The uncommon signal, which seems to indicate an aged girl trying to cross the street, was noticed on a municipal road in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, and has been described on social media as “extremely rare.”

Closer inspection exhibits that whereas the signal resembles an official warning signal used to alert drivers to potential hazards, its design doesn’t match any image licensed underneath Japan’s street site visitors rules.

Mayu Kuroda, a street signal fanatic who posted the picture on social media, stated the submit had been seen greater than 580,000 occasions. “I’ve seen many types of pedestrian crossing and caution signs before, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen one with an elderly woman illustrated on it. I thought it was extremely rare,” Kuroda stated. She has beforehand traveled to round 100 places in Japan and abroad to {photograph} uncommon street indicators.

Seeking clues to the signal’s origin, reporters spoke with a lady who had operated a close-by store till about two years in the past. She recalled {that a} comparable signal might have stood barely additional ahead and recommended it might be linked to a welfare facility that when operated close by, presumably to assist aged residents crossing the street to buy.

However, a consultant of the previous welfare facility stated they’d no information of when, how, or by whom the signal was put in.

Takaoka metropolis officers accountable for street administration additionally stated they have been unaware of the signal’s origin. Shinichi Nakazawa, head of town’s civil engineering upkeep division, defined that warning indicators are strictly outlined by regulation. “The types of warning signs are set by regulation, and there is no officially recognized warning sign depicting elderly people. That means this is not a formal traffic sign, and there is no record of its installation. We do not know who put it up,” Nakazawa stated.

Legal consultants warn that putting in such indicators with out authorization might be unlawful. Lawyer Takashi Matsukuma of Hashimoto Sogo Law Office famous that solely street directors, similar to native governments, and public security commissions are permitted to put in site visitors indicators on public roads. “Even if the intention was well-meaning, placing something similar without permission is highly likely to be unlawful,” he stated.

If deemed a violation, penalties may embrace a custodial sentence of six months or extra or a fantastic of as much as 100,000 yen.

Takaoka metropolis has stated it’s unlikely the signal was formally put in by the municipality and plans to research its origins additional.

Source: FNN

According to the findings, when Gen Z exchanges contact particulars with somebody they’ve simply met, Instagram overwhelmingly surpasses LINE. In a survey of 100 Gen Z respondents, solely eight mentioned they exchanged LINE contacts, whereas 92 mentioned they exchanged Instagram accounts.

Caster Masatoshi Nanba mentioned the outcomes present that, for Gen Z, Instagram has clearly turn into extra frequent than LINE for first-time contact exchanges. Trend and generational analyst Megumi Ushikubo defined that the rationale lies in a stability between curiosity and warning, as younger folks wish to know extra in regards to the different individual whereas remaining cautious on the similar time.

With LINE, the highest display presents restricted info, making it tougher to understand somebody’s persona. There are additionally issues associated to safety and privateness, reminiscent of being added to unfamiliar group chats with out consent and the tendency for actual names to be registered.

Instagram, against this, permits customers to gauge an individual’s character and sense of fashion via their posts. Because it isn’t solely a messaging app, it additionally supplies a socially acceptable excuse for delayed replies, reminiscent of being busy with different actions, Ushikubo famous.

Even inside Instagram, nevertheless, there are completely different “levels” in the case of exchanging contacts. Nanba mentioned that contact sharing on Instagram itself follows a hierarchy. Ushikubo defined that younger folks usually handle a number of accounts and use them selectively.

At first, they alternate a “main account” that options impartial, inoffensive posts, treating it very similar to a enterprise card. As relationships develop nearer, they could then share a “sub-account,” the place they put up extra private content material reminiscent of sincere ideas or complaints, seen solely to trusted folks.

So what about cellphone numbers themselves? Interviews performed on the road revealed how little they’re used amongst youthful generations.

A 20-year-old lady mentioned she has 13 contacts saved, primarily her office, mother and father, and college, whereas, by way of private contacts, she solely calls her mother and father and her boyfriend. A 22-year-old man mentioned he has 4 contacts, principally associated to school, including that the one private contact he calls is his girlfriend and that he doesn’t even know his mother and father’ cellphone numbers. A 19-year-old lady mentioned she has simply three contacts saved—her father, mom, and grandmother—whereas she has round 200 to 300 contacts on Instagram and about 50 on LINE.

By distinction, a person in his 50s working in promoting mentioned that, as somebody from the Showa technology, he seemingly has many contacts, though he clears his phonebook yearly, leaving him with 161 entries. A girl in her 60s mentioned she has 605 contacts, including that she hardly ever receives cellphone calls anymore however that exchanging cellphone numbers was once the primary type of contact previously.

Nanba mentioned the instances are clearly altering. Among 33 folks surveyed in regards to the variety of contacts of their phonebooks, the bottom quantity was three, recorded by two teenage college students. In each circumstances, all three contacts had been part-time workplaces, and neither knew their mother and father’ cellphone numbers. Even a person in his 50s mentioned his final cellphone name was a 12 months in the past, whereas a college pupil of their 20s mentioned the final time they exchanged cellphone numbers was most likely again in elementary college.

