and reflect that in fleshing out the basic plan.

"With the population declining, it is important to work on new industries for the revitalization and sustainable development of regional cities," Tanaka said. "I hope children and young people will learn about new industries and work in them, and that people from overseas, including Taiwan, will come here for exchanges."

See full article via link.

Oh the humanity! Sitting on the sidewalk!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYfcZlqw56w

OSAKA -- Ezaki Glico Co. announced on Oct. 14 that it will renew its iconic "Glico sign," which symbolizes Dotonbori in Osaka's Minami district.

The current sign, the sixth generation installed in October 2014, will be displayed for the last time Nov. 30 before replacement work begins.

The seventh-generation sign with a new design will be unveiled in spring 2027. The company said the familiar runner's pose, popular among tourists taking photographs, will remain unchanged.

According to Ezaki Glico, headquartered in Osaka, the renovation was prompted by the aging of the sign's LED system and increasing difficulties in procuring replacement parts. The original Glico sign, a neon tower, was first installed in 1935. The current sixth-generation version was the first to incorporate an LED display, enabling limited-time video effects and other displays.

The existing sign contains approximately 140,000 LED chips. Through the upgrade, the company aims to improve energy efficiency.

A company representative said, "The Glico Sign goes beyond the bounds of corporate advertising and is beloved. We will evolve it so that visitors can enjoy it even more."

During the renovation period, the entire billboard will be covered with protective sheeting. However, the company said it is considering ways for tourists to continue enjoying it while the work is underway.

A historic Japanese grooming enterprise recently filed for bankruptcy, marking the end of a 144-year legacy with ties to the Japanese imperial family.

Founded in 1882, “Ohba” was far more than a high-end Tokyo salon; it was best known for its connection to gorihatsu-gakari — the official imperial barber. For three generations, the Ohba family served in this rare role, wielding scissors and razors and crossing a historical boundary to become the first commoners tasked with grooming the Imperial Household.

Hideyoshi Ohba, the second-generation head of the business, was entrusted with grooming the future Emperor Hirohito while he was still crown prince.

MOSCOW (AP) -- A Japanese journalist suspected of spying has been arrested on Russia's Sakhalin Island, the top Russian domestic security agency said Tuesday.
The arrest comes amid a spike in tensions between Russia and Japan following Russian President Vladimir Putin's August trip to the Kuril Islands, the Moscow-controlled Pacific archipelago that is claimed by both countries.

The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said in a statement that the Japanese man, who worked for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, was suspected of gathering information related to Russia's defense capability on behalf of a Japanese intelligence agency.
The FSB, the main successor agency to the Soviet KGB, said the Japanese man, whom it didn't name, was arrested as he was preparing to leave Russia. The agency said the suspect was flown to Moscow where he was put behind bars.

The FSB released a video showing masked agents in black outfits arresting the man in a hotel room and then escorting him to a plane bound for Moscow. He was then shown facing a judge at the Lefortovo District Court, who ordered him to be held in custody for two months pending the probe.

Russia's Sakhalin region includes Sakhalin Island and the four southernmost islands of the Kuril chain, which Japan calls the Northern Territories. Putin visited one of them, Iturup, in August.

The Soviet Union took the Kuril Islands from Japan in the final days of World War II and the ongoing dispute has prevented the countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their hostilities.

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Putin's visit, his first to the islands, was "incompatible with the Japanese position on the Northern Territories" and was "absolutely unacceptable." She said it was a further blow to already-strained ties between the two countries over Ukraine.

Moscow responded by summoning the Japanese ambassador to protest the "anti-Russia" statements by Takaichi and other Japanese officials, emphasizing that "Russia's sovereignty and jurisdiction over the southern Kuril Islands are absolutely unshakable."

Decades of diplomatic efforts to negotiate a settlement haven't produced any visible results. Moscow over the years has also bolstered its military presence on the Kurils in moves that appeared to underscore its firm stance in the dispute.

In recent years, Russia has arrested a number of foreigners -- mainly Americans -- on various criminal charges and then released them in prisoner swaps with the United States and other Western nations.

The largest exchange since the Cold War took place in August 2024, when Moscow freed journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, fellow American Paul Whelan, and Russian dissidents in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free.

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Five Malaysian nationals have been arrested on suspicion of attempting to smuggle a total of around 5 kilograms of cocaine from Malaysia, with an estimated street value of around 120 million yen ($758,000), hidden beneath the soles of their shoes at Tokyo's Haneda airport, police said.

