Officials in western Japan's Osaka City say a whale that strayed into a bay there has died. (NHK)

Former world number one tennis player Osaka Naomi has announced she is expecting her first child, just days after she pulled out of this month's Australian Open. (NHK)

A man has been charged with murder by Japanese prosecutors after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a court said on Friday. (thenationalnews.com)

The process of deconstructing a 93-year-old Kominka (traditional house) in Saitama, Japan for it to be relocated to Yamanashi. (Dylan Iwakuni)

The United States said Thursday that attacks in space would invoke its defense treaty with Japan and announced the deployment of a more agile Marine unit on its ally's soil as alarm grows over China. (manilatimes.net)

A foreign woman died in an avalanche at Mount Yotei near a popular ski resort on Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, local media reported on Friday (Jan 13). (CNA)

A couple diving near the Sea of Japan coast have captured rare images of a giant squid. (NHK)

Many countries are imposing tighter border controls on arrivals from China, where the coronavirus is running rampant. But authorities in Beijing are now going tit-for-tat. They have suspended the issuance of visas for citizens of South Korea and Japan. (NHK)

A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) destroyer ran aground in waters off the western prefecture of Yamaguchi on Tuesday, local media cited the Coast Guard and the Ministry of Defence as saying. (mangalorean.com)

The Japanese government has requested that drugstores and other retailers take steps to prevent hoarding of fever medications and painkillers used to treat the symptoms of COVID-19. (Nikkei)

Japan's weather bureau said on Wednesday that there was a 70% chance the La Nina phenomenon will end and normal weather patterns will return by the end of the northern hemisphere winter. (Reuters)

Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing Co Ltd on Wednesday said it would raise wages by as much as 40%, in a high-profile sign that Japan’s rock-bottom salaries may be starting to budge after decades of deflation and cost-cutting. (financialpost.com)

A Japan Coast Guard vessel is monitoring a whale in Osaka Bay, western Japan, for a second straight day. (Kyodo)

Young women in colorful kimonos and and smartly-dressed men celebrated Coming-of-Age Day at ceremonies across Japan on Monday. (Japan Today)

Japan's health authorities are reporting record-high deaths from the coronavirus, with over 400 people succumbing each day. (NHK)

Critics say that Japan's comics often feature young teenage girls engaged in inappropriate acts, with exaggerated body parts but facial features that look like those of kids. (The Japan Reporter)

The U.S. is finalizing plans to extend its security umbrella for Japan into space, seeking to protect satellites crucial in military surveillance and operations, Nikkei has learned. (Nikkei)

These young girls amazing teamwork help make this 94 year old restaurants massive soy braised pork combo one of the largest in Japan. (Japanese food craftsman)

Aichi prefectural police have arrested a 63-year-old woman and her 37-year-old son on suspicion of violating the prefecture’s public nuisance ordinance by secretly filming women in a bathing facility’s dressing room and bath. (Japan Today)

Nearly three-quarters, or 73%, of Japanese public high schools have no framework for accepting foreign resident students, putting them at a serious disadvantage in visa status and work opportunities, a Nikkei survey shows. (Nikkei)

The famed golden temple of Kinkaku-ji in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto is raising its admission fees for the first time in 30 years. (NHK)

A bomb threat has forced a passenger plane operated by budget carrier Jetstar Japan to make an emergency landing at an airport in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. (NHK)

Japan's Finance Ministry says it is more than doubling the coupon rate on 10-year government bonds amid a rapid rise in market yields. (NHK)

The Nagoya city government hoped to resolve a source of confusion for visitors to the central Japan city by changing the name of the subway station close to Nagoya Castle on Wednesday to one better reflecting its proximity to the historic site. (Japan Today)

The suspect in the deaths of three family members last month at a residence in Hanno, Saitama Prefecture, has denied killing them, police said Wednesday. (Japan Today)