Japan's seafood exports to China continued to fall sharply in October from a year earlier. (NHK)

JR East is offering a discount ticket for 10,000 yen that allows unlimited travel for one day, including on Shinkansen and limited express trains, available on weekdays from February 14 to March 14 next year.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government has announced plans to effectively make tuition fees free for all high schools, including private institutions.

Tokyo is ranked for the 17th consecutive year as the city in the world with the most Michelin stars, with 183 restaurants with this distinction in the 2024 edition of the prestigious gastronomic guide. (laprensalatina.com)

Few commentators would have bet on Japan being a stand-out equity performer on any level at the start of the year, as the country grappled with the long tail of the pandemic and impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine. (investorschronicle.co.uk)

Kyoto is bracing for another influx of tourists. Next to the rollout of the city administration’s ‘mind your manners’ campaign, Kyoto has terminated its popular one-day bus pass to discourage tourists from using the city’s busses. (East Asia Forum)

American hotel chain, Hyatt, announced on Monday that it plans to open five luxury hotels and hot spring inns in Japan by 2026.

Core inflation in Japan's capital slowed in November, underscoring the central bank's view that cost-push pressures in the world's third-largest economy will gradually dissipate. (Reuters)

Nihon University has apologized for the institute's poor handling of an illegal drug case involving members of its American football club. (NHK)

A Tokyo taxi driver was arrested for deliberately driving into a flock of pigeons and killing one, police said Tuesday (Dec 5), reportedly because he was angry that the birds were on the road. (CNA)

Two men in their twenties have been charged for allegedly trespassing on the JR Utsunomiya Line tracks to photograph the sleeper express "Cassiopeia".

In a survey on names given to children born this year, "Aoi", written with the character '碧', emerged as the top name for boys for the first time since the survey began, while "Himari" retained its position as the most popular name for girls for the second consecutive year.

Dozens of Akita Inu dogs were paraded along a road in Tokyo's Shibuya ward to celebrate 100 years since the birth of Hachiko -- a male Akita that became famous for its loyalty. (NHK)

The Chichibu Night Festival, known as one of Japan's three major Hikiyama festivals along with Kyoto's Gion Festival and Gifu's Takayama Festival, was held on Sunday in Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture.

As scandals continue to ripple through Japan’s entertainment industry, veteran actor and director Takeshi “Beat” Kitano has waded into the issue by saying that more needs to be done to deal with the sector’s “dark sides”. (South China Morning Post)

In this video, we cover the upcoming performances in Tokyo during the month of December, including the regular Ōkabuki show at the Kabuki-za, and a kabuki adaptation of Lupin the Third at the Shinbashi Enbujō. (Kabuki In-Depth)

The operator of the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train line says five passengers complained of sore eyes and throats after an aerosol was released inside a train car. (NHK)

Japan's meteorological authorities have lifted a tsunami advisory for all coastal areas. The advisory had been issued after a strong earthquake hit the Philippines' Mindanao Island on Saturday night. (NHK)

The results of a five-year study by universities and research institutions on the effects of global warming around Japan have been announced, revealing Japan as a "hotspot" significantly affected by climate change.

Weather officials in Japan say the country's average temperature this autumn was the highest since record-keeping began 125 years ago. (NHK)

Japan's capital expenditure growth slowed in July-September despite companies reaping solid profits, data showed on Friday, casting doubt on the central bank's view that robust corporate spending will underpin a fragile economic recovery. (Reuters)

A 32-year-old man working on an expressway died on Friday after being struck by a tire that had detached from a truck in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture.

Police in Tokyo have arrested the boyfriend of a teenage girl on suspicion of abandoning her body. The man had already been arrested on a separate allegation of embezzlement. (NHK)

The world’s biggest operational experimental nuclear fusion reactor – a technology in its infancy but billed by some as the answer to humanity’s future energy needs – has been inaugurated in Naka, Japan. (The Guardian)

YouTuber Koreaki Rengoku, also known as Kazuaki Sugita (40), has been re-arrested for physically restraining a man while putting him under a 'citizen's arrest', claiming he was a drug addict.