Chronology of Shiga Prefecture’s major news headlines for January–December 2025. To be posted on a continuing basis until the chronology for this year is completed.
Compiled by Philbert Ono, updated: Oct. 28, 2025
January 16, 2025: For the 165th anniversary of the shocking assassination of Chief Minister Ii Naosuke in 1860, the family heads of the Ii family (井伊直岳, 18th family head), Shimazu family from Kagoshima (島津忠裕, 33rd family head), and Arimura family from Mito, Ibaraki (有村 國俊) visited Seiryoji Temple in Hikone today to pray at the Ii Clan’s grave.
Near Sakuradamon Gate at Edo Castle in Edo/Tokyo, Naosuke was on his way to work at Edo Castle when he was ambushed and killed by 17 ronin masterless samurai formerly belonging to the Mito Clan and one ronin formerly from the Satsuma Clan. Arimura Jizaemon, formerly from the Satsuma Clan, famously beheaded Naosuke and carried away the head.
During the Ansei Purge, Naosuke had purged Mito Clan samurai, resulting in their grudge against Naosuke. Since 1968, Hikone and Mito established a Friendship City agreement to dispel hard feelings. In Nov. 2009, the head of the Ii family visited and prayed at the graves of the purged Mito samurai.
On this occasion, Hikone and Kagoshima city established a mutual exchange agreement (交流連携協定) signed by both mayors in Hikone and witnessed by the heads of the three families descended from those involved in Naosuke’s assassination.
January 22, 2025: The Harie Shozu-no-Sato Committee (針江生水の郷委員会) has been awarded the Furusato-zukuri Taisho award (Hometown Development Award, ふるさとづくり大賞) by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The Committee has been working for the past 20 years to preserve the Harie area known for its natural springs (kabata) used by individual homes. It has guided a total of about 100,000 visitors to Harie. The award is given to individuals and groups working to improve their hometowns. A total of 19 groups and two individuals were so awarded in 2025.
February 1, 2025: As of today, the population of Shiga Prefecture fell below 1.4 million for the first time in 16 years (since 2008). The population has dropped to 1,398,972 people. Back in 1970, the population of Shiga was slightly below 900,000. It increased every year until it hit the peak population of 1,417,499 in 2013. It has since declined slightly most every year.
Compared to last year (2024), only Kusatsu, Moriyama, and Omi-Hachiman saw an increase (very slight) in population. All the other cities and towns in Shiga saw a decrease in population, especially in northern Shiga (Takashima, Nagahama, Maibara, Ryuo, and Taga.
Compared to 10 years ago, Shiga’s population declined by only about 15,000. This is a lot smaller than other Kansai prefectures such as Kyoto which declined by 90,000, Osaka by 70,000, Nara by 90,000, Wakayama by 90,000, and Hyogo which lost a whopping 210,000 residents.
By the year 2050, Shiga’s population is projected to decline to about 1.22 million.
February 5, 2025: Shiga Governor Mikazuki visited France for five days to promote Shiga as a tourist destination for rich French tourists. He met travel agencies and gave a PR talk emphasizing that Shiga is right next to Kyoto. In 2023, less than 1 percent of tourists visiting Shiga were from overseas. And only 1 percent of foreign tourists in Japan in 2024 were French. Hardly anyone in Shiga can speak English, let alone French…
February 7, 2025: Hashimoto Shohei (36, 橋本翔平), Kusatsu Elementary School teacher in Kusatsu, is fired today for embezzling ¥1.62 million from savings accounts created for 5th grade class trips and 6th grade school excursion bus fares. The money was contributed by the students’ parents. He was in charge of the savings. He used the stolen money to repay debts and personal expenses. He has confessed to his crimes and returned the money in full.
February 7, 2025: Otsu is no longer No. 1 for the amount spent for coffee consumption in 2024. It’s No. 2, and Kobe is No. 1. Otsu was No. 1 for three years in a row until 2023. The average amount spent by households in Otsu for coffee in 2024 was ¥9,799.
February 20, 2025: In Moriyama, a large shopping center called Hazui Town Moriyama fully opens with Super Hazui supermarket joining electronics store Joshin and DIY home center store.
February 20, 2025: Groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Biwako Culture Hall (琵琶湖文化館) to be constructed next to Otsu Port. It will replace the old, castle-shaped Biwako Culture Hall built in 1961 and closed since 2008. It housed important Buddhist art. The new hall/museum will be four stories high and shaped like a boat. Slated to open in Dec. 2027.
