Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Thursday it successfully launched an H-2A rocket carrying a British communications satellite from Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan, with the satellite entering its planned orbit about 26 minutes after liftoff. (Kyodo)

The government plans to simplify the immigration procedures for foreign travelers arriving in Japan by luxury transport such as private jets and superyachts usually used by the wealthy, sources close to the matter said Monday. (Kyodo)

The kanji for "kin," meaning gold or money, was picked as the single most representative Chinese character corresponding to the social mood in Japan this year, a Kyoto-based organization said Monday. (Kyodo)

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi gave an impromptu piano rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine" during Saturday's dinner party of the Group of Seven ministerial talks in Liverpool, England. (Kyodo)

Masayuki Uemura, the lead architect for the breakthrough Nintendo Entertainment System and the Super NES, and a visiting professor at Ritsumeikan University, has died, the university said Thursday. He was 78. (Kyodok)

Japan's Empress Masako on the occasion of her 58th birthday Thursday expressed hopes that her daughter Princess Aiko, who recently came of age, would "grow step by step" to successfully fulfill her duties as an adult member of the imperial family. (Kyodo)

Japan will provide more than 300 billion yen ($2.6 billion) over the next three years to help developing nations address nutrition challenges as Tokyo bolsters its commitment to reducing hunger, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who fled Japan in 2019 before facing trial over alleged financial misconduct, on Monday reiterated his innocence in a virtual press conference and criticized Japan's prosecution system as being blatantly discriminatory. (Kyodo)

Foreign students in Japan will no longer be permitted access to duty-free purchases in response to suspected cases of reselling and complaints of cumbersome eligibility checks. (lokmat.com)

Recently retired pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka bid farewell in a speech Saturday at the Seibu Lions' fan appreciation day, where Ichiro Suzuki surprised him and presented his former opponent and Japan teammate with a bouquet of flowers. (Kyodo)

Japan's transport ministry has asked each air carrier to submit data every day on bookings for inbound international flights as the country steps up efforts to keep out the Omicron coronavirus variant, sources with knowledge of the situation said Saturday. (Kyodo)

India, Greece and Romania, as well as four U.S. states, will be added Sunday to Japan's list of places from which returning Japanese nationals and foreign residents will be subject to stricter quarantine requirements as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. (Kyodo)

Sumo elder Magaki, the 36-year-old recently retired former yokozuna Hakuho, has had five records recognized by Guinness World Records, the Japan Sumo Association announced Friday. (Kyodo)

Japanese singer-songwriter Chihiro Onitsuka, known for the 2000 hit single "Gekko" (moonlight), was arrested Sunday on a central Tokyo street on suspicion of kicking an ambulance she called for a friend who was feeling unwell. (Kyodo)

The Central League champion Yakult Swallows clinched their sixth Japan Series championship as Shingo Kawabata's 12th-inning RBI pinch-hit single earned them a 2-1 Game 6 victory over the Pacific League champion Orix Buffaloes on Saturday. (Kyodo)

Yokozuna Terunofuji concluded the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament in style Sunday, with his first perfect 15-0 record for the icing on the cake of his already-clinched sixth Emperor's Cup. (Kyodo)

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. chairman and president as well as the head of its banking unit will resign next spring following a series of system failures that have hurt public confidence in one of Japan's major financial institutions, sources with knowledge of the plan said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Kumi Yokoyama, a U.S.-based Japanese footballer who publicly came out a transgender man in June, revealed Tuesday on Instagram they married their girlfriend. (Kyodo)

Australia will allow eligible foreign visa holders and travelers from Japan and South Korea to enter the country from December, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Monday. (Kyodo)

Visitors and local residents in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo are enjoying nighttime winter illuminations in a park, along streets and in two popular squares. (NHK)

Toyonoumi, who was one of the heaviest sumo wrestlers of all time, died due to an illness on Saturday, the Japan Sumo Association said. He was 56. (Kyodo)

About 60 percent of Japanese couples marrying since shortly before the start of the coronavirus pandemic have refrained from holding a wedding ceremony, a nearly threefold jump from the proportion who skipped ceremonies in prior years, a recent survey showed. (Kyodo)

A Japanese government panel on the novel coronavirus response gave the green light Tuesday for the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, including scrapping the cap on spectators at events under certain conditions. (Kyodo)

Coastal areas surrounding Tokyo are expecting the arrival of a mass of floating pumice stone created by a huge underwater volcanic eruption in August, with the material already having blanketed dozens of fishing ports and impacted marine life in the country's southwest. (Japan Today)

The Pacific League champion Orix Buffaloes and Central League champion Yakult Swallows both came from behind to book their Japan Series berths on Friday. (Kyodok)