The SoftBank Hawks built up a big early lead before easing their way to a second straight win in the Japan Series on Sunday, trouncing the Yomiuri Giants 13-2 with three home runs including a seventh-inning grand slam from Alfredo Despaigne. (Kyodo)

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 hit off the coast of Japan's eastern prefecture of Ibaraki on Sunday night, but no tsunami warning was issued, according to the weather agency. (Kyodo)

Japanese astronauts Koichi Wakata and Satoshi Furukawa are scheduled for long-term missions on the International Space Station, Japan's science minister Koichi Hagiuda revealed Friday. (Kyodo)

A Japanese court sentenced a 22-year-old woman to nine years in prison on Friday for starving her 2-year-old daughter to death last year in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido. (Kyodo)

Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has urged residents not to eat and drink in large groups, to keep the coronavirus out of their homes. (NHK)

Japan-based Korean writer Yu Miri has won the National Book Award, the most prestigious literary prize in the US. (NHK)

This year's Beaujolais Nouveau went on sale in Japan on Thursday with a more demure reception amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo)

The organizers of the postponed Tokyo Olympics may limit competitors' stays in the athletes' village and require participants to maintain social distance in order to prevent coronavirus infections, officials said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

The Japanese unit of Malaysia's budget airline AirAsia Group said Tuesday it has filed for bankruptcy due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on travel demand, with a lawyer saying the unit is unable to refund around 23,000 air tickets. (Kyodo)

Veteran singer Masahiko Kondo has admitted to an extramarital affair and will be indefinitely suspended from activities as punishment, his management agency said in a statement released early Tuesday. (Kyodo)

The Hokkaido government on Tuesday officially raised its alert level in Sapporo, asking the city's residents to avoid nonessential outings and refrain from visiting other areas in the prefecture amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. (Japan Times)

A subtle change in Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's phrasing of a key Japanese foreign policy concept -- a "free and open Indo-Pacific" -- has raised questions about whether Tokyo has shifted its stance. (Kyodo)

Legendary Kabuki actor Sakata Tojuro, who had been recognized by the Japanese government as a living national treasure, died of old age on Thursday, a Kabuki production company said. He was 88. (Kyodo)

Japanese Nobel Prize winner in physics Koshiba Masatoshi died on Thursday at a hospital in Tokyo. He was 94. (NHK)

Japan on Thursday confirmed 1,660 new cases of coronavirus, a record daily high since the outbreak of the virus earlier this year, amid signs of what some health experts refer to as a possible "third wave" of infections as the winter season approaches. (Kyodo)

Japan is planning to exempt foreign visitors for next summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics from its 14-day quarantine requirement if they are from countries or regions with relatively fewer novel coronavirus cases, a government panel said Thursday. (Kyodo)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested four men, including a member of a criminal syndicate, over the alleged abduction of a male executive in Chuo Ward earlier this year, reports Kyodo News (Nov. 11). (tokyoreporter.com)

Her career in the pool long behind her, retired swimmer Hanae Ito is looking to nurture future generations of female athletes in Japan by ensuring they know what she did not. (Kyodo)

Shodai suffered his first loss at the November Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday and appeared to further aggravate a left ankle injury, leaving his further participation in the 15-day meet in doubt. (Kyodo)

East Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday it will conduct autonomous test runs of its E7-series shinkansen bullet trains next fall, with the aim of operating such automated trains in the future amid a labor shortage. (Kyodo)

Ozeki Asanoyama withdrew from the ongoing November Grand Sumo Tournament with a deltoid muscle injury to his right shoulder, the Japan Sumo Association said Tuesday. (Kyodo)

Organizers of the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday began taking online applications for refunds on tickets to the games, which have been postponed until next summer because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodo)

Japan's Hideki Matsuyama shot a 7-under 63 in the final round of the Houston Open on Sunday and finished in a two-way tie for second place, two strokes behind Mexico's Carlos Ortiz. (Kyodo)

The 33rd Tokyo International Film Festival came to a close Monday, with a screwball romantic comedy by Japanese director Akiko Ohku winning the sole award to be bestowed this year amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Kyodok)

Ozeki wrestlers Takakeisho, Asanoyama and Shodai made winning starts Sunday at the November Grand Sumo Tournament. (Kyodo)