If you're itching for a new Sherlock Holmes fix, but you've already binged your way through Young Sherlock, it may be time to look back and revisit Guy Ritchie's other inspired take on literature's most famous detective. Based quite loosely on the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ritchie previously helmed Sherlock Holmes, an action-packed take on the character featuring Robert Downey Jr.in the leading role that still makes waves after all these years. In fact, fans still hold tightly to the re-imagining and its sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows —and it's about time that a third mystery springs afoot.

And yes, there is a reason Mercy is dressed that way.

With Japan being home to many of the world’s most passionate gamers, Japan Railways Group periodically partners with popular video game franchises to add a little extra fun to fans’ train travel in Japan, like we’ve seen in previous tie-ups with the Final Fantasy and Pokémon series. For its next video game collaboration, though, JR Central (a.k.a. JR Tokai) is teaming up with a series that hails from the U.S.

This summer, characters from the cast of Blizzard’s Overwatch will be taking a ride on the Shinkansen as part of the Payload to Osaka campaign (a reference to the game’s “payload escort” missions). The promotion’s key art shows Hanzo, D.Va, Genji, Kiriko, Mercy, Hammond, and Jetpack Cat getting off the bullet train at Shin Osaka Station, the closest stop on Japan’s high-speed rail network to downtown Osaka. The artwork contains a few tips of the hat to Osaka’s famous food culture, with Hammond snacking on takoyaki octopus balls and Hanzo scarfing on a steamed pork bun (and you’ll note that Hanzo is eating it after getting off the train).

From July 17 to September 23, passengers onboard JR Central Shinkansen trains can take an Overwatch-themed quiz via their smartphones, and correctly answering the questions gets you one of seven phone wallpapers. While the wallpaper you win is randomized, you can take the quiz as many times as you want during your ride (10 questions are randomly pulled from a pool each time), and JR Central guarantees you won’t get any duplicate wallpapers until you’ve completed a full set of all seven.

Even if you’re not up to taking the quiz, you can still receive a PC wallpaper image of the illustration just by answering an online questionnaire, which, like the quiz, can be accessed through the promotion’s official website, while onboard the bullet train. This also serves as a record of your Shinkansen ride, which you can then show at the Osaka Nipponbashi branch of anime merchandise store chain Animate to receive an Overwatch cleaning cloth with the same illustration.

Animate Osaka Nipponbashi will also be hosting an Overwatch Payload to Osaka popup store with character pins and acrylic mini standees from July 17 to 26.

While Overwatch does have fans in Japan, the series’ most passionate supporters tend to hail from other countries. With international tourists accounting for so much travel in Japan these days, though, especially on the JR Tokai section of the Shinkansen network that connects Osaka with Kyoto and Tokyo, JR Central most likely expects to get a lot of interest from non-Japanese fans, enough so that the company felt the need to follow up on its official Twitter announcement for the collaboration with a statement that “These items are available in Japan only.”

Speaking of the Twitter announcement, at least one non-Japanese fan was furious about the clothing that Mercy is wearing in the artwork.

What is this kind of OUTFIT? ugly as hell pic.twitter.com/4wkggD4fpR

— 𓆩♡𓆪 ✦ÆØNLIZ ✦𓆩♡𓆪 (She/Her) (@AEONFLUX_85) June 4, 2026

From the choice of words and capitalization, that was probably meant as a rhetorical question, but hey, there’s actually a reason for this outfit (sorry, OUTFIT). Aside from having a vibrant food culture, Osaka is also known for its flashy fashion sense, in particular its ladies’ fondness for animal prints. Granted, it’s usually associated with women of a more mature age than Mercy, but a little touch of Osaka style isn’t completely out of place here.

Related: JR x Overwatch Payload to Osaka official website, Animate Osaka Nipponbashi
Source: JR Central via Hachima Kiko
Images: JR Central
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There has been no shortage of content for Marvel fans to devour since the MCU shifted gears in 2019 after the premieres of Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home. While there were once only two Marvel movies to watch every year, it’s not irregular now for there to be three movies and three or four shows — fans could spend hours arguing about whether this has hurt or helped the MCU in recent years. Already in 2026, there have been three MCU projects, starting with Wonder Man, the critically acclaimed showbiz epic starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley. This was followed by Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 (starring Charlie Cox), which led directly into The Punisher: One Last Kill, the Special Presentation starring Jon Bernthal. The MCU has two feature films coming this year as well.

