Two major Japanese apparel companies have decided to stop using cotton from China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region due to allegations of forced labor there. (NHK)

Jesper Koll, executive director at Monex Group Japan, discusses Japan's latest spending package, what the new prime minister's new vision for the country means for Japan Inc. and his outlook for BOJ policy. (Bloomberg Markets and Finance)

Japan's top government spokesperson says Major League Baseball two-way star Ohtani Shohei has declined an offer to be given the People's Honor Award. (NHK)

The operator of the Ikata nuclear power plant in western Japan says it will restart one of the reactors next month, saying it has gained the understanding of the local government authorities involved. (NHK)

Visitors and local residents in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo are enjoying nighttime winter illuminations in a park, along streets and in two popular squares. (NHK)

Police in Nemuro, Hokkaido, have arrested a 14-year-old boy on suspicion of attempted murder after he stabbed a 57-year-old woman at a shopping center. (Japan Today)

Two bodies were found on the premises of a nursing home in Osaka on Wednesday in what police believe was a murder-suicide. (Japan Today)

Pharmaceutical company Linepharma International plans to seek approval for Japan’s first abortion pill next month following successful trials in the country, the Yomiuri newspaper reported. (Japan Times)

More domestic and international automakers are set to roll out fully electric cars in Japan amid a growing global push for EVs. (NHK)

Japanese costume designer Emi Wada, known for her Academy Award-winning work on a film by renowned director Akira Kurosawa, died on Nov. 13, her family said. She was 84. (Japan Times)

Japan’s fifth wave of Covid-19 has virtually disappeared so dramatically that some scientists are puzzled as to why it happened. One team suggests the highly infectious Delta strain mutated into extinction on the island nation. (rt.com)

Toyonoumi, who was one of the heaviest sumo wrestlers of all time, died due to an illness on Saturday, the Japan Sumo Association said. He was 56. (Kyodo)

About 60 percent of Japanese couples marrying since shortly before the start of the coronavirus pandemic have refrained from holding a wedding ceremony, a nearly threefold jump from the proportion who skipped ceremonies in prior years, a recent survey showed. (Kyodo)

NHK has learned that the Japanese government is considering releasing oil from the country's reserves to help curb a crude oil price hike in response to the request of the United States. (NHK)

Two decades after "One Piece" introduced the world to a swashbuckling pirate in a straw hat, fans of the Japanese cartoon series are giddily awaiting this weekend's release of the 1,000th episode. (Japan Today)

Japan's education ministry has found that the number of students, who left higher education either permanently or temporarily due to the coronavirus pandemic, increased sharply from last year. (NHK)

Children will be allowed to ride bullet trains that run through most of Japan’s biggest cities for free as part of a campaign to revive domestic tourism hit by the coronavirus pandemic, operators said Friday. (Japan Times)

Japan's Cabinet approved on Friday a record 56 trillion yen ($490 billion) stimulus package, including cash handouts and aid to ailing businesses, to help the economy out of the doldrums worsened by the coronavirus pandemic. (crossroadstoday.com)

Today is finally Sutan's Shichi-Go-San! We rented a kimono, practiced Japanese hair, and had grandparents come from far away, so we were well prepared. (Kimono Mom)

Just came up with this vlog idea the other night and right next morning, went out in the early morning (with me JAPAN)

People across Japan observed an almost-total lunar eclipse on Friday evening. (NHK)

For many people, the office is practically an extra home. It is where most of a person's life is spent. (newsonjapan.com)

How did Japan's 200-year lockdown under the Tokugawa government influence Hokusai's work? (British Museum Events)

A long-running territorial dispute between Japan and South Korea has burst on to the global stage after their vice foreign ministers failed to attend a press conference in Washington with their US counterpart. (theguardian.com)

Why is MILF getting so popular in Japan? (Nobita from Japan)