Half the respondents in a Kyodo News survey released Monday believe Japan needs to amend the war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution to clarify the legal status of the Self-Defense Forces, with the level of support almost unchanged from a year ago despite growing concerns over regional security. (Kyodo)

Japan has decided to require listed companies to disclose in their annual securities reports the ratio of women in management positions, in a bid to increase female leaders in the country's male-dominated corporate world. (Kyodo)

Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani blasted his fourth home run of the season Friday while batting cleanup for the first time since September 2020 as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1 for their sixth straight win. (Kyodo)

Japanese film director Takeshi Kitano was honored Friday with a lifetime achievement award at the 24th Far East Film Festival in Italy for his contributions to the industry over more than 30 years. (Kyodo)

Falling to his knees and placing his forehead on the floor, the president of the tour boat company operating the Kazu I, which disappeared Saturday in the Sea of Okhotsk with 26 people aboard, apologized Wednesday, saying that the ship’s captain made the decision to go ahead with the tour that morning. (Japan Times)

Tokyo has lodged a protest with Moscow over its decision to expel eight Japanese diplomats, the top government spokesman said Thursday, arguing Russia is fully responsible for the deterioration of bilateral relations. (Kyodo)

Part of a human skull has been found near a mountainside campsite in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, where a 9-year-old girl went missing over two and a half years ago, investigative sources said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Japan's coastguard on Sunday (Apr 24) confirmed at least 10 people were killed after a tourist boat sank in frigid waters a day earlier, with the search for others onboard continuing. (CNA)

Kanagawa prefectural police are searching for a man who uses a motorbike to come up behind pedestrians and snatch their bags. (Japan Today)

Coming off his first top-division championship in March, sekiwake Wakatakakage remains on the more prestigious east side of the latest rankings released Monday by the Japan Sumo Association ahead of next month's Summer Grand Sumo Tournament. (Kyodo)

A Japanese woman believed to have been the world's oldest person has died aged 119, according to Japan's public broadcaster. (abc.net.au)

A cross-party group of more than 100 Japanese lawmakers on Friday visited Yasukuni, a Shinto shrine in Tokyo regarded as a symbol of Japan's past militarism by its Asian neighbors, for its spring festival. (Kyodo)

Police in Osaka have arrested a 50-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder after he shoved a 63-year-old man off the train platform onto the tracks at JR Tennoji Station. (Japan Today)

Traps to prevent turtles from infiltrating a runway at Narita airport near Tokyo were set Wednesday in its retention pond to avoid a repeat of a 2021 incident where an intrusion by one of the reptiles delayed departures. (Kyodok)

Police in Tsukubamirai, Ibaraki Prefecture, have arrested a 45-year-old woman on suspicion of assault after she injured another woman by poking her in the face with an umbrella while in a car at a park last month. (Japan Today)

The body of a baby boy was found at the trash disposal site of an apartment building in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday. (Japan Today)

A panel of experts at Japan's health ministry approved Monday the use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the U.S. biotechnology firm Novavax Inc. (Kyodo)

Police in Chiba City have arrested a 30-year-old man on suspicion of sexually molesting a 20-year-old woman on a train in February. (Japan Today)

A roughly 3.5-meter-long whale that washed up on the shore of Amami-Oshima Island in southwestern Japan died Saturday despite rescue efforts by residents. (Kyodo)

Japan's former Emperor Akihito and his wife former Empress Michiko moved out of their temporary home in Tokyo on Tuesday, as they prepare to complete the process of swapping residences with the current emperor and his family. (Kyodo)

The average value of assets held by Japanese lower house members came to 29.24 million yen ($234,000), slightly up from a record low 28.92 million yen in the previous survey, according to a Kyodo News tally based on data released Monday. (Kyodo)

A total of 62.9 percent of people in Japan with foreign roots were questioned by police over the past five years, preliminary results of a recent Tokyo Bar Association survey showed, with the group saying the outcome is evidence of biased behavior by officers. (Kyodo)

Shohei Ohtani's combination of rare baseball talent as both a hitter and pitcher and his marketability has made him the Major League Baseball's biggest off-field earner, financial magazine Forbes reported Wednesday on its website. (Kyodo)

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday that there are "signs of a resurgence" in coronavirus infections in Japan, particularly among young people. (Kyodo)

Japan will phase out Russian coal imports as part of sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, the industry minister said Friday, joining other Group of Seven industrialized nations in the move. (Kyodok)