Overview
- Hokkaido authorities confirmed high‑pathogenic avian influenza at a Yuni egg farm and began culling roughly 6,300 birds, with completion expected on Dec. 29.
- Fire crews responded to a blaze near Fukuoka’s Tenjin district at 5:14 p.m. on Dec. 28, following a separate early‑morning house fire reported in Kama the same day.
- A Sapporo woman in her 70s lost about ¥47.5 million in an SNS‑based investment scam, illustrating an ongoing surge in elder‑targeted online fraud, Hokkaido Shimbun reported.
- A policy expert warned that rapidly aging infrastructure and weakened monitoring are exposing systemic risks, as recovery work continues to face procurement and labor constraints.
- Wajima’s mayor said bid failures reach about 15% across city projects and roughly 40% for disaster‑related building work, while FFG plans a new card service on Jan. 19, 2026 offering up to 20% rewards.