https://realvoicejapan.com/en/ News that mainstream Japanese TV and newspapers rarely cover, curated with sources. en https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260901-003.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260901-003.html Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Two Brazilian nationals, including Trama Junior Fabio Diogenes, 30, were arrested on suspicion of theft after allegedly stealing luxury vehicles worth a combined 18 million yen from a residential parking lot in Totsuka, Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture. Security camera footage led investigators to the pair. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260901-002.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260901-002.html Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Okinawa Prefectural Police arrested a U.S. national of no fixed address, self-described as a company employee, on suspicion of arson and attempted murder after allegedly setting fire to a budget lodging facility in Chatan Town, Okinawa, while knowing guests were inside. A man from Osaka Prefecture who was staying there was left unconscious in critical condition but is reportedly recovering. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260901-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260901-001.html Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A Vietnamese national, Vu Thuy Quynh, 28, a restaurant employee living in Tokyo's Toshima Ward, was arrested on suspicion of fraud after allegedly posing as securities company staff and defrauding a woman in her 50s in Koriyama City of 10 million yen under the guise of stock purchase funds. The victim's total losses to the broader investment scam reportedly reached approximately 52 million yen. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260831-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260831-001.html Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 The Otsu District Public Prosecutors Office announced it will not prosecute three Vietnamese nationals, including a 31-year-old man of no fixed address, who had been arrested on suspicion of stealing roughly 10 tons of copper wire — worth an estimated 4.8 million yen — from a solar power plant in Shima City, Mie Prefecture. Prosecutors did not disclose their reasoning. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260830-002.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260830-002.html Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A Vietnamese national, 25, was arrested on the spot on suspicion of drunk driving after allegedly rear-ending a line of cars waiting at a traffic signal on a street in Chiba City's Hanamigawa Ward, triggering a three-car pileup that injured a 9-year-old boy and a 46-year-old man. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260830-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260830-001.html Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Osaka Prefectural Police searched the '68k-club' nightclub in Nishi-Shinsaibashi, Osaka, and arrested nine Vietnamese nationals, aged 20 to 33, on suspicion of violating the Immigration Control Act by overstaying without renewing their residency status. The investigation stemmed from the drug-overdose death of a Vietnamese man who collapsed outside the club in May that year. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260830-003.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260830-003.html Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 An Indonesian national working as a technical intern trainee, 21, was arrested on suspicion of trespassing and violating the gun and blade control law after allegedly climbing onto a fifth-floor apartment balcony in Okayama City and, when discovered by the woman in her 20s living there, threatening her with a 16.8-centimeter kitchen knife before fleeing. The suspect and the victim reportedly did not know each other. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260827-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260827-001.html Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A 72-year-old South Korean national was arrested on suspicion of illegal overstay after allegedly entering Japan illegally in 1993 using his brother's passport and living under the Japanese name 'Shoichi Morita,' supporting himself through day labor for roughly 26 years after his short-term stay visa expired. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260827-002.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260827-002.html Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Two Chilean nationals were arrested on suspicion of theft after allegedly smashing a display case with a hammer and stealing luxury watches worth an estimated 200 million yen from a shop inside the Nakano Broadway shopping complex in Tokyo. The pair are believed to have carried out the theft just days after arriving in Japan. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260827-003.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260827-003.html Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A Chinese national and construction worker, Sun Zhaoqi, 53, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by injury after allegedly striking a co-worker, also Chinese, in the head with a shovel at a construction site in Asahi City, Chiba Prefecture, resulting in his death. The suspect had initially been arrested on the spot for illegal overstay. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260825-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260825-001.html Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A Chinese couple in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture — company executive Xiao Yi, 45, and his wife Zhang Yuan, 44 — were re-arrested on suspicion of violating the Copyright Act after allegedly selling illegally copied concert DVDs of the idol group Snow Man through a flea-market app. Roughly 18,000 pirated discs have been seized from their home and workplace. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260825-002.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260825-002.html Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Ibaraki Prefectural Police's Ishioka Station, working jointly with its Foreign Affairs Division and the Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau, apprehended 23 Indonesian nationals residing illegally in four apartment buildings in Omitama City. All 23 were taken into custody by the immigration bureau. