The ¥143 Trillion
Opening Bid
September 2 Edition · Business & Economy
Japan’s ministries have submitted record fiscal 2027 requests totaling about ¥143 trillion. The figure is the opening bid in a months-long budget process, not the amount Parliament has approved.
Read the lead story →Four Stories to Start
The budget, batteries, girls’ baseball and Shibata Zeshin
Today’s 16 Stories
15 new reports + Today’s Art Choice
Business & Economy
ビジネス＆経済 · 01–03¥143 Trillion Is an Opening Bid, Not a Budget
Japan’s ministries have submitted record fiscal 2027 requests totaling about ¥143 trillion. The figure is the opening bid in a months-long budget process, not the amount Parliament has approved.
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Japan’s ¥8.9 Trillion Bet on Uncrewed Warfare
The Defense Ministry is seeking a record ¥8.9 trillion, emphasizing drones, artificial intelligence, missiles and coordinated uncrewed systems across air and sea.
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September’s Price Shock Reaches 4,923 Food Items
Prices rise on 4,923 food and beverage products in September, the largest monthly wave of 2026. Shelf prices may change at different times as retailers work through inventory.
Read the report →Science & Research
科学＆研究 · 04–06
The Egg Remembers How the Hen Lived
A five-year Japanese study reports measurable differences in sweetness, umami, creaminess and bitterness between cage and cage-free eggs—without establishing that one system always tastes better.
Read the report →The Battery Crystal That Survives by Staying Small
Hokkaido University researchers explain how rapid heating and cooling can form alpha-Li3PS4 and preserve it as small crystallites, offering a route for developing solid electrolytes.
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A Breeding Calendar Written in Scent
Seasonal changes in the preen-gland chemistry of Tristram’s storm petrels suggest scent may support reproductive communication, although the behavioral role remains to be tested.
Read the report →Regions & Education
地域＆教育 · 07–09
A Donation, Six Power Sources and a Credit on the Bill
Miyazaki has introduced a hometown-tax gift that applies electricity generated by six prefectural hydroelectric and solar facilities toward a donor household’s power bill.
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Four Students Return with Four Earth-Science Medals
Japan’s four-member high-school team won two gold and two silver medals at the International Earth Science Olympiad in Italy.
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Beyond the Thatched-Roof View
Miyama in Kyoto Prefecture wins the 2026 Rural Stay Grand Prix for combining tourism with satoyama education and hands-on conservation.
Read the report →Sports
スポーツ · 10–12All Oita Girls Complete a First Championship Run
All Oita Girls defeated Okinawa 5–1 to capture the team’s first NPB Girls Tournament national baseball championship.
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One Wave Remained
Taichi Ishiyama, Rio Urayama and Yumi Munemasa secured their respective titles at Japan’s Naminori Koshien youth surfing competition.
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Japan Scores 123 and Takes Group F
Japan overwhelmed Qatar 123–70, improved to 6–2 and moved into the Group F lead in FIBA World Cup qualifying.
Read the report →Culture & Arts
文化＆アート · 13–15
Behind Ueno’s Locked Doors
Ueno’s autumn cultural festival opens normally inaccessible locations, including Tokugawa mausoleums and the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen Station.
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Six Journeys Through One Prefecture
A free prefectural museum exhibition presents Miyazaki through six routes: folklore, history, archaeology, animals, plants and geology.
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When a Picture Becomes a Conversation
A Shibuya gallery has opened registration for a tour using raised tactile diagrams and guided description to make Art Brut works accessible to visually impaired participants.
Read the report →16. Today’s Art Choice
Shibata Zeshin · Autumn Grasses in Moonlight · Second half of the 19th century
Today’s Art Choice: Shibata Zeshin and the Silver Moon of Autumn
Ink, lacquer, silver and silver leaf turn hidden crickets, tangled grasses and a full moon into a meditation on sound, moon-viewing and Japanese seasonal awareness.
Read the Art Choice →Official Open Access image from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain / CC0. The two-panel screen is read from right to left.
Six Selected from September 1
Recovery, cells, employment, environment, sports and Nihonga
Debt Relief Opens a Narrow Road Back for a Noto Business
The Noto recovery fund’s sixth case buys out pre-disaster debt so a retailer in Suzu can seek new financing for repairs.
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When a Membrane Flips, Cellular Recycling Moves
Cell experiments indicate that GGA1-driven lipid scrambling in Golgi membranes coordinates lysosomal enzyme transport and autophagy.
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Eighty Job Offers Vanished at the Door to Spring
Japan’s labor ministry says 29 employers canceled offers to 80 March 2026 graduates—66 university-level students and 14 high-school students.
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Local Experiments Become Three-Minute Environmental Proposals
The Green Blue Education Forum drew 46 entries from 17 prefectures and recognized eight projects, with Hakuba Junior High School’s SDGs circle taking the environment minister’s award.
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Two Rackets Widen Tokyo’s Youth Exchange
Badminton and table tennis joined Tokyo’s international youth sports program at Komazawa, with Fukushima and Chinese Taipei taking the respective titles.
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Nihonga Is Not a Finished Form
Tokyo University of the Arts’ First Nihonga Studio exhibition brings together 20 students, faculty members and guest artist Reiichi Tsuchiya to test what the tradition can become.
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