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Japan

View the latest Japan news and videos, including politics, travel and style headlines.

LATEST NEWS

  • Shoko Kawata, Japan's youngest female city mayor at the age of 35, announces to take a maternity leave this summer.
    The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images
    A Japanese mayor is making history — by taking maternity leave
  • Undated photo of James "Weston" Higginbotham.
    Nancy Higginbotham
    Missing American student found dead in Japan after dayslong search
  • Weston Higginbotham, an Auburn University student, has been missing in Japan since May 29.
    Nancy Higginbotham
    The US college student missing in Japan has been found dead. Here’s a timeline of key moments in the case
  • still_22684754_2963936_still.jpg
    Higginbotham Family
    Japanese citizens join in arduous search for a missing American who vanished in a mountainous forest
  • Family undated and unmarked location photos of Weston Higginbotham, the Auburn University student missing in Japan.
    Nancy Higginbotham
    Alabama family pleads for return of son missing on family trip in Japan
  • Kabira Bay is one of the most scenic spots on Ishigaki Island.
    Sam Spicer/Moment RF/Getty Images
    This Japanese island is closer to Taipei than Tokyo. A new ferry makes it easier to visit
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  • Legendary Japanese designer Nigo takes us inside his vast collection and teenage bedroom
  • The paradise island haunted by one of the bloodiest battles of World War II
  • Tsunami advisory lifted after Japan earthquake but warnings for potential stronger quake issued
  • Japan opens door to global arms market with biggest export rule change in decades
  • Controversial American live-streamer faces prison in South Korea for offensive behavior
  • There’s a country in Southern Europe that few tourists know about
  • The secret history of the fortune cookies you’ve been eating all your life
  • The toughest new sport in Japan is street-racing office chairs
  • Baseball in Japan is more than just a game. The Japanese stars in MLB carry that pressure everywhere they go
  • Japan’s people are aging as its snow worsens. That’s a lethal combination

Latest Videos

  • <p>Nancy Higginbotham wasn’t worried when her 20-year-old son got on a train by himself during their family vacation in Japan. James, who goes by “Weston,” is an experienced traveler and often goes exploring alone. But when his phone’s location turned off, she knew something was wrong. </p><p>The Alabama family had been traveling in Japan for a week by then. But travel frictions arose: Weston, a passionate naturalist, argued with his mother over her use of ChatGPT for navigating. Needing some space, he decided to explore Kyoto on his own while the rest of the family visited a nearby temple, his mother says. </p>
    • Video 2:07
    Clipped From Video
    Video CNN’s Hanako Montgomery reports on the frantic search for a missing American in Japan 2:07
  • <p>CNN's Hanako Montgomery is at Japan's Kyoto station where the missing 20-year-old Auburn university student James "Weston" Higginbotham was last spotted as his family plead for him to be found. </p>
    • Video 2:23
    Clipped From Video
    Video Alabama family pleads for help finding son who went missing on family trip in Japan 2:23
  • CalbeeBlackWhite_hrzn_thumb.jpg
    • Video 0:36
    CNN
    Video Why these Japanese chip bags are going black and white 0:36
  • Rsaha 2.png
    • Video 0:59
    Dan Campisi/CNN
    Video Egyptian entrepreneur highlights how exposure can inspire solutions 0:59
  • • Video 0:59
    Video Startup leader on building Japan’s innovation ecosystem 0:59
  • SimoneBilesINTV_ThumbDirty.png
    • Video 9:30
    CNN
    Video Simone Biles talks to CNN about her LA28 prospects, mental health journey and life as an NFL ‘WAG’ 9:30
  • thumb_22554155_903446.292_thumb.jpg
    • Video 2:05
    CNN
    Video Japan issues a tsunami warning after an earthquake hits off the coast 2:05
  • 118686_TokyoTrashCan_Horizontal_Thumb.jpg
    • Video 0:46
    CNN
    Video Where are Japan’s trash cans? 0:46

Style

Show all

  • Naomi Osaka arrives to face Antonia Ruzic during their women's singles match on day three of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 20, 2026.
    Martin Keep/AFP/Getty Images
    Naomi Osaka makes grand entrance and big fashion statement at Australian Open
  • Ichigo Sayaka
    Deonté Lee/BFA.com/Sukeban
    These Japanese wrestlers throw down in latex and glitter
  • 115622_Miami Wrestling_V5.00_03_02_15.Still004.jpg
    • Video 3:03
    CNN
    Video See how an explosive wrestling league brings Japanese girl gangs into the ring 3:03
  • Ryo Yoshizawa and Ryusei Yokohama as Kikuo and Shunsuke, rival kabuki actors in Japanese Oscar submission "Kikuho."
    Sayuri Suzuki/GKIDS
    Kabuki film ‘Kokuho’ is a box office hit aiming for the Oscars. It could help revive the art form itself
  • Octopuses are drawn to narrow spaces and can often be found in empty ceramic pots.
    Courtesy the artist/Air de Paris, Romainville/Barbara Wien, Berlin
    What happens when an octopus engages with art?

Travel

Show all

  • 118686_TokyoTrashCan_Horizontal_Thumb.jpg
    • Video 0:46
    CNN
    Video Where are Japan’s trash cans? 0:46
  • TOPSHOT - People ski in Hakuba, western Japan on January 18, 2020. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
    Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images
    This powder paradise in Japan is a magnet for tourists. Locals say the party is getting out of hand
  • 117359_CyclistIanAndersen digvid 1.jpg
    • Video 1:12
    Instagram / ridewithian
    Video What it’s like to travel around the world on bike 1:12
  • Yosuke Suga, chef and owner of invite-only restaurant Sugalabo in Tokyo.
    Yumi Asada/CNN
    A private phone number, secret opening times, and no interest in Michelin: Inside one of Tokyo’s invite-only restaurants
  • 117228_JapanSnowRescue digvid 1.jpg
    • Video 1:06
    Niigata Prefectural Police
    Video Why more tourists need rescuing in Japan’s ski towns 1:06

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