Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said on Wednesday that her government will provide benefits of approximately 5,000 yen ($38) per person per month to residents of Tokyo aged 18 or younger to help cover the cost of their education. (Nikkei)

The rise and fall of Yomiuri, Japanese news singers who spread fake news and evaded police. (Linfamy)

Japanese employees returned to work on Wednesday (Jan 4) after celebrating the first three days of 2023 by travelling and having family gatherings, as eased restrictions allowed a gradual return to normalcy following two years of muted celebrations. (CNA)

Top Japanese cosplayer Enako earned over 200 million yen (approximately $1.5 million) in revenue for 2022, according to her manager. (nextshark.com)

Taking advantage of the vast cash pile generated by the success of its COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax, US mRNA therapeutics and vaccines specialist Moderna (Nasdaq: MRNA) today announced its first out-right acquisition since its launch in 2020. (thepharmaletter.com)

Players dressed in ancient costumes have played the traditional Japanese card game karuta at a shrine in Kyoto for the first time in three years. (NHK)

The Sony-Honda electric vehicle alliance unveiled a new brand and its prototype car on Thursday while also announcing a partnership with U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm on intelligent mobility technology. (Japan Times)

Traders at Tokyo's Toyosu wholesale market held the first auction of 2023 on Thursday to sell raw and frozen tuna from ports around Japan and abroad. (NHK)

This time I took the luxury overnight express bus from Osaka to Tokyo. (At JAPAN)

Japan-based users of popular language-learning app Duolingo spend the longest time studying a language on the platform, with English being studied the most followed by Korean and Chinese, a recent report by the U.S.-based developer showed. (Kyodo)

Japan said on Monday it scrambled jet fighters and dispatched aircraft and warships over the past two weeks to keep tabs on China's Liaoning aircraft carrier and five warships that conducted naval maneuvers and flight operations in the Pacific. (Japan Today)

Japan's conveyor-belt sushi chains are accelerating their expansion overseas, with some restaurants growing faster abroad than domestically thanks to easing coronavirus restrictions and higher expectations for market growth. (Nikkei)

Motsuji Temple has records dating back to its founding in 850 by Priest Ennin of the Tendai Sect. The story goes that Ennin became lost in a thick fog while traveling around northern Japan. (NIWA-Japanese Garden Collection)

The Takagawa Gakuen high school football team in Japan used a technique of their own invention to take a free-kick, as three players kneeled in front of the wall, while three attackers danced in a circle next to the ball. (theguardian.com)

Japan's space agency is set to begin the final screening of applicants in its latest astronaut recruitment. Those who pass the screening will go on to take part in an international lunar exploration project. (NHK)

Price increases are planned in 2023 at the majority of Japanese companies that produce food and other daily necessities, a Nikkei survey finds, with businesses caught between covering surging costs and keeping customers happy. (Nikkei)

Japan's airports, railway stations and expressways are crowded on Tuesday as people return from their year-end and New Year holidays. (NHK)

Micchi is only 9 but she has already had double eyelid surgery. Japan is ranked 4th in the world for having the most number of plastic surgery procedures. Hostess Nonoka has had more than one hundred surgeries, and plans to have more. (VICE)

孤立し命を狙われるアリスの絶体絶命を救ったのは、義足の女子高生・ヘイヤ（恒松祐里）。 (Netflix Japan)

The 55-year-old Japanese soccer star Miura Kazuyoshi, known as "Kazu," has expressed a New Year's resolution to play well in the coming season. (NHK)

In the face of rising concerns about environmental degradation and a global move toward sustainability, two of Japan's top airlines have begun to transform their operations to greener practices. (Nikkei)

The first Japanese recipe for curry, "raisukare," was published in 1872, just a few years after the Meiji era began. (slurrp.com)

With yokozuna Terunofuji's future in doubt, the door is wide open for others to move up the ranks, and other sumo New Year predictions for the year to come. (japan-forward.com)

Seven Samurai is an epic samurai drama, set in the latter half of the 16th century during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. (thereviewgeek.com)

Heading into the 2022 FIFA World Cup, no one really gave Japan much hope. The Bule Samurai have impressed in recent editions of the tournament. (newsonjapan.com)