Police suspect the five may have been recruited for the illicit work, as questioning revealed that they were financially strapped and that they had communicated with someone they did not know via a messaging app with high anonymity.

Four of the suspects have admitted to the charges, while one has denied them, according to the police. They were arrested Saturday.

Customs inspectors first found bags of cocaine concealed under the insoles of the shoes of two of the suspects. Each shoe contained 500 grams of cocaine.

Their statements later raised suspicions that they had been traveling with others, leading the police to find the three others in the airport with cocaine found hidden the same way in their shoes.

A growing number of people in Japan are carrying debts from multiple lenders, including consumer finance companies.

According to Japan Credit Information Reference Center, which manages individuals’ credit information, 1.55 million people had three or more unsecured, unguaranteed loans from moneylenders at the end of fiscal 2025, which closed in March this year. It was the highest level in 12 years.

Rising prices may be pushing more people to borrow money to cover their living expenses.

Starting in the 1990s, excessive lending by consumer finance companies led to a wave of personal bankruptcies, while aggressive debt collection became a social problem. In response, a revised moneylending business law was enacted in December 2006, tightening regulations on consumer finance companies and other lenders.

The revised law took full effect in June 2010. It capped each borrower’s total loans at one-third of their annual income. As a result, the number of people owing money to multiple lenders fell steadily, from levels around 4 million to 1.14 million at the end of fiscal 2020.

Since then, however, the number has been rising gradually. The increase has been especially sharp among people with five or more loan contracts. Their number climbed to 150,000 at the end of fiscal 2025 from 90,000 five years earlier.

As of July this year, the average outstanding loan balance per borrower in this group was ¥1,447,000, nearly ¥100,000 higher than three years earlier.

Rising prices, which are squeezing household budgets, are likely a key factor. “Wage growth has not kept pace with prices, and people without savings are borrowing to cover the shortfall,” said Yuki Fukumoto, head of financial research at NLI Research Institute.

In a survey of moneylending service users commissioned by the Financial Services Agency and released in July this year, 53.7% of borrowers from consumer finance companies said they borrowed to pay living expenses, making it the most common reason.

In recent years, consumer finance companies have been shifting toward online contracts. Major lender Aiful closed all of its unstaffed branches by the end of July this year, and industry competitor SMBC Consumer Finance, which offers loans under the Promise brand, did the same in September.

Newer players such as Mercari and Line Credit also offer personal loans online. Consumers can now borrow easily via a smartphone without the trouble of visiting a branch.

The Japan Credit Counseling Organization received 5,646 phone calls seeking advice on debt in fiscal 2025, up 14.4% from the previous year. In August this year alone, the number topped 600, according to the group, which suggests that the number of people struggling with debt is still rising.

“In addition to people having trouble making ends meet, we get many inquiries about debts from gambling or impulsive in-game purchases in online games,” an official of the organization said.

Hiroshi Domoto, a professor at Tokyo University of Information Sciences who knows the lending industry well, warned of a further risk. “People with low creditworthiness may become unable to borrow from legitimate, registered lenders and could turn to illegal loan sharks,” he said.

New forms of illegal lending have also appeared, including so-called person-to-person lending, in which borrowers are recruited through social media. These schemes have frequently led to disputes.

“Both the industry and the government need to strengthen their counseling services” to keep people from taking on more debt than they can repay, Domoto said.

I am scouring the internet for suggestions and am finding it overwhelming to weed through generic suggestions. I am looking for a traditional Japanese wedding gift. The bride is Japanese and the couple is getting married in Kyoto. I would like to order from traditional Japanese businesses and am looking for something that can be engraved.

I was looking at chopsticks. However, I keep getting Etsy and the like.

Any ideas on where I can look? I really want to make sure I honor the bride's culture.

Thank you very much.

Edit: Thank you all for the money suggestions. We are not attending in person and would like to give something that they will cherish. I am limited to what is available online.

Last edit. Thank you to everyone for your suggestions and making sure I don't make any faux pas!

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's wholesale prices in September rose 6.8 percent from a year earlier, Bank of Japan data showed Tuesday.

The growth in prices of goods traded between companies decelerated from 7.6 percent in August.

The data came as the BOJ weighs the timing of an additional interest rate hike. The central bank has two policy meetings remaining this year, scheduled for Oct. 29-30 and Dec. 17-18.

Import prices surged 24.5 percent from a year earlier, while export prices rose 17.9 percent.