However, Otsu households spent the most in Japan on milk and sports drinks! No. 1 in Japan. Either they love milk or milk prices in Otsu are higher than average.
February 28, 2025: After over 130 years, ekiben homemade bento maker Izutsuya (井筒屋) in Maibara Station has stopped selling their beloved ekiben box lunches from today. It had a small bento stall in the concourse selling bento made with local ingredients such as Omi-gyu beef, Omi rice, and lake fish. The demise of ekiben started when train windows could no longer be opened on train platforms where bento and money could change hands. The infiltration of 7-Eleven into train stations has also been a factor.
March 18, 2025: Shiga Prefectural Azuchi Castle Archaelogical Museum (安土城考古博物館) reopened after major renovations with new exhibits including a CG video introducing Azuchi Castle by Oda Nobunaga.
March 24, 2025: Lago, confection maker Taneya’s new Otsu store, opens in Nagisa Park on the shore of Lake Biwa. Almost like La Collina in Omi-Hachiman, the Lago store-cafe is within a lakefront park. Proving to be very popular with limited edition confections and the cafe. Lago means “lake” in Italian.
March 25, 2025: In 2024, Shiga police received 125,448 emergency calls (dial 110), 6,211 fewer than in 2023. Some 46,808 of the calls reported accidents and traffic violations, and 27,481 calls reported suspicious persons or vehicles. About 10 percent of the calls were by mistake or prank calls numbering 12,994. It’s an average of 343 calls to the police every day in Shiga.
March 27, 2025: At an Ohmi Railways steering committee meeting today, it was announced that Ohmi Railways is expected to garner a profit for the first time in 31 years in fiscal 2024. Thanks to a drastic reorganization of train operations and railway management starting in April 2024 and increased ridership by students at a new vocational university along the train line, the profit is estimated to be ¥56 million. The last time Ohmi Railways was profitable was in 1993. The company hopes to also attract foreign tourists.
March 30, 2025: Hikone Castle Museum held a reopening ceremony with Hiko-nyan after completing major renovations taking three years. The museum layout has changed, exhibition captions are easier to understand, showcases have anti-glare glass, and the museum gift shop has been expanded.
March 31, 2025: In Takashima, the roofs of Shirahige Shrine’s Haiden and Honden worship halls have been replaced for the first time in 50 years and two years of work. This shrine is famous for the red torii in the lake.
April 1, 2025: Local bus companies in Shiga have raised bus fares from today due to rising fuel costs, a lack of bus drivers, and decreasing ridership. Kokoku Bus operating in northern Shiga, Ohmi Bus in Omi-Hachiman and southern Shiga, and Kojaku Bus in Otsu have all increased their fares by ¥40.
April 2, 2025: The governor of Shiga Prefecture and mayor of Kyoto city renewed a 10-year contract for Shiga to supply water from Lake Biwa to Kyoto city for a total of ¥2.3 billion or ¥230 million per year as a token of appreciation from Kyoto city. Kyoto city receives most all of its water supply from Lake Biwa via Lake Biwa Canal. There’s an old joke about Shiga closing the water faucet to Kyoto if Kyoto people misbehave toward Shiga people.
April 5, 2025: Under cherry blossoms in full bloom at Miidera Temple in Otsu, Awa Odori dancers from Naniwa-ren in Osaka and Kobe Nanko-ren (神戸楠公連) danced in front of the Kondo main hall.
April 13, 2025: Osaka-Kansai Expo 2025 opens in Yumeshima, Osaka city. Shiga is represented with a booth in the Kansai Pavilion. Shiga also has other things and people at Osaka Expo 2025.
April 20, 2025: In Otsu, the Otsu Dream Festival was held at Nagisa Park to promote the National Sports Festival to be held in autumn. Main highlight was the Disney Parade featuring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, etc., from 10:30 am to 11 am along along the Nagisa-dori main road fronting Biwako Hall. It was the first time to have a Disney parade in Shiga. They were joined by torch runners, local school bands, and athletes.
