In the latest sign that Japan’s patience with mass tourism is wearing thin, Shinjuku ward – home to the notorious Kabukicho nightlife district and the world’s busiest railway station – will prevent visitors from using private lodgings in residential areas and near schools and important cultural sites, Japanese media reported this week.

The measure, to be introduced through a local ordinance, could encourage other local authorities to follow suit. Shinjuku, with a regular population of more than 350,000, is home to 3,775 private lodgings – or minpaku – the largest number anywhere in Japan.

While tourism has boosted sectors of Japan’s economy and raised the country’s profile overseas, the surge in visitor numbers has created tensions with residents in popular destinations such as Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Reports said officials had been forced to act after receiving more than 1,300 complaints from residents in the 12 months to March. Many cited disruption caused by visitors who did not dispose of their rubbish properly, made too much noise and smoked in areas where it is banned. There have also been reports of trespassing.

Shinjuku ward believes the measure will affect as many as 2,000 lodgings in residential areas – almost half the total, according to the Mainichi Shimbun. The mayor, Shigeru Horiuchi, said the decision had been taken to “protect the dignity and living environment of our citizens”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is threatening to sue one of his country’s newspapers, after it reported he was warned of Hamas’s deadly October 7, 2023, attacks more than a week before they were launched.

On Tuesday, newspaper Haaretz published a report detailing a conversation between Mr Netanyahu and United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed 10 days before October 7, in which the sheikh warned him that Hamas was planning an imminent attack.

Sheikh bin Zayed said it would lead to bloodshed and could destabilise the region and undermine the Abraham Accords, the normalisation agreements between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations, the newspaper reported. Haaretz said that warning was not passed on to Israeli defence or intelligence officials.

Netanyahu rejected the report as a lie, saying there was no phone call with the Emirati president at any point in September or early October 2023 and that it was an attempt to smear him before the Israeli election next month. His lawyers have written to the newspaper threatening a libel suit, but Haaretz insists it stands by its reporting.

The United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Ministry also said that it would not comment on “speculation regarding conversations between government leaders”.

Distributional limits on social media content have sparked a fresh diplomatic rift, with the Trump administration expressing “serious concerns” over Downing Street’s proposal to mandate higher algorithmic visibility for traditional public service broadcasters on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and X.

Issued through the U.S. Embassy in London, Washington warned that artificially promoting established outlets such as the BBC and ITV risks “facilitating censorship” and penalizing independent online journalists. American officials argued that giving governments the power to influence feed algorithms creates a dangerous precedent that authoritarian regimes could exploit to suppress political dissent and restrict protected digital expression.

The British government defended its position, stating that the proposal—outlined in its media green paper—aims to combat widespread online misinformation and help traditional UK media institutions navigate severe revenue disruptions caused by big tech. However, the U.S. intervention underlines Washington’s willingness to aggressively defend American technology firms and independent content creators. Content creators and social media platforms have echoed the Trump administration’s warnings, expressing fears that state-mandated algorithmic prioritization effectively stifles digital speech and marginalizes alternative viewpoints under the guise of content regulation.