Overview
- In Ōtsuchi, daily life resumed in areas cleared to return after a large forest fire, while crews keep checking hot spots and officials weigh lifting the last evacuation orders.
- The Chikugo River lifting bridge between Ōkawa and Saga reopened after a provisional repair, which helps keep Golden Week travel on track.
- Osaka City filed a criminal complaint accusing five people linked to Kizuna Holdings of overstating disability work-support add-ons, with about ¥79 billion flagged in the city and roughly ¥150 billion identified nationwide.
- Investigators in Oita said a suspect first arrested on a corpse-abandonment charge admitted killing an 18-year-old and led police to a knife and the victim’s phone, and they plan to re-arrest him on a murder charge.
- Environment Minister Hirotaka Ishihara said expanding Minamata-disease support is “difficult in reality,” drawing criticism from patients who expected action after his earlier commitment to approach local officials.