The Yoshino cherry trees in Tokyo are likely to reach their peak soon with the Japan Meteorological Agency expected to report the flowers are in full bloom as early as Monday afternoon. (TV Asahi News / NOJ)

Tokyo residents are being told to prepare for X Day. That’s the day when a potential massive earthquake could strike the city. (SBS)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in Tokyo for a trip aimed at strengthening economic ties with Japan. Scholz has been meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The pair have been discussing ways to strengthen economic security and reduce dependence on Chinese raw materials. (DW News)

People are enjoying cherry blossom viewing parties at Ueno Park for the first time in four years. (TV Asahi News / NOJ)

The Bank of Japan's paper loss on Japanese government bond holdings grew more than 10 times at the end of last year from three months earlier as rises in long-term rates undercut the value of the assets. (Nikkei)

The Japanese government has set a target of having 400,000 foreign students studying in the country by 2033, hoping to encourage them to work in the country after they graduate. (Nikkei)

Retired Japanese wheelchair tennis star Kunieda Shingo has received the People's Honor Award. (NHK)

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has laid out his vision to reverse Japan's plummeting birth rate, a key pillar of which is boosting parental leave benefits. (NHK)

A day in the life of a Japanese Kinako Roasted Soybean Powder Maker in Tokyo Japan. (Paolo fromTOKYO)

10 places to visit around Mount Fuji to inspire you for your future trip to Japan. ( japan-guide.com)

Train riders from Tokyo to Osaka are set to see fares go up as railways spend on accessibility improvements and try to offset a drop in travel. (Nikkei)

Tourists have been flocking to the Heckeln coffee shop in Tokyo to see its owner Shizuo Mori dislodge caramel sauce puddings from their tins. (South China Morning Post)

Japan and South Korea announced relaxed trade controls and a return of frequent reciprocal visits on Thursday, as President Yoon Suk Yeol visits Tokyo on a trip intended to rebuild ties between the regional neighbors. (manilatimes.net)

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol enjoyed dinner at two restaurants after their summit and news conference Thursday, deepening their relationship in a more informal setting. (Nikkei)

Japan has advanced to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic tournament with a 9-3 win over Italy. (NHK)

Warner Bros. Studio Japan, a Tokyo-based subsidiary of the U.S. movie studio giant, will open a theme park based on the popular "Harry Potter" movie series in Japan on June 16. (Nikkei)

Japan's Upper House has stripped a member of the chamber of his status as a lawmaker for failing to attend a single Diet session. (NHK)

Japan's top companies offered their largest pay increases in a quarter century on Wednesday, as the outcome of annual labour talks showed Japan Inc heeding Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's calls for higher wages to counter a surge in inflation. (nasdaq.com)

Cherry blossoms have started blooming in Japan's capital. This is one of the earliest blooms since records began 70 years ago. (NHK)

Japan has granted a long-term visa to an American man who married his same-sex Japanese partner in the United States, in what his representative called on Monday a "breakthrough" move in a country that does not recognize same-sex marriage. (Japan Today)

The Metaverse is taking a toll on the market. The high craze for this advanced technology proves it all! (newsonjapan.com)

Chef Kenichi Chen, famous for his appearances on the popular TV series “Ryouri no Tetsujin” (Iron Chef), died in a Tokyo hospital on Saturday due to interstitial pneumonia. He was 67. (The Japan News)

A Tokyo court ordered Monday that the case against a former professional boxer, who was sentenced to death over a 1966 quadruple murder case in Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan, be retried. (Kyodo)

Australia's breakthrough baseball men have finally been brought down to earth, crushed by the power of Japan's super-slugging sports hero Shohei Ohtani in Tokyo. (The West)

The Diamond Princess liner returned to Yokohama near Tokyo on Friday for the first time since a mass COVID outbreak three years ago led Japan to quarantine those onboard and suspend the arrival of foreign cruise ships until this month. (Kyodo)