The disciplinary committee of Japan's upper house agreed Tuesday to order a YouTuber-turned-lawmaker living abroad to offer an apology in parliament for not attending any sessions since he was elected to the Diet last year. (Kyodo)

Fukuoka prefectural police said Sunday that a 26-year-old man who was found dead along a coastal road on Friday was strangled to death. (Japan Today)

Manga master Leiji Matsumoto, whose epic sci-fi stories were highly influential in Japan's comic-book and anime worlds, has died aged 85, production company Toei said Monday. (zawya.com)

An entertainment academy in Okinawa known for producing some of Japan's biggest celebrities -- like Namie Amuro -- is opening up to a fresh crop of aspiring stars for the first time in years. (Nikkei)

North Korea launched two more ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday, with the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un saying Pyongyang's use of the Pacific as its "firing range" would depend on the behaviour of U.S. forces. (Reuters)

Organizers of the Tour de Kyushu 2023 are preparing to showcase Japan's southernmost main island as an attractive destination for global cycle tourism through the international multistage bicycle road race this autumn. (Nikkei)

A major Japanese textbook publisher has redistributed an atlas to high schools after correcting more than 1,000 mistakes in it. (NHK)

Japan’s capital is rated for its low crime rate and high standards of healthcare in this survey by the UK’s Post Office (Time Out)

Shizuka and special guest Jesse explore the charming city of Matsumoto in Nagano prefecture. Famous for its original castle, Matsumoto is also well known for its production of miso, the fermented soybean paste. (Japan by Food)

The undeclared income of wealthy people totaled Y83.9 billion in the year through June 2022, up 72.3% from the preceding year and the highest annual level since data became available in the year to June 2010. (Japan Times)

Benefits to longevity of walking hit a plateau at around 5,000 to 7,000 steps per day for older Japanese people, a study has found. (Japan Times)

The severed head of a cat was found on the grounds of an elementary school in Saitama city on Friday. Police said the cat’s head was found at around 7 a.m. at the school in Minami Ward. (Japan Today)

North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off Japan’s west coast after warning of a strong response to upcoming military drills by South Korea and the United States. (Al Jazeera)

A special purple and white train has made a comeback in western Japan to mark the 50th anniversary of the start of services using Yakumo rolling stock. (NHK)

The Japanese government will launch a new residency program in a bid to attract talented professionals from other countries. Qualified foreign nationals would be given preferential immigration treatment. (NHK)

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has offered emergency humanitarian aid worth about 8.5 million dollars to earthquake-stricken Turkey. (NHK)

The number of islands in Japan is expected to more than double after 7,000 new islands it didn't know existed were discovered. (npr.org)

Japan will start a pilot programme in April to test the use of a digital yen, its central bank said on Friday, joining a growing number of countries seeking to catch up with front-runner China in launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC). (nasdaq.com)

A Japanese justice ministry panel on Friday proposed raising the country's age of consent, currently among the world's lowest at just 13, as part of a major overhaul of sex crime legislation. (Japan Today)

In a forest in northern Japan's Hokkaido, Atsushi Monbetsu kneels on the moss in the thick morning fog and begins to pray in a language that has nearly disappeared. (AFP)

With Yakuza (er, Like A Dragon now) having finally gained global popularity in the last few years, this was the best time to bring over Ishin, a period spin-off in the franchise that never quite made it to the west, set during the 19th century, when Japan was undergoing several social, cultural, and political upheavals. (gamingbolt.com)

Tokyo has some of the highest rates of homelessness in Japan and accounted for nearly a third of the country's unhoused population on a single night in 2022. Why does the problem continue and getting worse now? (The Japan Reporter)

Some of the smartphones seized from four men suspected of coordinating a string of robberies across Japan had almost no data left inside, indicating attempts to hide evidence linking them with the crimes, investigative sources said Wednesday. (Japan Today)

Experts are trying to figure out why Japan's new H3 flagship rocket was not able to lift off from a site in southwestern Japan as scheduled. (NHK)

Japan's famous 'rabbit island' is home to 900 wild bunnies - but tourists are bringing so much food to the island that the animals now face a life-threatening crisis. (insider.com)