McDonald’s Japan posted a teaser of a Pekora-like character holding a Meiji Almond Chocolate McFlurry, captioned “Wait, what do you hear?” The flavor is ¥370+ in Japan, chopped almonds and two chocolate sauces, on sale through mid-October. No confirmed toy or her face on the cup. They already ran a Tsukimi delivery stream with her in 2024. The “doumo / almond” bit is old. The dessert is new. The joke still lands.

A 65-year-old American tourist has been arrested for carving the names of his family members into the wooden gate of Tokyo's Meiji Shrine. He says he was doing it as a "prank."

#Transportation# | 🚧 A new expressway extension linking #Zhongshan# and #Shunde# is 70% complete! The northern extension of the Zhongshan Eastern Outer Ring Expressway runs 5.338 km from Huangpu Town to Ronggui Subdistrict, cutting travel time from 50 minutes to just 22. 🛣️ Built entirely on elevated structures with 8 lanes and a 100 km/h design speed, it's hitting major milestones – the Meijiao River bridge's main span has closed, with the #Guizhou# Waterway span set for October. 🌉 #Zhongshan# #Foshan# #Expressway# #GreaterBayArea# #GBA# #Infrastructure# #Connectivity# #Guangdong# #Transport# #UrbanDevelopment#

BREAKING: Unrealized losses on domestic bond holdings for Japan's 4 largest life insurers rose +7% in Q2 2026, to a record $96 billion. All 4 insurers, Nippon Life, Daiichi Life, Sumitomo Life, and Meiji Yasuda, reported increases in paper losses. This marks the 7th consecutive quarterly increase, with unrealized losses more than tripling over the period. Japanese life insurers typically hold government bonds and other debt securities until maturity to match their long-term insurance obligations. However, a potential surge in customer policy cancellations could force them to liquidate those holdings to meet payouts, putting pressure on both investment portfolios and earnings. This comes as 30-year Japanese government bond yields surged above +4.0% in May for the first time since the bonds were introduced in 1999, driven by concerns that Prime Minister Takaichi's administration may increase fiscal spending. Pressure on Japan's financial institutions is intensifying.