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260824-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260824-001.html Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 An Iranian national, 57, who runs a used-car dealership, was arrested on suspicion of violating the Stimulant Drug Control Act after allegedly possessing roughly 660 grams of methamphetamine, worth an estimated 35 million yen, for sale at his home in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture. Police believe the business had little real operation and was largely a front for drug dealing. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260824-002.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260824-002.html Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 The Sapporo Regional Labor Union rescued six Myanmar nationals working as specified skilled workers at a farming corporation in Kyogoku, Hokkaido, after they were allegedly repeatedly struck with a metal rod and told they would be "sent back to Myanmar" by people connected to the farm. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260823-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260823-001.html Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Japan's education ministry has decided to substantially expand Japanese-language support for children of foreign residents, planning to request more than 10 billion yen in its FY2027 budget request for measures centered on "pre-classes" offering initial instruction at elementary and junior high schools, and language-education center functions run by prefectures and major cities. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260823-002.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260823-002.html Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Eight Cambodian nationals were referred to prosecutors on theft charges after allegedly repeatedly stealing copper cables from solar power facilities and other sites across Niigata Prefecture. The group, believed to have connected through social media, is accused of causing more than 60 million yen in damages. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260822-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260822-001.html Sat, 22 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A South Korean national, 68, was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving resulting in injury after allegedly driving under the influence and colliding with an oncoming motorcycle while turning right at an intersection in Nagoya's Minato Ward. The motorcycle rider, 52, suffered a fractured bone below his eye. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260821-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260821-001.html Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A Tanzanian national, 33, a temp agency worker, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a co-worker who lived in the same company dormitory, also a Tanzanian national, in the chest with a knife following an argument on a street in Inabe, Mie Prefecture. The victim remained conscious and is not in life-threatening condition. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260821-002.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260821-002.html Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A Gunma Prefecture survey on coexistence found that while 94.8% of foreign residents said they wanted to interact with Japanese people, 72.4% of Japanese residents said they believed public order was deteriorating due to the growing foreign population — highlighting a gap in perceptions between the two groups. Among foreign residents, 30.2% described themselves as "close" with Japanese neighbors, up 12.4 points from a 2020 survey. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260820-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260820-001.html Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Four people — a Thai woman and three Vietnamese nationals — were arrested on suspicion of violating the Stimulant Drug Control Act after allegedly smuggling roughly 2,460 grams of methamphetamine, worth an estimated 130 million yen, hidden in a cardboard box of tea and coffee sticks shipped from Thailand to Fukuoka Airport. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260819-004.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260819-004.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A Vietnamese national who owns a restaurant, Nguyen Van Con, 37, and a Vietnamese woman, Truong Thi Tu Uyen, 26, were arrested on suspicion of violating the Act on Special Provisions for Narcotics after allegedly selling roughly 0.4 grams of what is believed to be methamphetamine to a Vietnamese man in his 20s for 30,000 yen on a street in Niiza City, Saitama Prefecture. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260819-002.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260819-002.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Three Vietnamese nationals were arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of breaking into vacant homes in Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture using a method of heating window glass with fire to break it, then stealing cash and valuables. The men reportedly came to Japan as technical trainees, left their jobs, and remained in the country illegally; they have admitted to more than twenty incidents. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260819-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260819-001.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Amid a wave of cable thefts from solar power facilities across Aichi Prefecture, a Cambodian national, 26, was arrested on suspicion of violating the prefecture's metal theft prevention law after allegedly hiding six cable cutters in his car without justification — the first such arrest in Aichi since the law took effect. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260819-003.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260819-003.html Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A 24-year-old South Korean national was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly driving a car and repeatedly forcing a motorcycle off the road over roughly two kilometers on a street in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward, causing it to crash and attempting to kill the two riders. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260818-003.