The Japanese government plans to submit a bill that would raise tariffs on some Russian imports and strip Moscow of "most favored nation" status. (NHK)

A 45-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after crashing his car into the Foreign Ministry building in Tokyo, police said. (Kyodo)

It's well known that poker is an international game. To such an extent that there's a big tournament on every continent with countries competing for the hosting rights. (newsonjapan.com)

The Supreme Court has turned down an appeal from a 34-year-old man who escaped from a police station in Tondabayashi, Osaka Prefecture, where he had been arrested for rape, robbery and other crimes. (Japan Today)

A Chilean man on Tuesday denied to a French court that he had murdered his Japanese ex-girlfriend, Narumi Kurosaki, who disappeared in 2016 in a high-profile case that has spanned three continents. (AFP)

A former board chairman at one of Japan's largest universities was given a one-year suspended prison sentence, along with a fine of 13 million yen, on Tuesday for evading around 52 million yen in income tax. (Japan Today)

The Japanese government is aiming to triple the availability of high-speed 5G wireless services over the next two years. The plan is to cover 95 percent of the population by March 2024. (NHK)

Japan has rebuffed a protest from South Korea against descriptions in new Japanese high school textbooks of thorny bilateral issues related to territory and history, the top government spokesman said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

Nine years ago, Japan’s health ministry made what many scientists regarded as a terrible mistake. (science.org)

As the yen's dramatic plunge makes Bitcoin look almost credible, economists are asking the wrong questions. (Nikkei)

Japan’s plastic waste recycling and promotion law will take effect on April 1, forcing businesses to reduce their reliance on 12 single-use plastic items, including forks, spoons, and toothbrushes. (econotimes.com)

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force has disciplined six including senior personnel for having Friday lunches for free over the course of several years. The miscreants claimed that it was common practice to enjoy such free meals for the purpose of 'tasting'. (NHK)

Netflix has unveiled five new forthcoming Japanese titles — including a romance reality series and documentaries devoted to true crime, a J-pop star and the art of Kabuki theater — which join 10 prior unscripted projects the streamer already had in development. (hollywoodreporter.com)

The number of foreign nationals in Japan has declined for the second straight year due to the coronavirus. (NHK)

Japanese officials and experts say more than 800,000 people live in areas that may be subject to evacuation warnings if Mount Fuji erupts. (NHK)

The store manager, who is now 57 years old, trained at various udon restaurants after graduating from a vocational school. What will happen in this story. (Japanese food craftsman)

Japan, like any other country, is full of scary stories, some being fake, but others, so real that can make anyone have nightmares. Creatures, demons, ghosts, creepypastas, urban legends, whatever you want to call them, this list has it all. (MostAmazingTop10)

Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu warned his team they will need to shape up if they are to meet their target of reaching the World Cup quarterfinals after drawing 1-1 with Vietnam in their final qualifier on Tuesday. (Japan Today)

A woman from Tochigi Prefecture, who used her dead mother's passport to leave Japan, has been arrested on suspicion of corpse abandonment. (Japan Today)

A beer sales battle is intensifying in Japan, with major makers switching their targets from restaurants to people who drink at home as demand for drinking parties and holiday outings remains sluggish amid the prolonged coronavirus crisis. (Japan Times)

Use of disinfectants by pregnant women may be a risk factor for asthma and eczema in their children, finds a population study, published online in Occupational & Environmental Medicine. (eurekalert.org)

The International Robotics Exhibition, or iREX 2022 for short, was held at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition hall in Japan. (PRO ROBOTS)

Japanese companies will be asked to refuse Russia’s demand that energy payments be made in roubles, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Tuesday. (Al Jazeera)

Japan's top banks face the prospect of having to set aside billions of dollars in loss provisions for their exposure to Russia as the declining ruble and the financial turmoil there raise default risks. (Nikkei)

A teenage girl was injured after she was hit by a man who apparently jumped from a high-rise building in Shibuya, Tokyo, on Sunday. (Japan Today)