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)

A girl was arrested Saturday on suspicion of attempted murder after apparently stabbing a mother in her 50s and her young daughter on a street in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward. (Kyodo)

About 3,500 followers of the Unification Church from across South Korea, mostly Japanese women married to local men, staged a protest in central Seoul on Thursday against what they call biased Japanese media reports about the religious group. (Kyodo)

Japan reported a record number of weekly cases of ambulances struggling to find a hospital for patients in the week through Sunday, hitting a high for a third straight week, as the country grapples with a surge in COVID-19 infections, the government said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Japanese train stations, airports and expressways were crowded Sunday as the majority of travelers returned from their summer vacation. (Kyodo)

Police in Aichi Prefecture arrested a 42-year-old man on Saturday in connection with the murders of his wife and their two children following the discovery of their bodies earlier this week. (Kyodo)

Food prices will continue to surge in Japan for the latter half of 2022, with more than 10,000 items set to rise in price from August onward as import costs of materials become more expensive due to a weaker yen, according to a survey by a credit research company. (Kyodo)

Japan's population declined to 125.93 million as of Jan. 1, down by 726,342 in its biggest drop since comparable data became available in 2013, as deaths again outnumbered births and COVID-19 border restrictions kept foreign resident numbers low, government data showed Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Japanese designer Issey Miyake, famed for his pleated style of clothing that never wrinkles, has died aged 84, according to media reports in the country. (Al Jazeera)

Police in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, have arrested a man on suspicion of violating the anti-stalking law after he mailed his female target a GPS tracker to find her new home address. (Japan Today)

An annual star festival in the northeastern Japan city of Sendai, known for its hundreds of brilliant hanging decorations in shopping areas, commenced Saturday with the biggest crowds expected since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo)

The Japanese government plans to roll out a new type of COVID-19 vaccine considered effective for the Omicron variant as early as October, sources familiar with the matter said Friday. (Kyodo)

Torrential rains have continued to fall across a wide part of Japan on Friday, with record downpours reported in Fukui and Shiga prefectures as rivers have overflowed and many areas are left at increased risk of landslides. (Kyodo)

Police in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, have arrested a 21-year-old unemployed woman on suspicion of parental neglect resulting in death after her two-year-old daughter and one-year-old son died of heatstroke due to being left in a car. (Japan Today)

Japan reported 249,830 daily coronavirus cases Wednesday, hitting a record tally as the quickly soaring number renewed concerns over a straining medical system. (Kyodo)

Police in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, are looking for man who attacked a pedestrian with a sword on Monday. (Japan Today)

The Japan Sumo Association on Tuesday announced the launch of an official English-language YouTube channel aimed at drawing a wider international audience to the sport. (Kyodo)

A Japanese government panel is expected to propose raising the average minimum wage for fiscal 2022 by a record 30 yen or more from 930 yen ($7) an hour, sources familiar with the plan said Monday, as the country battles accelerating inflation. (Kyodo)

Japan was still struggling to make sense of the violent death of Shinzo Abe when the man suspected of killing him gave police information that has sent shockwaves through the country’s political establishment. (theguardian.com)

A diving shop in the southern Japan prefecture of Okinawa apologized after a photograph online that showed its customers posing on the shipwreck of a U.S. warship from World War II sparked a protest from a member of an organization comprised of family members and friends of former crew, it became known Saturday. (Kyodo)