April 22, 2025: Soon after 5:00 am today, a 60-year-old woman walking near an apartment complex in Nagahama (神照町の団地) was attacked by a wild bear. She was bitten in the arm and fell when she broke her hip. About 90 minutes later, police found the bear in a rice paddy 3 km away and was killed by a pro hunter. A bear in the middle of a residential area is rare. The bear was a male cub, 1.3 meter tall. The mother must be heartbroken.
April 28, 2025: For the first time in 100 years, a handwritten letter with Oda Nobunaga’s signature and vermillion seal has been found at Hyakusaiji Temple in Higashi-Omi. Nobunaga sent the letter to the temple to guarantee the temple’s right to its land and assets. The letter had been misplaced in the temple 100 years ago, and the priest finally found it in a wooden case in 2023.
May 2, 2025: Aisho Town’s tourism association created not one, but seven official mascots dubbed “Aisho-cho Friends.” They are characters from local stories representing local products such as bin-temari threaded balls and Omi-jofu textile loom. The main character is Pi-chan, a lake bird. They will start appearing in PR events from June. They hope the mascots will help boost Aisho’s tourist numbers which have been declining since it peaked in 2018 with 405,000 visitors.
May 12, 2025: At a meeting in Tokyo to promote the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line from Tsuruga (Fukui) to Kyoto (北陸新幹線建設促進大会), a bill was passed to request the national government to promptly start construction of line extension from Tsuruga to Obama, then to Kyoto. However, the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture urged further review for extending the line via Maibara using existing Tokaido Shinkansen tracks to Kyoto. Kyoto Prefecture has also previously opposed the Obama route to Kyoto, saying that it would affect the ground water supply. Meanwhile, Shiga Governor Mikazuki asserted that the Maibara route was not technically feasible and Shiga has no desire to see the Hokuriku Shinkansen. This debate has been going on for quite some time.
May 16, 2025: The Cultural Affairs Agency reported at a meeting today that the original Lake Biwa Canal (Biwako Sosui) will be designated as a National Treasure. The canal’s tunnel in Otsu, aqueduct arch at Nanzenji Temple, and the Keage Incline will be included in the designation. The canal still supplies water to Kyoto and Osaka.
May 16, 2025: Based on 800 tourist hot spots in Shiga, Shiga Prefecture aggregated a rough estimate of 50.33 million tourists visiting Shiga in 2024, about the same as the preceding year in 2023. It’s only 90 percent of the number in 2019 before COVID-19. NHK Taiga Drama Hikaru Kimi e (Dear Radiance) did not bring that many more tourists to Shiga (only about 6,000+). The number of day-trip visitors decreased in 2024 mainly due to La Collina in Omi-Hachiman undergoing major renovations during spring when part of the main store and food court were closed.
Also, the number of bicyclists cycling around Lake Biwa in 2024 was 119,000, a decrease of 9,000 or 7 percent compared to 2023 which was the highest number recorded since 2015.
May 16, 2025: Private high school teacher Mizuno Suguru (水野 驍, 36) from Chuo, Otsu has been arrested for attempted sexual assault of a teenage girl while taking her home by car. On the night of May 9, 2025 while he was taking her home by car, he parked the car at a park in Otsu and touched her thigh and tried to forcibly kiss the girl. The girl told her father about it and he reported it to the police. Mizuno is remaining silent about the incident.
May 19, 2025: Unemployed Kyoto resident Doi Kazuki (土井 一耀, 33) is arrested for trying to steal a valuable scroll from Kiyotaki Tokugen-in Temple in Maibara. It was the famous “ghost scroll painting” by Shimizu Setsudo valued at ¥1 million. He took the scroll while the resident priest was getting ready to give a guided tour. The priest noticed the theft and chased Doi on his light truck and caught him 50 meters away.
May 20, 2025: A 34-year-old Peruvian Rossi Cruz John Elias (ロッシ・クルーズ・ジョン・エリアス) in Nagahama is arrested for hit-and-run driving on May 18 on the Shin-Meishin Expressway near Kameyama, Mie Prefecture. He drove 14 km the wrong way against oncoming traffic from Suzuka Tunnel and hit two cars and caused an accident among a few other cars and injuring six people. He drove a blue compact car with Gunma license plates and the car was later found in Yokkaichi, Mie 20 km away. He turned himself in to Nagahama Police Station on the 19th. Turns out that he was DUI after drinking in Nagoya.
At his first court hearing in Tsu, Mie Prefecture on August 26, 2025, he confessed to his crimes and prosecutors demanded a sentence of three years in prison. Final verdict to be given on Oct. 8, 2025.
