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)

Japan Airlines Co. ended a campaign to sell steeply discounted tickets for domestic flights after demand overwhelmed the carrier’s website. (themalaysianreserve.com)

Twin panda cubs at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo are being prepared for independence from their mother starting on Friday. ()

Major league superstar Shohei Ohtani was given a hero's welcome as he led Japan to an 8-1 win over China in their World Baseball Classic opener in Tokyo on Thursday. (france24.com)

Japan's Imperial Household Agency has resumed processions of horse-drawn carriages for newly appointed foreign ambassadors, after a three-year suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic. (NHK)

A Japanese court on Tuesday sentenced a woman to 11 years in prison over the 2011 murder of her mentally ill husband with the help of their son, a former doctor indicted for the alleged consensual killing of a terminally ill woman. (Japan Today)

If you come to Tokyo, you’ll enjoy gastronomy from all over the world. In these portraits, we look at the inspiration driving two of Japan's top chefs. (euronews)

The Tokyo District Court says the central government's decision to raise taxi fares in the capital is unreasonable as it forces taxi firms to raise fares regardless of their situations. (NHK)

The second attempt to launch Japan's H3 rocket failed minutes after liftoff on Tuesday as its second-stage engine did not ignite and the nation's space agency ordered the space vehicle to self-destruct. (Nikkei)

Japan's defense ministry plans to shut down large-scale coronavirus vaccination venues in Tokyo and Osaka operated by the Self-Defense Forces at the end of the month. (NHK)

Multiple incidents of cat killings that came to light in Japan’s Saitama city over the last month have triggered fear among the residents. One of the bodies of the mangled feline was found near an elementary school, raising concerns about children’s safety (firstpost.com)

As Nakamura Shikan VIII's revival of the act X of Kanadehon Chūshingura opens at the Kabuki-za theatre in Tokyo, let's have a look at this rarely performed act from the popular masterpiece. (Netflix Anime)

South Korea announced plans Monday to compensate victims of Japan's forced wartime labour, aiming to end a "vicious cycle" in the Asian powers' relations and boost ties to counter the nuclear-armed North. (AFP)

A 30-year-old dancer from Japan has been promoted to the highest level of the world-renowned Paris Opera Ballet. (NHK)

The Tokyo Marathon is being held on the scale it was known for before the coronavirus pandemic for the first time in four years. It is one of the largest races in Japan. (NHK)

Employees at Google's Japanese arm has unionized for the first time, as the wave of layoffs by big tech companies spreads beyond the U.S. (Nikkei)

A Japanese female stage actor has sued a prominent sexual harassment lawyer for sexual harassment. (NHK)

Ehime is one of the top emerging travel destinations in Japan! Only a short flight from Tokyo, Ehime is on Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four major islands. (VICE)

Japan's government decided on Friday to enable courts to order the use of GPS trackers to prevent international bail jumping in the wake of the case of former Nissan Motor Co. CEO Carlos Ghosn and other incidents of criminal defendants escaping the country. (Kyodo)