Source: TBS

The newest figures on international staff have been launched on January thirtieth, displaying a gentle rise to round 2.57 million as of October 2025, the very best degree on document, up greater than 2.8 occasions from about 910,000 in 2015. The variety of international residents has additionally greater than doubled over the previous decade, far exceeding earlier authorities assumptions, based on Mai Harada of the TBS Political Affairs Desk, who stated the tempo of enhance has outstripped the capability of Japan’s present methods.

Japan’s present framework was not designed on the belief that enormous numbers of international nationals would dwell within the nation long run, and this mismatch has created distortions in areas equivalent to taxation, social insurance coverage contributions, property registration, land possession and entry to administrative companies, Harada stated, including that guidelines should be rebuilt to replicate current realities. The present administration has handled international coverage as a key precedence, positioning it as certainly one of Prime Minister Takaichi’s signature initiatives.

The authorities on January twenty third unveiled its fundamental coverage on international residents, outlining harder circumstances in a number of areas. For everlasting residency, authorities are contemplating making participation in studying packages on the Japanese language and home methods necessary. For naturalization, the usual residence requirement can be prolonged from the present 5 years to, in precept, ten years. Rules would even be tightened by reducing the edge for unpaid medical payments shared with immigration authorities from 200,000 yen to 10,000 yen, with the chance that visa renewals could possibly be denied in some circumstances.

Ahead of the election, TBS surveyed political events on their international coverage platforms, revealing clear variations in emphasis. The Liberal Democratic Party stresses security and safety, arguing that legal guidelines and guidelines ought to be reviewed in step with social change to assist a rising Japan. The Japan Innovation Party requires a inhabitants technique governing international admissions and harder responses to criminality and abuse of the system. Centrist events advocate defending international residents’ human rights whereas enacting a fundamental legislation on multicultural coexistence. The Democratic Party for the People focuses on investigating international participation in social insurance coverage and tightening the conversion of international driver’s licenses. The Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party each emphasize defending the rights of international residents and selling multicultural coexistence, whereas Reiwa Shinsengumi opposes each what it calls exploitative immigration insurance policies and xenophobia. Sanseito requires a basic overhaul of international coverage and the creation of a brand new complete company, whereas different smaller events stress orderly acceptance, regional stability, or curbing the variety of migrants.

Former Foresight editor-in-chief Shinsuke Tsutsumi stated the controversy is cut up between these prioritizing order and people emphasizing coexistence. He argued that even now, acquiring everlasting residency or Japanese nationality is already extremely restrictive, questioning whether or not additional tightening is really obligatory. At the identical time, he stated events calling for coexistence typically lack concrete measures explaining how such a society can be constructed. Both sides, he stated, depart critical points unresolved.

Tsutsumi additionally pointed to the long-standing political reluctance to label Japan’s method as an immigration coverage, noting {that a} former prime minister as soon as clearly said that Japan wouldn’t undertake one. As a outcome, international residents have been handled primarily as short-term staff, leaving establishments underdeveloped, a spot that has contributed to issues equivalent to unpaid social insurance coverage premiums. He argued that Japan ought to explicitly acknowledge immigration and design coherent insurance policies accordingly.

One of probably the most carefully watched points is international possession of land and buildings. While the federal government included the subject in its total international coverage discussions, it stopped in need of asserting concrete measures within the January twenty third plan. According to the most recent survey by the land ministry, abroad consumers account for about 3.5% of recent condominium purchases in Tokyo’s 23 wards, a comparatively low determine. However, this solely displays circumstances the place the proprietor’s registered deal with is abroad and doesn’t seize purchases by international residents dwelling in Japan, which means the total image stays unclear.

To enhance transparency, the federal government plans to require house owners to register their nationality when submitting new property registrations. More broadly, officers say they’re nonetheless working to make clear what is understood and what stays unknown about international residents and property possession, with the intention of formulating extra concrete insurance policies as soon as the information hole is narrowed.

Source: TBS

According to the town, the variety of registered personal lodging properties working underneath the so-called Minpaku legislation has elevated to 1,088, whereas reviews from residents about noise disturbances and waste disposal issues have continued to climb every year, reaching 264 instances as of the top of December within the present fiscal yr.

At a news convention on January twenty ninth, Mayor Koji Matsui stated that from February the town will impose enterprise suspensions or order closures on operators who fail to adjust to reporting necessities on lodging information and ignore official directives, including that from April the town will even step up unannounced inspections carried out within the early morning and late at night time.

Matsui stated, “The presence of private lodging is undermining the maintenance of local communities. We need to consider even stricter regulations.”

The metropolis additionally stated it plans to submit a revised ordinance incorporating the harder measures to the town meeting inside the subsequent fiscal yr.

Source: YOMIURI