Japan news today

Latest Japan headlines, collected from 7 news outlets and updated through the day (Tuesday 27 October 2026). Every headline links to the original publisher.

Economy at a glance

Source: World Bank. Latest available figures; the year is shown under each number.

Latest headlines

• Festival de Frue offers an antidote to Japan’s samey music festivalsJapan Times · 21 min ago

  The small-scale music festival has carved out its own identity without relying on deep-pocketed sponsors or pandering to the algorithm.

• Japan eyes using Indian test ranges for powerful missiles and small attack dronesJapan Times · 29 min ago

  Tokyo sent officials to the South Asian nation this month as it eyes the possibility of using the sites, the GSDF's top uniformed officer said.

• Currency trading platform rocked by Japan hack and US$50m ransomStraits Times · 1 h ago

  Customers of five foreign exchange firms are reportedly affected by the GMO incident.

• Japan’s UA Zensen union seeks 6% pay hike in 2027 wage talksJapan Times · 1 h ago

  One of Japan's largest labor union groups plans to seek increases in line with this year's target, signaling sustained pressure for higher salaries.

• Japan urges Russia to release journalist after confirming well-beingJapan Times · 2 h ago

  The Hokkaido reporter, identified by Russian authorities as Yuki Imai, has been accused of conducting espionage activities.

• High-profile rape trial of ex-prosecutor resumes in JapanStraits Times · 2 h ago

  The alleged victim has repeatedly requested for an independent probe into the case.

• VIDEO: Sorana Cîrstea, eliminată de la WTA Tokyo de ocupanta locului 94 mondialG4Media · 2 h ago

  Sorana Cîrstea a părăsit turneul WTA de la Tokyo în runda inaugurală. Sportiva din România a fost învinsă de australianca Maya Joint. Cap de serie șase la Tokyo, Sorana a cedat în două seturi, scor 3-6, 6-7(4), la capătu

• Manga artist Tetsuya Chiba, creator of ‘Ashita no Joe,’ dies at 87Japan Times · 5 h ago

  Born in Tokyo in 1939, Chiba was the first manga artist to receive the Order of Culture, one of Japan's highest cultural honors.

• Japan mulls registration of foreign agents under new anti-espionage lawJapan Times · 5 h ago

  Under the plan, people acting on behalf of foreign governments would have to register with relevant authorities to make their activities transparent.

• US bans vehicles from China’s BYD at Japan military base, calling them ‘unacceptable’ riskThe Guardian · 6 h ago

  US military says the restrictions on the electric vehicles at Kadena airbase also apply to delivery drivers and taxis One of America’s biggest overseas military bases has banned vehicles made by the Chinese electric vehi

• On nuclear policy, Koizumi agrees with Finnish defense chief: Japan ‘must not be naive’Japan Times · 6 h ago

  The two defense ministers discussed the Nordic country's decision to allow nuclear weapons onto its soil as Japan weighs a similar policy shift.

• Japan grapples with changing face of juvenile delinquency in age of social mediaStraits Times · 8 h ago

  Some teens in Japan are using social media to form groups and organise stunts targeting the police.

• Japanese prosecutors charge US marine suspected of robbing and killing womanThe Guardian · 19 h ago

  Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, denies charges that he fatally strangled Anna Yagi, 39, in a hotel on the island of Okinawa Prosecutors in Japan have filed formal charges against a US marine suspected of murdering and robbing a

• Germany's Merz heads to Asia as security issues loom largeDW · 19 h ago

  Chancellor Friedrich Merz will be meeting the leaders of Singapore, Japan and South Korea as Germany seeks to adjust its foreign policy to rising uncertainty and threats to global supply chains.

• Never After Dark review – ghostbuster-for-hire meets her match in Japanese exorcism horrorGuardian Asia Pacific · 20 h ago

  Shogun’s Moeka Hoshi stars as a travelling caster-out of ghosts who confronts a wounded and recalcitrant spirit in this inventive chiller If you watched this Japanese-language ghost-story horror thriller cold, you might

• The enduring intimacy of writing by hand in digital JapanStraits Times · 21 h ago

  Millions in Japan value the written word for digital detox and connection.

• ‘If my brother hadn’t died, my life would be so different’: Olympic boxer Ramla Ali’s incredible journeyGuardian Africa · 4 d ago

  From fleeing the Somali civil war to fighting at the Tokyo Olympics, Ali’s life has been remarkable – and now she is being played by Top Boy’s Jasmine Jobson in a new biopic. We hear from both on this ‘positive migrant s

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