The hiker's GPS watch, which uses satellite signals to log routes and monitors heart rate, was retrieved after the fatal attack, the Asahi Shimbun reported.

Japan’s government says that the chances of a magnitude 8 earthquake have increased. Scientists can’t predict when one will strike, but it represents a meaningful jump over typical odds.

Japan is assessing damage and cautioning people of potential aftershocks after a late-night 7.5 magnitude earthquake caused injuries, light damage and a tsunami in Pacific coastal communities

This follows joint drills by Chinese and Russian strategic bombers and fighters on Tuesday that prompted Japan and South Korea to scramble planes to monitor them.

Mr. Osako’s company employs two dozen potters and sells its distinctive pieces across Japan. While embracing his heritage, Mr. Osako tells his 33-year-old son, who will one day succeed him, to create a style that is uniquely his. “It’s not the materials that you’re given,” he said. “It’s what you make with them.”

Kareem El, a civilian from Washington, D.C., visiting Okinawa, was held by U.S. military police for declining to provide identification.

A three-day cycling journey through Akita’s countryside reveals local craftsmanship, soothing hot springs, traditional foods and songs, and the people keeping Japan’s rural culture alive.

These design-led waterfront villas are Japan distilled, with flourishes of understated luxury. Surrounded by a peaceful moat, these wooden modernist villas look out toward cloud-crested islands and sit next to the colorful containers of the Simose Art Museum —winner of the 2024 Prix Versailles and dubbed the "world's most beautiful museum."