Gambling in Japan operates in the shadows, yet it accounts for nearly half of sales in the country's leisure sector. And for some, a harmless pastime can turn into a dangerous addiction. About three million Japanese are thought to have experienced a gambling addiction at some point in their lives. Earlier this year, the government approved plans to build Japan's first casino, a long-awaited move that has divided public opinion. Our correspondents report on Japan's troubled relationship with gambling.

Japan is marking 100 years since a devastating earthquake triggered a widespread inferno in Kanto, a region that includes the capital Tokyo. Most victims perished in the fire.

Countries around the world continue to report extreme temperature records. In India, August was not only the hottest but also the driest on record.

The release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant prompted China to ban Japan's seafood imports. Japanese officials say they are now looking to boost export markets in places such as Taiwan, the US and Europe.

Tokyo has summoned the Chinese ambassador over hundreds of crank calls believed to originate from China. Japan has begun to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which Beijing says is not safe.

For decades, the United States and Soviet Russia were the only countries that had landed on the moon. Then came China and India. Now, Japan is trying for the second time in 2023.

People in northeastern Japan, especially fishermen, fear that the controversial decision to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant will inflict new hardships on them.

The water was collected from the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was heavily damaged in a devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The decision has sparked outrage from environmental groups.

Japan has begun to pump more than a million metric tons of treated water from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The process is expected to take decades to complete.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government is facing a wave of criticism at home and abroad after allowing the release of treated radioactive water from Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean.

Tokyo has signed agreements with a number of African countries as competition with China for key raw materials and minerals heats up.

As Japan marks 78 years since its World War II surrender, the country is forced to reconcile the history of wartime atrocities with remembering fallen soldiers. A memorial at the Yasukuni Shrine often draws controversy.