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260818-003.html Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 The Kanazawa District Court's Nanao Branch sentenced two Sri Lankan nationals to 1 year and 6 months in prison, suspended for 3 years, over stealing roughly 380,000 yen worth of copper plates from a temple in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, damaged by the Noto Peninsula earthquake. Police identified 44 additional thefts totaling roughly 32 million yen, but prosecutors declined to indict on those counts. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260818-002.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260818-002.html Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Kagawa Prefecture has been running a subsidy program since April 2026 that covers up to one-third of costs, capped at 1 million yen, for companies and sole proprietors employing foreign workers to purchase and renovate vacant homes as employee housing. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260818-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260818-001.html Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A Nepali exchange student, then 22, died in a bicycle accident on a residential street in Osaka's Ikuno Ward in June 2025 after apparently being unable to read a Japanese-only "stop" sign. Ikuno Police Station has since begun converting stop signs in the area to bilingual Japanese-English versions as part of a broader safety response. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260817-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260817-001.html Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A Turkish national and company employee, 29, was arrested on suspicion of violating the Road Traffic Act after allegedly drift racing with another vehicle on a road at Yatomi Wharf in Yatomi City, Aichi Prefecture, creating a traffic hazard. Aichi Prefectural Police plan to step up enforcement against illegal driving in the area ahead of the Asian Games and Asian Para Games. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260817-002.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260817-002.html Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A member of a Sumiyoshi-kai-affiliated organization was re-arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of kidnapping a then-teenage girl by telling her she could 'make money overseas,' before sending her to a special-fraud base in Cambodia. The girl reportedly had her passport confiscated and was forced to work as a phone-fraud caller. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260817-003.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260817-003.html Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A Chinese national, 66, self-described as unemployed, was arrested after allegedly returning to punch a man in the face multiple times while the man was calling police, after having been scolded for spitting and discarding a cigarette butt on commercial facility grounds in Sapporo's Atsubetsu Ward. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260816-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260816-001.html Sun, 16 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Toyama Prefectural Police arrested three Chinese nationals on suspicion of robbery after a man in his 50s was held down by a group of three and robbed of roughly 2 million yen on a street in Toyama City. The victim was himself arrested on fraud charges after the stolen cash turned out to be proceeds from an investment scam. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/explainer-foreign-national-crime-statistics-20260815.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/explainer-foreign-national-crime-statistics-20260815.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 An organized look at the latest official statistics from Japan's National Police Agency and Ministry of Justice on crime involving foreign nationals visiting Japan (2024: 13,405 cases cleared, 6,368 people arrested), with sources cited and context on how this relates to this site's individual coverage. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/explainer-tokutei-ginou-ikusei-shurou-20260815.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/explainer-tokutei-ginou-ikusei-shurou-20260815.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Against the backdrop of Japan's shift from the Technical Intern Training Program to a new Employment for Skill Development system (set to take effect in April 2027), this roundup organizes 2026 developments around the expansion of the Specified Skilled Worker program and cooperation agreements with sending countries, based on this site's prior reporting. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/explainer-mosque-construction-japan-20260815.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/explainer-mosque-construction-japan-20260815.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A comparison of mosque construction and operation issues reported in Yokohama, Fujisawa, Itoshima, and Kawagoe, based on this site's prior reporting, showing that mosque-related conflict in Japan is not a single uniform pattern but varies by locality. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260815-002.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260815-002.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A man in Nagoya's Minami Ward was dragged out of his parked car and punched after refusing a stranger's request for a ride to the station, and the assailant then stole the vehicle and fled. The suspect, described as foreign-looking and in his 30s, remains at large as police investigate the case as robbery. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/explainer-kawaguchi-kurdish-20260815.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/explainer-kawaguchi-kurdish-20260815.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A chronological overview of how tensions around the Kurdish community in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture have developed, from a 2024 case of social media misinformation to friction with residents, judicial and administrative responses, and coexistence efforts through 2026, based on this site's prior reporting. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260814-006.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260814-006.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Vu Quang Tien, 25, and Nguyen Quang Tuyen, 36, both Vietnamese nationals, were arrested and referred to prosecutors on suspicion of trespassing and theft after allegedly breaking into vacant homes in Aichi Prefecture. Police believe a Vietnamese group that includes the pair carried out similar burglaries across eight prefectures in the Chubu and Kansai regions. