Some Japanese research institutions developing coronavirus vaccines have been hit by cyberattacks, apparently from China, in what are believed to be the first cases of their kind in the country, a U.S. information security firm said Monday. ()

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a former staff member at a special needs facility who is suspected of repeatedly raping a disabled elementary school girl, reports the Asahi Shimbun (Oct. 17). (tokyoreporter.com)

Former Empress Michiko turned 86 on Tuesday, marking her birthday amid the coronavirus pandemic that has caused her to spend the majority of her time quietly at her residence in Tokyo. (Kyodo)

Central Japan Railway Company unveiled the interior of the latest version of its magnetic-levitation train on Monday. (NHK)

Maisa Tsuno, a member of popular Japanese rock band Akaiko-en, has died, the group's agency said Monday, with police suspecting suicide. (Kyodo)

Ten members of the Shiki Theatre Company have contracted the novel coronavirus, according to the famed Japanese theatrical company. (Japan Times)

Starting on Oct. 1, the government re-included Tokyo in its Go To Travel campaign, a program subsidizing domestic travel that aims to encourage spending and boost an economy suffering the effects of a global pandemic. (Japan Times)

Boys and girls in Japan in 2019 had lower athletic ability than their counterparts in 1964, when the previous Tokyo Olympics were held, an annual government survey showed Sunday. (Japan Times)

The annual Sanja Matsuri festival linked to Asakusa Shrine in central Tokyo was held on a smaller scale on Saturday and Sunday after being postponed since May due to the pandemic. (NHK)

Ameyoko is Tokyo’s most vibrant market dating back to its black market days following the war. (ONLY in JAPAN)

Tokai University, a four-time Japanese national university baseball champion, said Saturday it has suspended all activities of its baseball club indefinitely due to illegal drug use by several members. (Kyodo)

Japan's Cabinet and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party held a joint funeral service for former Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro, who died last November at the age of 101. (NHK)

Renovated sections of Tokyo Metro Co's Ginza Station in the capital's high-end shopping district opened to the public Friday after roughly three years of work, with new features to showcase the luxury and elegance associated with the area. (Japan Today)

Japan is moving to gradually reopen its borders to business travellers. ()

Yokohama Stadium will hold three baseball games at around 80% capacity later this month as Japan looks to test its COVID-19 countermeasures at big events ahead of the rearranged Tokyo Olympics next year. (Reuters)

A man found in a pool of blood on a sidewalk in Chiba City on Wednesday later died, police said, reports Jiji Press (Oct. 15). (tokyoreporter.com)

Saitama Prefectural Police have arrested a 27-year-old man for allegedly kidnapping a girl he met online and holding her for five months, reports Kyodo News (Oct. 15). (tokyoreporter.com)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police are planning to accuse a deceased man of fatally stabbing his former girlfriend in Nakano Ward earlier this year, reports TBS News (Oct. 14). (tokyoreporter.com)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Thursday reported 284 new cases of the coronavirus, up 107 from Wednesday. The number is the result of 6,201 tests conducted on Oct 12. (Japan Today)

Analysts credit a Japanese government travel campaign with a slight uptick in spending on services and entertainment in late September. (NHK)

The government will test measures for preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus at events with large numbers of spectators in a trial late this month in a nearly-packed baseball stadium in Yokohama, officials said Thursday. (Japan Times)

Japan will significantly ramp up a program encouraging businesses to build production sites in Southeast Asia to diversify supply chains that are too dependent on China. (Nikkei)

Japan's newest submarine was unveiled Wednesday at a shipyard in Kobe, as part of efforts to boost the country's maritime security amid China's growing assertiveness in the region. (Japan Today)

A 24-year-old woman who was found murdered in her apartment in Kyoto City’s Shimogyo Ward earlier this week died two days before the discovery of her body, police have revealed, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Oct. 12). (tokyoreporter.com)

There are plenty of exceptional places to travel in the world, but we’d like to think that Japan is one of the best. (soranews24.com)