TOKYO (TR) – A 39-year-old man in custody over the alleged drugging and sexual abuse of a boy earlier this year is to be accused in a second case, police have revealed, reports TV Asahi. (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan's Justice Minister has ordered the heads of public security intelligence bureaus across the country to gather information to protect the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics from terrorism and cyberattacks. (NHK)

There is a national debate going on in Japan right now about whether Japan should cancel the Tokyo Olympics because of the pandemic. (Asian Boss)

In the south of Japan lies the country's most active volcano. With hundreds, if not thousands of eruptions per year, it is a place often covered in volcanic ash, and smoke. (Tokyo Lens)

Japan has entered its first weekend since the coronavirus state of emergency was extended for nine prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka. Some facilities have reopened with anti-infection measures in place. (NHK)

The government is preparing to administer COVID-19 vaccines to Japanese citizens living abroad starting as early as August, officials said. (Japan Times)

Over the decades, gaming arcades in Japan have faced a series of challenges. Typically, they’ve been in the realm of technology — namely high-tech video game consoles that first promised arcade machine-level graphics and then, eventually, surpassed them. Now, Japanese arcades are facing a new menace, one that the entire world has been combating: COVID-19. (Japan Times)

TOKYO -- Signs of a hole in Japan's measures to lock down its borders against the coronavirus have been spotted in an unexpected place: a department store in downtown Tokyo's ritzy Ginza district. (Nikkei)

A Japan Olympic Committee board member has blasted the Games' organisers for ignoring public concerns about the coronavirus. (CNA)

Representatives of sexual minorities have called on Japan's main ruling party to swiftly pass a bill designed to enhance public understanding of LGBT. (NHK)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has announced that a person could have been infected with a coronavirus variant that has not been previously detected in Japan outside of airport quarantine stations. (NHK)

A 19-year-old boy suspected in the murder of a sex worker at a love hotel in Tachikawa City earlier this week intended to commit suicide with her, police revealed on Tuesday, reports TBS News。 (tokyoreporter.com)

Japan has rejected South Korea's objection to a Tokyo Olympics map, which marks a group of South Korean-controlled islands as Japanese territory. (ABC News)

Another important part of the upcoming Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games is taking shape. Just 50 days before the events kick off, organizers gave aspiring athletes something to dream about: a look at where and how the world's best will be given their medals. (NHK)

SAITAMA (TR) – The chief of the Fukaya Police Station has resigned after an investigation revealed his alleged theft of toilet paper last month, police said on Thursday, reports TBS News (tokyoreporter.com)

Police in Tachikawa, Tokyo, have arrested a 19-year-old man on suspicion of murder after he fatally stabbed a 31-year-old female sex worker at a hotel on Tuesday. (Japan Today)

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have apprehended a 19-year-old boy who is suspected in a fatal stabbing at a love hotel in Tachikawa City on Tuesday, reports Nikkan Sports. (tokyoreporter.com)

NHK has learned that doctors in charge of medical service at competition venues in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are withdrawing. Some of them have cited their busy work schedule. (NHK)

Japan has administered COVID-19 vaccines to more than 10 million people, the Prime Minister’s Office said Wednesday, as the country tries to speed up inoculations that are lagging far behind other developed countries. (Japan Times)

COVID-19 cases are still high and hospitals remain under strain despite a state of emergency as Japan on Thursday marks 50 days before the start of the Tokyo Olympics. (Japan Today)

Japan is preparing to hold next month’s Olympics with some spectators present, even as experts warn it would be difficult to stage the games unless the pace of infections falls in the capital, according to media reports. (Bloomberg Quicktake: Now)

People in Tokyo rallied around Naomi Osaka after the world number two withdrew from the French Open in a row about post-match media duties, saying she had been suffering from depression and anxiety. (Reuters)

KUMAMOTO (TR) – Kumamoto Prefectural Police have arrested the president of a recycling firm over the alleged possession and cultivation of marijuana in Yamaga City, reports Fuji News Network (tokyoreporter.com)

Two Japanese regional airlines have reached an agreement to integrate their operations as they struggle to recover from the pandemic. (NHK)

With less than eight weeks to go to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, the host city remains under a coronavirus state of emergency and is battling negative publicity at home and abroad. (NHK)