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260814-005.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260814-005.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Vietnam's government has issued Decree No. 283/2026/NĐ-CP, imposing administrative fines of 80–100 million dong (roughly ¥480,000–600,000) on Vietnamese nationals who illegally overstay abroad without justification after their overseas work contract ends. Penalties on malicious labor brokers have also been strengthened, with the decree taking effect September 10, 2026. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260814-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260814-001.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications survey found that 18.6% of foreign nationals who worked in Japan left the country without paying their FY2024 resident tax, far above the 4.6% delinquency rate among all departing residents combined, highlighting a collection gap tied to the absence of any enforcement mechanism after departure. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260814-003.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260814-003.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A 21-year-old Sri Lankan international student was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly stabbing an acquaintance, a fellow 20-year-old Sri Lankan national attending the same vocational school, multiple times in the chest on a street in Osaka's Tsurumi Ward. The victim suffered injuries requiring about a week to heal. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260814-002.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260814-002.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Aichi Prefectural Police arrested three people — Iranian and Brazilian nationals — on suspicion of abandoning the body of an Iranian man, 41, who was found dead in the rotunda of Toyokawa Municipal Hospital. Police believe the killing stemmed from a dispute over drug trafficking and are investigating whether others were involved. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260814-004.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260814-004.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Two Vietnamese technical trainees, 30 and 34, were referred to prosecutors again on suspicion of breaking into roughly 30 vacant homes and other buildings in Miyoshi, Hiroshima Prefecture, and stealing Buddhist altar items and other property. The pair had already been arrested in June on suspicion of violating the Immigration Control Act and were subsequently also pursued over the thefts. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-003.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-003.html Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A Sri Lankan national, 31, was arrested in Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, on suspicion of driving without a valid license. He allegedly continued driving after his license had already been revoked, and the case came to light after a tip from an acquaintance. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-001.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-001.html Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Osaka Prefectural Police arrested a Vietnamese man, 33, of no fixed address, and a Vietnamese woman, 21, a vocational student, on suspicion of attempted robbery-murder after a Vietnamese office worker, 31, was stabbed in the chest and neck and had her bag stolen in the "Abechika" underground mall near JR Tennoji Station. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-002.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-002.html Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A Malaysian national, 29, was re-arrested on suspicion of robbery by intoxication after allegedly drugging a man in his 20s with sleeping-pill-laced champagne at a hotel in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward and stealing his cash and bank card. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-008.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-008.html Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 A self-employed man of no fixed address, 32, was arrested on the spot at Haneda Airport on suspicion of violating the Stimulants Control Act after allegedly hiding about 17 kilograms of stimulant drugs — worth an estimated 901 million yen at street prices — in his suitcase and smuggling them in from the United States. Major outlets have not disclosed the suspect's nationality. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-004.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-004.html Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Fukushima Prefectural Police's Minami-Aizu Station re-arrested two Vietnamese nationals, 32 and 23, on suspicion of trespassing and theft after they allegedly broke into a vacant residence in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, and stole commemorative coins and watches. The pair had already been arrested in July on a separate charge under the anti-picking-tool law. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-005.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-005.html Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Osaka Prefectural Police and customs officials arrested and indicted a U.S. national, 26, on suspicion of violating the Stimulant Drug Control Act after he allegedly attempted to smuggle roughly 20 kilograms of methamphetamine, worth an estimated 1.1 billion yen, hidden in his carry-on baggage at Kansai International Airport — the largest such seizure from passenger baggage since the airport opened. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-006.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-006.html Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 Yufu City in Oita Prefecture will give away 12 city-owned residential lots at no cost to child-rearing households relocating from outside the city. Each lot measures roughly 62-77 tsubo (about 206-256 square meters), with applications accepted from September 30 to November 30. https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-007.html https://realvoicejapan.com/en/articles/news-20260813-007.html Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +09:00 The Mito District Public Prosecutors Office's Shimotsuma branch decided not to indict a Pakistani national who had been arrested on suspicion of loading engines removed from stolen vehicles into a shipping container for export at a yard in Shimotsuma, Ibaraki Prefecture.