May 23, 2025: Due to a serious power harassment case against a fired department head in 2023, Omi-Hachiman City Hall conducted a power harassment and sexual harassment survey for all its 1,156 employees in October 2024. Of the 572 respondents, almost 18 percent indicated that they have suffered power harassment mainly from their boss (64.7 percent). Others cited power harassment from a city assembly member or top administrator like the mayor or Board of Education head.
The form of power harassment included being ordered to do ridiculous things or being scolded in front of others. Also, 3.1 percent of respondents (17 people, mostly or all women) stated that they suffered from sexual harassment in the form of lewd remarks and drinking parties or groping. City hall hopes to make employees aware that there’s a consultation service for workplace problems and improve the work environment.
May 24, 2025: After six years, Ohmi Railway Museum (近江鉄道ミュージアム) underwent renovations and reopened at Yokaichi Station (2nd floor) in Higashi-Omi. Besides exhibiting old relics from old trains and tracks, there’s a diorama of Ohmi Railway Lines and a train cab you can sit in. Hours 10 am–4 pm, open every day. Free admission, but you need to buy a train ticket to enter the station. No English captions.
June 4, 2025: The number of bear sightings in Otsu has increased five-fold compared to the record 52 sightings in fiscal 2024. Bears in Otsu have been sighted near mountain hiking trails as well as in residential areas. This has prompted the city to create a Google Map showing the locations of past bear sightings in Otsu. Quite a few sightings along the foot of the Hira mountains in western Otsu.
June 14, 2025: In Koka, the reconstruction of the main wooden bridge named Onari-bashi (御成橋) over the moat to Minakuchi Castle was completed with a bridge-opening ceremony attended by the Koka mayor and other dignitaries.
June 24th–29th, 2025: At the Osaka Expo 2025, the Kansai Pavilion holds Shiga Week (滋賀魅力体験ウィーク) with various Shiga organizations exhibiting their crafts and hands-on activities in the pavilion’s multipurpose space.
June 27, 2025: The Higashi-Omi municipal government approved a subsidy of ¥1 million to build a giant kite for the Giant Kite Festival currently suspended since 2016 due to a tragic kite accident in May 2015. The giant kite was completed in September this year.
June 30, 2025: The last of the JR 311-series trains operating on the JR Tokaido Line between Maibara and Ogaki Stations were retired after being in service since 1989. They were the first trains to have stainless steel color with an orange stripe, starkly different from the old orange and green livery of the old 115-series trains they replaced. They also had individual seats. The 311-series have been replaced by the new 315-series with longitudinal, bench seating, looking more like urban commuter trains.
July 9, 2025: At Kawanishi Elementary School (河西小学校) in Moriyama, 62 of 130 6th graders suffered mild burns on their bums while sitting at their school’s poolside for up to five minutes in the morning for swimming class. Although they had a mat on the pool deck, they still suffered burns. The temperature that day was 36˚C. Teachers promised to cool down the poolside with water henceforth. Another sign of climate change it seems.
July 11, 2025: Due to the lack of helicopter maintenance crew, the Kansai Region’s Doctor Heli emergency medivac helicopters cannot be operated for as long as a week in July and August for certain hospitals in Kansai.
July 15, 2025: Moriyama City Hall section chief KISO Toshiya (42, 木曽俊也) has been arrested for sexual assault against a high school girl on a JR Sagano Line train in Kyoto on May 15, 2025 after 10 pm. She was sitting and dozing off next to him on the train and he groped her thighs and pubic area for 18 minutes on the train. She was too afraid to scream. She sought advice from her school the next day and went with her parents to the police. Kiso was identified from security camera footage. Kiso said that he remembered groping her pubic area.
July 24, 2025: Dubbed the “2025 Michigan-Shiga Goodwill Mission,” a sister-state delegation of 30 people from Michigan arrives in Shiga where a welcome ceremony was held at Biwako Otsukan in Otsu. Their Shiga host families greeted them for their four-night and five-day stay in Shiga.
July 26, 2025: Moriyama Ondo (守山音頭) bon dance is revived for the first time since 2001. It was performed in front of JR Moriyama Station during the Moriyama Summer Festival. The song is about Moriyama’s famous sights and festivals including fireflies. This revival was originally planned for 2020, the 50th anniversary of Moriyama’s founding. However, it was canceled due to COVID-19 and finally held in 2025.