In the MCU, the name Tony Stark commands considerable respect. Within the franchise's context, the now-deceased, self-described "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" was the former co-leader of the Avengers and the ultimate savior of the universe, sacrificing his life to wipe Thanos (Josh Brolin) from existence. In real life, Tony is an icon of superhero cinema, resuscitating Robert Downey Jr.'s career and becoming the MCU's face for all intents and purposes. The character's eventual death in 2019's Avengers: Endgame marked the end of an era for the franchise and, arguably, superhero cinema as a whole.

One of Japan’s most popular dessert mascots is set to go with you as you tap through ticket gates.

Last year, one of Japan’s many railway companies, JR East, announced that they would be retiring their iconic mascot character featured on their rechargeable prepaid transit card, Suica, much to the dismay of many of its fans. Meanwhile, JR Central, another rail company, has decided to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Nagoya’s beloved dessert Piyorin with a special release of its Toica card.

Despite the similar sounding names, the massive JR (Japan Railways) network is split into independent regional companies that operate within their own territories. For example, JR East handles Tokyo and northern Japan, while JR Central manages the lines surrounding Nagoya and the central Tokai region. Unlike several countries where trains are state-run, Japan’s rail networks are entirely privately owned by companies such as these (though the JR network was previously the government-run Japanese National Railways from 1949 until 1987).

As a result of this regional division, each JR company issues its own transit card, commonly referred to as an IC card, for daily travel. Travelers arriving into Tokyo are usually introduced to the Suica (JR East) or Pasmo (Tokyo Metro and many other non-JR lines around Tokyo) cards that let them tap through ticket gates seamlessly. In the Central Japan region around Nagoya, the local equivalents are the Toica (JR Central) and Manaca (Nagoya Subway, Meitetsu, and other non-JR lines around Nagoya) cards.

While these cards are issued separately within their own regions and feature different mascots, which can lead some to travel around Japan collecting them, many of the cards are completely interoperable.

▼ I have a long way to go.

A Toica card purchased in Nagoya, for example, can be used on Tokyo subways, Kyoto buses, and at thousands of convenience stores nationwide.

The commemorative Piyorin Toica card has the standard Toica chick mascots alongside Piyorin on the face of the card.

Piyorin itself is a famous Nagoya fresh dessert made from locally sourced eggs, consisting of pudding wrapped in vanilla bavarois and covered in crumbly sponge cake.

People looking to grab the new Piyorin Toica card will need to make their way to the region operated by JR Central (Nagoya and its surroundings) where it will begin being dispensed in late May 2026 from automatic ticket vending machines and customer service windows at major train stations. For those further away, sales will start at JR Tokai ticket windows at major Shinkansen stations along the Tokaido line from September 1, 2026. Smaller stations within the coverage area will also get access to the Piyorin card supply at this time. Each card will cost 2,000 yen (US$13), which includes 1,500 yen as a usable amount and a 500 yen deposit.

As part of the celebration JR Central released a special online-exclusive Piyorin Toica card in a paulownia wood storage box costing 4,980 yen. However, the 3,000 sets were completely sold out within a couple of days of its launch, attesting to Piyorin’s popularity.

If you’re expecting to go out tomorrow and pick up a Piyorin Toica, you might face some disappointment, as they’ll only start to be dispensed when current Toica card stocks run out, so the start date of the sales will vary depending on the station. Sales of the Piyorin cards will also end when they run out at each station, so there is definitely an element of luck to getting one, if the online sales are anything to go by. That being said, a Piyorin card is a great way to make a souvenir of your travels just a little bit sweeter.

Related: Online-Exclusive Piyorin Toica Card, JR Tokai Ticket Window Locations, Toica Usage Information
Source: PR Times
Top and insert images: PR Times
Insert IC card collection photo ©SoraNews24
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China expressed strong opposition on Friday to a decision by Japan and the Philippines to start maritime border negotiations, calling the talks “illegal” and claiming exclusive control over the waters concerned.

The two island nations announced on Thursday they would start formal talks “to delimit the maritime boundary” of an economic zone and continental shelf between them, as Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos met Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on a visit to Tokyo.

But Beijing again asserted on Friday that it has an “exclusive economic zone and continental shelf” in the waters to the east of Taiwan.

