The team arrived without matching socks, and was surprised and relieved to find the convenience store selling them in the colours of their national flag. 🇺🇿

https://sp.m.jiji.com/english/show/50568

Seems pretty short-sighted to ignore EVs

Police in Malaysia have arrested 13 people, including nine Japanese nationals, suspected of running a telecom scam targeting Japanese citizens.

The police announced on Monday that raids had been carried out on three residential properties. In addition to the Japanese, four Chinese nationals were taken into custody.

The authorities seized computers, smartphones, fake Japanese police badges, and Japanese-language scam manuals. The group is suspected of posing as police officers to trick victims in Japan.

Such fraud bases have reportedly been spreading in Southeast Asia following a crackdown in Cambodia, where they had been concentrated.

Police say the group in Malaysia had been operating from the location since August. Some of those arrested had reportedly worked in Cambodia.

NAGOYA (Kyodo) -- Shipments of domestic soy sauce fell to 670,159 kiloliters in 2025, the lowest level in 75 years and roughly half of the peak in 1973, due to the westernization of the Japanese diet, a soy sauce industry association said Monday.

Other ready-to-use condiments that contain soy sauce as a base, such as "tsuyu" soup base and "tare" sauces, have also become more common, further reducing demand for soy sauce as a raw ingredient in home cooking.

"People recently have been prioritizing convenience and efficiency," a spokesperson from food manufacturer Yamamori Inc., known for its tsuyu products, said regarding a growing tendency to avoid creating condiments at home from scratch.

While total shipments slipped 1.6 percent from the previous year, exports of soy sauce have been on the rise, climbing 9.6 percent in 2025 from a year earlier to around 52,000 kiloliters, according to Japanese soy sauce association Nihon Shoyu Kyokai, which has been holding seminars to advise small and medium-sized businesses about shipping abroad.

"We plan to strengthen our framework for supporting exports," said Yasumasa Tajima, managing director of the group. Domestically, "we must focus on appealing especially to younger generations in the mid- to long-term."

KOBE -- About 20,000 adult golden fire ants, along with some 20 queens and an unspecified number of larvae, were found at a container yard on Port Island, an artificial island in the Port of Kobe, the city government announced on Sept. 25.

The discovery marks the first confirmed case of the type of fire ant in Japan. The ants are designated as an invasive alien species requiring urgent action. Golden in color, they are reportedly less venomous than red imported fire ants.

The area was treated with insecticide, and no injuries have been reported.

According to the city and other authorities, the ants were discovered on Sept. 14 in soil beneath shipping containers and elsewhere during a routine survey by the Environment Ministry. Experts subsequently identified them as golden fire ants. How they entered Japan remains unknown.

Anyone know what’s its status and whether that forwarding service has totally gone out of business? Overseas friends and others have been asking. There’s apparently only been an orphaned Tenso.com webpage since June 2026…

Wonder if the U.S. president’s tariff upheaval policies combined with the resultant uncertainty among international shippers and postal services had anything to do with it..?

Edit: But then there’s https://www.tensojapan.com/en/, which looks like the old Tenso.com, but these days with deepfake, fraudulent stuff it’s not easy to tell what’s genuine and what isn’t.

TOKYO -- The Pacific coastal Kugenuma district of Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, has topped the ranking for the first time in an annual survey of greater Tokyo area neighborhoods where people want to keep living.

The ranking was compiled by Recruit Co., operator of the real estate information site Suumo. Kugenuma, on the Enoshima Electric Railway Line, is a beach spot popular with tourists in Kanagawa Prefecture's Shonan area.

Among its appealing qualities, respondents ranked items such as, "I feel attached to what makes this neighborhood distinctive," and "Living here gives me a sense of purpose" near the top.

Kugenuma described as a 'lively area'

According to the survey, the population of Fujisawa's Kugenuma area is expected to increase through 2050. It said the area's average age is low and described it as lively.

Kugenuma's shore is frequently the scene of resident initiatives including beach cleanups, suggesting a strong local awareness of environmental conservation and deep attachment to the community.

The Sendagaya area of Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, on the JR Sobu Line, ranked second. Many respondents cited "loose neighborly ties, allowing for a free lifestyle" and "abundant attractive sports facilities" as appealing features of the area.

Shibuya Ward had a strong showing overall, with the districts around seven train stations in the ward placing in the top 50. They included Sangubashi at No. 5, Yoyogi-koen at No. 11, Hiroo at No. 18 and Yoyogi-uehara at No. 29.

Akasaka in the capital's Chiyoda Ward, on the Tokyo Metro's Chiyoda Line, ranked third. It received extremely high marks for being a place where "diverse people, including foreigners and people from other regions, can easily fit in."

Respondents also tended to emphasize the work environment as part of the district's appeal, citing the presence of "facilities where people can work calmly" and "attractive workplaces and companies."

Big appetite for Yokohama's Minatomirai Line

The Bashamichi neighborhood in Yokohama's Naka Ward, along the Yokohama Minatomirai Railway's Minatomirai Line, topped the "delicious neighborhood ranking" announced at the same time. It received overwhelmingly high marks for items including "enjoyable local food" and "restaurants and privately run shops with good atmosphere and taste."
Minatomirai, also on the Minatomirai Line, ranked third.

The survey was conducted as a web-based questionnaire targeting men and women aged 20 or older living in the Tokyo metropolitan area, including Tokyo and the prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama and Ibaraki. In the initial survey, respondents were asked about their intention to keep living in the area where they reside.

For nearest stations that received replies from 30 or more people in the initial survey, respondents were then asked to evaluate predetermined items on the appeal of the community where they live and other factors. The results were compiled in ranking form.

CHIBA, Japan (Kyodo) -- Around 100,000 Nishikigoi ornamental carp ready for sale were swept away after heavy rain caused by a typhoon breached some levees at a lake in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo, it has been revealed as authorities assess the widespread damage to local farming and fisheries.

Typhoon Dujuan, which approached the region about a week ago, inundated rice paddy fields and other farmland while flooding facilities where carp and eels were being cultivated near Lake Imbanuma in northern Chiba.

Kenji Tani, who runs an aquafarm in Narita, realized the severity of the damage after returning home last Tuesday from an overseas trip to attend a Nishikigoi exhibition.

Ahead of the initially scheduled start of sales on Sunday, his farm had about 100,000 carp ready. All but 200 to 300 of them were swept away after the aquafarm facilities were flooded.

"I want the levees to be restored even if it is a quick emergency fix. We cannot do anything if another typhoon approaches," said Tani, 58.

Japanese Nishikigoi are popular overseas, including in China and Southeast Asian nations. Exports of the carp more than doubled in the five years to 2025 to around 10 billion yen ($63 million), according to government data.

In Chiba, damage to the farming, forestry and fisheries sectors is expected to swell from around 87 million yen as of Thursday, in another blow to local residents who experienced similar disasters in the weeks prior to Dujuan.

Torrential rain in August caused damage worth 8.22 billion yen in 33 municipalities and another downpour in early September left a bill of around 230 million yen in 17 municipalities.

At a different location in Chiba, a strawberry farm was damaged by the overflowing of a nearby river. About 10 to 20 percent of the strawberry seedlings at a farm in Kimitsu run by Nobuyuki Watanabe were affected.

Watanabe, 48, said he had urged the local government to take measures against the river given its propensity to flood. "If they still don't take action, I will be the last generation in my family to run the business."