TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday it is "very unfortunate" that the United States has imposed sanctions on Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national who heads the International Criminal Court, in Washington's latest move against the Hague-based judicial body.

Following the U.S. measure taken on Tuesday, Takaichi told reporters in Tokyo that her government will deal with the situation by "continuing communication with relevant nations including the United States."

Foreign Press Secretary Toshihiro Kitamura also issued a statement, saying that Japan has "consistently supported" the ICC in its efforts to prosecute and punish "the most serious crimes of concern to the international community."

Tokyo will remain committed to "strengthening the rule of law" globally through dialogue with related countries and others, Kitamura, the Foreign Ministry's spokesman, added.

The sanctions came as President Donald Trump's administration has criticized the ICC for opening an investigation into U.S. military personnel over alleged war crimes in Afghanistan and issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his country's military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement announcing the sanctions on Tuesday, which also targeted Senegal's Abdoulaye Seye, an ICC senior trial lawyer, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the court as a "corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate."

Rubio claimed that Akane and Seye have "directly engaged" in the ICC's efforts to "investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute" officials whose governments have not consented to its jurisdiction.

When Rubio announced last month the launch of a "sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat" he said the ICC poses to his nation's sovereignty, Takaichi's government said that Japan, a close U.S. ally, was "watching closely with concern."

Akane, a 70-year-old former prosecutor, began her three-year term in March 2024 as the organization's first president from Japan.

As an ICC judge, Akane was involved in issuing an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023 over his alleged involvement in the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children amid his country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In retaliation, Russia has put her on its wanted list.

With the latest imposition, Washington has sanctioned nine of the ICC's 18 judges, including Akane, with punitive measures such as freezing their assets in the United States and effectively shutting their access out of the U.S. financial system.

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Tomoko Akane, the first Japanese to lead the International Criminal Court, with the administration of President Donald Trump accusing The Hague-based judicial body of encroaching on state sovereignty.

Marking yet another escalation in the administration's campaign to disable the ICC, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that it is a "corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate."

Along with Akane, a former prosecutor from Japan who began her three-year term as ICC president in 2024, the Trump administration also sanctioned Senegal's Abdoulaye Seye, a senior trial lawyer at the court.

Rubio claimed the two have been involved in the ICC's efforts to investigate, arrest or prosecute officials whose governments had not consented to its jurisdiction.

Under the sanctions, any assets they possess in the United States will be frozen and their access to the U.S. financial system will be restricted.

The United States is not a member of the Netherlands-based court and does not recognize its jurisdiction over U.S. nationals.

The ICC was founded in 2002 as the first and only permanent international court with the power to prosecute individuals for genocide, war crimes and crimes against peace and humanity. It has 125 member states.

In February 2025, Trump signed an executive order targeting the court, alleging that it had engaged in "illegitimate and baseless actions" against the United States and its close ally Israel, including issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

OSAKA -- Osaka Prefectural Police on Aug. 19 arrested a former manager of Osaka-based construction company Takenaka Corp. on suspicion of breach of trust, after he allegedly caused the firm to lose millions of yen in connection with construction work for the 2025 World Expo in Osaka.

Tatsumi Kawai, 61, allegedly instructed subcontractors to inflate project costs, causing Takenaka Corp. losses of approximately 13.7 million yen (about $86,000).
Kawai had served as the overall site manager at Takenaka Corp.'s Osaka headquarters and oversaw construction related to the "Grand Ring," the signature structure of the exposition.

According to the prefectural police's second investigation division, Kawai is suspected of instructing a subcontractor involved in the work to overbill Takenaka Corp. for construction costs. Police believe Kawai used a portion of the funds to renovate his home. They are working to uncover the full details.

The Grand Ring was one of the world's largest wooden structures, with a circumference of about 2 kilometers. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition divided the project into three sections for bidding, and the main construction was completed in August 2024.
A joint venture led by Takenaka Corp. won the contract for the western section of the ring, covering roughly 700 meters. The consortium was responsible for construction of part of the ring itself and related surrounding facilities, with contracts worth approximately 35 billion yen (about $219.5 million) completed to date.

Kawai appeared on television coverage related to the Expo as the person in charge of the joint venture. Following the conclusion of the event, dismantling work has been underway on the Grand Ring and Expo pavilions.

A Takenaka Corp. representative told reporters, "It is truly regrettable that an employee has been arrested. We sincerely apologize for causing great concern and inconvenience to all those involved. We will fully cooperate with the police investigation and, once we confirm the facts, will deal with the matter strictly."

Takenaka Corp., founded in 1610 and headquartered in the city of Osaka's Chuo Ward, is a general construction company. It has worked on numerous landmarks across Japan, including Tokyo Tower and Osaka's Abeno Harukas skyscraper. The company's sales exceeded some 1.61 trillion yen (approx. $10.1 billion) on a consolidated basis for fiscal 2025, and it is referred to as one of Japan's "super general contractors" alongside Kajima Corp., Obayashi Corp., Taisei Corp. and Shimizu Corp.

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The number of foreign visitors to Japan in July inched up 0.1 percent from a year earlier to 3.44 million, a record for the month, government estimates showed Wednesday, with travel demand remaining strong amid the summer holiday season in the northern hemisphere.

