We’ve listed our five most read stories on The Mainichi news site, from top to bottom, that were published between July 26 and August 3. The first story was viewed by 27.5% of our regular readers. (The Mainichi)
The indoor unit of an air conditioner is seen in this file photo taken in Tokyo. (Mainichi/Tatsuya Fujii)
Study finds 213 deaths in Tokyo apparently caused by improper A/C use
TOKYO — There were 213 cases of deaths in the Japanese capital’s 23 wards that were believed to have been caused by the improper use of air conditioners, according to joint research by the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine and the Tokyo Metropolitan Medical Examiner’s Office. Full story.
Shuichi Nakazawa of the University of Shizuoka Junior College, second from right, is seen with members of the Tokyo Regional Council of Trade Unions at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on June 23, 2025. Nakazawa did the calculations for the union’s latest survey on minimum income required to cover living costs. (Mainichi/Satoshi Tokairin)
25-yr-old singles need approx. $2K per month to live ‘normally’ in Tokyo’s Setagaya: study
TOKYO — A single 25-year-old needs a minimum of just under 300,000 yen (about $2,030) to live a modest but ordinary life in the capital’s Setagaya Ward, according to a new study by the Tokyo Regional Council of Trade Unions (Tokyo Chihyo) — a sharp increase from the 2019 survey and well above the 2025 minimum wage for Tokyo. Full story.
Biryani made with basmati rice is seen at Alh Mini Mart and Restaurant in Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture, June 6, 2025. (Mainichi/Tetsuya Shoji)
More Japanese consumers in Gunma Pref. turning to foreigner-owned shops for rice
An increasing number of Japanese consumers in Gunma Prefecture, which has one of the highest ratios of foreign residents per unit of population in the country, were seen turning to foreign-owned stores to buy imported rice amid high prices and shortages of the grain in early June. Full story.
This capture image from a provided video shows a brown bear attacking a male Yezo deer in Rausu, Hokkaido, on July 27, 2025.
Brown bear attacks Yezo deer on road in Hokkaido’s Shiretoko Peninsula
NEMURO, Hokkaido — A brown bear was filmed attacking a male Yezo deer with impressive antlers on a national road in Hokkaido’s Shiretoko Peninsula on July 27. The bear was later killed by municipal officials who rushed to the scene, and the deer was also recovered. Full story.
Students and others protest the education ministry’s plan to end living assistance for foreign doctoral students, in front of ministry headquarters in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, July 25, 2025. (Mainichi/Mayumi Nobuta)
Japan education ministry OKs plan to exclude foreign PhD students from living expenses aid
TOKYO — The Japanese education ministry’s human resources committee on July 30 broadly approved a plan to limit the recipients of living expenses aid for doctoral candidates to Japanese students only, to be implemented as early as the 2027 academic year. Full story.
AloJapan.com