Members of Uganda's Olympic team have arrived in Japan to start gearing up for the Games at their training camp. But their preparations suffered a setback, when one person tested positive for the coronavirus at an airport quarantine station. (NHK)

Carlos Ghosn, the auto-executive-turned-fugitive who plotted a brazen escape from Osaka in December 2019 following his arrest by Japanese authorities on charges of financial misconduct, has denounced what he calls Japan’s darker side — its legal system. (arabnews.com)

Japan’s parliament approved legislation that allows companies to extract and utilize space resources as the head of Russia’s space agency criticized similar national laws on the subject. (spacenews.com)

A report on how to hold the Tokyo Olympics safely, drawn up by Japan's top health experts, says it is important to scale down the size of the Games as much as possible. (abc.net.au)

Japan said on Thursday it would ease emergency coronavirus curbs in nine prefectures including Tokyo while keeping some measures, including limiting spectator numbers at big events, amid fears that next month's Olympics could trigger a surge in infections. (kitco.com)

Police in Tokyo have arrested a 49-year-old man for sexually assaulting and strangling a woman he met on a social networking site. The suspect also possessed a knife at the time and used it to threaten his victim. (Japan Today)

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday arrested a 45-year-old man for allegedly threatening to kill the Japan Medical Association chief, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan said on Thursday it would ease emergency coronavirus curbs in nine prefectures including Tokyo while keeping some measures, including limiting spectator numbers at big events, amid fears that next month's Olympics could trigger a surge in infections. (Japan Today)

Japan's government is set to cap attendance at major events at 10,000 as a transitional measure when it lifts a coronavirus state of emergency or other special measures. (NHK)

A parliamentary committee decided Wednesday to refer a high court judge to an impeachment court for posting inappropriate messages on social media that were offensive to parties in two separate trials in 2017 and 2018. (Japan Today)

The Japanese government is expected to decide on Thursday to lift the coronavirus state of emergency currently issued for 10 prefectures except Okinawa. ()

Japan’s state-run mass COVID-19 inoculation centers started administering vaccine to people age 18 or older Thursday, extending vaccinations beyond those aged 65 or over as many slots at the centers remain vacant. (Japan Times)

Japan's government is considering lifting the coronavirus state of emergency currently issued for 10 prefectures except Okinawa. (NHK)

The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in May was down 99.6 percent from the pre-pandemic year of 2019 as a result of tougher travel restrictions to prevent the spread of highly contagious coronavirus variants, government data showed Wednesday. (Kyodo)

Australia's softball team, which is currently training in Japan for the Tokyo Olympics, has invited the public to watch them practice. (NHK)

Companies are showing off the latest drone technology for a trade show near Tokyo. Over 100 firms from Japan and elsewhere are taking part. (NHK)

The clock is winding down in Japan on the emergency declaration for Tokyo, Osaka and eight other prefectures. (NHK)

OSAKA (TR) – The female manager of a karaoke parlor in Osaka City’s Kita Ward was found inside the premises on Monday. (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's state-run mass coronavirus vaccination centers plan to start inoculating people aged under 65 as early as Thursday in an expanded drive to fill in vacant slots, a government source said Tuesday. (Japan Today)

Japanese financial authorities have opened an office in central Tokyo with an English-speaking team to help foreign funds and others start business in the country. (NHK)

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 47-year-old man who is suspected of stealing the wallets belonging to women in the Kabukicho red-light district, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

The latest world rankings show that Japanese tennis stars Osaka Naomi and Nishikori Kei have secured places for the Tokyo Olympics. (NHK)

An NHK opinion poll shows that 45 percent of respondents do not support Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide's Cabinet. That's the highest disapproval rating since he took office last September. (NHK)

Two American men accused of helping former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan to Lebanon have pleaded guilty on the opening day of their trial in Tokyo. (NHK)

WAKAYAMA (TR) – When the Supreme Court in 2009 handed Masumi Hayashi the death penalty for murdering four persons at a festival with arsenic-laced curry, many might have thought that the ugly incident had been safely jettisoned into the past. (tokyoreporter.com)