The average price of existing condominiums in Tokyo rose by 4.8% (inflation-adjusted) in 2022 from a year earlier, a sharp slowdown from a year-on-year increase of 10.65% in the prior year. (globalpropertyguide.com)

A Japanese government panel is set to recommend the closure of a controversial vocational training scheme for young people from developing countries, an immigration official said Tuesday. (breitbart.com)

Snow fell for the first time in three weeks in Yamagata Prefecture while cherry blossoms were in full bloom. (NOJ)

An 11-year-old male Japanese ballet dancer won the top prize Sunday for his age group at a major international ballet competition for young dancers seeking to become professionals. (Kyodo)

At least 40 percent of nursery schools in Japan failed to meet their April 2023 enrollment quota, due partly to a shrinking demand for childcare as a result of the declining birthrate, a survey said. (freepressjournal.in)

Japan's first new central bank governor in 10 years headed to the office for the first time on Monday. (NHK)

A tasting party was held in Tsukiji, Tokyo, to let people experience delicious fish from Fukushima Prefecture. (NOJ / TV Tokyo BIZ)

Erena So Hoi-lam is the first woman from Hong Kong to enter the Japanese adult video (AV) industry, making her debut in 2022 after finding little success in mainstream entertainment in Hong Kong. (South China Morning Post)

Sapporo is set to resume its bid for the 2030 Winter Olympic Games, while Osaka will stay the course in its pursuit of integrated resorts, after their incumbent leaders handily trounced opponents in local elections across Japan on Sunday. (straitstimes.com)

An 18-year-old woman was fatally stabbed in a waiting room on a platform at a train station in Nagoya on Saturday night, police said Sunday, adding that a 29-year-old man suspected of stabbing her apparently killed himself by jumping from the platform into the path of an oncoming train. (Japan Today)

A body was reportedly seen floating in the waters off Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture where a military helicopter with 10 members aboard went missing a few days ago, the Japan Coast Guard said Saturday. (Japan Times)

A look the history of the Communist Party of Japan over the past 101 years (Lawarch)

The beauty of the kimono is known worldwide and is an integral part of Japanese culture, but is it socially acceptable for a tourist to wear one? (Alina Mcleod)

There are so many reasons why people all around the world dream of visiting Japan. Some desire to witness the cutting-edge technology, others come for the beautiful natural sights, and many, like us, come for the delicious food. (Chad and Claire)

Japan's Self-Defense Forces have dispatched a submarine rescue ship to join efforts to find a helicopter that went missing off the southern prefecture of Okinawa on Thursday. (NHK)

Universities are taking action regarding students’ use of ChatGPT, the Microsoft-backed interactive AI application that generates natural sentences in response to questions. (The Star)

Voting is underway in the first round of unified local elections across Japan on Sunday, with issues including child-rearing support, the fight against inflation and the revitalization of regional economies hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. (The Japan News)

Japanese vending machines, which offer whale meat, snails-in-a-can or edible insects, have a new dish on the menu: wild bear meat. (BBC)

Nineteen Japanese men detained in Cambodia in January on suspicion of taking part in organized phone and online scams will be deported to their homeland, a Cambodian immigration police officer said Friday. (Japan Today)

The Bank of Japan's monetary easing was "appropriate" and effective in jolting Japan out of deflation, and its retention under new leadership is of utmost importance as inflation expectations are heightening, outgoing Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Friday. (Japan Today)

Around half of unmarried people under 30 in Japan have no interest in having children, a recent survey by a pharmaceutical firm showed, with respondents citing economic concerns and the burden of childbirth and parenting as their reasoning. (Kyodo)

Virtual online spaces are providing social recluses, known as "hikikomori" in Japan, a way of staying connected to the world while also allowing them to edge closer to making a full return to society. (Kyodo)

An annual cherry blossom viewing event began Thursday at the Japan Mint in Osaka, with elderly and disabled invitees enjoying the sight a day before the famous springtime fixture opens to the general public. (Japan Today)

Around 30 percent of restaurants in Japan have taken egg dishes off the menu due to a shortage of eggs and soaring prices due to the spread of avian influenza. (NOJ)

Japan's electric-vehicle sales are expanding rapidly, led by more affordable kei minicars. But EVs still accounted for just 2.1% of new passenger car sales here in fiscal 2022, compared with nearly 20% in China and Europe. (Nikkei)