Japanese airlines will no longer require passengers to wear face masks on flights, starting March 13. (Nikkei)

Police in Tokyo have arrested an 82-year-old man on suspicion of sexual assaulting a woman in her 30s after he put sleeping pills in soup that he gave to her. (Japan Today)

FTX Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has issued a statement on the withdrawal of users’ fiat currency and crypto assets. (financialexpress.com)

The government decided Tuesday on draft legislation to screen and certify Japanese-language schools to ensure their quality by setting standards including the number of teachers and educational content. (Japan Times)

Japan's health minister, Kato Katsunobu, says the government will review measures other than mask-wearing that were put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus. (NHK)

Forever 21, which came to epitomize the fast-fashion movement by selling trendy, of-the-moment clothing to teens at bottom-barrel prices, is relaunching in Japan by quietly overhauling itself as an upmarket clothier. (Bloomberg)

The Tokyo high court has dismissed a case challenging rules that ban dual citizenship. It upholds a lower court ruling. (NHK)

Weather companies have started releasing their bloom forecasts for the “cherry blossom front,” which is expected to begin next month. (The Japan News)

The disciplinary committee of Japan's upper house agreed Tuesday to order a YouTuber-turned-lawmaker living abroad to offer an apology in parliament for not attending any sessions since he was elected to the Diet last year. (Kyodo)

Manga master Leiji Matsumoto, whose epic sci-fi stories were highly influential in Japan's comic-book and anime worlds, has died aged 85, production company Toei said Monday. (zawya.com)

North Korea launched two more ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday, with the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un saying Pyongyang's use of the Pacific as its "firing range" would depend on the behaviour of U.S. forces. (Reuters)

A major Japanese textbook publisher has redistributed an atlas to high schools after correcting more than 1,000 mistakes in it. (NHK)

Japan’s capital is rated for its low crime rate and high standards of healthcare in this survey by the UK’s Post Office (Time Out)

The undeclared income of wealthy people totaled Y83.9 billion in the year through June 2022, up 72.3% from the preceding year and the highest annual level since data became available in the year to June 2010. (Japan Times)

The severed head of a cat was found on the grounds of an elementary school in Saitama city on Friday. Police said the cat’s head was found at around 7 a.m. at the school in Minami Ward. (Japan Today)

North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off Japan’s west coast after warning of a strong response to upcoming military drills by South Korea and the United States. (Al Jazeera)

The Japanese government will launch a new residency program in a bid to attract talented professionals from other countries. Qualified foreign nationals would be given preferential immigration treatment. (NHK)

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has offered emergency humanitarian aid worth about 8.5 million dollars to earthquake-stricken Turkey. (NHK)

The number of islands in Japan is expected to more than double after 7,000 new islands it didn't know existed were discovered. (npr.org)

Japan will start a pilot programme in April to test the use of a digital yen, its central bank said on Friday, joining a growing number of countries seeking to catch up with front-runner China in launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC). (nasdaq.com)

A Japanese justice ministry panel on Friday proposed raising the country's age of consent, currently among the world's lowest at just 13, as part of a major overhaul of sex crime legislation. (Japan Today)

Tokyo has some of the highest rates of homelessness in Japan and accounted for nearly a third of the country's unhoused population on a single night in 2022. Why does the problem continue and getting worse now? (The Japan Reporter)

Some of the smartphones seized from four men suspected of coordinating a string of robberies across Japan had almost no data left inside, indicating attempts to hide evidence linking them with the crimes, investigative sources said Wednesday. (Japan Today)

Japan's major restaurant chain Zensho Holdings, operator of the Sukiya beef bowl chain, announced on Thursday that it will acquire Lotteria, a burger franchise held by Lotte Holdings. (Nikkei)

A 35-year-old man who shot fireworks over a crowd at Tokyo’s famous Shibuya scramble crossing last year has been sent to prosecutors. (Japan Today)