The president of the bento (boxed lunch) maker "Yoshidaya", responsible for over 500 cases of food poisoning nationwide last month, held his first press conference and gave a tearful apology.

A 23-year-old man has died after getting trapped between floats during the traditional "Katsuyama Fighting Danjiri" event in Maniwa City, Okayama Prefecture.

A 39-year-old company employee has been arrested on suspicion of slashing train seats with a cutter on the JR Sōbu Line, which runs through Tokyo.

Ahead of the "Japan Mobility Show," the country's largest auto exhibition which begins next week, Toyota Motor Corporation unveiled cutting-edge technology that included a lunar exploration vehicle.

The Japanese economy, after a prolonged period of stagnation, is currently experiencing a renaissance. A confluence of unique tailwinds in the current market environment suggests a supportive backdrop for future equity returns. (lordabbett.com)

Japan has ordered over 300 Carl-Gustaf recoilless rifles from arms manufacturer Saab. (thedefensepost.com)

The Japanese government is betting on a Tokyo-based startup called ispace to help it land on and explore the moon. (themessenger.com)

Japan's property market is showing signs of overheating because of an inflow of foreign money and growing investments by major real estate developers, the central bank warned on Friday. (kitco.com)

Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke, in his first trial at the Tokyo District Court on Friday, admitted to helping his parents commit suicide. Prosecutors are demanding a three-year prison term. (NHK)

Netflix has picked up rights to Japanese financial drama series “Trillion Game” from leading local broadcaster Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) and will begin airing it from Saturday. (variety.com)

The organizer of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka, western Japan, has formerly told relevant parties that construction costs for the event are expected to be up to 235 billion yen, or about 1.57 billion dollars. (NHK)

Toyota said Thursday it will adopt Tesla's charging standards for its electric vehicles to be sold in North America from 2025, joining a growing list of automakers utilizing the industry giant's quick charging network. (Japan Times)

Hideo Taru, Japan's ambassador to China, says the Japanese embassy still receives 15,000 nuisance calls a day, and is calling for Sino-Japanese relations to regain rationality.

More and more people in Japan are being attacked by bears. Two were mauled Thursday in the northeastern prefecture of Iwate. One was found dead. Over 150 attacks on people have happened since April. (NHK)

Empress Emerita Michiko celebrated her 89th birthday on Friday. (Japan Today)

The Japanese Ministry of Defense’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) announced that it has accomplished a ship-board firing test of a railgun for the first time in the world. The test was conducted with the cooperation of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). (navalnews.com)

MECT 2023, Japan's largest trade fair for machine tools, has opened in Nagoya, featuring 492 domestic and international companies exhibiting tools and industrial robots.

At the ruins of Takeda Castle in Asago City, Hyogo Prefecture, a mystical sight, known as the "sea of clouds," appeared on Thursday.

Five cars on a monorail at the Kumamoto City Zoological and Botanical Gardens collided into each other on Wednesday, with passengers reporting sore backs and necks.

Autumn leaves are in full bloom in Tochigi and Nikko, with red and yellow trees surrounding pure white running water.

A man in his 40s has been arrested for allegedly jumping and kicking a parked car in Namba, Osaka, with the entire incident recorded on dashcam.

Foreign visitors are back in Japan and putting more money into the economy than ever before. Their spending hit a quarterly record, backed by a sharp recovery in arrival numbers and the weaker yen. (NHK)

A former doctor was handed a suspended sentence after being found guilty of secretly filming female students naked during a school health checkup.

Nara Prefecture plans to introduce a system next year to subsidize high school students, effectively making tuition free for households with an annual income below 9.1 million yen.

Honda Motor on Thursday said it will start a driverless taxi service in Japan in partnership with General Motors. The automakers along with GM's self-driving service subsidiary will form a joint venture in 2024 and launch the taxi service in 2026 in central Tokyo. (Nikkei)