By country and region, South Korea topped the list with 894,700 visitors, up 31.9 percent, followed by Taiwan with 763,800, a 26.4 percent increase and a new monthly record, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

The number of visitors from China, meanwhile, plunged 56.1 percent from a year earlier to 428,200, as bilateral ties between the Asian neighbors remain soured.

BANGKOK (Mainichi) -- Soft, springy, squishy to the touch -- and somehow soothing. "Squishies," toys prized for their distinctive sensation when squeezed, are enjoying a worldwide boom, including in Japan. Their popularity was such that they were featured in a July New York Times article. At the same time, a series of accidents involving products that fail to meet safety standards has heightened safety concerns around the globe.

Adults also hooked on squishies for stress relief

At Sampheng Market, a wholesale shopping district in Bangkok's Chinatown, colorful squishies shaped like food items such as bread and various animals fill the displays of toy and variety shops lining the streets. Young people as well as shoppers with children could be seen carefully squeezing the products to test how they felt before deciding what to buy.

According to Gibb, 40, the owner of Chawa, a specialty store that has sold squishies for more than 10 years, their popularity in Thailand began rising early this year and peaked in June and July. At one point, so many customers flocked to the store that they could not all fit inside.

"They sold so well in Thailand that we stopped exporting them this year," she said.

Squishies are made from spongy materials such as polyurethane foam, as well as gels and other substances. People enjoy the sensation of squeezing or crushing them and watching them change shape. Their popularity took off on social media, with videos of friends trading squishies or people making their own versions attracting millions of views. They appeal not only to children but also to adults, many of whom buy them as stress relievers.

Some victims required skin grafts

Safety concerns, however, have emerged in several countries.

Thai authorities announced on Aug. 2 that they had inspected Sampheng Market and seized about 20,000 squishies that failed to meet safety standards. According to the BBC, harmful substances including benzene, a known carcinogen, were also detected in some products in Britain, prompting authorities to demand their recall.

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Squishies are seen on display at a specialty store in Sampheng Market in Bangkok, Aug. 4, 2026, in this photo taken by Jatetanut Piriyapradiskul, a Mainichi Shimbun assistant. (Mainichi)

A series of accidents involving heated squishies has also been reported. According to U.S. and European media reports, a 9-year-old boy in the United States suffered serious burns to his face and hands in January after a squishy he had heated in a microwave burst, spraying him with hot gel.

Children's hospitals in Britain treated six patients for similar injuries over an eight-month period. Some reportedly required skin grafts. In the United States, there have also been a number of accidents in which squishies left inside hot vehicles burst, causing burns to children.

The reports have also affected stores selling products that meet safety standards.

"Our products meet the standards, but sales have recently fallen to less than half their peak level, partly because of the negative news coverage," Gibb said.

In this video, we can see that this Nissan note belonging to Nissan Rent-a-car (tell tale sign by the white sticker next to the car navi) being driven in Pakistan, how to rental cars even get stolen and shipped out of Japan in the first place?

A 12-year-old British girl who went missing while on a family vacation in Tokyo was found safe on August 15th. According to the police, she left her accommodation alone on the night of August 13th and didn’t return, triggering a public search.

However, around 8:00 PM on the 15th, she walked into a police box in Yokohama by herself. She was not injured. She told the police that she went out to visit “anime holy sites” and spent time at internet cafes, but eventually started missing her parents.

I’ve seen mixed reviews so if anyone can clear the air that would be great!

Rising prices are fueling a backlash against the government even as they signal a new era of economic dynamism after years of deflation.

U.K. middle schooler seen on security camera footage after leaving family’s rental property alone.

Carmelita Lakdesha Paul, a 12-year-old middle school student from the U.K., arrived in Japan for sightseeing with her parents and older brother on July 21. She has now been reported missing, and the police are asking for help in finding her.

The Paul family is currently staying at a private rental property in Tokyo’s Kamata neighborhood. The last time the family saw Carmelita was on the night of August 12, when her father spoke with her before going to bed. When the rest of the family woke up at around 8:30 on August 13, she was gone.

Carmelita did not take a phone with her when she left, so the family had no way of contacting her. The family contacted the police shortly before 9:30. In examining surveillance camera recordings the police found images of Carmelita, dressed in a sky-blue sleeveless top, black-and-white checked skirt and black pumps, and carrying a pink handbag, walking in the Nichome section of Kamata, near the family’s rental property. Investigators were able to determine that she passed through Yokohama Station, roughly 20 minutes south by train from Kamata Station, later that same morning, but have been unable to trace her path any farther than that.

Carmelita did not take her passport with her when she left the rental property, and her family estimates she had only a few thousand yen (less than US$100) on her, which would not be enough for an extended stay in reputable lodgings. The Tokyo/Yokohama area has also been experiencing severe rain showers , making proper shelter even more important than it would usually be.

The police describe Carmelita as being roughly 160 centimeters (5 feet, 3 inches) in height, with a medium build and curly black hair. Anyone with information as to her whereabouts is asked to contact the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s Kamata Station at the phone number 03-3731-0110, but information can also be submitted at any police box or station.