July 26, 2025: Ayaha High School (綾羽高校) in Kusatsu wins the Shiga Prefectural summer high school baseball tournament for the first time by defeating Shiga Gakuen 6-3 to appear at the Koshien summer baseball tournament. They won their first game on Aug. 8, but lost the second game against Yokohama High School 1-5 on Aug. 14.
August 3, 2025: At a track meet in Yamanashi, Hikone native sprinter Kiryu Yoshihide finished the 100 meter run in 9.99 sec., the first time in eight years and second time for him to clock under 10.00 sec. He has qualified to run in the World Athletics meet in Tokyo in September 2025.
August 20, 2025: Age 24 Pakistani college student Arshad Roohvi (アルシャド・ロヒーブ) was found under 2 meters of water 15 meters off Omi-Maiko swimming beach at 7:30 pm. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead due to drowning. He had come to the beach with four friends and he was the only who went swimming.
August 21, 2025: Results of an annual survey of random Shiga residents (2,000+ age 18 and above) concerning their satisfaction levels of prefectural policies and life in Shiga were announced (滋賀県世論調査). For 15 years in a row, public transportation (trains and buses) in Shiga was ranked by 67.7 percent of respondents as the top thing they were most dissatisfied with. Most likely due to the infrequency of trains and buses especially along the western shore of Shiga (JR Kosei Line). However, 73.6 percent cited that they were most satisfied with leading a healthy life in Shiga. Yes, life expectancy in Shiga is among the highest in Japan.
August 26, 2025: Hikone Castle’s application to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site was again was declined by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs in charge of deciding which sites in Japan should be submitted to UNESCO for such designations. The Agency cited that more details were needed to explain the value of the castle. (価値の説明をさらに充実させる必要がある.) Explanation was lacking on how the castle grounds pertained to and reflected the daimyo’s style of rule.
The Agency will not be submitting any applications for World Heritage Sites from Japan this year. Hikone Castle has been trying to obtain World Heritage Site status for over 20 years. Why can’t it be happy with just National Treasure status? Only five Japanese castles are so designated.
August 28, 2025: In Higashi-Omi on the shore of Lake Iba-naiko, an opening ceremony was held for the new Notogawa giant waterwheel (12-meter diameter) which replaced the old one which had stopped turning due to old age. Just in time for the canoe competition of the National Sports Festival of Japan to be held here on October 3 to 6, 2025.
August 29, 2025: As of April 2025, Shiga had the second highest (after Tokyo) number of infants on a wait list to enroll in a daycare center or preschool with 335 infants. With 132 infants, Otsu was the city with the highest number of infants on a daycare wait list in Japan. It was due to the higher number of young families moving to Otsu attracted by lower housing costs.
September 1, 2025: At JR Kyoto Station on the 1st floor facing Kyoto Tower, Shiga Prefecture’s tourist information counter called “Soko Shiga” (そこ滋賀) or “Visit Shiga” reopens in the office of Nippon Travel Agency after a hiatus since May 2020 due to COVID-19. They have Shiga tourist pamphlets in four foreign languages and foreign language staff.
In 2024, a record 10.88 million foreign tourists visited Kyoto, but only 510,000 foreign tourists visited Shiga. The strategy is to attract foreign tourists in Kyoto to visit Shiga too. Incidentally, Nippon Travel Agency was Japan’s first travel agency (originally called Nihon Ryoko-kai 日本旅行会) and it opened in 1905 in Kusatsu, Shiga. The office is still in the original location next to JR Kusatsu Station.
September 1, 2025: For the 29th year in a row, Shiga Prefecture has a record-breaking number of centenarians with 1,026 residents 100 years old or older as of Sept. 1, 2025. That’s 70 more than last year in 2024 and the first time to exceed 1,000. They are 126 men and 900 women. The oldest woman in Shiga is Muraji Sawa (村治サワ) at age 110 (born 1915) in Otsu, and the oldest man in Shiga is Yoshida Masanao (吉田 正直) in Takashima at age 108 (born in 1917). Japan in 2025 has about 99,800 centenarians, a record for the 55th year in a row.
