Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and three others lifted off Friday as part of a crew rotation flight on a SpaceX-developed craft to the International Space Station. (Kyodo)

If the Japanese women's football team are to achieve their goal of a gold medal on home soil at this summer's Tokyo Olympics, they must overcome a disjointed preparation caused by the coronavirus pandemic along with a lackluster track record against elite opponents in recent years. (Kyodo)

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a male elementary school teacher over the alleged illicit filming of children in Chofu City, reports Kyodo News. (tokyoreporter.com)

Nadal, an 11-time champion at the tournament in his home nation of Spain, reached his 14th career quarterfinal at the ATP 500-level tournament to extend his career head-to-head lead over the Japanese world No. 39 to 12-2. (Kyodo)

A health ministry panel on Wednesday approved rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib for COVID-19 treatment, the third such case in Japan. (Kyodo)

Japan will conduct its first large-scale survey on myopia among elementary and junior high school students, to begin as a government digital device rollout nears its conclusion, education ministry officials said Monday. (Kyodo)

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga asked U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. on Saturday to provide additional supplies of COVID-19 vaccine to Japan, Japanese officials said. (Kyodo)

Japan Airlines Co. will replace jet fuel with alternative energy sources for all domestic flights from 2040 under its plan to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050, sources familiar with the matter said Friday. (Kyodo)

Four building maintenance workers were killed Thursday in a basement parking garage in Tokyo as a fire suppression system was unintentionally activated, trapping them in an enclosed space with high levels of carbon dioxide, police and firefighters said. (Kyodo)

China on Wednesday asked Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso to drink treated radioactive water accumulated at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, after he said it is safe to drink it. (Kyodo)

The head of Japanese industrial giant Toshiba has stepped down. President and CEO Kurumatani Nobuaki's resignation comes days after the company got a buyout offer from a UK-based investment fund that he had ties to. (Kyodo)

The boyfriend of Princess Mako, the niece of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, intends to pay money to his mother's former fiance in an effort to settle a long-standing money dispute, his lawyer said Monday. (Kyodo)

Eyeing a future in which it may send poets into space to extol the beauty of the stars, Japan's national space agency is looking to expand its horizons by dropping the science major requirement for potential astronauts as it launches its first recruitment drive in 13 years. (Kyodo)

Large numbers of people on Saturday flooded transport hubs in major population centers across Japan despite the government designating Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa prefectures as requiring more stringent coronavirus countermeasures just a day earlier. (Kyodo)

The boyfriend of Princess Mako, niece of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, expressed his resolve to tie the knot with her in a statement released Thursday, vowing to "correct erroneous information" regarding a monetary dispute involving his mother. (Kyodo)

Sugako Hashida, a scriptwriter known for the internationally acclaimed television drama series "Oshin" in the 1980s, died Sunday of lymphoma at her home in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, her foundation said Monday. She was 95. (Kyodo)

Cosmic rays are causing an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 malfunctions in domestic network communication devices in Japan every year, a Japanese telecom giant found recently. (Kyodo)

Cherry blossoms covering Mt. Yoshino, renowned for its 30,000 sakura trees of 200 varieties, in the western Japan prefecture of Nara reached their peak blooms Friday, 10 days earlier than usual. (Kyodo)

Foreign tourists in Japan spent 744.6 billion yen ($6.7 billion) in 2020, the lowest since the survey began in 2010, as the coronavirus pandemic has led to restrictions on entry into the country, a government estimate showed Wednesday. (Kyodo)

A volcano on a southwestern Japan island erupted late Tuesday, sending large rocks nearly 1 kilometer from the crater, prompting the weather agency to raise its alert level. (Kyodo)

The owner of Japan's largest cruise ship, Asuka II, said Wednesday it will build an even bigger yet eco-friendly 51,950-ton ship with completion aimed for 2025, anticipating a post-pandemic recovery in travel demand. (Kyodo)

Universal Studios Japan in the western city of Osaka marked its 20th anniversary Wednesday, but without any large-scale events to celebrate the occasion due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo)

Sumo's sole grand champion Hakuho, who withdrew from the recent Spring Grand Tournament with a knee injury, will remain subject to a stern warning over his repeated absences from competition, the sport's governing body decided Monday. (Kyodo)

Long-considered an overlooked national security vulnerability, Japan will start paying closer attention to just who is buying land close to sensitive areas, aiming to thwart hostile actors from conducting espionage or disrupting operations at defense bases, nuclear plants and other such facilities. (Nikkei)

At least 93 foreigners residing in Japan were granted permission to bring their same-sex spouses to the country under a special visa between 2013 and 2020, the first such government survey showed Friday. (Kyodok)