“China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to this,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news conference when asked about the delimitation talks between Tokyo and Manila.

“China solemnly declares that the so-called delimitation negotiations between Japan and the Philippines are entirely illegal and invalid,” Mao said.

Beijing has “lodged solemn representations” with both countries, she added.

See also: China warns US, Japan, Philippines against ‘playing with fire’ over joint drills

Manila and Tokyo’s shared grievances over Chinese maritime territorial claims have seen them draw increasingly close in recent years.

Japan and China are in territorial and economic disputes in the East China Sea, where coastguard ships from both sides routinely stage dangerous standoffs.

Beijing has meanwhile deployed navy and coast guard vessels in the South China Sea, in a bid to bar the Philippines from strategically important reefs and islands, leading to a string of confrontations.

MANILA, June 8 — The death toll in a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake off the southern Philippine island of Mindanao today has risen to at least 32 with dozens of people injured, disaster officials said, as Manila stepped up search and ‌rescue operations. The quake, which triggered tsunami warnings across several countries, hit early in the morning about 20km off Sarangani province, with the tremors felt strongly across Mindanao and 420km away in the city of Manado on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The Philippines mobilised military and disaster response teams and authorities were verifying preliminary reports of 32 people killed and 134 injured across Mindanao, mostly from falling debris and landslides, according to civil defence officials.

Tsunami warnings were cancelled after more than six hours in the southern Philippines, northern Indonesia and the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo island, where residents in coastal areas had been told to evacuate immediately to higher ground. The disaster came eight months after the Philippines suffered its deadliest tremor in 12 years, when a shallow 6.9 magnitude quake hit off the central island of Cebu, killing 79 people. Two powerful quakes struck Mindanao two weeks later, the strongest at a magnitude 7.4.

‘We will not leave Mindanao behind,’ president says

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered an immediate disaster response in Mindanao, an island the size of South Korea, with agencies directed to prepare relief supplies and evacuation centres ‌and be ready for possible rescue operations.

“The national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind,” Marcos said in a statement. The Philippines and Indonesia ⁠experience hundreds of quakes each year and sit on tectonically complex parts of the “Pacific ⁠Ring of Fire”, a seismically active belt stretching from South America to the Russian Far East.

Damage to buildings, utilities ⁠and infrastructure was still being assessed, but the worst ⁠affected area was General Santos, a city ⁠of about 700,000 people, where shops and buildings were damaged, some with broken signs and glass, others reduced to piles of concrete and rubble.

Video shared by the local government showed the collapse of a building housing a fast food restaurant, with panicked onlookers fleeing as a cloud of dust spread quickly through the air.

One General Santos hospital ⁠was evacuated due to concerns about cracks on higher floors. One of the buildings at the city’s Notre Dame of Dadiangas University collapsed, but no one was inside.

“I had to duck and shelter myself under the table. And it was very long and strong,” the university’s president Manuel de Leon told broadcaster DZMM.

A drone view shows collapsed buildings after a magnitude 7.8 quake in General Santos, Mindanao Island June 8, 2026. — GenSan DEV handout pic via Reuters

Strong aftershocks across Mindanao

The Philippine seismology agency said there were more than 200 aftershocks, at least nine of those strong and felt across Mindanao, the highest at a magnitude 6.7.

The quake struck just as schools were returning from a long break.

A video shared by one school the moment the quake struck showed a large group of children sitting ⁠on the floor swaying rapidly from side to side, some hugging teachers, before fleeing en masse as a makeshift shelter collapsed behind them.

Benjie Ancheta, police chief of Sarangani’s Alabel town, said the quake occurred during a police flag-raising ceremony, causing some people to faint.

“This is the strongest ⁠earthquake we’ve experienced,” Ancheta said by phone.

Indonesian islanders move to higher ground

The US Tsunami Warning System said multiple countries could be affected and Australia initially warned of potential tsunami waves ⁠on its northern ⁠coasts.

Japan’s meteorological agency issued an advisory and said a tsunami of 0.2 m or lower had been observed, with some disruption to ferries and precautionary beach closures.

Witnesses in Indonesia’s Manado said they felt the quake strongly. Only minor damage was reported, according to Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency.

A tsunami with a wave height up to 0.75 m was detected ‌in some regions in North Sulawesi, where people started moving to safer areas, including residents of the remote Sangihe Islands, among the closest to the Philippines. — Reuters