The number of babies born in Japan and to Japanese expatriates in the January to June period fell 5.0 percent from a year earlier to fewer than 400,000 for the first time since 2000, amid the lingering impact of the coronavirus pandemic, recent government data showed. (Kyodo)

Around 40 percent of the 169 people who fled to Japan from Afghanistan following the Taliban's return to power in August last year have left their new home due to what they say was pressure and a lack of support from the Japanese Foreign Ministry. (Japan Today)

Wholesale prices in Japan climbed 9.0 percent in August from a year earlier as the yen's tumble against the U.S. dollar and other major currencies boosted import costs, Bank of Japan data showed Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Police in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, said Sunday that the body of a newborn baby boy was found in a trash container on the premises of a resort hotel. (Japan Today)

Nineteen-year-old Haruka Kawasaki stormed to a three-shot victory at the JLPGA Championship Konica Minolta Cup with an 8-under 64 on Sunday, becoming the youngest winner of the major golf tournament. (Kyodo)

Okinawa’s incumbent governor who opposes an ongoing U.S. Marine base relocation forced by Japan’s central government and calls for a further reduction of American troops on the southern island secured his reelection on Sunday despite concerns of escalating tensions between China and nearby Taiwan. (columbian.com)

Police in Tokyo on Friday charged a 34-year-old man, already under arrest on suspicion of illegally confining a 23-year-old woman and then leaving her body in a forest in Ibaraki Prefecture, with her murder in June. (Japan Today)

A U.N. panel dealing with the rights of people with disabilities urged Japan on Friday to end special education that segregates children with disabilities from those without, as part of its recommendations for the country over its policies for the disabled. (Kyodo)

Police said Thursday they have arrested six teenagers on suspicion of robbing a 30-year-old man in Tokyo in a case known in Japan as "papakatsu," whereby a man gives money to a young girl in exchange for a date. (Kyodo)

Police in Tachikawa, Tokyo, have arrested a 44-year-old man on suspicion of arson and property destruction after he allegedly set fire to a bar last month. (Japan Today)

A 3-year-old girl died Monday after she was likely left for about five hours inside a kindergarten school bus in Makinohara, Shizuoka Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, police said. (Kyodo)

Prince Hisahito, the nephew of Emperor Naruhito and second in line to the Japanese imperial throne, turned 16 Tuesday after starting senior high school this spring. (Kyodo)

Former yokozuna Hakuho will hold his official retirement ceremony on Jan. 28 at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan, the winner of a record 45 grand sumo tournaments announced Monday in an online press conference. (Kyodo)

The Chubu District Transport Bureau has taken disciplinary action against Izu Hakone Bus Co, a public bus operator in Shizuoka Prefecture’s Mishima City, after one of its drivers told a woman passenger to get off the bus because she was not wearing a face mask. (Japan Today)

Haruyuki Takahashi, a former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee executive arrested in a bribery case involving a sponsorship contract for a clothes retailer, may also have been asked to favor publishing company Kadokawa Corp, a source familiar with the matter said Saturday. (Japan Today)

A 28-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of killing his 54-year-old adoptive mother last year has died after being found unresponsive in his detention cell in Osaka, authorities said Friday. (Japan Today)

The number of women teaching at universities in Japan hit a record high this May, a more than fourfold increase from 30 years ago, recently released preliminary government data showed. (Kyodo)

The Japanese government decided Friday to introduce penalties for major hospitals that fail to provide outpatient care and prepare beds for patients with COVID-19 and other infectious diseases against prearrangements with local governments. (Kyodo)

Members of Japan's national soccer team will wear a new uniform with a design based on a Japanese traditional art at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. (NHK)

Given the general rarity of firearms in Japan, knives are frequently used by those looking to intimidate others or inflict violence. (Japan Today)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. will jointly develop insurance products for space travelers as they bet more civilians will venture beyond the Earth in the future. (Kyodo)

First-time champion Ichinojo was rewarded for his July triumph Monday by earning re-promotion to komusubi in the Japan Sumo Association's ranking published ahead of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament from Sept. 11 at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan. (Kyodo)

Marybelen Sakamoto was crowned Miss Universe Japan 2022 in a glittering national competition held on Thursday, August 25 in Tokyo. (pageantcircle.com)

A 29-year-old woman and her three-year-old daughter were found stabbed to death in their apartment in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on Wednesday morning, police said, adding that they are looking for the woman’s 33-year-old husband whose whereabouts are unknown. (Japan Today)

The Japanese government on Wednesday eased its travel warning over the coronavirus pandemic for 54 countries and a region, including Indonesia and the Philippines, and is no longer requesting that residents in Japan refrain from nonessential trips to those nations. (Kyodo)