In Major League Baseball, Japanese two-way star Ohtani Shohei has won the Silver Slugger Award in the designated hitter category. (NHK)

Japanese automaker Subaru is preparing to launch its first electric vehicle on the international market. The company says it plans to release the electric SUV in Japan, the US, China and elsewhere by mid-2022. (NHK)

In today's video I interviewed Segolene Jacmin (half of a twin sister duo that founded Antwerp based denim brand - FACON JACMIN) about all things denim. (The Fashion Archive)

An unusual architectural jewel stands at the corner of a red-light district in the Japanese city of Osaka: a century-old former brothel at the center of a restoration operation. (washingtonnewsday.com)

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday became head of the largest faction within Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party upon his return to the intraparty bloc following a nine-year absence. (Japan Today)

Fumio Kishida, reelected as Japan’s prime minister on Wednesday after his governing party scored a major victory in key parliamentary elections, said the coronavirus remains the country’s most urgent issue and pledged to take steps to mend the pandemic-battered economy. (marketwatch.com)

A Japanese health ministry panel approved Wednesday the administration of third booster shots of U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine to people aged 18 and over, starting with medical personnel from December. (Kyodo)

TOKYO (AP) — Jakucho Setouchi, a Buddhist nun and one of Japan's best-known authors known for novels depicting passionate women and her translation of “The Tale of Genji,” a 1,000-year-old classic, into modern language, has died. She was 99. (tulsaworld.com)

Netflix is continuing to ramp up its investment in Japan, unveiling a large slate of new series and films across both live action and anime at the Netflix Japan Festival 2021 this week. (tbivision.com)

Researchers at an aquarium in southern Japan say about 20 percent of sea turtles found dead off the coast of Okinawa Prefecture had accidentally consumed ropes, plastic and other trash. (NHK)

Millet farmers living 9000 years ago in what is now north-east China may have spoken a proto-Transeurasian language that gave rise to Japanese, Turkish and other modern tongues. (newscientist.com)

November marks one year since the Metropolitan Police Department began a program to reduce street prostitution in Tokyo by connecting women to welfare counseling. (Japan Times)

Japan Airlines has become the country's first carrier to introduce a digital system for passengers to prove they are vaccinated against COVID-19. The move comes after the United States began accepting fully inoculated visitors. (NHK)

Ryo Ishikawa said Tuesday he will resign as vice chairman of the Japan Golf Tour Players Association and the Japan Golf Tour Organization following a tabloid report that he broke quarantine rules after arriving home from a trip to the United States. (Japan Times)

When it was built in 1972, it was the capital’s only example of the metabolism architectural movement – but time has caught up with the structure (theguardian.com)

Japan's Epsilon-5 rocket has been successfully launched with nine small satellites on board that were developed by universities and private companies. (NHK)

A 34-year-old former nurse at a hospital was sentenced to life in prison in Yokohama on Tuesday for killing three terminally ill patients by injecting a disinfectant into their intravenous drip bag. (Japan Today)

The Japanese government is looking to promote domestic tourism by reviving a travel campaign following the lifting of a nationwide state of emergency for the coronavirus. But business leaders are urging the government to make sure it does not lead to an overload of travelers. (NHK)

Japan's ruling party and its coalition partner agreed to offer a combined 100,000 yen ($882) worth of vouchers and cash payouts to children aged 18 or younger as part of the government's stimulus package, Jiji news agency said on Tuesday. (Reuters)

According to reports, Japan will create a scheme to subsidise the construction of domestic chip factories with a new plant planned by Taiwan's TSMC likely to be the first recipient. (WION)

Japanese online flea-market operator Mercari has banned the sale of pumice stones collected after being spewed forth by the eruption of an undersea volcano, saying their safety has yet to be determined. (NHK)

Saphir ODORIKO went into service in March 2020 and runs between Tokyo and Izukyu-Shimoda everyday. (Kuga's Travel)

SoftBank Group Corp. sank into red ink for the July-September period, dragged down by losses on its investments in China, the Japanese technology conglomerate said Monday. (wokv.com)

Toshiba Corp is considering splitting itself into three companies focused separately on infrastructure, devices and memory chips, a spokesperson said on Monday, a move that could address the Japanese firm's persistent conglomerate discount. (Reuters)

Masato Yokosawa is a poker vlogger from Japan with an extremely popular YouTube channel that currently boasts over 600,000 subscribers. (pokernewsdotcom)