Japan will further shorten the quarantine period to seven days from the current 10 for people who have been in close contact with someone infected with the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday. (Kyodo)

Japan and the U.S. will work together to lead the creation of international standards in unmanned technology that uses 6G communications, aiming to keep Chinese companies from dominating a field expected to include self-driving cars and fully automated factories. (Nikkei)

Japan's private company iSpace Inc is planning a series of missions starting with Mission 1 (M1), which is planned for launch in the fourth quarter of 2022. (republicworld.com)

More than 35,000 residents of Okinawa Prefecture have filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for what they say is excessive noise from aircraft at a US military facility. (NHK)

World Table Tennis (WTT) has appointed Ai Fukuhara as the organisation’s first-ever General Manager in Japan. The ex-table tennis player and Olympic medalist will look to create tournament opportunities, drive sponsorship and investment efforts, supporting the sport’s growth, and boost media rights sales in the country. (insidersport.com)

Dozens of post offices in Japan have been forced to suspend in-person services amid the latest wave of coronavirus infections. (NHK)

Toyota Motor is once again the number one automaker in the world, claiming the top sales spot in 2021 for the second year in a row. (NHK)

If you lose a wallet or a phone in Japan, you will most likely be reunited with it. The country has one of the most effective Lost and Found processes in the world. (BBC Reel)

"That sounds like a dream job for all men!" The pay of a male actor at best would be about a twentieth of the actres. (Nobita from Japan)

Zombie mode in the FPS category has always been an attraction for players. (newsonjapan.com)

A hostage was confirmed dead and an a gun-wielding suspect was arrested on Friday following an 11-hour standoff in Fujimino, Saitama Prefecture. (Japan Times)

The Japanese government has decided to go ahead with the nomination of a site of former gold mines on Sado Island, part of Niigata Prefecture, for UNESCO's World Heritage list, bowing to conservative lawmakers looking for a campaign issue and much to the chagrin of South Koreans who feel emotional wounds from World War II. (Nikkei)

Japanese wheelchair tennis player Kunieda Shingo has won his 11th Australian Open men's singles title. (NHK)

Japan's labor ministry says the number of foreign workers in the country hit a record high of more than 1.72 million at the end of October. (NHK)

The evolution of technology has marked massive progress in the world. (newsonjapan.com)

A group of young people have rioted outside a police station in Japan's southwestern city of Okinawa. The riot was reportedly sparked by social media posts of an alleged assault by a police officer. (NHK)

Japanese police sources say a 19-year-old college student has admitted to using a smartphone to cheat on a recent standardized university entrance exam. (NHK)

For what appears to be the first time, the acceptance rate for women has exceeded that for men at Japanese medical schools. (Nikkei)

Naoko Muto feels it is just a matter of luck that the day care center she runs hasn’t had any COVID-19 cases despite the rapid spread of the omicron variant. (Japan Times)

The Fair Trade Commission will warn brokerage firms that underpricing initial public offerings on the stock exchange may violate the antimonopoly law, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

Microsoft Corp. threw down the gauntlet last week with its biggest-ever acquisition, agreeing to purchase Activision Blizzard Inc. for a whopping $68.7 billion (Y7.8 trillion) in a deal that could preclude major shakeups in the lucrative video game industry. (Japan Times)

A theme park based around the work of legendary Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli will open on November 1st in Nagakute, Japan, the company’s official Twitter account has announced. (theverge.com)

A Japanese university entrance examinee reportedly sent images of test questions to university students who may have answered them during the exam. (NHK)

Tokyo Haneda Airport has welcomed the ‘Culture Gate to Japan’ project, formed of multiple artists and creators who have created works based on the various aspects of Japanese culture. (internationalairportreview.com)

Police in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, have arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of assaulting a 17-year-old boy who asked him to stop smoking on a train. (Japan Today)