Land prices in Japan fell 0.5% on average in 2021 from a year before, down for the first time in six years due to loss in demand by foreign visitors amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Thursday. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike was discharged Wednesday from hospital following treatment for severe fatigue, the metropolitan government said, less than a month before the opening of the Olympics. (Japan Today)

Coronavirus variants with the L452R mutation that were first detected in India are spreading at a fast pace in Tokyo. (NHK)

AICHI (TR) – A 39-year-old man who is suspected of stealing recorders from female students in Nagoya has been further accused of stalking, police have revealed, reports Fuji News Network. (tokyoreporter.com)

SHIZUOKA (TR) – Shizuoka Prefectural Police are holding custody of a python that was discovered at a residence in Hamamatsu City on Sunday, reports TV Shizuoka (tokyoreporter.com)

A firm created to take over the personal care division of Japanese cosmetics giant Shiseido has unveiled its business strategy. (NHK)

Helping Carlos Ghosn escape trial in Japan was a mistake, one that they deeply regret, said the Americans who helped the former Nissan Motor Co. chairman flee the nation to safety in Lebanon. (Japan Times)

Japan will replace red mailboxes with golden ones in locations linked to champions at the upcoming Tokyo Games, in honor of their achievements, the government and Japan Post Co. have said. (Japan Times)

After 15 years of a very focused formula, Zenryokuzaka is making a change. (soranews24.com)

A man who broke out of a quarantine hotel in Osaka City last week was apprehended on Wednesday, police have revealed, reports Kansai TV (June 30). (tokyoreporter.com)

A private jet that landed in Tokyo's Haneda Airport Tuesday afternoon looked perfectly normal on the outside. What made it special was on the inside: fuel made from used cooking oil and a kind of algae. (NHK)

TOKYO (TR) – A popular bar hostess has been accused of stabbing of a male acquaintance in an incident whose sound was live-streamed on the internet, police have revealed, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

A man has admitted consuming alcohol before the truck he was driving was involved in an accident that left two elementary school children dead and three others injured near Tokyo, investigative sources said Tuesday. (Japan Today)

Two elementary school boys were killed and three other pupils were seriously injured Monday when a truck driven by a drunk man crashed into them on a street in Chiba Prefecture, police said. (Japan Today)

A panel of experts advising the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has voiced concern about a possible resurgence of coronavirus cases in the capital, saying the situation could worsen quickly. (NHK)

Japan is backing off a forecast of how many gold medals it will win at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics that are set to open next month. (newindianexpress.com)

FUKUOKA (TR) – Fukuoka Prefectural Police are searching for a man after two corpses were found inside a refrigerator in a residence in Fukuoka City, reports the Mainichi Shimbun. (tokyoreporter.com)

KANAGAWA (TR) – Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested a 21-year-old man over the alleged fatal stabbing of a male youth in Kamakura City earlier this year, reports Kyodo News. (tokyoreporter.com)

Narita Airport will have dedicated lanes in the terminals for people arriving for the Tokyo Olympic Games as an anti-infection measure against the coronavirus. The lanes will open on Thursday, July 1, when athletes and staff begin arriving in large numbers. (NHK)

US tennis star Serena Williams says she will not take part in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. (NHK)

Officials in Tokyo have decided to rearrange the Olympic torch relay so that the flame is not carried on public roads in the capital for at least the first eight days of the event. The relay will go ahead in Tokyo's island regions. (NHK)

TOKYO (TR) – A woman married a man who has been accused of assaulting her former husband. The former husband later died — and she was also arrested in the case, police have revealed, reports TBS News. (tokyoreporter.com)

Despite mounting concerns of inflation in the rest of the world, consumer prices and wages in Japan have both stubbornly resisted upward pressure for decades. (Nikkei)

Many schools near Tokyo are shunning Olympic and Paralympic events, cancelling more than half the 280,000 tickets reserved for them amid worries that the games could further spread COVID-19, a Japanese daily said Sunday. (Japan Times)

A restored castle watchtower in Mito, northeast of Tokyo, opened to the public on Sunday. (NHK)