Overview

• Date Shinkin Bank disclosed on September 19 that about 170 million yen in cash is missing from its head office vaults, with police probing possible involvement by a former contract employee who has been arrested.
• The Chitose Board of Education acknowledged it had received multiple parent consultations about a teacher’s troubling behavior before the teacher was arrested on suspicion of voyeurism.
• Kamifurano’s mayor told the town assembly that the local Ground Self-Defense Force garrison is expected to add roughly 100 personnel tied to planned stand‑off missile deployment.
• Government planning reported earlier calls for long‑range missiles to be stationed at six sites nationwide in fiscal 2026, including Kamifurano, prompting continued local debate and demands for explanation.
• Community life presses on with local initiatives and events, including Oketo High’s student‑led school‑intro manga project, Montbell’s town‑designed T‑shirts launching September 20 in Shintotsukawa, and weather‑adjusted festivities for the September 21 Sawara hometown festival in Mori.