Also, as of July 1, 2025, 27.5 percent of Shiga Prefecture’s population was age 65 or older, an increase of 0.1 percent over last year. Takashima had the highest proportion of age 65 and older with 38.5 percent of its population, followed by Kora with 36.0 percent, and Taga with 35.7 percent age 65 or over. The youngest population was in Ritto with only 20.0 percent age 65 and older, Kusatsu with 22.3 percent, and Moriyama with 22.7 percent.
September 2, 2025: During June, July, and August 2025, Shiga suffered the highest summer temperatures on record. Maibara, Hikone, Higashi-Omi, Otsu, and other major cities saw record highs in the respective months. Japan’s highest summer temperature in 2025 was 41.8˚C in Isezaki, Gunma Prefecture on August 5. All this is being attributed to global warming.
September 5, 2025: Governor Gretchen Whitmer from Shiga’s sister state of Michigan receives a warm welcome at the Shiga Prefectural Government Office in Otsu where she gave a speech at the prefectural assembly. It was the first time for a foreign VIP to address the prefectural assembly. She is a Democratic governor in office since 2019.
September 6, 2025: For the first time in 12 years, a new Higashi-Omi Odako giant kite was made at the Higashi-Omi Giant Kite Museum. They started making the kite on July 26, 2025 with the help of a total 559 volunteers who glued the washing paper sheets together, cut out the design, painted the kite, and added the bamboo frame. Hopefully, we’ll see it fly in 2026.
September 12, 2025: Due to higher fuel costs and improved labor conditions for drivers, taxi fares in Shiga increased from this day. Although the minimum fare of ¥500 will remain, it will apply only to the first 900 meters instead of 1 km. The fare will increase by ¥100 per 218 meters instead of 236 meters. The last time the taxi fare in Shiga increased was in May 2023.
Mid-September to October 8, 2025: The 79th Japan Games (formerly the National Sports Festival of Japan) (国民スポーツ大会 abbreviated as Koku-spo 国スポ) is held with athletes representing all 47 prefectures in numerous sports all over Shiga. Last time this event was held was in 1981, 44 years ago.
September 28, 2025: The Opening Ceremony of the 79th Japan Games (formerly the National Sports Festival of Japan) (国民スポーツ大会 abbreviated as Koku-spo 国スポ) is held at Heiwado HATO Stadium in Hikone in the presence of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. Sports delegations from all the prefectures marched into the stadium. When the Shiga delegation appeared, a marching version of Biwako Shuko no Uta (Lake Biwa Rowing Song) was played.
The Emperor and Empress had arrived JR Maibara Station via shinkansen and was greeted by Shiga Governor Mikazuki on the train platform. They first had lunch at Maibara City Hall before going to the Opening Ceremony. For the night, they stayed at Biwako Hotel in Otsu.
September 29, 2025: Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako spend the morning watching badminton at the 79th Japan Games (formerly the National Sports Festival of Japan) at Shiga Arena in Otsu. Later in the day, they visited the Shiga Prefectural School for the Visually impaired (滋賀県立盲学校). They left Shiga later in the afternoon from JR Maibara Station via shinkansen to Tokyo.
October 1, 2025: Train fares on the Keihan Line and Otsu Line in Otsu increases for the first time since 1995, 30 years ago. Minimum fare on the Keihan Line increases from ¥170 to ¥180, and Otsu Line from ¥170 to ¥200. Commuter pass fares also increase.
October 2, 2025: Princess Aiko, daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, is announced to have caught COVID-19 on September 30, 2025 when she came down with a fever and sore throat during the day. She went home early from her Japan Red Cross job. She later tested positive for COVID on October 1. She recovered from the fever on October 2, but still has a sore throat and cough. Her planned visit to Shiga on October 5th and 6th for the 79th Japan Games has been canceled.
October 6, 2025: Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visit Osaka Expo 2025 for the second time and one of the pavilions they visited was the Future of Life Signature Pavilion by Ishiguro Hiroshi from Takashima. He personally gave the Imperial couple a personalized tour of the pavilion showcasing robots and androids.
October 28, 2025: Nagahama City Hall male employee Hidehira Fumitada (秀平文忠, 56) has been arrested for taking upskirt photos of a woman in her 50s at a municipal public facility in Nagahama on August 30, 2025. He stuck his smartphone under her skirt by hand. He has confessed to the charges brought by the victim. He stated, “I was interested in what was under her skirt.”
To be continued…
