As most Japanese eagerly await the annual Golden Week holiday that begins on Saturday, small business owners are scrambling to figure out how to survive the longer-than-usual break as many banks and financial services will be shuttered for 10 days. (Nikkei)

Hokkaido Prefectural Police have arrested a 61-year-old man for allegedly breaking into the office of a cemetery in Mikasa City and stealing items, reports Fuji News Network (tokyoreporter.com)

Former Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn walked out of jail on Thursday night after the Tokyo District Court rejected an appeal by prosecutors to reverse its decision to grant bail. (Nikkei)

Convenience store operators released actions plans Thursday to address acute labor shortages, suggesting they have become more flexible about operating hours. (Japan Times)

Tokyo on Thursday displayed a drawing thought to be the work of Banksy, as the city's governor urged the famous and mysterious street artist to get in touch. (Japan Today)

Japanese actor Ken Watanabe, 59, will star in a Japanese remake of the 1993 movie “The Fugitive,” playing the part of the doctor wrongly accused of murdering his wife. (Japan Today)

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have visited the Mausoleum of Emperor Showa in western Tokyo to report his abdication on April 30. (NHK)

Japan's unprecedented 10-day holiday to celebrate Crown Prince Naruhito's enthronement is expected to give the sluggish economy at least a short-term boost. (Japan Today)

A Japanese university has stopped hiring professors and teachers who light up, officials said Tuesday, as the nation steps up an anti-smoking campaign ahead of the 2020 Olympics. (Japan Today)

A Tokyo-based developer of a laundry-folding robot filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday due to financial difficulties. (Japan Times)

Defense lawyers for former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn have asked a Tokyo court to grant him bail. (NHK)

One Japanese national was killed and four others injured in terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday. The attacks left at least 290 dead and more than 500 injured. (Japan Times)

Police in Tokyo said Sunday they have arrested Naoya Urata, lead singer of the six-member pop group AAA, on suspicion of assault. (Japan Today)

Police have arrested a 40-year-old man over the alleged stalking of his former girlfriend whose whereabouts were unknown for three days, reports the Sankei Shimbun (tokyoreporter.com)

The world's smallest baby boy, who was born in October in Japan weighing as much as an apple, is now ready for the outside world, his doctor said Friday. (Japan Today)

An agreement has been reached at an international conference on managing Japanese eel resources to more effectively clarify the distribution routes of young eels. (NHK)

A woman and her young daughter have died after being struck by a passenger car driven by an 87-year-old man in downtown Tokyo. (NHK)

Those hoping to watch a tennis match featuring No. 1-ranked Naomi Osaka at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games will likely face long odds in the upcoming ticket lottery. (Nikkei)

British rock band Queen will perform in Japan next January as part of their 2020 Rhapsody Tour amid a wave of popularity after their biopic film "Bohemian Rhapsody" won an Academy Award, organizer Creativeman Productions Ltd. said Wednesday. (Kyodo)

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko are in the city of Ise in central Japan on their last trip to a local region before the Emperor's abdication on April 30. (NHK)

Tissue paper and other daily products sold at Osaka Prison are so expensive that inmates mostly cannot purchase them, a situation amounting to a human rights violation, according to local lawyers. (Japan Times)

Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a pair of hostesses over the alleged theft of the wallet of a drunk pedestrian in the Ueno entertainment area of Taito Ward last year, reports TV Asahi (tokyoreporter.com)

Can the country welcome 60 million visitors a year without losing its culture -- and its mind? (Nikkei)

What is believed to be Japan’s largest fossilized dinosaur skeleton has been restored as a life-size replica, researchers and officials from the town of Mukawa, in Hokkaido, where the original discovery was made, said Wednesday. (Japan Times)

A senior manager with Japan Airlines Co. was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of committing an indecent act with a female junior high school student in exchange for money, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. (Japan Times)