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July 24, 2026
 

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TOURISM

Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jul 20, 2026
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Japan¡¯s small but growing ranks of digital nomads have embraced the opportunity to embed themselves in a Japanese life ¡ª and take advantage of a weak yen.
Tourists walk through a traditional alleyway near Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto. Japan welcomed around 21.1 million foreign visitors in the first six months of 2026, a 2.0% drop from last year and down for the first time in five years.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Jul 16, 2026
Japan sees 2% drop in foreign visitors in first half of 2026
While the first-half visitor tally topped 20 million for the second straight year, Japan saw a 56.4% drop in visitors from China.
More people are using generative artificial intelligence to make travel plans for their summer vacation and letting their children use the technology when doing their homework during summer holidays.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Jul 13, 2026
Six out of 10 in Japan using generative AI to plan summer trips, survey finds
A larger proportion of those with school-age children are also OK with them using AI when doing their homework during the summer than those who are not.
A rise in tourists on the hunt for on-the-ground deals as well as foreign-facing resellers seeking to turn a profit has Japan's secondhand fashion industry facing a crunch.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jul 12, 2026
Global demand is reshaping secondhand fashion in Japan
Shop owners in Japan are seeing a deluge of overseas customers, and buyers outside Japan say the costs to stock their stores have doubled or even tripled.
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 10, 2026
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
Solving the issue is crucial to developing tourism sustainably as a strategic industry for Japan, the government said in a white paper released Friday.
Japanese summer travel budgets increased for the first time in three years to an average of ?58,902 ($363) this year, according to a recent survey.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 9, 2026
Japan¡¯s summer vacation budgets rise for first time in three years
An online survey conducted in June found that higher prices and a weak yen were the main reasons among respondents for increasing their budgets.
Parliament passed a bill Wednesday to add six islands to the list of inhabited border islands eligible for state support aimed at promoting settlement and tourism.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 8, 2026
Japan enacts bill to boost settlement on six more border islands
The revised special measures law calls for promoting tourism on listed islands and requiring prefectural governments?to make efforts to address depopulation.
Some traditionally adults-only enclaves are being reimagined to focus on family experiences.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2026
The family travel boom is reshaping the world¡¯s most romantic resorts
Some traditionally adults-only enclaves are being reimagined to focus on family experiences with the help of direct flights, larger accommodations and immersive activities.
Visitors at Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar. The country¡¯s military-backed government is betting tourism will become one of the first visible signs of an economic recovery after this year¡¯s election.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 7, 2026
Myanmar bets on ancient temples and Buddhist pilgrimage sites to boost tourism
The tourism push is an early test of whether Myanmar can persuade visitors and investors that parts of the country are once again open for business.
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jul 4, 2026
Japanese nail salons are tourists¡¯ new obsession
A combination of more affordable pricing, faster service and attention to detail is drawing more and more tourists to Tokyo¡¯s nail salons.
A visitor takes a selfie in front of a view of North Korea while holding a Starbucks cup on an observation deck at Aegibong Peace Ecopark in Gimpo, South Korea, on Wednesday. The number of visitors to thepark has more than doubled since the Starbucks opened, according to figures provided by park management.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 2, 2026
Kilometers apart but a world away: the Starbucks with a view of North Korea
Perched on a hilltop beneath the Aegibong Peace Ecopark observatory, the shop has drawn tens of thousands from South Korea and beyond since opening in November 2024.
Chinese tourists at Wat Arun Ratchawararam Rathawaramahawihan in Bangkok
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2026
Thailand gets serious about chasing high-spending tourists
Officials are aiming for visitors to spend about $2,400 per trip on average, compared with roughly $1,500 currently.
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ?3,000 from ?1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 1, 2026
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Previously set at ?1,000, the tax has risen to ?3,000 for all travelers departing Japan, regardless of nationality.
The Hakuba Cross-Country Course in the village of Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture, in February. For a third year in a row, roadside land prices in the village have increased at the highest rate across Japan.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 1, 2026
Roadside land prices rise in popular Japanese tourist sites
Across the board, the prices of land facing major roads in Japan as of Jan. 1 went up by 2.9%, marking a fifth consecutive year of increases.
CCTV footage shows a girl and a man at a condominium in Pattaya on Thursday morning. Thai police have arrested Australian Simon Peter Carman following the discovery of the body of a 17-year-old Thai girl inside a suitcase dumped near a railway track in Pattaya.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jun 30, 2026
How a Thai teen¡¯s night at a Pattaya beach ended in death
A middle-aged Australian man has been arrested following the discovery of the body of the 17-year-old girl, which was found stuffed inside a suitcase dumped near a railway track.
Sendai International Airport President Motoi Maeda speaks during an interview on June 22 in Miyagi Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 29, 2026
Sendai Airport chief confident a decade after privatization
Sendai International Airport was the first to have been privatized among airports managed by the Japanese government.
Tourists take photographs of Japanese macaques, commonly referred to as "snow monkeys," taking an open-air hot spring bath at the Jigokudani Monkey Park in the town of Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, in February last year.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jun 27, 2026
Japan ¡®snow monkey¡¯ park to cap visitors after overcrowding and bad behavior
As the number of tourists snowballed, so did instances of bad behavior, such as trying to feed or touch the monkeys.
New Zealand welcomed 307,940 Chinese visitors in the 12 months through April, up 24% from the year-earlier period, according to latest Statistics New Zealand data.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 25, 2026
Chinese tourists flock to New Zealand under visa-waiver trial
China was New Zealand¡¯s second-largest source of tourists before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has yet to return to those levels.
Luup adopted a system that makes its electric scooters come to a halt automatically when users enter an area near the Kamo River in Kyoto where riding them is prohibited.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2026
Luup scooters introduces automatic stop function to avoid nuisance use in Kyoto
Luup scooters, a favored transportation source for tourists in Japan, will automatically halt when nearing prohibited areas in Kyoto.
Yoichi Miura (third from left) now divides his time between his import business and guiding international visitors across Japan.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society / FOCUS
Jun 23, 2026
Stepping up, not aside: Japan¡¯s retirement-age tour guides
The older guides ¡ª some driven by financial need, others by civic goodwill ¡ª reflect a changing concept of what later life can look like in graying Japan.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces' Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.
Summer has arrived in Japan and so have hot sleepless nights
Amid the heat and humidity in Japan, a good night¡¯s sleep is growing increasingly elusive without the heavy use of air conditioning.
Maya Ongaku¡¯s DIY dream is getting bigger
The members of Maya Ongaku ¡ª (from left) Tsutomu Sonoda, Shoei Ikeda and Ryota Takano ¡ª grew up on the Shonan Coast south of Tokyo and have been friends since their school days.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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