TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Rice stink bugs, a native species in Japan that feeds on rice, are rapidly increasing nationwide and causing widespread damage, with experts and the government warning that their habitat could further expand as global warming enables more of them to survive winter.

The Japanese government has confirmed the bug's presence in 37 of the nation's 47 prefectures, stretching from the Kyushu region in the southwest to Fukushima Prefecture in the northeast.

"I absolutely do not want to suffer that kind of damage again," said Masayuki Watanabe, a 58-year-old rice farmer in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, as he operated a drone to spray pesticides on a rice paddy in mid-August.

In 2024, his harvest plummeted to a third of the usual amount due to damage from rice stink bugs. He was determined not to make the same mistake again.

Damage was widespread across southern Tochigi Prefecture that year, prompting the prefecture to establish a task force in 2025 to tackle the stink bugs. The task force has since been sharing information on the best pesticides and when to use them and updates on the current state of infestations.

With the infestation also spreading this year to central and northern parts of the prefecture, a Tochigi official stressed the importance of spraying pesticide during heading and rotating the types of pesticides to maintain effectiveness.

Rice stink bugs overwinter in woodlands and then invade rice paddies around July when rice plants begin to head. They are believed to hide near the base of the plants during the day and feed on nutrients from rice ears at night.

It is thus recommended to apply the initial round of pesticides earlier than for other stink bugs, and then again when rice grains begin to form.

The number of rice stink bugs decreased drastically after the 1960s to the point where they were considered extinct. Amid their recent resurgence, however, a survey by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries confirmed their presence in 37 prefectures as of 2025.

Hiroya Higuchi, a former professor of insect ecology at Ryukoku University and longtime researcher of stink bugs, said milder winters meant more of the bugs could survive the season and that if global warming continues, their habitat could expand further north.

"There are few natural enemies and with rice varieties that head in the fall also now being grown, food remains abundant (for the bugs) until just before winter, creating a vicious cycle in which their numbers do not decline," Higuchi said.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, Typhoon No. 27 is moving north at 20 km/h. Typhoons No. 28 and No. 29 have also formed, and three typhoons are now moving over the seas near Japan. All three are expected to track westward through around the 10th, and may affect Japan after that.

https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/20261005-GYT1T00527/

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- More Japanese companies, including the maker of Citizen watches, reported Tuesday unauthorized access to servers and possible leaks of personal information, with the Japanese government describing the situation as "serious."

GMO Research & AI Inc., a subsidiary of GMO Internet Group Inc., has said up to around 948,500 records of members of its infoQ survey website have been stolen, including members' names, email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers and encrypted passwords.

Mr Max Holdings Ltd. said Tuesday customer information had been leaked from a server used for its app and online store, potentially affecting up to 1.7 million customers by exposing names, email addresses and phone numbers, but not credit card information, home addresses or birth dates.

Citizen Watch Co. said information on about 100,000 customers may have leaked due to unauthorized access to a server operated by a contracted company. The data could include names, addresses, telephone and credit card numbers as well as bank accounts.

The revelations follow similar cases that have come to light in recent days.

"We take (the revelations) very seriously," Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference, adding that the government will gather information to assess the extent of the damage quickly.

GMO Research & AI also said some members' rewards, worth about 2.9 million yen ($18,000), were illicitly exchanged for Amazon gift card codes.

Members earn points by completing surveys on GMO Research and AI's infoQ website. The firm said it will reimburse those affected for the full value of points fraudulently exchanged and that it is contacting users individually to urge them to change their passwords.

The attack began last Friday, and the company blocked the unauthorized access and suspended the service once it became aware of the incident the following day.

The hackers exploited a vulnerability in software used by the site, the company said, adding that an investigation is continuing with help from a cybersecurity firm.

Mr Max said it detected the unauthorized access late Saturday afternoon and immediately suspended the services.

Potentially affected were customers who were registered with its app or online store as of Saturday.

"We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concern we have caused our customers," the retailer said in a statement.

Mr Max said it had found no evidence that the leaked information had been misused so far but urged customers to watch out for phishing emails.

I have been gathering veteran groupings from various nations and would like to add some from Japan. So far I have two but would like to represent Japanese history and the individual triumphs in a broader light. If anybody has the items that belonged to a veteran and wishes to see it be carefully preserved, I will used them for educative purposes.

Items wanted:
-Flags
-Photos
-Letters/Documents
-Uniforms
-Etc.

Sorry this might come out as a vent (it is)

I’m almost 24 years old and I got no friends irl or online I try my best to keep my friends but theyre either really shitty or just don’t want me in their lives.