A Yonezawa ryokan is asking guests not to book it on Agoda. Rooms sold outside a hotel's control caused trouble in Taiwan, Vietnam and Europe years ago, and Agoda tops a Korean complaint tally with 2,190 cases.
Angola paid about ¥17 million to a Japanese subcontractor it never owed. Osaka's Expo hosts say they have no legal basis to pay. Behind the gap: a law that stops at wages and a relief bill that lapsed.
Japan's earthquake alert announced a magnitude 9.9 for Hokkaido to central Japan. The real quake was an M6.9 near Kamchatka, a safeguard added in 2020 wasn't working, and Docomo phones never got the alert at all.
A TV report treated visitors sitting on Ginza's pavements as a manners problem. Benches had been tested on the same avenue days earlier. Road rules and anti-homeless design help explain why seats are scarce.
After a suspected core member was sent from Osaka to Germany, Qilin called Japan's security among the world's worst, without evidence. Japan's new reporting law is narrower than the EU's NIS2.
Japan halted new foreign hires for restaurants on April 13, 2026, near a 50,000 cap. Job changes stay legal, and one placement firm found 46.4% of July hires moving into big-city prefectures, up from 31.9% in March.
A guide dog user in Japan was turned down by more than 100 rentals. The law bans refusals in public housing but only asks private landlords to try. How the US and UK handle the same case.
Japan's competition watchdog searched Asahi, Kirin, Suntory and Sapporo on October 7, 2026, over suspected coordination of wholesale beer prices. Nothing is proven. How would Europe or the US punish it?
A Ukrainian soldier scored Japanese snacks and cup noodles out of 10. His zine was reprinted in at least seven times the quantity expected. Who sent the box, and what instant noodles already meant in Ukraine.
Japan bars under-18s from campaigning, even by sharing a candidate's post. On September 25, 2026, a Tokyo court called that ban unconstitutional, yet the four plaintiffs still lost.
Japan made 'mottainai' a global word, yet its restaurants often refuse to box up leftovers. A 2024 government guideline shows why: legally, you are meant to eat it on the premises.