Overview
- Osaka Prefectural Police have publicly named 28-year-old Fujwara Tomoki as an alleged ringleader who directed teenagers in a wave of shop thefts, with investigators linking roughly 60 similar incidents across the prefecture and making several arrests.
- The same force filed documents with prosecutors over alleged unlicensed electrical work at the Thailand pavilion of the Osaka‑Kansai Expo, sending the construction firm DIO and a suspected de facto manager for possible formal action and urging strict disposition.
- Okinawa police plan to refer a woman in her 70s who protested at Henoko to prosecutors on a charge of gross negligence causing death over a 2024 dump‑truck accident, and they also intend to forward the driver on possible traffic‑offense charges.
- Courts are seeing major prosecutorial moves and courtroom developments: prosecutors sought a three‑year prison term for judge Morimoto after he admitted embezzlement and online gambling, and defendant Uchida offered a formal apology in the Asahikawa murder trial.
- Local authorities are juggling public‑safety and governance issues as an Osaki city councillor announced an eight‑week postpartum leave starting after a June 11 due date and Hokkaido officials responded to recent brown‑bear sightings that raise seasonal safety concerns.