Kei Komuro, the husband of Japanese former princess Mako Komuro, has passed his New York state bar examination on his third attempt, a source familiar with the matter said Friday. (Kyodo)

Japan's government and central bank intervened in the currency market early Saturday to support a falling yen, sources told Nikkei, triggering a dramatic rebound against the dollar. (Nikkei)

Japan's badminton governing body has apologized for a series of scandals and improper conduct involving staff members and published reprimands of its senior officials. But there was no announcement of resignations. (NHK)

A ski slope at the foot of Mount Fuji became the first ski resort in Japan to open for the season on Friday. (NHK)

Chinese buyers have become interested in farmland in Japan, and policymakers in the country are uncomfortable with this. (Spotlight on China)

Food prices in Japan rose at the fastest pace since July 1991 during the past week, Nikkei data shows, as producers scramble to pass on the impact of a softening yen and high commodity costs. (Nikkei)

Japan's core consumer inflation rate accelerated to a fresh eight-year high of 3.0% in September, exceeding the central bank's 2% target for the sixth straight month as the yen's slump to 32-year lows continue to push up import costs. (Reuters)

On Tuesday, comedian Koji Nakamoto was hit by a car while crossing a street in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Unfortunately, he passed away from his injuries the following day due to an acute subdural hematoma. (fanfest.com)

A group of researchers says it has found traces of noble gases on sand and other asteroid samples brought back by a Japanese space probe. (NHK)

More than 2,000 Ukrainians had entered Japan as of mid-October, according to the Immigration Services Agency, living in prefectures across the nation as they worked to build a new life. (stripes.com)

A Japanese domestic airline is seeking to fill empty seats by offering subscriptions to Tokyo-based workers that will let them move to a city nearly 900 kilometers (550 miles) away, and commute back-and-forth to the capital by air as many times as they want. (Bloomberg)

A family court in the western Japanese city of Kobe has admitted that it discarded all records of a 1997 serial murder case in which a 14-year-old boy was arrested. (NHK)

A Tokyo court on Thursday ordered ruling party lawmaker Mio Sugita to pay Shiori Ito, a journalist and symbol of Japan's #MeToo movement, 550,000 yen ($3,700) in damages for clicking "like" on several tweets she said defamed her. (Kyodo)

Japan's Foreign Ministry has lowered its coronavirus infection alert for travel overseas. It no longer requires people to avoid non-essential travel to any other country. (NHK)

Japan's Empress Emerita Michiko turned 88 on Thursday. The Empress Emerita moved in April from a temporary dwelling to her current residence in the Akasaka Estate in Tokyo's Minato Ward, where she lived when she was Crown Princess. (NHK)

The Japanese government launched a nationwide discount campaign last week to kick-start domestic tourism. (NHK)

Police in Hidaka, Saitama Prefecture, have arrested a 37-year-old unemployed man on suspicion of assault and trespassing after he entered the grounds of a junior high school and injured three students with a bamboo sword. (Japan Today)

An independent panel investigating fraudulent inspections at Japan's Mitsubishi Electric has uncovered dozens more cases. (NHK)

South Korea says visitors from Japan will be allowed to enter the country without a visa from November 1. (NHK)

The Japanese yen weakened to the 150 level against the US dollar at one point during Tokyo trading on Thursday. It is the first time the currency has dropped to this level in 32 years. (NHK)

The Noyama Incident: Keiko and Nako left their bicycles at the foot of the mountain and walked up the pathway arriving sometime around noon. Neither of them would ever come back down alive. (Lazy Masquerade)

After the loss of fashion greats like Issey Miyake and Hanae Mori earlier this year, there is a line of new Japanese designers ready to step into their shoes. ( euronews)

Former Japan international and Celtic star Shunsuke Nakamura will retire from football at the end of the season, his club said yesterday, bringing the curtain down on his 26-year career. (AFP)

A Japanese worker whose role is preserving cultural heritage accidentally ploughed his car into the country’s oldest toilet in a centuries-old Buddhist temple. (standard.co.uk)

The yen's rapid and one-sided depreciation is "negative" for the Japanese economy, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Wednesday after the currency hit a fresh 32-year low versus the U.S. dollar. (Kyodo)